My 2009 was...

The first months of the year are a bit of a blur now but here's what I recall off the top of my head. Also please forgive the constant tense changes. I was tired when I wrote this and don't feel like editing so it is a bit crude in places.

January: I experienced my first cold and snowy winter (the previous one wasn't that bad) as temps dipped below freezing more days than not and I trekked to a volunteer project on a Saturday morning in seven degree weather only to be derailed train schedule changes and a lovely Shuttle Bus roundtrip ride. I watched from television in our office floor's conference rooms as Barack Obama was inagurated as the first African-American President of the United States and passengers stood on the wings of a passenger jet miraculously landed by Captain "Sully" in the Hudson River. I attended a work conference in Denver, CO where the weather ranged from 60 degrees to snowy and I visited with my cousin and her little girl.

February: I accompanied children from a transitional shelter to an assisted living center to make cards for the seniors in residence on Valentine's Day (and gained a wonderful new perspective of Singles Awareness Day). I admit that February was kind of a bummer of a month. I don't really remember much else about it.

March: I got a reprieve from the cold as I spent a few days in San Francisco for work and then headed south to visit the fam in San Diego. I joined Match.com for the first time and as I recall went on a few ill-fated dates as a result.

April: The ground thawed and then some. I spent one very difficult weekend dogsitting in the West Village and learned I will NOT be getting a dog anytime soon! It just so happened to be unseasonably warm so I spent the weekend not sleeping, cleaning up more poop than I ever want to see, and caring for two very dehydrated English bulldogs. The first few cases of Swine Flu popped up in a local New York high school and some subway travelers and city pedestrians donned surgical masks. A major earthquake killed dozens in Italy.

May: President Obama nominates Sandra Sotomayor as Supreme Court justice. She becomes the first Latina to take the bench. I attend a community gardening project where I am given a bell pepper plant that I promptly kill. Summer settles in and my Summer Fridays begin.

June: Oh, the rain. It fell almost every day this month... almost beating out 2003's record. My roommate and I celebrated by going out more, getting caught inbetween venues to wait out the downpour. Michael Jackson died and I will always remember that I went to a fundraising mixer that night where I met a new friend, Brooklyn Betty (not her real name). I also learned that night that gin is not my friend. I also tried speed dating. No successes to speak of.

July: I celebrated the 4th on my patio playing Scrabble and eating chips & salsa with two great friends. We then attended a roof party uptown by which we could see fireworks from all sides. Spent the rest of the weekend recovering from smoke inhalation (I jest but it wasn't pretty!) While buying beer for said party, I noticed the NY Post headline: Palin Bailin'. Sarah Palin resigns her position as Governer of Alaska. Personally, I thought that was clever. My roommate and I also threw our first patio party. Wine and cheese was had by all.

August: I take advantage of many rain-free afternoons by spending them in Central Park. I go to an East Coast beach and dip my toes in the Atlantic for the first time while volunteering on a children's recreation project. I add "taking five year olds to the beach" to my list of things I will not be doing again any time soon. I spend the weekend with friend "K" on Long Island and go to the beach on Fire Island as well. I head to California again (San Francisco and below!) and meet up with two college roommates including one who I haven't seen in years. Upon returning to New York, I meet a very cute boy on a 80's infused dance floor. We have a very fun 80's inflused night together. I meet another very sweet and well meaning guy but it just isn't there. We go out a couple of times before I call it quits. I celebrate officially entering my "mid-twenties" by going out for Mexican food with two great friends and eat German Chocolate cake while watching "13 Going on 30". I realize I put too much pressure on birthdays. A helicopter and plane crash over the Hudson leading many to question the safety of NYC helicopter tour companies.

September: My baby brother visits from California for his birthday and I play tour guide. I watch Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral on CNN. I break my own record and have three dates in one week. Another record is broken as one lasts a whopping 45 minutes. I am frustrated by the "dating scene" and spend a lot of time with my DVR and wandering around NYC bookstores as a result.

October: I go apple picking once again in Upstate New York with "my kids". My roommate and I venture to DC over the Halloween weekend to see the sites. I am now officially addicted to burritos from the nearby taco truck. I join and subsequently quit a social sports league. I begin taking dance classes again.

November: Fall is in full swing. I meet my now seemingly annual Autumn Romance. My roommate and I plan a full Thanksgiving dinner at our tiny apartment for two guests. I'm eating mac n cheese for days. We also attend the Macy's Day Balloon inflating. I go ice skating for the first time in New York - in Bryant Park. I also hit up Atlanta (Hotlanta!) for a work conference with two of my favorite female co-workers.

December: Step throat renders me MIA for about a week. Autumn Romance ends before it has even begun. I miss the Rockefeller tree this year. I am informed that I am a potential bone marrow match for a patient with leukemia. A blizzard has my roommate and I singing Christmas carols on the way to get takeout for a Sat night spent watching movies. We get a new roommate (who will move in in January). I experience my first shopping excursion at a Queens mall. Actress Brittany Murphy dies. I ditch the city for holidays with my family in paradise...

There were obviously a lot more good times (and bad) and a lot of dates that I am not calling attention to but I have previous blog entries to do so for me. I also highlighted current events and news items as they made an impression on me throughout the year. I leave this year (and this decade) genuinely curious about what 2010 (and beyond) has to offer and the small and seemingly insignificant things I will do that will shape the months of this New Year. I could make a dozen resolutions about eating better, exercising more. making more friends or finally finding a significant other but I have decided that it is most important that I resolve to be kind to myself and others... Even more kind than I have been in the past. I will continue to work on shirking the worry, pressure, self-doubt, and jealousy to find the inner peace that brings me strength and happiness. For myself there is no greater goal and no more difficult achievement.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on last year and your hopes for the new one that has just begun. Feel free to share and may peace continue to be with you all in 2010...