2004 Year in Review
Ah, the year in review. It’s a time-honored tradition in WordNerd land, but I usually write it on paper, in a journal that no one will ever see. I’ve decided to place it here this year.
January: 2004 starts with me dreading the idea of going back to work at the hell hole that is the local community college. I dread having to deal with people who are demanding money for books, tuition and child care, treating me like I’m intentionally blocking their way to said necessities. I dread having to deal with D- students who, through the grace of my old office, will never have to pay off student loans like I have to. I dread working with dumbass work study students who have the director so wrapped around their fingers that my director actually refers to me (the M.A. recipient who is currently running her goddamn office) as their secretary. To add insult to injury, I’m temporary and slowly but surely running out of hours; no matter how much effort I put into the job, no permanent position is forthcoming and they will not hesitate to fire me once my hours are finished. I frantically look for a job.
February: I get to see the venerable IP (hee! Reminds me of the Venerable Bede) for a week in February, the first time in nearly four long months. The visit is highlighted by our learning that IP just isn’t that smart. I reply to an ad in the Ann Arbor News on February 17 (trust me on that one) that I’m sure will lead absolutely nowhere. I am stuck, stuck I tell you, at the community college and will run out of hours soon. I am so screwed. So very screwed.
March: I get a new job! I start my position as a research editor on March 22 after two interviews and a long periods of silence in between those two interviews. I am actually paid a salary, have health care and can actually afford to tell off the work study students. As a final act of petty vengeance (and computer protection), I have them blocked from downloading anything from the internet; my quest to get their internet access revoked completely is denied, but at least I got to make the last few days with me miserable. I am indoctrinated to the world of marketing. Egads, I want to learn more and make more.
April: I spend April adjusting to my new job and loving every minute of it. Truth be told, even with all the health issues that are happening at work, I am completely pleased with my job and all that it entails still – it’s just that people tend to muck up the picture a bit. Anyway, April is spent learning the intricacies of my job, watching the Wings in their (unsuccessful) playoff quest and celebrating the arrival of warm weather to Michigan. I perform a pagan ritual at midnight on Earth Day while naked . . . kidding.
May: During the month in which I turn 26, I get to know my colleagues at work better, forming the building blocks of what would become a pretty snarky and fun group. For the first time in months, I’m able to run outside for more than a couple of times per week. IP graces Michigan with his presence once more a couple of days after my birthday. Nif-tay. During his visit, I endure the most agonizing conversation ever – it consisted of IP and me staring, wide-eyed, at a graduate student and mentally willing her home as she talked away what seemed hours of our lives. I attend my high school friend’s bridal shower, which is a very classy event and pretty fun (considering).
June: I spend the month planning a vacation and conducting surveys in St. Paul. I am very bored by St. Paul, but I just have to say that these guys do have the best place to get breakfast: Mickey’s Diner. Oh God, what I wouldn’t give for some of their buttermilk pancakes right now. I have to say, very nice museum, though, and a great IMAX theater.
July: I fly to Colorado and enjoy a five-day road trip with IP – we hit the Colorado National Monument, the Black Canyon on the Gunnison, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Great Sand Dunes. Lots of miles, lots to see, lots of laughs. After working through the rest of the month in relative calm, I fly to Richmond, Virginia, to attend my high school friend’s much-anticipated wedding. I rent a car when I land, neglect to sign up for their insurance, go to my hotel room, am greeted by a wonderful out-of-town goodie basket, run the next morning, shop and buy a size six pair of pants, get ready for the wedding, attend the ceremony, then drive back to the reception and get into a car accident. Because I am crossing traffic at the time on a left turn, I’m considered at fault and am given a ticket for reckless driving. Thanks, Virginia! I’m never, ever renting a rental car again, nor am I ever going to drive anywhere in Henrico, Virginia again.
August: My "reckless driving" charge is knocked down to improper driving, and Virginia chooses to fine me not too much for it. I reassert my vow to never drive a rental car or drive in Virginia again. I attend my company’s annual cookout; I nearly lose a lung while coughing in the sea of smoke that blurs my poor vision for 45 minutes. Suffice it to say, I leave very early. On the same day, I get to check out another high school friend’s palace of a new home. So this is what my house would look like if I were a nurse and if I had a husband who was an engineer. Hmm . . . must go to nursing school and find someone at the College of Engineering to marry me . . .
September: An uneventful September. Little brother M turns 15 (make me feel old, old, old). I buy another ticket that’s Colorado-bound. More vacation planning.
October: This time, IP and I hit Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Goosenecks State Park, the Four Corners, Canyon of the Ancients, Hovenweep National Monument and a nice hike near the Colorado-Utah border where we get to see a rattlesnake. Despite spending an entire week together, we manage not to piss each other off – talk about getting along. ;) My older brother turns an austere 30. I smugly discover that I kick ass at my job. All is well in WordNerd’s world.
November: My sister turns the big 2-0, but our joy is marred when Dubya is re-elected. While talking to a work friend over IM, I learn that Kerry concedes. I am stunned, in disbelief that this country could honestly value oppression, stupidity and conformity over a new, fresh start. I am still disappointed in this country. Severely.
December: Ah, Christmas! Warm and rosy time (five bucks to whoever can tell me where that quotes from – Dorkus Malorkus, you can’t participate seeing as you’re a family member). My mother flies to Mexico in early December to attend to my grandmother, who is ill and might be dying. So far, my grandmother is still not well, but they’re starting to believe that getting her onto a regular sleep schedule will do wonders. I just want to slap my collective family – gee, you think!? My sister and I see the Red Wings play at Yost Ice Arena in a charity game for Mott Children’s Hospital. I count down to two things: my holiday vacation (which I’m currently on) and IP’s third visit to Michigan this year. We spend a week braving the Michigan cold, which culminates in a snow storm that keeps me from work on his last day here. We’re able to take a nap in the morning, have lunch together and spend some time bullshitting before he has to leave. Christmas is spent in a ho-hum fog as my father, siblings and I open Christmas presents sans my older brother (who left for Mexico on the 16th) and my mother. Since then, the year has been spent reading, writing and playing Super Smash Bros. Melee on my younger brother’s Nintendo Game Cube. Oh, and I do the minor, minor thing of ordering a new laptop (I’ve had it with this one).
My year. If I remember anything, I’ll edit the list (and the title) to reflect the changes.