no one waving for me, just the shoreline receding

because annie asked me twice and tom asked me once!

favorite things in 2008:

10. the decemberists
9. treasure island music festival
8. white christmas
7. working downtown(ish)
6. coffee
5. sf city parks
4. no heart break 08
3. okkervil river
2. my bed
1. chicken

top 5 most played songs of 2008 (according to last.fm):

1.maine island lovers - okkervil river
2.starry stairs- okkervil river
3.jerusalem- mirah
4.for emma- bon iver
5.piazza new york catcher- belle & sebastian

two thousand eight:

kicking this from my head because i'm at work and don't have a lot of the visuals to remind me. also, not all of these are necessarily from 2008.

highlights:
racing cyclocross
recording our cd and touring europe
(mostly) getting over laura
breaking a long-standing (i.e. over half of my waking life) addiction
my 3 different jobs in 3 different cities
vegas
two weddings: irene's and my college roommate's
living and cooking in my own apartment
riding to work with the SF 2 Google crew

lowlights:
getting screwed by jabbawockeez when we went to see them live
touring europe
epic triathlon fail
spraining my hand in cyclocross
not monitoring my spending
1+ hour caltrain commute
samsung blackjack, worst purchase ever
opting for the coward's way out 99% of the time

movies: milk, slumdog millionaire, harold and kumar 2, chasing amy
disappointment: the dark knight

books: you shall know our velocity, the road, the favourite game, the omnivore's dilemma, are you ready to succeed?, rich dad poor dad
disappointment: what is the what

television: the office, arrested development, the wire, human giant

music: ghosts & vodka, the dodos, jay dee, silver mt. zion, gybe, arthur russell, lucky dragons, bon iver, themselves / dose one / subtle, manitoba, why?

live shows: bon iver, lucky dragons (saw a bunch more that i just can't remember)
disappointment: why? at gamh

2009 goals:
1. train and road race (this didn't happen last year... it will this year)
2. write and record new cd, tour japan / australia in summer
3. try a new sport / activity / take a class and learn something new
4. start volunteering 1-2x a month
5. make a list of things i want to see and do in san francisco and do them
6. read a book every two weeks
7. be in a relationship (maybe)
8. learn how to be brave

my favorite things of 2008

(i'm doing this for you, tom, who did it for joel)

• my bike
• meeting my peets friends
  
• watching the jabbawockeez and america's best dance crew
  
• snorkeling in maui
• my nike dunks and brown boots
• bowling birthday party and my skanky ho cake
• irene and conrad's wedding
• forgetting sarah marshall, nick and norah's infinite playlist, 30 rock & gray's anatomy
• getting on a snowboard
• december

2008: The Year of Fatigue and Missing Time

2008 was exhausting. 2008 flew by really fast! Seriously, can you believe 2008 is over??? Joel strong-armed me into posting some year end lists. Soooo without further ado... in no particular order...

Music That Got Me Through 2008:
1. Bill Evans Trio - Waltz for Debby, Moonbeams, and Sunday at the Village Vanguard
2. Ahmad Jamal - Live at the Pershing Lounge, 1958
3. Philip Glass - Solo Piano
4. The Walkmen - You and Me
5. gas - Nah Und Fern
6. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
7. Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night
8. Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
9. Yo Yo Ma - Bach: The Cello Suites
10. Frederic Chopin - Preludes
11. Daniel Johnston - Welcome to My World
12. She & Him - Volume One
13. Madlib - Mind Fusion Vol. 4
14. NO AGE - Nouns
15. Blonde Redhead - 23

Best Things I Watched in 2008:
1. War Photographer
2. No Country for Old Men
3. They Live
4. The Dark Knight
5. 30 Rock
6. The Wire
7. Human Giant
8. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Things that Happened in 2008 that I Feel Good About:
1. Became a PhD Candidate
2. Finished editing a book
3. Traveled to China
4. GFBF
5. Defended my dissertation proposal
6. Taught my own real college course
7. First black president
8. Got a RICH grant to put on a cool poster show in Providence and Boston
9. Finished my Teaching Certificate at Brown
10. Taught two secondary school classes (Quincy High & Paul Cuffee Middle School)
11. Conrad and Irene, husband and wife

Goals for 2009:
1. Lose weight and develop healthy habits
2. Don't work so hard. Learn to relax!
3. Take control of my finances
4. Simplify and unclutter my life

Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby:

2008: Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye

Favorite Records of 2008
10. High Places - High Places
9. Beach House - Devotion
8. TV On the Radio - Dear Science,
7. DJ/Rupture - Uproot
6. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood
5. No Age - Nouns
4. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
3. Women - Women
2. Times New Viking - Rip it Off
1. The Walkmen - You & Me

Favorite Songs of 2008 (old and new)
Street Hassle - Lou Reed
Farewell Transmission - Songs: Ohia
Ambulance Blues - Neil Young
For Emma - Bon Iver
Act Nice and Gentle - The Black Keys
The Helicopter Spies - Swell Maps
Weather Report - The Tenors
Celebrate the Body Electric - Ponytail
You Left the Water Running - Ken Boothe
Illumination - Broadcast
Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon
Auntie's Lock/Infinitum - Flying Lotus
With My Hands Out - Mount Eerie
Parting Song for the Torn Sky - Crystal Antlers

Best Live Shows of 2008
1. Lucky Dragons - The Hemlock Tavern
2. SXSW - No Age and Fucked Up on some bridge at 3am; Mess with Texas free show with Pissed Jeans, No Age, White Denim, Islands, and The Breeders; Mika Miko and Monotonix at some dive bar
3. Boris with Michio Kurihara - Great American Music Hall
4. Built to Spill - The Fillmore
5. San Francisco Electronic Music Festival - Richard Teitelbaum, Sharkiface
6. Treasure Island Music Festival - Fleet Foxes, Dr Dog, Spiritualized, Two Gallants, Port O'Brien, Tokyo Police Club, The Dodos, Okkervil River
7. Bon Iver and Phosphorescent - The Independent
8. The Dirty Projectors - The Independent
9. Outside Lands Music Festival - Radiohead, Beck, The Black Keys, Black Mountain
10. Vampire Weekend - Amoeba Records in SF

Favorite Movies:
The Dark Knight
Son of Rambow
Iron Man
Rambo

Dammit I didnt see enough movies this year.
My to see list is long, hopefully I can cram it all in before 2009:
Let the Right One In
Happy Go Lucky
Synechdoche
Milk
The Wrestler
The Reader
Rachel Getting Married
The Class
Wendy and Lucy
Timecrimes

Disappointments:
Slumdog Millionare
Vicky Christina Barcelona (though Penelope Cruz was H.O.T!)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Burn After Reading
Quantum of Solace

SUP