raise your glass and we'll have a cheer, my dear acquaintance, a happy new year

2008 was a year of firsts and a year of change in my life. Here’s a somewhat brief re-cap, and I hope that 2009 will be just as, if not more, awesome than 2008. Here’s to the New Year!

January 2008
Well, for one thing, I started this blog. It seemed to be the trend among some friends, and I’m kind of a trend follower, so I hopped on board and created takeyourtimelove.blogspot.com. Even though I had gone to the Open House for my drum corps in Nov. 2007, my first real camp weekend with them was in January due to other rehearsal conflicts in Dec. 2007. I also started my last semester of college, which was bittersweet. I was glad that I would be graduating in just 4 short months, but I was sad to be leaving it all behind – the classes I’d taken, the friends I’d made, the activities I’d participated in, the clubs I’d joined, and the memories I’d made.

February 2008
I celebrated 1 year of working at my job by….you guessed it, working at my job. Seeing as I hate football, I worked Superbowl Sunday so my co-workers had the opportunity to party it up. It’s great though, I love the place, I love my co-workers, and I love the learning experiences. My best friend Amanda and I formed “The Fuzzy Apples,” our Moldy Peaches cover band. We did one actual “cover” – “Anyone Else But You,” and you can find it on my MySpace. My acapella group sang the national anthem for the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, which was pretty freakin’ sweet. I also cheered on my brother in his band Happy Anarchy at one of the several shows I made it to that year.

March 2008
I went on my first ever Midnight Run with Campus Ministries, and the experience was empowering. It was awesome to be doing something positive and helping people who really needed it. I seized the opportunity to go to London with my college on Spring Break with some of my best friends. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever, and I would go back in a heartbeat (especially since I never got to ride the London Eye). Amanda and I paid homage to Abbey Road and the Abbey Road Studios. Taking close to 1,000 pictures, I captured the memories and will cherish them forever. Apparently I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again in March, because I specifically pointed out on facebook that Harry, Ron, and Hermione disapparate to “Tottenham Court Road” and I mention that I went to Tottenham Court Road in London.

April 2008
April was the start of regular drum corps camp weekends. We had camps every weekend to prepare us for our competitive season. April was also tough school-wise. This month is when I wrote the bulk of my final paper on Williams Syndrome for my major, even though I had been working on it and researching for it since January. I also got my first sunburn of 2008 in April – because of drum corps. My friend Danielle and I were interviewed by a reporter about Catholicism and religion at our school for Newsday which went along with all the hype about Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States coming up. My friends emailed me one morning to say that my face was on the front page of Newsday.com, and later that day a family friend called to say my picture was in the newspaper. That was a pretty cool feeling! April was pretty busy – after a stressful day of classes and tests (and having my picture taken wearing a hospital gown for some new Music Therapy promo pamphlets), some friends and I made regular visits to the beach, just walking through the sand, dipping our feet into the very cold ocean, and having our last laughs together before some of us (one of them being me) would be leaving. At the end of April, I played my last concert Percussion Ensemble concert at college and had a pretty big solo in one of the pieces. Oddly enough, it was the first major song I learned during my lessons at school, and the last piece I played with the ensemble.

May 2008
May was pretty crazy. I had been practicing since September 2007 for my Senior Recital, and it finally arrived May 7th. I split the recital with my friend Keith who played trumpet. After many lessons, rehearsals, freak-out moments, planning, and promoting, it turned out to be an awesome night. Some of my family and close friends were able to make the special event, and that meant the world to me that they were there. I also had my last choir concert as a student (and I say that because I still sing with them!). The last couple of days I was furiously writing (read: typing) my final paper. I had already presented the topic to my class and got that over with, but as soon as I printed it out, stapled it, and handed it over to my professor, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was finally able to graduate. And graduate I did! I was so glad that my brother, sister, parents, 2 aunts, 1 uncle, and 3 cousins were there to share my special day with me. I also celebrated my 22nd birthday in May. My best friend Lisa and I decided that we would treat ourselves (in honor of graduation) and go to Disney some day, so we started saving up for this joyous vacation. I treated Mom (and Dad) to a Mets game on Mother’s Day. Mom and I got free pink Mets hats! I also started my reading kick – after graduating, I had real time to read books that I enjoy, and ended up reading 20 books between May and December. Drum corps season probably officially started in May. I mean, I marched 4 parades in 2 days. I’d say that’s definitely a start. Finishing up May, my cousin Emily had her senior prom, so mom and I went to see her in her wild dress and took pictures, then saw her off to the prom.

June 2008
I officially became a college graduate – my diploma came in the mail. My dad then treated me to a special college diploma frame. It was really cute and also really nostalgic for me and Dad to go back to school and go to the bookstore to pick it out. I saw Adele in concert in June, and I went by myself because a friend couldn’t get a ticket in time. I had never been to a concert alone, but seeing Adele was worth it. I was so tuned into the music and the mood she was setting that I forgot I was by myself until I had to walk to the train at the end of the night. June was also the start of my competitive season with the drum corps. I had my first competition in Wildwood, NJ on June 21st, a show that I will probably NEVER forget. I went to another Mets game with my best friend Kelly, which was fun times, although it was the last game I went to, and they lost. I’m still not sure how I feel about Citifield and the fact that Shea Stadium is no more.

July 2008
I went to my friend Cathleen’s wedding on the 4th of July, but had to cut the reception short in order to play a show with the drum corps and then travel overnight to another competition. We won our first DCA contest in Rochester, NY! July was full of competitions, I also worked a lot of shifts during the week while my co-workers did other fun cool things, and then I got to do my fun cool things on the weekends with drum corps. I bought a new guitar (birthday/graduation present from my godmother) and I am absolutely in love with this acoustic guitar. If you want to see pictures, ask me or look at my facebook. You’ll find it….it’s red. <3 My best friend Caitlin came with me to buy it, and she bought an electric guitar. We then decided to sit in Washington Square Park and jam, writing songs about the half-naked guy lounging around. A group of people came by and asked to take a picture with us because they were on a scavenger hunt and one of the things was “take a picture with street musicians.” Then I started writing a love song to a Metrocard.

