2007 Year in Review
Honestly, 2007 was a pretty good year, and I'm not just saying that in that nostalgic, looking back on the past that's always better than the present kind of way. It's not a biased thing at all. It was honestly a good year for me, I think. So as the tradition goes these days, I'm going to attempt to sum up my year, in a number of different categories, followed by my resolutions for 2008.
General Life
This year was my first full year living in Davis, and it's been a good place for me to be overall. I like having the support network of my two best friends both in reaching distance. I'm close enough to home to be able to sneak down to the Bay Area on the weekends whenever I see fit. It's been an interesting contrast to the madness of living in Los Angeles, but I find that as much as I loved the wild excitement of LA, I also love the quiet, small town, college town atmosphere in Davis.
In September I moved from my downtown Davis apartment up to a large apartment complex in North Davis, which I've come to find that I really love. It was fun living so close to downtown, and being able to walk everywhere from campus, to the movies, to the bars and restaurants, but North Davis is much quieter than Downtown. Oddly enough, I do find that I miss the trains going by as regular as clockwork, but I don't miss the rowdy neighbors, parties, loud music, or the lunatic roommate that I escaped. My new roommates are lovely, and I think we get along great.
I've been at my job with the Army Corps of Engineers for just over a year now, and it's been a really good experience for me. Working for the Federal Government is NOT something I ever envisioned myself doing before my friend Mel offered to help me get a job here, but it's definitely been worthwhile for me. It's better than any retail job I could have worked at through my time at Davis. They are incredibly kind and flexible with my school schedule and my studying needs. I've found it fascinating learning the flood control system of the Sacramento River - it appeals to my interest in geology, and helped me to appreciate living in "river country" in a way that I probably wouldn't have without this experience. Aside from all of that, it's also my first time working in a downtown setting, which, while it's hell trying to find parking, certainly helps me feel mature and responsible!
School
UC Davis, how I love thee. Seriously. Coming to Davis, so far, has been one of the smartest decisions of my life, in my opinion. I love my classes. I love my program. I love the town. I love the people. If there is any real reason why 2007 has been a good year for me, it's the fact that I'm going to school at Davis, I'm expanding my brain, learning, surrounded by a comfort zone that's good for me, and finally getting somewhere in my life.
In 2007 I took the following classes:
Introduction to Fiction
American Novel 1900-present
Senior Seminar: Imagining Los Angeles in Film and Literature
Survey of American Literature to the Civil War
Intro to Writing: Fiction
Earthquakes
Literature of California
Intro to Drama
Faulkner
Major Works of the Contemporary World: Identity in Postmodernism
Between these classes I read 24 complete novels, not to mention countless numbers of short stories, plays, and poems. I wrote 22 papers, and one short story.
I'm maintaining a 3.46 GPA at the moment, which might not seem like much, but it's the highest GPA I've had in my life. Because I like my program, and I'm dedicated to it in a way that I haven't ever been focused on school in the past. Which is fantastic, frankly.
Overall, it's been a successful year, educationally, and I should continue along the same vein in 2008.
Travels
It wasn't one of my most widespread traveling years. I took a handful of short trips this year, all on the West Coast, none for longer than a weekend, but together they were enough to keep me from feeling too antsy in 2007.
-I spent New Years in Monterey with the Montags. It was a short, but relaxing trip spent doing Monterey community New Years events, and a little bit of site seeing by the coast.
-In April I flew to LA for a weekend to see the Shins with
soccervark at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. It was a gorgeous venue, and a fantastic show, well worth the price of the airfare.
Orpheum Theater at night
Shins Guitarist in Shadows
-In June I flew up to Seattle for my older brother John's graduation from the University of Washington. It's the first time my entire family has traveled together since I was a child, which made it a rather monumental occasion, even if my trip and my parents' trip only overlapped by about 24 hours. Aside from that, it was obviously also monumental because John's the first in our generation to graduate from college. Not too shabby at all. I did a bit of site seeing after the graduation was over, and explored Seattle like a wizened veteran after my first trip there a year earlier. It's a lovely city that I honestly would like to live in someday.
My brother showing off his diploma.
The sculpture garden near Puget Sound.
-In August we had a mini-10-year Camp Reunion, in which me and three of my friends from my CIT years got together and went camping for a weekend at Costanoa, the hippie-yuppie resort at the bottom of the camp road. We were able to go up to camp for an evening and be there for a closing campfire, as well as getting to spend some time together in Santa Cruz. It was kind of a neat little nostalgic weekend.
Leaving Davis for a mini-road trip!
The gang at Camp
-In September I spent 4 days in Reno with the Montags for the 2007 Reno Hot Air Balloon Races, which is a pretty fantastic event, honestly. It's just gorgeous standing out in this freezing-cold field at dawn watching these balloons just crowd the morning sky. And photographically it's just to die for. It was my 2nd year joining them, and it's definitely been added to my list of events not to be missed.
