So, I really did not put together until recently that this is not only the end of 2009, but the end of a decade altogether. I think it has something to do with those zeroes. Anyway, I now feel the urge to take some time to reflect on the last decade, for better or worse, to see where I was and where I am today. Now that I have been forced to take a look at it, it is rather interesting.
2000 - I graduate from Mississippi College with a B.A. in Psychology, move to Memphis for graduate school with no job and the craziest - nay, only one of the craziest - roommates I've ever had. Go on a date or two with some stupid guy from my job in Jackson who never calls again. Drive home numerous times over the summer/fall for weddings. And finally find a job that falls in the field I am studying.Listen to: David Gray - White Ladder; Dido - No Angel; Lenny Kravitz - Greatest Hits; Beastie Boys - Anthology; Jeff Buckley - Sketches for my Sweetheart; and, discover the wonders of Napster
2001 - Get my own place in Memphis and throw myself into grad school and work. Develop thyroid cancer, thus requiring removal of thyroid and radiation. 9/11 happens, I'm 3 hours from home and sick as a dog - freakout ensues. Meet/date a boy who turns out to be huge waste of time. See Barenaked Ladies in the 5th row, fly (for the first time anywhere) to Charlottesville, VA, to see Dave Matthews Band for the first time at their "homecoming show" with a bunch of strangers I met on the interwebs. See G. Love and Special Sauce in Oxford. Continue to enjoy Napster.Listen to: Barenaked Ladies - Maroon; Ben Harper - Burn to Shine; Various Dave Matthews Band bootlegs; discover a little-known artist named John Mayer and see him perform at Jubilee!JAM in Jackson to a crowd of six people. See various performers at Memphis in May including DMB. If you can't tell, I am a huge DMB fan at this point in time.
2002 - Finish up grad school, ditch stupid boy for good. Travel to Nashville at least twice for concerts - DMB front row pretty much the height of my DMB fandom. Saw several other concerts - James Taylor, Norah Jones, David Gray. Change jobs, contemplate moving home for the first time. Take a fun beach trip with the girls. Beck changes my perspective and my life. In several weddings, again.Listen to: Beck - Sea Change; Ani DiFranco (various albums); Joseph Arthur - Redemption's Son; Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head; Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot; India.Arie - Acoustic Soul; Norah Jones - Come Away with Me; Lauryn Hill - Unplugged; Justin Timberlake's "Justified" becomes a total guilty pleasure. Delete Napster account.
2003 - "Hurricane Elvis" hits Memphis in July. Make the move back homeward, live with the parents for the first 5 months or so. Spend as much time with my friends as possible while looking for a better-paying job and the ability to live on my own again. Still rock out to Justin Timberlake like nobody's business. Sister and best friend get married. Finally end my duties as bridesmaid for a while.Listen to: The White Stripes - White Elephant; Booty music such as Ludacris, Missy Elliott, etc. (because I was still going "to da club" at this point in my life); Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below; Maroon 5
2004 - Finally get a better-paying job and my own place in Flowood. At my new job, meet the man I will eventually date and hope to marry. Take another great beach/cruise trip with the girls - friends start to move away from Jackson just as I have finally moved back. Discover Nick Drake and dig deeper into Big Star. Travel to Washington, D.C., for the first time.Listen to: The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News; Big Star - #1 Record Radio City; Postal Service; Garden State soundtrack, which includes Nick Drake, The Shins, Imogen Heap, and, well, I discover that there is a whole lot of music besides what I've been listening to the last few years. Discover Super Furry Animals, Band of Bees, The Walkmen and Clinic, albeit a couple years behind, Polyphonic Spree, Ray LaMontagne, Rufus Wainwright, thanks to VH1's online radio stations, and eventually, Radio Paradise.
2005 - Dive headfirst into relationship with said man. Continue to discover cool indie and local music, and begin writing for the Jackson Free Press as a music writer. Travel to Orlando, and Las Vegas. Hurricane Katrina hit. Lost two important people in my life - my grandmother and great-grandmother. Gain the understanding that life is incredibly short.Listen to: The Postal Service - Give Up; Snow Patrol - Final Straw; Spoon - Gimme Fiction; My Morning Jacket - Z; Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise; Foo Fighters - In Your Honor; Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love; Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
2006 - Barely remember this year. Traveled to Austin, TX, I remember that. Traveled to San Diego in January for work, decide not to take any more work trips when there are no cool people to hang out with.More friends moved away from Jackson. Relationship with the BF continues. We catch one of the greatest shows either of us has ever seen – Daniel Lanois at the Thirsty Hippo in Hattiesburg. More writing for the JFP in music, food and special-interest areas.Listen to: Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am...; Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones; The Decemberists - The Crane Wife; Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block; Feist; get my first Ipod, beginning the end of listening to full albums in one sitting.
