I bought a year book for each year I was in Junior High and High School.  There is something about reflecting that gives you perspective.  It’s important to document.  It’s important to write things out and take pictures.  And sometimes it’s good to not worry about taking notes and trying to remember every detail, sometimes it’s good to be ever-present.

However, this is a tradition I’d like to keep for a while longer.

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2014 Year In Review

JANUARY

After a year of painting every room in the apartment, I signed the new lease feeling a sense of adult-hood and power.  I had a great roommate, Sloan and we were ready to welcome another roommate. I found her on Craigslist after whittling it down and weeding out the wrong matches.  She came over with paint samples, as instructed, for me to paint her new room.  She chose a festive blue because it reminded her of Greece.  This was my first room when I moved to NY, and it was the last room to get repainted. This and the living room…heh.  January also marked date night with Sloan to see FROZEN and loving snowflakes more and more.  I was enrolled in third term at Massage School and it was slow at work with the weather and holidays ending.  I also started Greys Anatomy Season 9.  Every time I return to that show my heart pings, for various–and specific–reasons.

FEBRUARY

A client of mine planned an event.  A Marine and Veterans ball, of some sort.  I rented a dress from Rent-The-Runway and my now roommate Sloan accompanied me.  It was fancy and fun.  I visited my friends/family that lived in Jersey, and approached what appeared to be a homeless guy in the tunnel beneath Bryant Park.  I had seen him there a few times, he never looked like he belonged there.  So one day, I saw him and sat down next to him and started talking to him.  Two hours later I had made plans to see him later in the week for dinner, my treat.  His story was rough and I wasn’t ready to just leave it be.  We hung out a few times over the next few weeks, a walk here, a hot chocolate there.  Then he was gone.  Didn’t see him or hear from him ever again.  I hope he got back on his feet and started spending time with his daughter again.  This month also marked a tragic human loss: Philip Seymour Hoffman

MARCH

One of my resolutions, or goals rather, was to Get Out MORE.  Even with school and work I wanted to DO stuff.  My housemate, Ianina, was very good at helping me with this because she, too, liked to go out and do stuff in NY because we live here, and we can.  So we went to see Anna Nalick live at a cute place called Subculture.  And we started seeing Broadway shows.  The Realistic Joneses is a non-musical and it starred her favorite Michael C. Hall.  We went, we laughed, we waited by the stage door and got pictures.  He told my I had a beautiful name and shook my hand.  It was exciting!  Also, my CA Drivers License was going to expire in April of this year, so I had to decide what to do.  Renew with CA, or trade it in for NY.  It felt weird, but I traded it in.  I think it was 3 hours there, but I took a book.  I wrote another chapter blog for the To Be Determined series.  I treated Boyfriend Jenn to a Birthday weekend which included a fun dinner at the Rock Cafe by the ice skating rink, a chalice night, and a sunday Matinee of Waiting for Godot starring Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart.  We were able to get a picture with Sir Ian which was extremely cool.  A week or two later I had my first “because I live here” moment and went to see the other play they were rotating in No Man’s Land.

APRIL

Earlier in the year I started watching Smallville again.  I was slowly collecting/buying used copies of the seasons at Book Off, one of my favorite places to spend and waste time.  The goal was to get through seasons 1-9 and watch 10 in CA with my sister.  Which we got through half of, then I had to wait to buy it because they never seemed to have it!  I checked often though… At work for my birthday I wore a tiara, I went and sang at Marie’s Crisis while my friend Steven was working, and he’d never heard my sing before.  It was fun. That weekend I had dinner with some good friends at a favorite place of mine called ZEST.  And I also got to visit CA for about two weeks (saw Harry Connick Jr. next to me at security check at JFK btw…) with a birthday party there.  It was Wonder Woman themed, which was fun and everyone dressed in the primary colors.  While there I was also invited to my sister’s doctors appointment where she and her husband Double-T would learn the gender of their second babester.  Totally cried.  They had a gender reveal party, super fun.  Then Double-T made a video and I cried again! hahaha ugh.  So fun.  Let’s see…my uncle Teizi sent me a great box of treats for my birthday including Kit Kat flavors like Dark Chocolate, green tea, Strawberry, and white chocolate.  I was also introduced to a beautiful musical on broadway called Bridges of Madison County. I had never read the book, nor have I seen the movie, and the musical was amazing.  During this month I also began to have small moments of actual realizations that meant something on a larger scale, like “if you want to change the relationship, change the space.”