-In November I flew back down to LA to spend some time with my friends down there. It was a fairly spontaneous trip, motivated by the fact that it had been 6-months since my last one, and dammit, I get LA-homesick. Frequently.
My Gang of Friends in LA.
Visiting Griffith Park Observatory
Me and my friend Sarah in a Hollywood Hills sunset.
-At the beginning of December, Mel and I drove back up to Reno to see Lifehouse in concert, which was a quick overnight trip, but a fun one, since seeing Lifehouse in concert has become something of a tradition for the two of us, as, these days, is driving to Reno.
Lifehouse basist in lights
Random Additions
Traveling isn't really involved in these, but some other cool things to share.
In May I went to see Sherman Alexie and Leslie Marmon Silko, two of the most respected Native American writers today, speak at the Crest Theater in Sacramento. It was an incredibly cool experience listening to these two writers talk to each other, and us, about their work. Sherman Alexie in particular has such a lively personality...it seems infectious to me. I absolutely loved this event.
Over the summer, as is typical for me, I went to dozens of A's Baseball games (and a few Giants games too). I am most certainly a baseball addict, and even though it was a downer season for my team this year, I did have one cool experience in July of getting to be on field at the Oakland Coliseum for the Seattle Mariner's batting practice. The M's might not be MY team, but they are a team I pay a lot of attention to, seeing as I've been to their ballpark a few times, my brother follows them, and I have to admit that Ichiro is one of the most fascinating players in the league. It was extremely cool to get to be out there watching them from behind home plate with my feet in the infield dirt.
Me on the field
Ichiro swinging
Jose Guillen
Entertainment - Film and Television
Favorite Movies of 2007
Pan's Labrynth - it probably came out in 2006, but I saw it in the theater in 2007, and this was the most amazing, and most disturbing movie I've seen in a long time. It was imaginative, beautiful, and horrible, all mixed into one extraordinary experience.
Children of Men - again, 2006 release date, but I saw it in the theater in 2007, and this was, in my opinion, the most underrated movie of the year. It was a disturbing dystopic view of the future, packed with subtle, but fascinating imagery from the brilliant mind of Alfonzo Curaon, one of my favorite directors.
The Namesake - I just watched this on DVD this past month, but I certainly missed out by skipping it in the theater. It's heartwrenching, and beautiful, and sad, and just a strong look at the clash of two cultures within one immigrant family in America. Mira Nair - utterly brilliant.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I have to add this to my list as the movie I saw the most in the theater this year, but in the realm of Harry Potter it seemed almost anti-climactic to me. My favorite of the books, but certainly not my favorite of the movies. However, I could watch it over and over again simply to see the possession scene at the end. That was pure brilliance.
The Bourne Ultimatum - The biggest surprise of the summer for me. I loved the first in the series and hated the second, so I didn't go into the third with high expectations and it blew my mind. Unquestionably the best action flick of the year, in my opinion.
Across the Universe - This film is a work of art. The subtle imagery, both in the film, and reflective storytelling? Fantastic story told almost entirely through music. If you like Beatles music, you just have to see it. There's no escape. It's brilliant.
The Darjeeling Limited - I am probably the only person in the known universe to include this on my favorites list for the year, but I just have to. I loved it. It was certainly my favorite Wes Anderson film, of the ones I've seen. One of those obnoxious issue-films where they advertised it as a comedy when it should have been a drama. It's quirky, but it takes to heart the psychological difficulty of handling the death of a loved one, and trying to reestablish a tenuous relationship. And it was beautifully filmed in India. Absolutely lovely.
Charlie Wilson's War - The LAST movie I saw in the theater this year, and I'm including it simply for the script. Aaron Sorkin? Brilliant. If you can't handle the West Wing, and you missed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, then go to see this movie or rent the American President, just to give yourself a taste of Aaron Sorkin's sharp wit. Because I honestly believe he's one of the best writers of dialogue in the TV/film/theater industry today.
Biggest Disappointment?
There is no comparison. Spiderman 3 just hurt me. I still don't know what Sam Raimi was thinking when he made it, but he obviously lost his mind. Such a waste of a good story from the comics, and such a waste of a film.
TV in 2007
Oh dear. I just can't even get into it without talking about Doctor Who first, I'm sorry. I know this show has been on for a few years now, but my best friend sat me down and made me watch it in July, and it pretty quickly captivated me and pretty thoroughly sucked my attention away from everything else in entertainment for the past six months. I wasn't looking for a new obsession/fandom/whatever, but once I hit the Series 2 finale there was no going back for me. This isn't the show for everyone. It's sci-fi that doesn't take itself at all seriously. There's cheesy plot points, bad special effects, and villains that range from walking shop window dummies, to giant spider-creatures...but David Tennant is mesmerizing as the Doctor, and the story beneath the cheesy plot, the character development, the Doctor's freaking PSYCHOLOGY is enough to keep me desperately coming back for more. I've been completely suckered in and there won't be any going back for me on this one.
