Top Five of ‘03
Posted on December 31, 2003 @ 10:17 pm
Since either a list of New Year’s resolutions or a year-in-review is seemingly mandatory for all bloggers today, I think I’ll go with the latter and take a look back at some of the more notable events that transpired in my life over the course of the past year. So, you take the good, you take the bad, you take ‘em both and there you have my five most memorable moments of 2003.
5. Getting hit by a car (February)
Here’s a piece of advice that I learned from personal experience: just because a car stops for you at a crosswalk, it doesn’t mean that the driver won’t decide to put the pedal to the metal and run you down anyway. To make a long story short, my wife and I were walking across the grocery store parking lot back in February when we were both struck by a car. My knee was jacked up a bit (nothing serious), but my wife ended up with a concussion. It turned out that the driver was paying just enough attention to what he was doing to stop at the crosswalk, but not quite enough to make sure that nobody was actually crossing it before he continued on his way. Anyway, for about five months after the accident, I still got a churning in the pit of my stomach every time I crossed a street. I think that counts as memorable.
4. Honeymoon in San Francisco (March)
From start to finish, every moment of our honeymoon was a moment to remember–even sitting through the otherwise forgettable Far from Heaven on the flight to San Francisco. Upon arrival, Kourtney and I literally walked the city from end to end, dropping by all the major tourist sites: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Pier 39, the sea lions, Lombard Street, the Japanese Tea Gardens, Coit Tower, and the rest. More importantly, however, we discovered the divine joys of tapas in a little restaurant called Ramblas in the Mission District. Anyway, after a few days in Frisco (I understand that the locals hate hearing it called that), we drove out to spend the remainder of our honeymoon in the breathtakingly beautiful–even in the off-season–Yosemite National Park. When it was all said and done, we ended up not only with an absolutely spectacular honeymoon, but what was easily the best vacation I’ve ever taken. Oh, and for those who might be interested, here are a few pre-digital camera photos from our trip.
3. Passing my comps (October, November)
It was a long road, but I finally took the last class of my graduate career (American Foreign Policy) during the summer. Unfortunately, the completion of my coursework meant that it was time for me to take the dreaded comprehensive exams in comparative politics and international relations. As expected, the written comps were positively dreadful. I spent a month studying roughly eight hours a day, seven days a week, reading and re-reading countless books and articles along the way. The hard work paid off, though, and I managed to pass my written comps–with the added bonus of distinction in comparative politics. Of course, as one of my cohorts reminded me, passing with distinction simply means that I studied too much. Heeding that advice, I barely studied at all for my oral comps and nearly had a nervous breakdown in front of my committee when that fateful day arrived. Nevertheless, I passed and received a new title (ABD) for my trouble–not to mention a complimentary audio cassette of my oral comps session. Speaking of which, I really should get around to destroying that thing before I’m overcome with the morbid curiosity to actually listen to it one of these days.
2. Milo passes away, Kip joins the family (October, November)
In October, we had to put our beloved 19-year-old cocker spaniel Milo to sleep after he became ill and just couldn’t go on any longer. It wasn’t an easy decision–my wife and Milo had been together since she was in elementary school and he was in puppy obedience school–and hardly a day goes by that we don’t think back fondly on our little muffin head. Just a few weeks after Milo passed away, however, my wife found a wonderful young cocker spaniel at the local animal control shelter. After meeting Kip (née Ben, a.k.a. the Notorious K.I.P.), it was a no-brainer to adopt him. He’s no replacement for Milo–no dog could be–but he’s been an absolute joy to have in the family. Here’s hoping that he’ll make it to at least 19 so we’ll have plenty of time to keep spoiling him.
1. Tying the knot (March)
The entry about my honeymoon above probably gave away the number one spot, but what could be more memorable than marrying the most loving, caring, beautiful, intelligent, and all-around amazing woman that I’ve ever met? You know, the one who let me take a half-hour out of our New Year’s Eve festivities to write this entry. ‘Nuff said.
In conclusion, an honorable most memorable moment mention should go out to launching this blog back in August. At first, I wasn’t sure if I would actually enjoy the whole blogging thing, but I’ve had an absolute blast over the past five months or so and look forward to many more months to come. Here’s wishing everyone who reads Apropos of Something a very happy New Year! I’ll see you in 2004…
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Life in a Nutshell |
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