MAY

Yes.  My housemate and I went to see James Blunt and he was awesome.  Great performance, full of energy and was carried through the audience at one point as well.  Well, rolled and tossed maybe.  Started my fourth term in Massage School.  I met The Australian who looked like a cross between Jason Segal and Hugh Grant.  We liked to sing at karaoke together.  He introduced me to some new indian dishes, I’d only had indian food a couple times at this point.  I finally saw the finale of Breaking Bad.  I was hooked on Cottage Chez with garlic powder in it.  YUM.  My new favorite musical Bridges of Madison County closed, and Ianina and i went to see it again! and took pictures with the two leads, again…That guy Steven Pasquale changed my life with his performance.  sheesh.  I went to Jersey (I tried to do this often to see my nephews and friends) we BBQ’d and I made The Rice.  They showed me a you-tube video called “Solar Freaking Roadways”…and…wow. Ianina and I went to see a play called Mothers & Sons and I met Tyne Daly.

JUNE

That’s Jason Robert Brown, and the other is Steven Pasquale, and Ianina.  We went to the Drama Desk Awards.  Got all dressed up and pretty and everything.  We saw Michael C. Hall (again) and I took her picture with him and it looked like a prom picture, like they were dressed up and their together.  hahah.  ooOOOOooo.  I FINALLY got my hands on Smallville Season 10 and finished it.  I watched the last 15 minutes of the last episode about 10 times in a row.  I screamed and cheered every time.  The Annual BBQ Fest went down at Madison Square Garden.  It was my first attendance, and I arrived late.  Smelled amazing, and I waited for an hour and a half for something delicious.  Sloan came by and had food with me.  I love that guy.  My friend Andrew invited me to The Green Room to watch The Tony’s, that was fun! I watched the first season of Orange Is The New Black.  woah… and I found Pedro’s.  A restaurant with the best-so-far mexican food that I have found in the four-and-a-half years I’ve lived here.  It’s in Brooklyn and it’s possible I started to go once a week.  Shut up.

JULY

As per tradition I watched Independence Day with Will Smith, this year I “live tweeted” about it.  So fun, so silly.  I watched the second season of Orange Is The New Black.  Got on board with Bates Motel.  Hemlock Grove tripped me out.  Started reading a book called Cake! a novel written my Jeremy Manta, based on mostly true events.  haha  It’s almost 700 pages long….  I watched the first season of Smash on Amazon Prime.  And we (me and boyfriend Jenn, with some mutual friends from CA) busted out a Your NY, My NY moment by going to McGees Pub, the bar that Maclaren’s is based on from the hit show How I Met Your Mother.

AUGUST

For the amount of time my housemate Sloan spent in his home-state, NC, we did some fun stuff! we went to see closing night of Heathers The Musical.  He wore his Heathers shirt and we pre-partied in the Green Room with Blue-Drano cocktails.  I won the lottery to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Neil Patrick Harris, and he came over to the balcony seats we (me and Ianina) were in and spoke to us.  Telling me I had huge breasts, among other things…We won the lottery again (she did) and we saw Andrew Rannels as Hedwig from the second row.  He spit water on me, and Yitzhak (Lena Hall) handed me a towel and I fell in love.  I started Kickboxing with I-Love-Kickboxing in Chelsea.  Watched True Blood (series ended).  Purchased my first Blu-Ray (The Hangover), started watching Newsroom with Jeff Daniels.  Watched The Birdcage with my friend Jack via phone conversation then texting.  Got on board with the show Grimm.  For Ianina’s birthday we saw a show called A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder, then went for drinks at Sardi’s.  That fun historical restaurant where there are characatures of celebrities on the walls.  I also came up with this gem: Freedumb.  If it meant more to me I’d copyright it, but mostly I want people to stop being stupid, don’t you?  Careful kids, I don’t do politics or religion.  Calm down.  And, we had another tragic human loss: Robin Williams