Other Particularly Good TV for me in 2007
-Lost - the finale in May was a complete shocker for anyone who has been captivated by this show the past few years. It's had it's ups and downs over the year, but overall there's just nothing else like it. It's brilliant. The twists keep coming, and manage to keep you coming back for more. I love.
-Ugly Betty - Oh dear. What slightly nerdy, socially inept freak DOESN'T relate to poor Betty's troubles? I know I feel like Betty on a regular basis, and like Betty, I don't always care about how I come off to those around me, which is why I'm not ashamed to be loving this show and laughing along with it every single week. It's not addictive to the point where I'm panting for more, but I never miss it and enjoy it week after week.
-October Road - It's overdramatic, cheesy angst is utterly addictive in the same realm as Dawson's Creek back in the day.. This show defines the "it's so bad, it's good" cliché. And Bryan Greenberg is hot. Which makes it even better.
-Torchwood - Must be included. Seeing as it's the spinoff of Doctor Who, all the same cheesiness warnings apply, except this is Torchwood, and it's not family-friendly. And there's sex and violence and Captain Jack! It's like Doctor Who's bastard cousin that you're almost ashamed to admit that you're related to, until you watch it the second time through and realize how GOOD it is at the same time as being dark and edgy and cheesy. Plus, did I mention Captain Jack? Because, really, John Barrowman's hotness defies boundaries.
Chuck - Oh, Charles Bartowski, how I love thee. There is no words to describe the awesomeness of Chuck. It's silly, it's cheesy, and yet, absolutely heartwarming. The most addictive new show on American TV in years, in my opinion. It's really just a crying shame that the writers' strike is going to cut it's season short.
Entertainment - Books, and 2007 50-Book Challenge Review
I successfully hit my mark on the 50-Book Challenge for the first time this year. My list is as follows:
The Book List - 2007
1. (YA) Wuthering High - Cara Lockwood (January/07)
2. (LIT) A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain (January/07)
3. (LIT) The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler (January/07)
4. (LIT) The Jungle - Upton Sinclair (January/07)
5. (NON-FIC) The Control of Nature - John McPhee (January/07)
6. (LIT) Arrowsmith - Sinclair Lewis (January/07)
7. (LIT) A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway (January/07)
8. (NON-FIC) Holy Land - D.J. Waldie (February/07)
9. (LIT) The Professor's House - Willa Cather (February/07)
10. (NON-FIC) My Dark Places - James Ellroy (February/07)
11. (LIT) The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon (February/07)
12. (LIT) The Tattooed Soldier - Hector Tobar (February-March/07)
13. (LIT) Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut (March/07)
14. (LIT) Neuromancer - William Gibson (March/07)
15. (LIT) The Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler (March/07)
16. (LIT) Industrial Magic - Kelley Armstrong (Feb-March/07)
17. (YA) Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares (March/07)
18. (LIT) Cannery Row - John Steinbeck (March/07)
19. (YA) The Scarlet Letterman - Cara Lockwood (March/07)
20. (YA) Summerland - Michael Chabon (March/07)
21. (NON-FIC) Jarhead - Anthony Swofford (May/07)
22. (NON-FIC) Epitaph for a Peach - David Mas Masumoto (May-June/07)
23. (LIT) Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (June/07)
24. (LIT) Flight - Sherman Alexie (June/07)
25. (YA) The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman (June/07)
26. (YA) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling (June/07)
27. (YA) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling (June/07)
28. (YA) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling (June/07)
29. (YA) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (June-July/07)
30. (YA) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
31. (YA) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
32. (NON-FIC) A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut (July 18th, 2007)
33. (YA) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
34. (YA) King Dork - Frank Portman (July/07)
35. (LIT) Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut (July/07)
36. (LIT) Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisburger (July-August/07)
37. (LIT) Broken - Kelley Armstrony (August/07)
38. (YA) Catalyst - Laurie Halse Anderson (August/07)
39. (LIT) Goddess for Hire - Sonia Singh (August/07)
40. (LIT) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (August-September/07)
41. (LIT) The Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (September/07)
42. (NON-FIC) The Woman Warrior - Maxine Hong Kingston (September/07)
43. (LIT) The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner (September-October/07)
44. (LIT) Light in August - William Faulkner (October/07)
45. (DRAMA) Measure for Measure - William Shakespeare (November/07)
46. (LIT) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (November/07)
47. (LIT) Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner (November/07)
48. (LIT) The Hamlet - William Faulkner (November-December/07)
49. (LIT) House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski (November-December/07)
50. (YA) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (December/07)
51. (LIT) Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut (December/07)
It is impossible to talk about books in 2007 without talking about Harry Potter. JK Rowling was a finalist for most people's lists of entertainer, writer, person of the year, whatever, and Deathly Hallows is certainly the biggest book of the year. I read it in about 36 hours in July, and found it to be absolutely breathtaking. She did the series justice with it's finale, which was quite a relief to me after the disappointment of Half-Blood Prince. And in my opinion, as long as I can ignore the epilogue, it is absolutely worthy of all the attention.