August 2008
The start of August began with a week and a half long vacation from drum corps, which was really nice and very much needed. I went to my first Nerdfighter gathering with my best friend Caitlin and got to meet and hang out with Hank Green (international YouTube star and environmentalist) and Maureen Johnson (young adult author and fellow Nerdfighter!). After the mini-vacation from drum corps, I was back in the swing of things and competing in more competitions. I watched the Olympics, but more specifically, watched Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals (and watched him break records….damn that boy is fast). I landed a percussion gig playing in the pit of an off off-broadway Childrens Theatre show that started playing in September. My aunt and two of my cousins came to visit from Austria for a few weeks, which was really nice! I experienced “Thursday Before Finals” and “Friday Before Finals,” eating at a kick-ass barbeque restaurant called Dinosaur and rehearsing with the drumline and pit by the river. The last two days of August were spent in intense drum corps rehearsals and competitions. I played in my first DCA Pre-lims and Finals performances, which is a pretty amazing experience. After listening to the recordings and watching the videos, I have concluded that Pre-lims was a better performance. We rounded out the season by winning 5th in the World, and I am proud to say that I am a Caballero. The experience was so worth it and the friendships I’ve made will probably last forever.

September 2008
September was busy and not so busy all at the same time. My cousin Barbara was still visiting from Austria (my aunt and other cousin had plans to leave earlier) so we did a lot of hanging out together and catching up. I had performances for The Selfish Giant, the childrens theatre show I was playing percussion for. It was a weird feeling to not be going off to drum corps every weekend after being there practically every weekend since April. I went to my first Wizard Rock show, which was pretty spectacular, and got to meet Lauren Fairweather of the Moaning Myrtles (and fiveawesomegirls). I also discovered some amazing music at the show. I was also on a big yodeling kick for awhile….I really wanted to be able to yodel. I still haven’t mastered it yet. I hit the virtual pavement and started looking for full-time jobs, and had my first two interviews, but they were not as successful as I’d hoped they would be.

October 2008
One of the major events in October, because there are only a few: the Paper Towns Release Party. One of my favorite authors (and ½ of my favorite channel to watch on YouTube) released his new book and had a release party at Barnes and Noble on October 16th. Caitlin and I were able to go and met a few Nerdfighters. We hung out, listened to John Green talk about the book and other meaningful topics, and listened to some great music by his brother Hank, and Liane Graham (of the fiveawesomegirls). I also received my Cabs jacket, which I worked so hard to earn, and I am so proud to wear it. My friend Anna and I did Cabs 2009 recruiting at a local drum corps show. I also saw Hanson twice in October – at Nokia Theatre with best friends Kelly and Amanda, and at the Chance with my best friend Liz. Those concerts were amazing, and I had such a great time singing and dancing with my friends. My aunt Marieanne came to visit again for a week and to be with Oma, which was a great help. One of my favorite events of October was the recording my acapella group did. We recorded our first Christmas album, and I’m really proud of what we accomplished, and I’m so proud to be a part of a great group of girls. They are all wonderful singers and even more wonderful friends.

November 2008
I voted in my 2nd Presidential Election, and am pretty pleased to say I helped elect the next President. With Oma’s health not in the best shape, I helped out a lot around her house, doing little chores and running errands for her. I grew a lot closer to Oma in the weeks that I spent with her between October and now. We’ve always been close growing up when she used to watch after me before and after school, and it was a bit surreal to have a sort of role-reversal, where I was taking care of her. I love my Oma and I was blessed to not have the full-time job yet and to be able to be around and help out if and when she needed me. I also went to my first art show! That was a pretty cool experience, and Serena’s artwork was simply gorgeous. I loved walking around the room and absorbing the pieces, looking at all the little details that help make the big picture. Caitlin and I also went to Westport for the Tour de Nerdfighting. The night was made of awesome and it was filled with happiness and happy dances. I met a bunch of cool people and got to see John Green for the second time and Hank Green for the third. November was also home to the annual Plymouth Weekend, and I was so excited to go see my dad march with the alumni corps! I was also happy to see my sister and brother-in-law and have our mini Thanksgiving dinner!

December 2008
December did not start off well. I lost my hard drive on my computer and didn’t get it all fixed and completely better until the end of December (thanks Adam for your help on that!). Because of that fiasco, I learned a lot of valuable lessons. My college’s (or should I say alma mater’s) choir had their Christmas concert and I was glad to be a part of it, singing with the main choir and with the acapella group. We debuted our holiday CD and made a bunch of sales! My cousin Barbara came to visit again for a week to spend with family and to see her friend. It was great to have her around for the week – we went shopping and sight-seeing in the city, and went to see Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular, an NYC must for the holidays. I also booked a vacation to visit my sister and brother-in-law (and nephew-dog!) for January. I made a crazy amount of cookies with Mom (and some with Oma!) and prepared for the holidays, my favorite time of year. We celebrated Christmas at Oma’s, a long standing tradition, and my sister and brother-in-law (and nephew-dog Keegan!) came to visit for a few days. It was great to spend time with them and meet Keegan for the first time. I do believe he and I are best friends now. I secured another gig with the childrens’ theatre and will be playing in Treasure Island in February. Finally, I rang in the new year with mom and dad at home, and made resolutions for an awesome 2009. In the end, I read 20 books between May and December, and have set a 50-book challenge for ’09. I’m looking forward to accomplishing my goal!