I’ve decided to participate in Reverb10, in which you update every day during the month of December, reflecting back on what the year was like for yourself. I’m a couple days behind so this first post will be a bit of a catch up.
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
Relentless.
My God, it was one thing after another this year. Seriously, I have spent probably most of this year a complete emotional wreck thanks to all the upheavals in my life and I am still waiting for things to calm down. I need a vacation. And not the enforced one that being unemployed for two months brought me, oy vey.
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
I do a lot of things each day that don’t contribute to my writing, and no, I can’t eliminate a lot of them, since they are day-to-day things, like a commute that is triple the time it used to be, a longer work day, etc. I do however have DVR, so it’s not like I can’t turn off the TV, or pause it, and open up the WordPress dashboard on my computer.
December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
Picture this: 2:30 a.m. Sunday August 1. The humidity is still shocking and we’re covered in sweat from our walk down the cobblestone street from the bar. Inside it had been loud on the second floor, with strobing lights and so many drinks and my ears are ringing. It has been over two hours since my midnight Bloody Mary and we’re finally leaving downtown San Antonio to head for the 24-hour Taco Cabana. We are walking down the street in front of the Alamo, where it is dark but for the twinkling lights in the trees and the neon signs of the bars on the opposite side of the street. It is quiet except for the murmuring conversation I am having with my friend. “You will find someone else,” I tell her. “Someone who isn’t a lying cheating piece of scum.” Had things gone differently, the day earlier, she would have been married. She has taken off her shoes and is tottering down the street barefoot, drunk. This is why I came to San Antonio; this is why Texas will be a part of me forever: my friends, my dear sweet friends.
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
Can’t say that I felt much wonder this year. I did try some new things, did almost fall off a cliff, did spontaneously fly off to Texas for that weekend, and mostly just tried to survive. Next year, hopefully, I can add a bit of wonder to my life.
December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?
I let go of some people I thought were friends but weren’t (old coworkers). These people really knifed a lot of us in the back, and I can forgive them, but I don’t ever have to speak to them again, either. Letting go of excess baggage in your life is one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do.
Tomorrow, sneak peak:
so pretty! this reverb10 seems like fun and a great idea. but as you can probably tell from my blog, I’d never be able to keep up!
I’m going to tryyyy to keep up. I haven’t done anything like this since the *gasp* Diaryland days, so we’ll see if I’ll be able to!