After Harry Potter, I'd say my year of reading would secondly be defined by my own personal discovery of Kurt Vonnegut. I'd heard of his brilliance before, but never opened one of his books until this year, the ending year of his life. What a joy he is to read. And I realize that is a purely ironic statement since he is a dark satirist who writes in a very mocking, slightly insane manner about all the things WRONG with our world. But I read his books, and I laugh, I cry, I gasp aloud as his point comes clear to me. He has certainly taken his place among my favorite writers, and I am just absolutely overjoyed to not only have discovered him for myself, but to still have a pile of his books left to dig into over the next year of my life.
Let's do a sum up of my personal favorites for recommendations:
Favorite LIT (sadly, none of these are NEW books…)
13. (LIT) Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut (March/07)
15. (LIT) The Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler (March/07)
23. (LIT) Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (June/07)
24. (LIT) Flight - Sherman Alexie (June/07)
43. (LIT) The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner (September-October/07)
46. (LIT) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (November/07)
49. (LIT) House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski (November-December/07)
Favorite YA LIT
33. (YA) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
34. (YA) King Dork - Frank Portman (July/07)
50. (YA) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (December/07)
Favorite NON-FICTION
5. (NON-FIC) The Control of Nature - John McPhee (January/07)
32. (NON-FIC) A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut (July 18th, 2007)
2008 Goals and Resolutions
#1. 50-Book Challenge, take 3. This has been very good for me. In particular, I like tracking what I'm reading, but aside from that, I also like having a reasonable reading goal. Somewhere around 50 seems to be about right for me. In 2006 I hit 49, 2007 was 51, so it seems to be the right number, at least. Also, I simply feel like my world has been reenlightened a bit since I found my way back to books the past few years. I love to read. I love what it does for my brain and my imagination. It's good for me.
#2. I want to write again. Just because I fail at writing classes, and just because I'm not the most talented writer in the world, does not give me an excuse to quit. I can never get better if I don't try, and I think it would be better for me to sit down and write a lot of crap, or at the very least a lot of fanfic, than to not write at all. So my goal is to write, starting with Doctor Who fanfic as a starting point, but we'll see if I can expand out from there again in the future. I'm not sure it would do me any good to have a daily writing goal, or anything along those lines, because everything kind of falls apart once school starts, and I have no idea what will be reasonable for me a month from now. So for now it's just an open goal - to write my fic. We'll see where it goes from there.
#3. This is the cheesy obvious one for the entire known universe, but I want to get healthy. Particularly since I moved in September, I've allowed myself to grow very lazy, particularly in an exercising sense. I'm no lazier than normal food-wise, but I need to be better about both. First specific goal in the get healthy mantra? I need to start going to the gym. We have one in my apartment complex, and the fact that I'm not taking advantage of it is ridiculous. I want to go to the gym 3 times a week - for Winter Quarter my goal is Tues/Thurs/Saturday. Food wise….I'm going to try to lay off the ice cream a bit, to start with. And limit my coffee intake to twice a week, I think. Those are two big ones. I also need to eat less frozen food and cook more. I have a big, nice kitchen in my apartment - I need to take advantage of that more and be lazy less.
#4. I'm pretty sure this was on my list last year, and I failed at it, so I'm going to try again this year. I want to get back in better touch with my friends. It is entirely too easy for me to sit around on LJ and read people's journals and think that I'm keeping in good contact with them. I'm not. I need to start e-mailing and IM-ing with people again. It is entirely too easy for me to allow myself to be a hermit. It's in my nature, and it's bad for me. I've tied my AIM to my gmail chat, so that it's always on if my e-mail is on. I need to stop looking at my friends sitting online and actually talk to them. I also need to not be afraid of my cell phone. It's there for a reason, and I need to talk to people. And that doesn't just mean my friends, it also means my brother in Seattle. Communication is kind of key to life, and it's something I severely suck at.
#5. I want to go to London this summer. I need to finish my application ASAP, get it in, get myself on a saving plan, and make this trip happen. It's important to me. I want to do it. I'm EXCITED about studying Shakespeare as well as the trip itself. I WANT to travel withmissalee after the program is over. And I won't be able to do any of that unless I get my ass in gear and make it happen. No excuses. No more procrastination. Get it done.
#6. I have a graduation goal of December, 2008. I need to make that happen. After Winter Quarter, I have 5 more classes to take to complete my major. One of which is included in my summer abroad program. It is feasible if I keep myself on track - 2 requirements in Spring Quarter, 2 in Fall Quarter. I need to continue to keep my grades up. And I need to actually finish college. By the time I graduate I'll have been in college for 9 years. It's about damn time that I'm done with it.
