Bidding 2008 Adieu

Read in the paper this morning that New Year's Eve is perhaps the most overrated and overbloated Holiday...

Decided to stay home tonight, nurse my bronchitis, and maybe watch Mamma Mia, which I bought for myself on the way home from work, because it makes me happy - partly for all the reasons so many critics hated it, the funky singing and dancing, and I happen to love ABBA. Not drinking anything - are you kidding? I'm on antibotics and hydrocodine cough syrup. And it's bitter cold - expected to drop down to 0. Currently 24 degrees. Coldest New Year's in a long long time. Last time got this cold was sometime around 1998, about ten to eleven years ago. 2009 will be the start of my 13th year in this city. I moved here in March 1996 or thereabouts. Lucky 13.

How to pay homage to what I like to call a watershed year? Tough one at that. But all watershed years are - last one was 2001. I knew it was going to be a watershed going into it. Told people as much last January - that this one going to be one tough long weird year - in which things would be turned inside out. And boy was it ever.

Can't really do a best movie or book list, haven't read or seen that many good movies or books this year, or for that matter remotely memorable ones. Of the movies I have seen - I'd say that Persepolis, Mamma Mia, Iron Man, Tell No One and The Dark Knight stick out in my memory. Everything else is a bit of a blur. Quantum of Solace and Australia - while enjoyable, are fading bit by bit, even though I saw them both relatively recently. Of the books? I'd say Kafka on the Shore and maybe the one I'm reading now, Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff. I enjoyed the latest Dresden, Small Favor and the latest Kim Harrison, A Few Demons More - but they don't resonate in quite the same way. Quick, fun, and light reads not meant to stick in the memory. Read more than that, but I either couldn't finish them or I simply can't remember them that well.

TV? Ah. I've watched too many shows and after a while they blur together in the memory. I may write a separate post highlighting the ones that did stand out or rather the episodes that did, for good or ill.

The most memorable thing on TV this year, besides the Writer's Strike, was the American presidential election that appeared to go on forever. Due in part to the Writer's Strike and in part to who was running - it became must-see tv. More people watched the election results and Obama's Informercial than they watched most of the other prime-time shows on. I think only the Olympics and the Superbowl beat the election in the ratings. And the election didn't just capitaviate American viewers, it captivated the world.

The other two memorable tv events were The Olympics and The Superbowl. Both filled with unpredictable twists and turns, and human drama that you could not find in any scripted or reality series. With the Superbowl - a team that hadn't won in years, and was a wild card, beat a team that hadn't lost a game and had the best record. They did it in the final quarter of the game. I'm no fan of football - but that had even me on the edge of my seat, eyes glued to the screen. Jumping up and down like a loony when the Giants actually won. Oh, and the Olympics - the opening ceremonies- eery and beautiful, disturbing and inspiring at the same time. In case you didn't know it already, yes, China was a force to be reckoned with.

Online - there were quite a few posts that captivated me. I don't remember them all. Here are the four I do remember or stick out in my memory tonight as I write this.

* the_red_shoes post about the spontaneous dancing in the streets of Seattle, when it was announced that Barack Obama was elected President of the US. It was the first of many posts about the spontaneous dancing around the world. No matter what your politics, you couldn't help but be moved in some small way. Her posts, complete with video footage, captured that the best.

* scrollgirl's post in support of Gay Marriage from a Christian Perspective. An insightful post that managed to calmly explain why being Christian and supporting Gay Marriage were not contradictions in terms.

http://scrollgirl.livejournal.com/600507.html

* embers_log's videos of her handbuilt and handpainted raki vases, which blew me away with their creativity and innovation.

* fresne's post expressing poetically and rather calmly why Sarah Palin worried her.

While it is tempting to say good riddance to 2008, it was not a bad year - it was like most years, a mix. Both personally and globally, I think.

Five Positive Things That Happened in 2008:

1. Barack Obama became the first African-American elected President of the United States, and for one brief moment the world united and celebrated his election by literally dancing in the streets and setting off fireworks.

2. The Writer's Strike came to an end and the writer's got what they wanted most - a share of internet proceeds.

3. Michael Phelps Won a Record Number of Gold Medals in Swimming and used the proceeds to fund a foundation to aid children in learning how to swim.

4. A Woman came very close to becoming President or Vice President of the US for the first time in history.

5. On a purely personal note - I kept my job, got a great performance review, and a raise for the first time since 2005.

In some ways, for me at least, 2008 was a year in which I was able to heal old wounds, and remove old emotional scars. I asked a guy at work if he was going to bid good riddance to 2008, and he said, no, he was going to celebrate another year he lived. Each year he is alive, is, in his point of view, a good one.

While numerous bad things happened this year, quite a few good ones did too...I think sometimes we get so caught up focusing on the bad we forget the good.

So instead of bidding good riddance to 2008, I will just sigh in relief and gratitude for another year of mixed blessings. Here's to the year to come, while it may not be better or worse than the year that passed, it will definitely be different.