2007 - Not the best year ever in some ways, but my niece is born in January - becoming the first kid I ever truly loved. Became music editor of the JFP. Join the Chick Ball committee and form a band (The Mary Anns) with Laurel Isbister and Tara Blumenthal, and we play at Chick Ball. BF loses his job and we go through a pretty rough patch. Oh, and I turned 30, yay.Listen to: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible; Amy Winehouse - Back to Black; Zero 7; Jose Gonzalez; Spoon; Radiohead - In Rainbows; Of Montreal; Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou soundtrack; Guillemots; I Am Kloot
2008 - A slightly better year. Started a new job that I love. Travel to Las Vegas (again). Live with BF for a few months. Quit as music editor, but stayed on as freelance writer. Joined Jackson Progressives, continued involvement with Chick Ball. A dog named Sally was dropped off at my door. Soup group begins!
Listen to: Elbow; Doves; Built to Spill; Common; The Magic Numbers; The Black Lips; Neko Case; The Pixies; Yo La Tengo; Royksopp; Buena Vista Social Club
2009 – Good year. Travel to Vegas once more and Portland, OR, for the first time ever. Catch Papercuts, Port O’Brien and Viva Voce while there, which was awesome! Start running and run my first 5K, followed by a few more. Participate in the first ever production of the Vagina Monologues in Jackson. Perform at Chick Ball again as the Paper Dolls. Move to Belhaven!
Listen to: Of Montreal (Skeletal Lamping); Viva Voce; M.I.A.; Cat Power; Beirut; Avett Brothers; Flaming Lips and Stardeath and the White Dwarfs – Dark Side of the Moon; Star and Micey
In some ways, this seems like the fastest decade ever. But in another way, it seems like eons ago when I consider that I was still a college student when the decade began. I certainly don’t feel like the same person I was in 2000. I’m less conservative, more open-minded; I’ve made a home in Jackson, despite the fact that I once thought that I would have been far away from here by now. I’ve had a few different jobs, traveled more than I ever have in any other decade, and have been in my first long-term relationship for over 5 years. Anyway, a LOT has happened! So what is there to look forward to in the ‘10s?
I turned 30 in the ‘00s. I went from a fairly hard-partying post-college chick to a more settled young adult (who still likes her wine and live music). By the end of the ‘10s, I will be … gulp… 40. So a lot can happen in the next 10 or so years. Besides the typical marriage and kids, which may or may not happen for me (and I may or may not give a crap, either) – I want to travel more, maybe even overseas. I hope to be in a lot better shape than I have ever been. And I plan to learn as much as I can every day.
My goals for 2010 are as follows:
1. Make a list of books that most people have read by now, but I haven’t. Read one book a month if possible from the list. I went to a tiny private school in the boondocks, and the older I get, the more I realize just how sheltered we were. It’s embarrassing when I talk to my BF or to other friends about books we read in high school, and I have only read ¼ of what most people read at that age. I hope to rectify that situation this year!
2.Run a half-marathon. I think I might be crazy for setting this goal, but I also think that I can do it. There is a half marathon in December, so this gives me all year to train and prepare. It would be so awesome to be able to say I did it! Not to mention how good I hope to look as a result of all the exercise.
3. Listen to full albums by artists I love, or artists I want to get to know better.
With the advent of Itunes and the Ipod, I hardly ever listen to, buy or download full albums anymore. I think this is sad and not something I want to make a habit for the rest of my life. There are so many great albums being made now, and so many I have neglected along the way – I want to make a point of getting the whole thing and really devouring it. I think I’ll get to know the artists better that way, too.
4. Get a record player and bring out the vinyl.
I have a lot of records that I grew up with, and some new ones I’ve picked up recently that I haven’t been able to listen to because my record player is broken. This year, I’m biting the bullet and getting one so I can once again enjoy the crackly, thumpy sound of vinyl.
5.Grow things in my yard.
I finally have a bit of a yard, and I hope to be able to grow herbs and veggies so that I don’t have to buy as much this year. I’m also considering joining a local CSA or splitting it with someone.
So those are five goals. I think I probably have a few more things I want to accomplish this year, but this is a good start. Considering I started this post before the New Year and it is now over halfway through January, I hope I won’t be this slow in getting everything else done this year! I guess I could also add that I hope to blog more often. Looking back over the decade, it’s sad that there are so many things I’ve forgotten. I think having a record of what is happening is so important. The older I get, the harder it is to keep up.