General Life
This year was my first full year living in Davis, and it's been a good place for me to be overall. I like having the support network of my two best friends both in reaching distance. I'm close enough to home to be able to sneak down to the Bay Area on the weekends whenever I see fit. It's been an interesting contrast to the madness of living in Los Angeles, but I find that as much as I loved the wild excitement of LA, I also love the quiet, small town, college town atmosphere in Davis.
In September I moved from my downtown Davis apartment up to a large apartment complex in North Davis, which I've come to find that I really love. It was fun living so close to downtown, and being able to walk everywhere from campus, to the movies, to the bars and restaurants, but North Davis is much quieter than Downtown. Oddly enough, I do find that I miss the trains going by as regular as clockwork, but I don't miss the rowdy neighbors, parties, loud music, or the lunatic roommate that I escaped. My new roommates are lovely, and I think we get along great.
I've been at my job with the Army Corps of Engineers for just over a year now, and it's been a really good experience for me. Working for the Federal Government is NOT something I ever envisioned myself doing before my friend Mel offered to help me get a job here, but it's definitely been worthwhile for me. It's better than any retail job I could have worked at through my time at Davis. They are incredibly kind and flexible with my school schedule and my studying needs. I've found it fascinating learning the flood control system of the Sacramento River - it appeals to my interest in geology, and helped me to appreciate living in "river country" in a way that I probably wouldn't have without this experience. Aside from all of that, it's also my first time working in a downtown setting, which, while it's hell trying to find parking, certainly helps me feel mature and responsible!
School
UC Davis, how I love thee. Seriously. Coming to Davis, so far, has been one of the smartest decisions of my life, in my opinion. I love my classes. I love my program. I love the town. I love the people. If there is any real reason why 2007 has been a good year for me, it's the fact that I'm going to school at Davis, I'm expanding my brain, learning, surrounded by a comfort zone that's good for me, and finally getting somewhere in my life.
In 2007 I took the following classes:
Introduction to Fiction
American Novel 1900-present
Senior Seminar: Imagining Los Angeles in Film and Literature
Survey of American Literature to the Civil War
Intro to Writing: Fiction
Earthquakes
Literature of California
Intro to Drama
Faulkner
Major Works of the Contemporary World: Identity in Postmodernism
Between these classes I read 24 complete novels, not to mention countless numbers of short stories, plays, and poems. I wrote 22 papers, and one short story.
I'm maintaining a 3.46 GPA at the moment, which might not seem like much, but it's the highest GPA I've had in my life. Because I like my program, and I'm dedicated to it in a way that I haven't ever been focused on school in the past. Which is fantastic, frankly.
Overall, it's been a successful year, educationally, and I should continue along the same vein in 2008.
Travels
It wasn't one of my most widespread traveling years. I took a handful of short trips this year, all on the West Coast, none for longer than a weekend, but together they were enough to keep me from feeling too antsy in 2007.
-I spent New Years in Monterey with the Montags. It was a short, but relaxing trip spent doing Monterey community New Years events, and a little bit of site seeing by the coast.
-In April I flew to LA for a weekend to see the Shins with
soccervark at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. It was a gorgeous venue, and a fantastic show, well worth the price of the airfare.Orpheum Theater at night
Shins Guitarist in Shadows
-In June I flew up to Seattle for my older brother John's graduation from the University of Washington. It's the first time my entire family has traveled together since I was a child, which made it a rather monumental occasion, even if my trip and my parents' trip only overlapped by about 24 hours. Aside from that, it was obviously also monumental because John's the first in our generation to graduate from college. Not too shabby at all. I did a bit of site seeing after the graduation was over, and explored Seattle like a wizened veteran after my first trip there a year earlier. It's a lovely city that I honestly would like to live in someday.
My brother showing off his diploma.
The sculpture garden near Puget Sound.
-In August we had a mini-10-year Camp Reunion, in which me and three of my friends from my CIT years got together and went camping for a weekend at Costanoa, the hippie-yuppie resort at the bottom of the camp road. We were able to go up to camp for an evening and be there for a closing campfire, as well as getting to spend some time together in Santa Cruz. It was kind of a neat little nostalgic weekend.
Leaving Davis for a mini-road trip!
The gang at Camp
-In September I spent 4 days in Reno with the Montags for the 2007 Reno Hot Air Balloon Races, which is a pretty fantastic event, honestly. It's just gorgeous standing out in this freezing-cold field at dawn watching these balloons just crowd the morning sky. And photographically it's just to die for. It was my 2nd year joining them, and it's definitely been added to my list of events not to be missed.
-In November I flew back down to LA to spend some time with my friends down there. It was a fairly spontaneous trip, motivated by the fact that it had been 6-months since my last one, and dammit, I get LA-homesick. Frequently.
