Thursday, January 3, 2008 | by nathan

2007 in Review, 2008 in Preview

Because I haven’t an original bone in my body today - and the ones that are there are sneezing (winds are high, allergies are off the charts) - I thought a quick review of 2007 would be in order, as well as a look forward to 2008.

So, as to the year we just put in the ground:

2007:

It was a pretty amazing year, and I’ve almost completed a review of this year’s Uberlist, of which I accomplished more than I really thought I would but less than I’d have liked.

Biggest Accomplishment: Finally earning a master’s degree, not least of which included writing a kickass novel, 14,000 words of which were written in one day.

Biggest Disappointment: Still not having a solid offer from my job, but being too chickenshit to quit and find something more permanent because really? It’s as good as I’m going to find. It’s like staying with the guy who keeps telling you he’ll marry you, but doesn’t.

Best Day: June 12, wherein Brian and I drove around Napa and Sonoma Counties in a yellow Mustang Convertible, tasted amazing wine and food, waved at the Indigo Girls’ bus, and saw the Various and Sundry tour in Petaluma.

Worst Day: Sunday over the weekend in October when I had to get up at 7 a.m. to get to the golf course after only a couple minutes’ sleep after the work event I’d attended the night before. Tied with the day I didn’t get the Tourism job and the day leading up to my Thesis Defense.

Best Meal: The Odisea Wine Dinner at Deep Fork Grill; Chow in San Francisco; Cook-Out in Winston-Salem.

Best New-To-Me Band: Ghostland Observatory and Black Kids.

Best Album I Bought This Year: delete.delete.i.eat.meat by Ghostland Observatory, Volta by Bjork, In Rainbows by Radiohead, Rissi Palmer by Rissi Palmer, and River - The Joni Letters by Herbie Hancock et al.

Best TV Show I Watched This Year: Veronica Mars, hands-down, but completely tied with Pushing Daisies.

Best Movies I Watched This Year: The Simpsons Movie, The Triplets of Belleville (which I’d never seen and which you should watch), Stranger Than Fiction, Children of Men.

Best Concert: The Various and Sundry Tour at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, CA. or the Indigo Girls and Brandi Carlile at the Fillmore in San Francisco.

Best Post on this Website: This one, where I tell you all what to do if I should shuffle off this mortal coil.

Worst Post on this Website: This one, where for a really dark moment in my life I thought of becoming a lawyer. It still makes me cringe.

Best New-To-Me Blog: Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, followed closely by The Pioneer Woman Cooks! Both make me permanently want to eschew the urban jungle and go back to the land.

Best New Resident of the World: Cooper Marshall Hickman.

All in all, I’d have to say that 2007 was a pretty kickass year, though I’m feeling pretty sure that 2008 is going to beat its ass into the ground. That said, here’s my look forward at the year to come.

2008:

I’m not sure when I’ve been more excited about the beginning of a new year. I made a new Uberlist to celebrate the occasion! You can see it right here.

Anticipated Proudest Moment: Finishing a rewrite of this novel and selling it.

Anticipated Ashamedest Moment: At this point I can’t really see past the first three episodes of American Idol, which are always a very shameful time for me, by proxy, because they’re just a very shameful time for America.

Most Anticipated Movie: Cloverfield.

Most Anticipated TV Show: The return of Jericho.

Anticipated Date for the End of the Writers’ Strike: February 13.

Anticipated Candidates and Winner of the Presidential Election: Obama and Romney, with Obama the winner. (I have hope!)

Number of Male Country Stars I Plan To Slander on this Website in 2008: Fifteen.

Most Anticipated Week: July 26 - August 3, wherein I’ve rented this cabin in Dillon, Colorado and where my whole family will spend the week.

Things I’m Planning To Give Up: Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Ugly Betty, and Lost if it sucks as much as it did this year. Also fast food, going to bed hours after Brian, driving to work more than 3 days a week, biting my nails, and spending more than $20 a month on iTunes.

New Habits I’m Taking Up: Organizing the laundry, writing 1,000 words of my novel every day, keeping a 10-year journal, eating better and less, and not dropping my iPod anymore.

Dog of the Year 2008: Sam.

How I’m Planning To Lavish Brian With Love in 2008: Much of that is private, but you can rest assured, whipped cream WILL BE INVOLVED.

Everyday