SEPTEMBER

Can’t have a successful Year in Review post without some food acknowledgment.  Made brunch at home with Sloan (seriously he was never home, but I keep posting about him. hahahah) I made pancakes, he made omelets and baked bacon.  I’d never had baked bacon before,  pretty good.  We also had coffee, and mimosas Duh. it’s bruuunnnccchhhh!  I watched Scandal, Revenge and The Blacklist.  Listing these shows doesn’t mean I watched the entire series or season in that month…btw.   I went to see plays written and directed by my friend Steven Carl McCasland.  What Was Lost and Shades of Blue.  Which led me to question my feelings on acting and missing it, again.  In a good way.  I hurt my back again.  It’s happened so many times before but this time I wasn’t able to move or walk for a few days.  So I went to doctor and started doing physical therapy.  Had to find a chiropractor, and I considered options for spinal decompression.  I also asked my friend Amanda to create a popcorn recipe to have when watching Finding Nemo, and The Hangover.  She does this cool thing by making a themed recipe of popcorn to compliment the movie you’re watching SO FUN. Realization blogs like “It’s a Monologue, Not a Noose,” and “Hiding In Realizations, how about you?” made there way out of me

OCTOBER

My back is dumb, sigh.  Over a decade ago I hurt it while performing in a musical.  I actually just picked up something wrong, something pinched and I’d never felt pain like that before…ever.  I did the worse thing I could’ve done.  Kept Moving.  Which resulted in me barely being able to walk for a week.  I was bed ridden.  I eventually went to see a chiropractor and as long as I stayed consistent it didn’t happen often.  Once or twice a year.  This year it happened in september ish.  Causing me to miss work and it was so terrible I had to seek out a doctor.  Physical Therapy started and I waited to be approved for chiropractic adjustments–which never came.  But with the P.T I started to do a bit better.  So that happened AND the following happened in october: Ianina and I stood in line for 4 1/2 hours on a sunday to get in to the Pop-Up Central Perk coffee shop that was celebrating FRIENDS pilot episode airing 20 years ago.  Yah…two decades.  Thanks.  I started watching The Good Wife, not terrible.  I had a hankerin’ for some John so I rewatched the Any Given Thursday concert.  Boyfriend Jenn and I had a Hunger Games weekend in preparation for the release of Mocking Jay Part 1.  We had a chalice night and watched Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and the next day we took an archery lesson. It was THE COOLEST DAY EVER.  What else? I got extensions put in by Joni @ Kropps and Bobbers in LES because my hair will not freaking grow.  I dressed up as Maleficent for Halloween (movie with Angelina Jolie came out earlier this year) and my friend Kelly got me into a Halloween Party for free thrown by someguy named Andy Troy.  And it was like we were VIP when we walked in. Super Fun!I had midterms for school, ew. I watched Supernatural Season 8, yay and someone in class said I was the female version of Will Ferrel.  I’ll take it.

NOVEMBER

My Physical Therapist said I could return to Kickboxing.  I think it was after 6 weeks or so.  3 days a week of PT, work and class and clinic.  I was leaving at 8:30a and not getting home until midnight most days.  Not. Fun.  I was continuing my journey of realizations blogging “Dare You To Move.”  I was…how do I say this?…stalked? bothered? by The Alcoholic back in June and he emailed me during this month and I had to actually respond in hopes he would just leave me the eff alone.  While writing this I can say ” so far so good.” Yaya won the lottery for Hedwig (again) and we saw Michael C. Hall in it.  He’s fabulous.  (So to date, I’ve seen each actor that has played Hedwig.  I’m cool).  On Twitter I was “followed” by a guitar player for the band Face The King and I responded by saying something like “oooOOoooo if I follow you back will I get a prize?”  He responded yes, but the deal was I had to listen to the music first to see if I liked it.  I did.  I bought everything I could in iTunes, followed them and was told last week (just after new years) that my prize had been shipped! haha  I’m excited to see what it is!!  What else? I hosted Thanksgiving again! Best turkey so far.  The Professor and Lady Schrift were, again, in attendance and Lady Schrift and I per tradition ripped the bird apart with our bare hands instead of carving it with a knife.  Yaya was here, Sloan was in NC with family, my friends Kelly, Dawn and McKay also came over to play.  I ate 3/4 of the Bourbon Pecan Pie, and I’m not sorry.  Black friday McKay and I watched Elf and then Boyfriend Jenn and my two nephews Sammy Bear and Jamey Bean came over for leftovers and a sleepover.  Boys’ first time in my apartment!