My Gang of Friends in LA.
Visiting Griffith Park Observatory
Me and my friend Sarah in a Hollywood Hills sunset.
-At the beginning of December, Mel and I drove back up to Reno to see Lifehouse in concert, which was a quick overnight trip, but a fun one, since seeing Lifehouse in concert has become something of a tradition for the two of us, as, these days, is driving to Reno.
Lifehouse basist in lights
Random Additions
Traveling isn't really involved in these, but some other cool things to share.
In May I went to see Sherman Alexie and Leslie Marmon Silko, two of the most respected Native American writers today, speak at the Crest Theater in Sacramento. It was an incredibly cool experience listening to these two writers talk to each other, and us, about their work. Sherman Alexie in particular has such a lively personality...it seems infectious to me. I absolutely loved this event.
Over the summer, as is typical for me, I went to dozens of A's Baseball games (and a few Giants games too). I am most certainly a baseball addict, and even though it was a downer season for my team this year, I did have one cool experience in July of getting to be on field at the Oakland Coliseum for the Seattle Mariner's batting practice. The M's might not be MY team, but they are a team I pay a lot of attention to, seeing as I've been to their ballpark a few times, my brother follows them, and I have to admit that Ichiro is one of the most fascinating players in the league. It was extremely cool to get to be out there watching them from behind home plate with my feet in the infield dirt.
Me on the field
Ichiro swinging
Jose Guillen
Entertainment - Film and Television
Favorite Movies of 2007
Pan's Labrynth - it probably came out in 2006, but I saw it in the theater in 2007, and this was the most amazing, and most disturbing movie I've seen in a long time. It was imaginative, beautiful, and horrible, all mixed into one extraordinary experience.
Children of Men - again, 2006 release date, but I saw it in the theater in 2007, and this was, in my opinion, the most underrated movie of the year. It was a disturbing dystopic view of the future, packed with subtle, but fascinating imagery from the brilliant mind of Alfonzo Curaon, one of my favorite directors.
The Namesake - I just watched this on DVD this past month, but I certainly missed out by skipping it in the theater. It's heartwrenching, and beautiful, and sad, and just a strong look at the clash of two cultures within one immigrant family in America. Mira Nair - utterly brilliant.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I have to add this to my list as the movie I saw the most in the theater this year, but in the realm of Harry Potter it seemed almost anti-climactic to me. My favorite of the books, but certainly not my favorite of the movies. However, I could watch it over and over again simply to see the possession scene at the end. That was pure brilliance.
The Bourne Ultimatum - The biggest surprise of the summer for me. I loved the first in the series and hated the second, so I didn't go into the third with high expectations and it blew my mind. Unquestionably the best action flick of the year, in my opinion.
Across the Universe - This film is a work of art. The subtle imagery, both in the film, and reflective storytelling? Fantastic story told almost entirely through music. If you like Beatles music, you just have to see it. There's no escape. It's brilliant.
The Darjeeling Limited - I am probably the only person in the known universe to include this on my favorites list for the year, but I just have to. I loved it. It was certainly my favorite Wes Anderson film, of the ones I've seen. One of those obnoxious issue-films where they advertised it as a comedy when it should have been a drama. It's quirky, but it takes to heart the psychological difficulty of handling the death of a loved one, and trying to reestablish a tenuous relationship. And it was beautifully filmed in India. Absolutely lovely.
Charlie Wilson's War - The LAST movie I saw in the theater this year, and I'm including it simply for the script. Aaron Sorkin? Brilliant. If you can't handle the West Wing, and you missed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, then go to see this movie or rent the American President, just to give yourself a taste of Aaron Sorkin's sharp wit. Because I honestly believe he's one of the best writers of dialogue in the TV/film/theater industry today.
Biggest Disappointment?
There is no comparison. Spiderman 3 just hurt me. I still don't know what Sam Raimi was thinking when he made it, but he obviously lost his mind. Such a waste of a good story from the comics, and such a waste of a film.
TV in 2007
Oh dear. I just can't even get into it without talking about Doctor Who first, I'm sorry. I know this show has been on for a few years now, but my best friend sat me down and made me watch it in July, and it pretty quickly captivated me and pretty thoroughly sucked my attention away from everything else in entertainment for the past six months. I wasn't looking for a new obsession/fandom/whatever, but once I hit the Series 2 finale there was no going back for me. This isn't the show for everyone. It's sci-fi that doesn't take itself at all seriously. There's cheesy plot points, bad special effects, and villains that range from walking shop window dummies, to giant spider-creatures...but David Tennant is mesmerizing as the Doctor, and the story beneath the cheesy plot, the character development, the Doctor's freaking PSYCHOLOGY is enough to keep me desperately coming back for more. I've been completely suckered in and there won't be any going back for me on this one.
