I get by with a little help from my friends

I originally drafted a blog post to explain my long hiatus… then I realized that there’s no need to explain. Life happens, things pile up, and I think we’ve all been there before. But luckily, I didn’t have to go through it alone.

To the friends that have been with me these past few weeks – THANK YOU. Thank you for joining me at happy hours in my room…making sure that we were properly hydrated while re-living the wonder years we call the 90s. Thank you for the late-night discussions over the phone, the 6-hour-drunken-hot-mess brunches, the gchat venting sessions at work, and the intense pillow talks during sleepovers. It’s all been THERAPEUTIC.

I’ve also picked up a new hobby. So I apologize in advance if I decide to stay in on a Friday or Saturday night. When you’re in the zone, you’re in the zone. My fingers have become very nimble and have stretched itself in positions that I never thought possible… too ambiguous? Well stop being dirty.

To wrap this up, here’s a shout out to my friend’s recent blog post at Open to Interpretation – SIMPLE. It reminded me of what made me so care-free these last 6 years and explained to me why the past few months have been an anomaly. Stop trying to control situations that are out of your hands. Sometimes, you just gotta take LIFE for what it is… because chances are, it’s better than the lives of billions of other people. Be grateful. Enjoy the 90s flashback below:

2011 and still an optimistic realist

Nothing has changed. I am still me and I love it! As for things I can’t control (i.e. slower metabolism and increasing fatigue), I will have to adjust. The road ahead is blurry – literally. But don’t worry, I just had an eye exam last Saturday and I’ll be receiving my new glasses this week. Two things are clear though. Here are my blessings and goals for 2011:

BLESSINGS

1.     I made it back to DC in one piece. I seriously thought I was gonna die in a plane crash when I left the west coast. When a plane is descending steeper than it normally would and turbulence causes enough force to knock a flight attendant to the floor (who by the way, then reaches for an armrest as she holds on for dear life and everybody is gasping for air)… wouldn’t you feel the same way? I feel like the pilot forgot where he was going and rushed the landing. Not cool man. I just got over my fear of flying last May and this certainly didn’t help. But I’m in DC now, safe and sound. Thank God.

2.     The new year welcomed me with a temporary full-time job! About time. My fear of having to leave DC is OVER. I’ll be employed for the next 4-6 months and this time, I’ll be ready for the next transition.

3.     I love living with my roommates. I couldn’t have asked for a better living situation. AND… the rent is orgasmically cheap, the location is in the heart of the city, and OUR home is definitely where the heart is.

GOALS*

1.     Stay fit. Run twice a week? Maintain my work out schedule? Fuck that. I’ll just walk to work, thank you very much. A 40-minute walk through the crisp morning cold will do. I love that shit. But please, just don’t let it rain.

2.     Finally graduate from iMovie to Final Cut Pro. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s happening soon enough. I’ll need to undergo a life-altering budget-adjustment plan to buy an iMac though. Should I make a utility-maximization graph? Unnecessary, I’m DEFINITELY getting an iMac.

3.     Work towards trilingual-ness. Is that even a word? Maybe I should just work on my English. Fuck.

*Don’t get it twisted. I have more goals than this. Some things just need to remain a mystery =). And my OCD-ass won’t allow me to list 3 things under blessings while listing 3+ things under goals. I need to work on that.

The District: Season 4

 

Since it is a new year, I felt the need to welcome my readers with a what-to-look-forward-to-in-2011 type of blog post. But to be honest, 2010 ended in such dramatic fashion that I really don’t know what to expect anymore. Exciting, isn’t it?

Yes, I know. Life isn’t a TV show (nor is it a music video), but I’m in, what my inner circle calls, Season 4 of The District. My friends and I have been through the formulaic character development phase that determined our different dynamics. We’ve all been through experiences in DC that have tested our strengths, revealed our weaknesses, and challenged our friendships. Additionally, new characters have joined the cast each season, creating a web of intricate story lines. This year, new plots have already been introduced and old plots may even be re-visited in the coming months. Here’s a very quick overview of the series thus far:

Season 1: New Beginnings [January 2010-May 2010]

A select few move to DC and develop a close friendship, living the dream as young professionals. Plenty of foreshadowing occurs throughout the season.

Season 2: The Summer Experiment [June 2010-August 2010]

It’s intern season. Who will stay in DC to join the cast? Who will come back in later seasons of the show? And who will never be seen again? There is also the serendipity of moving “in the right place at the right time” – appropriately setting up the PPIA house in season 3. 

Season 3: 808s and Heartbreak(s) [September 2010-December 2010]

This is like the “Empire Strikes Back” of The District, for some of us anyway. Ahhh, the vicissitudes of life – but that’s what friends are for, right?

Season 4: The Wildcard Year [January 2011-?]

Choose your own adventure… and please, choose wisely. I’d prefer NOT to have any funerals or hospital visits (it may be too late for the latter).

What does Season 4 of The District have in store for us? Will there be plots that will require multiple seasons to resolve? Will someone leave The District sooner than expected? Who will join the cast? Will we see the return of previous lovable characters? Will this be the season we jump the shark and forever change the nature of our series? Or will we never reach that stage and designate 2011 as our last hurrah? If so, who will stay and get their own spin-off series? And where will we all end up? I don’t know.

Just remember though – this is REAL LIFE and not a TV show. Sigh. We don’t have real viewers to please and we don’t have producers to seize creative control of our lives. There won’t necessarily be any plot twists and all story lines don’t necessarily need to be resolved. Well that’s unfortunate. But you know what? Fuck it. It’s fun to IMAGINE.

Last but not least – the theme song of The District.