DECEMBER

I started watching Blue Bloods and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D   I bought an inversion table after seeking out, first, a treatment called the DRX 9000 (I say it like I’m saying The Terminator) which would’ve been $5,500.  Thaaaankkss nevermind.  The inversion table is helping with spinal decompression which helps with the 2 (almost 3) central herniated discs I have that impinge on nerves.  Oh, yah, I learned about those back in september/october when I was sent to have an MRI.  Good times.  I found a chiropractor I like, Adam from Lamb Chiropractic Care.  He’s great and has a decent cash price (he doesn’t take my insurance, hardly anyone anywhere does).  AHS:Coven finally came out on Netflix and I for sure binge-watched that.  Final season of Newsroom, such a good show so sad it ended.  Yaya and I went to see Tits Of Clay play in concert.  This is the band that plays The Angry Inch, from hedwig.  It’s their alter-ego band.  They are so much fun! The band that opened for them was called OURS.  Front man Jimmy Gnecco has a pair of pipes for sure, and some serious ink on his skin. Hard core.  I also developed a small crush on Mickey Fox, one of the drummers.  I went to Jersey and visited my nephews and Mr. Gutter and saw Sammy Bear play Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol.  So. Freaking. Cute.  Boyfriend Jenn and I went to see Mocking Jay Part 1.  Amazing, of course.  And I got to go home to CA for 4 days to visit for Christmas.  24th-28th.  I was greeted–surprised is the better word– by my sister and her family.  Her husband whom I affectionately call Double-T, my 3-year old nephew, and their newest addition, my first niece.  She was born in August and this was the first time I saw her in person.  The four days spent there were perfection.  Every moment was with family, and I was able to surprise a good friend and spend some time with her and her new baby as well.  I’ll be back in June and be able to see and visit with more people, but the short visit was excellent. Made my heart ache to leave, where as normally I’m not as sad, or upset.

New Year’s Eve-eve I went out with my friend Shannon and her brother was visiting, so we all stayed out drinking and singing at karaoke until that bar closed.  Here, that’s 4am.  Whew.  Good times.  Then I had New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day off.

And I finally finished that book, Cake!

Shows I saw this year (in no order):

The Realistic Joneses

The Bridges of Madison County

Ode To Joy

Waiting For Godot

No Man’s Land

Phoenix

Mothers and Sons

Heathers The Musical

A Gentleman’s Guide To Murder

Hedwig and The Angry Inch

What We Lost

What Was Lost

Shades of Blue

Once

Side Show

Books I read this year:

Shadow Of Night, by Deborah Harkness

Allegiant, by Veronica Roth

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

Left Hand Of Light, by Christopher Vera

The Shack, by William P. Young

Cake!, by Jeremy Manta

This year was full of realizations for me.  Among the classes, and clinic, and clients at work, the books, the magazines, facebook feeds, twitter (because I follow celebrities, shut up it’s fun) the broadway and off-broadway shows, the concerts, the TV shows, the sleep, the kickboxing, the cleaning, the crying, the laughing…There were many moments of alone-ness, where I wasn’t lonely I was just quiet, and reflective of what was going on and what I wanted to happen next, or soon.  I started realizing things I couldn’t change, and things I could.  I started giving myself credit, and stopped pointing out my flaws and self-claimed failures.

I’m excited about this year.  Two Thousand Fifteen.  I’m excited because Marty McFly comes to the future with Doc Brown on October 21st, 2015.  I’m excited because of the goals I’ve set for myself and hobby-like things I’m going to take up because I’ve wanted to for so long that I’m finally going to just…do..it.  Like more Archery, Sign Language, and Caligraphy.  I’m going to continue kickboxing, and start doing at home pilates again.  I’m going to continue to make food at home and take it with me instead of eating take out all day everyday.  Even if it’s a good salad, it’s $12 I didn’t need to spend.  I’m going to finish Massage School this year.  Hopefully by April (when the term actually ends), possibly in May providing I finish my clinic hours.  I’m going to visit CA in June, and hopefully take the massage licensing exam in August.

I have other plans and ideas that make me smile, but not everything goes here on these live journal pages.  I’m not an open book, I won’t answer everything.  I’m not always the loud, entertaining, social butterfly that I was in my twenties.  I’ve changed very much during my time in NYC.  More so since my CA friends moved back to CA.  But it’s all a good thing.

I’m exposed and covered at the same time, and this year I’m rolling up my sleeves to show you what I have been hiding up there.  It may surprise us both, us all.  It may come as no surprise to some people.

But most importantly, regardless if there are surprises: those realizations and reflections from 2014 are becoming realities.

Just. You. Watch.