Fourteen years ago, I was a freshman at a small college in Upstate New York that most outside of the area have probably never heard of. I lived at home, commuted a 1/2 hour to school every day, and was readying for missionary service for the LDS church the following summer. I was also on the basketball team and had enjoyed some success, but my most prominent memories of the time were of a painfully lonely winter break at home. The girl I had dated in high school had moved on, but I had not.
The Counting Crows had put out their second CD -- Recovering the Satellites -- earlier that Fall, and the song "A Long December" resonated with me during those lonely months as I looked cathartically backward and, from that reverie, steadied myself to move ahead.
I have felt similar stirrings as I've looked back on the year 2010. Not feelings of loneliness or lost love, but of a year that, in many ways, never really got off the ground. There are the 10 lbs. I put on over Christmas break last year that never came off (and the other 5 I've put on this Christmas), a major back injury in July (and I haven't played basketball since), and a host of New Year's "To Do" resolutions that I either gave up on quickly (e.g., a Peanut M&M fast) or never seemed to get around to (e.g., blogging more frequently). Though there was lots of good food this year.
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| From Pink's Hot Dogs in LA from left to right -- a chili dog, the Mulholland Drive Dog, the Pastrami Reuben dog, the America the Beautiful Dog, and a regular hot dog (bottom) . We only had to wait in line two hours for these dogs! (a small consolation prize after Pizzeria Mozza turned away my party of six). |
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| My "America the Beautiful Dog" -- 12 inch jalapeno dog, pastrami, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes. |
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| Does this look like a man whose had all he can eat? |
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| The Peanut Butter and Fresh Banana Donut with Chocolate Chips from Stan's Doughnut Corner in Westwood Village. Creative and tasty, but not really one of the Top 10 Donuts in the United States. |
Of course all was not lost this year. There were advancements at work, a move to a spacious three bedroom condo (as opposed to the two bedrooms I'd been cramming my family of five into), and even my first half-marathon.
Looking ahead, there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last. I'm hoping to run a full marathon, use at least some of my free time more wisely, shake off the added 15 lbs., exercise a little more eating restraint, and post more faithfully here when I don't.
Happy New Year!
