...wrapping it up

i rang in 2005 in the front row at a flaming lips/wilco concert. when the clock struck midnight, i was literally 5 feet from jeff tweedy. he was wearing bunny rabbit pajamas. needless to say, it was a pretty promising start.

the problem with starting the year on a high note is that it's likely the rest of the year will go downhill from there.

with that said, here's my 2005 in a nutshell...

thumbs-upski (top 3):
airplane! paris! amsterdam!
getting a real job
tanglewood

(these may not sound very impressive to some of beer and pancakes' more worldly readers, but that trip to paris was a lifetime in the making. as for the 'real' job...let's just say that my previous gig was at a jewish audiobook company - i wish i was kidding. and tanglewood, well that was awesome.)

thumbs-downski (bottom 3):
taking FOREVER to quit the barn
still residing in the garden state
i remain utterly confused as to the meaning of life and my purpose here on earth

there are lots of other highs and lows mixed in there somewhere, among them: meeting george saunders (high), not getting the apartment on w. 83 st (low), eel's birthday celebration (high), writing workshop with arthur bradford (high), almost getting killed on the d.c. metro (low, but funny in retrospect), just to name a few.

anyway, here are some other 2005 statistics you might find interesting:

stories started and not finished: 7
hours worked overtime since june: 100
bags i bought in paris: 1
pairs of converse sneakers i left in amsterdam: 1
the one phrase i learned how to say in dutch: "sprekt u engels?"
most played song on ipod: "fight song" by the flaming lips
times i went to applebees with the barn folk: 3
favorite writers met: 2 (see above)
impulse purchase of the year: button maker
times i've stood outside cafe lalo and recited dialogue from "you've got mail": 5
number of times i was in the same room as ann coulter: 1 (which is 1 too many)
paid vacation days i was allowed at work: 5
paid vacation days i took: 7 (don't ask)
hours spent in traffic: thousands
weddings attended: 1
midterm or final exams taken: none, bitches!
number of meat'normous sandwiches consumed: 0

overall, a decent year. i'm making new year's resolutions, but i think it's bad luck to share them. i will say this: i intend to spend less time with ann coulter in '06.