I’ve spent the entire day reading other people’s various and sundry Top 10 lists: Top 10 CDs, Top 10 books, 10 Most Annoying People, 10 Things I Accidentally Ate… And I find myself swept up in the moment, caught up in the joy of preserving one’s memories forever by posting them for all the world to see.
Actually, I’m killing the last 30 minutes at work, and really needed something to jar me out of the non-writing funk I’ve been in lately. Whatever. Not like more than three people are reading this anyway, and two of those three are just here looking for my post on Gabby Gingras.
So at any rate, these are my 10 most memorable bits of 2005. Most memorable, because they’re what pop into my head at this moment, 3 days into 2006; in no particular order, because I hate playing favorites with my own neural connections…
10. Haver, Jen, and Christina. One was only a few days, thanks to the wonderful timing of the new year, one was a lot of fun while it lasted, and one was the source of one of the funniest things James Brown will ever say.
9. Insomiactive Productions. I’ve done freelance work for the past five years or so, but this is the first year that I’ve ever deposited more than four checks for over $2000. Good times.
Unless someone from the IRS is reading this. In which case, that was all a dream. A very, very nice dream.
8. Return of the Honda. Finally, I’m driving a car that I will enjoy again. I genuinely feel like I can contentedly drive a giant metal can with wheels, as long as it gets me from point A to point B (preferably with a decent stereo, but that’ll just get stolen within 6 months anyway). Now, though, I don’t have to, and admittedly, it’s kinda nice. It’s the first time in my 34 years that I’ve ever had to worry about a car payment, but it’s worth it, to have a car that I chose for myself.
7. Wedding Bells (Someone Else’s, Not Mine). Let’s see: groomsman for Andrew, and videographer for Dan. Oh, and I started 2005 in Cincinnati with Haver for a wedding of one of her friends. All of the weddings were actually kinda nice, especially since i never once was asked to say, “I do.” Andrew’s really stands out, because his family is wonderful peoples.
6. The Exhibit(s). Back in the studio for the first time in years (since Daniel and I stopped speaking). On stage more than a bunch (and still not enough). Chance and Eric and Carlos are the best batch of guys I could ever hope to play with; we do almost nothing of mine, and I don’t even mind, because we’re playing music for the sake of playing, instead of thinking that a bunch of 30-somethings in Birmingham might have a hope fo getting signed.
Yeah, that’s a stab at someone.
5. Acceptance. This is an end of year thing — much like the car — but maybe the one thing that will stick with me for a long time. There’s a joy to self-awareness, but sometimes even that isn’t enough. You have to be willing to not only realize things about yourself, but to accept that those things, and other situations in your life that aren’t in your power to control or change, are what they are. There was a lot of that toward the end of 2005, about Neely and Melissa and Ann, about myself and romantic entanglements, about my outlook on life (and life philosophies in general). And I suddenly felt a lot better about a lot of things.
Still not real happy about missing JESUS IS MAGIC, though.
4. Music, Books, and More. Damn, it really was good year for a lot of entertainment. Nothing life-changing in movies, but a lot of great reading (ANANSI BOYS, SOCK – though technically 2004, I read it in January — the end of the DARK TOWER series, HAUNTED) and music (ALIEN, DARK SUNS, OCTAVARIUM, REAL ILLUSIONS) kept me going all year long.
3. Vai. I think I almost managed to forget this one, somehow. I’ve gotten a chance to interview a lot of people while working for Birmingham Weekly, including Norah Jones, Tenacious D, and a billion others. In March, though, I spent an hour on the phone with Steve Vai, talking about all sorts of things (including a lot of stuff that never made it into the eventual article). And then there was the show in Birmingham in March, at the Boutwell ballroom, in front of what had to be less than 250 people. Amazing, intense; easily the best show I’ve ever seen.
2. Spreading the Disease. It was a good year for progress for me. I was published in a national magazine for the first time, saw my website business grow a lot, made three films, was accepted into Sidewalk for the fourth year in a row (six if you count scripts). I met a lot of folks, saw a million faces, and I rocked them all. In spite of all the times I felt like I was moving backwards (or staying in place, at best), I was moving forward the whole time.
1. Muckfuppet. Yeah, no one saw this coming.
The best part is that it should make my 2006 list, also. Assuming I get anything done on it this year, that is…