Other Particularly Good TV for me in 2007
-Lost - the finale in May was a complete shocker for anyone who has been captivated by this show the past few years. It's had it's ups and downs over the year, but overall there's just nothing else like it. It's brilliant. The twists keep coming, and manage to keep you coming back for more. I love.
-Ugly Betty - Oh dear. What slightly nerdy, socially inept freak DOESN'T relate to poor Betty's troubles? I know I feel like Betty on a regular basis, and like Betty, I don't always care about how I come off to those around me, which is why I'm not ashamed to be loving this show and laughing along with it every single week. It's not addictive to the point where I'm panting for more, but I never miss it and enjoy it week after week.
-October Road - It's overdramatic, cheesy angst is utterly addictive in the same realm as Dawson's Creek back in the day.. This show defines the "it's so bad, it's good" cliché. And Bryan Greenberg is hot. Which makes it even better.
-Torchwood - Must be included. Seeing as it's the spinoff of Doctor Who, all the same cheesiness warnings apply, except this is Torchwood, and it's not family-friendly. And there's sex and violence and Captain Jack! It's like Doctor Who's bastard cousin that you're almost ashamed to admit that you're related to, until you watch it the second time through and realize how GOOD it is at the same time as being dark and edgy and cheesy. Plus, did I mention Captain Jack? Because, really, John Barrowman's hotness defies boundaries.
Chuck - Oh, Charles Bartowski, how I love thee. There is no words to describe the awesomeness of Chuck. It's silly, it's cheesy, and yet, absolutely heartwarming. The most addictive new show on American TV in years, in my opinion. It's really just a crying shame that the writers' strike is going to cut it's season short.
Entertainment - Books, and 2007 50-Book Challenge Review
I successfully hit my mark on the 50-Book Challenge for the first time this year. My list is as follows:
The Book List - 2007
1. (YA) Wuthering High - Cara Lockwood (January/07)
2. (LIT) A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain (January/07)
3. (LIT) The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler (January/07)
4. (LIT) The Jungle - Upton Sinclair (January/07)
5. (NON-FIC) The Control of Nature - John McPhee (January/07)
6. (LIT) Arrowsmith - Sinclair Lewis (January/07)
7. (LIT) A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway (January/07)
8. (NON-FIC) Holy Land - D.J. Waldie (February/07)
9. (LIT) The Professor's House - Willa Cather (February/07)
10. (NON-FIC) My Dark Places - James Ellroy (February/07)
11. (LIT) The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon (February/07)
12. (LIT) The Tattooed Soldier - Hector Tobar (February-March/07)
13. (LIT) Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut (March/07)
14. (LIT) Neuromancer - William Gibson (March/07)
15. (LIT) The Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler (March/07)
16. (LIT) Industrial Magic - Kelley Armstrong (Feb-March/07)
17. (YA) Forever In Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood - Ann Brashares (March/07)
18. (LIT) Cannery Row - John Steinbeck (March/07)
19. (YA) The Scarlet Letterman - Cara Lockwood (March/07)
20. (YA) Summerland - Michael Chabon (March/07)
21. (NON-FIC) Jarhead - Anthony Swofford (May/07)
22. (NON-FIC) Epitaph for a Peach - David Mas Masumoto (May-June/07)
23. (LIT) Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (June/07)
24. (LIT) Flight - Sherman Alexie (June/07)
25. (YA) The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman (June/07)
26. (YA) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling (June/07)
27. (YA) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling (June/07)
28. (YA) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling (June/07)
29. (YA) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (June-July/07)
30. (YA) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
31. (YA) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
32. (NON-FIC) A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut (July 18th, 2007)
33. (YA) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
34. (YA) King Dork - Frank Portman (July/07)
35. (LIT) Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut (July/07)
36. (LIT) Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisburger (July-August/07)
37. (LIT) Broken - Kelley Armstrony (August/07)
38. (YA) Catalyst - Laurie Halse Anderson (August/07)
39. (LIT) Goddess for Hire - Sonia Singh (August/07)
40. (LIT) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (August-September/07)
41. (LIT) The Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (September/07)
42. (NON-FIC) The Woman Warrior - Maxine Hong Kingston (September/07)
43. (LIT) The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner (September-October/07)
44. (LIT) Light in August - William Faulkner (October/07)
45. (DRAMA) Measure for Measure - William Shakespeare (November/07)
46. (LIT) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (November/07)
47. (LIT) Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner (November/07)
48. (LIT) The Hamlet - William Faulkner (November-December/07)
49. (LIT) House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski (November-December/07)
50. (YA) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (December/07)
51. (LIT) Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut (December/07)
It is impossible to talk about books in 2007 without talking about Harry Potter. JK Rowling was a finalist for most people's lists of entertainer, writer, person of the year, whatever, and Deathly Hallows is certainly the biggest book of the year. I read it in about 36 hours in July, and found it to be absolutely breathtaking. She did the series justice with it's finale, which was quite a relief to me after the disappointment of Half-Blood Prince. And in my opinion, as long as I can ignore the epilogue, it is absolutely worthy of all the attention.
After Harry Potter, I'd say my year of reading would secondly be defined by my own personal discovery of Kurt Vonnegut. I'd heard of his brilliance before, but never opened one of his books until this year, the ending year of his life. What a joy he is to read. And I realize that is a purely ironic statement since he is a dark satirist who writes in a very mocking, slightly insane manner about all the things WRONG with our world. But I read his books, and I laugh, I cry, I gasp aloud as his point comes clear to me. He has certainly taken his place among my favorite writers, and I am just absolutely overjoyed to not only have discovered him for myself, but to still have a pile of his books left to dig into over the next year of my life.
Let's do a sum up of my personal favorites for recommendations:
Favorite LIT (sadly, none of these are NEW books…)
13. (LIT) Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut (March/07)
15. (LIT) The Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler (March/07)
23. (LIT) Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (June/07)
24. (LIT) Flight - Sherman Alexie (June/07)
43. (LIT) The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner (September-October/07)
46. (LIT) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer (November/07)
49. (LIT) House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski (November-December/07)
Favorite YA LIT
33. (YA) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (July/07)
34. (YA) King Dork - Frank Portman (July/07)
50. (YA) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer (December/07)
Favorite NON-FICTION
5. (NON-FIC) The Control of Nature - John McPhee (January/07)
32. (NON-FIC) A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut (July 18th, 2007)
2008 Goals and Resolutions
#1. 50-Book Challenge, take 3. This has been very good for me. In particular, I like tracking what I'm reading, but aside from that, I also like having a reasonable reading goal. Somewhere around 50 seems to be about right for me. In 2006 I hit 49, 2007 was 51, so it seems to be the right number, at least. Also, I simply feel like my world has been reenlightened a bit since I found my way back to books the past few years. I love to read. I love what it does for my brain and my imagination. It's good for me.
#2. I want to write again. Just because I fail at writing classes, and just because I'm not the most talented writer in the world, does not give me an excuse to quit. I can never get better if I don't try, and I think it would be better for me to sit down and write a lot of crap, or at the very least a lot of fanfic, than to not write at all. So my goal is to write, starting with Doctor Who fanfic as a starting point, but we'll see if I can expand out from there again in the future. I'm not sure it would do me any good to have a daily writing goal, or anything along those lines, because everything kind of falls apart once school starts, and I have no idea what will be reasonable for me a month from now. So for now it's just an open goal - to write my fic. We'll see where it goes from there.
#3. This is the cheesy obvious one for the entire known universe, but I want to get healthy. Particularly since I moved in September, I've allowed myself to grow very lazy, particularly in an exercising sense. I'm no lazier than normal food-wise, but I need to be better about both. First specific goal in the get healthy mantra? I need to start going to the gym. We have one in my apartment complex, and the fact that I'm not taking advantage of it is ridiculous. I want to go to the gym 3 times a week - for Winter Quarter my goal is Tues/Thurs/Saturday. Food wise….I'm going to try to lay off the ice cream a bit, to start with. And limit my coffee intake to twice a week, I think. Those are two big ones. I also need to eat less frozen food and cook more. I have a big, nice kitchen in my apartment - I need to take advantage of that more and be lazy less.
#4. I'm pretty sure this was on my list last year, and I failed at it, so I'm going to try again this year. I want to get back in better touch with my friends. It is entirely too easy for me to sit around on LJ and read people's journals and think that I'm keeping in good contact with them. I'm not. I need to start e-mailing and IM-ing with people again. It is entirely too easy for me to allow myself to be a hermit. It's in my nature, and it's bad for me. I've tied my AIM to my gmail chat, so that it's always on if my e-mail is on. I need to stop looking at my friends sitting online and actually talk to them. I also need to not be afraid of my cell phone. It's there for a reason, and I need to talk to people. And that doesn't just mean my friends, it also means my brother in Seattle. Communication is kind of key to life, and it's something I severely suck at.
#5. I want to go to London this summer. I need to finish my application ASAP, get it in, get myself on a saving plan, and make this trip happen. It's important to me. I want to do it. I'm EXCITED about studying Shakespeare as well as the trip itself. I WANT to travel with
missalee after the program is over. And I won't be able to do any of that unless I get my ass in gear and make it happen. No excuses. No more procrastination. Get it done.#6. I have a graduation goal of December, 2008. I need to make that happen. After Winter Quarter, I have 5 more classes to take to complete my major. One of which is included in my summer abroad program. It is feasible if I keep myself on track - 2 requirements in Spring Quarter, 2 in Fall Quarter. I need to continue to keep my grades up. And I need to actually finish college. By the time I graduate I'll have been in college for 9 years. It's about damn time that I'm done with it.