Well...

I had to run for the bus this morning. Twice. I made it almost to the bus stop before I realized my phone was still sitting on top of the coffee table, so I bolted back, managing to fill both my shoes with snow. I made it inside and back outside in time to see the bus rounding the far corner. Normally, if I've cleared the fence I can make it if I run, but today was a toss up, and the last thing I needed was to eat shit on the ice and f*ck up my knee like I did a year or so ago. It's incredibly hard not to be awkward while running and carrying baggage, but I was more concerned with being late than with being awkward. First day of work this year.



The new year started without a huge bang, but was fun nontheless. The previous year I celebrated in Berlin, which is probably one of the more insane experiences of my life. So. Many. People. And firecrackersanddrunksandlightsandnoiseandandand... My resolution last year was to be on time, to be seriously, really on time--and I pretty much made it, at least through the time I was in Germany. In the US you can be five or perhaps ten minutes late and still qualify as on time. It'd probably be a good idea to work on that again this year, though that will only really be important in May.



Much of last winter and spring were a blur. It seemed to be a delicate mix of workaholism, sleep deprivation, and a crazy social schedule. Most people described me as the crazy american, and wondered as to the secret of my success (in case you're wondering, it's called "not sleeping"). It helps that I was out jogging at 8 AM. Even my valiant (then) boyfriend, runner as he is, gave up on that one.



I met some really fantastic people. I didn't hang out with Americans, only meeting one about a month before I peaced out of there. My roommates, my friends, everyone was German...or so I thought. Everyone spoke flawless German, but one was born in Macedonia, one in Indonesia, one was half Iranian, or from Luxembourg, or Indian, or or or. Dinner conversations were always interesting, and if I brought a work colleague home it would be in English and Spanish or French as well as German. I miss that and them more than I can adequately express.



I had to leave all of that behind and return to the country of my birth. Despite my fears, I actually had friends and have made several more. Between work (15 - 20 hrs a week) and school (20 hrs a week) and activities (5 hrs a week), I was a) never home and b) didn't sleep much (see above). As far as a) is concerned, for those of you who have followed my roommate woes, this was perhaps not unintentional.
I've had a lot of fun this semester, and did well at school, so I suppose it works out well. Then again, I did end up with a stress-induced skin disorder after finals, so perhaps this wasn't the best strategy ever.

Enter 2008. I thought about resolutions, and I came up with a couple, rather pathetic ones:
(1) be on time. This was my resolution last year, but it bears repeating, as my punctuality has been slipping. Me being punctual is about equivalent to a souffle: difficult to arrange and contingent on many factors.
(2) learn to tango. Classes on Fridays, hell yeah. Bonus points for attractive argentinians.
(3) learn a new language. Looks like it's going to be spanish, though I would jump at the chance to learn russian or arabic.



I'm not bothering with any of the typical ones like going to the gym every day or stopping smoking, as neither of them are particularly relevant for me. Perhaps I should take up smoking so I will have something to quit.

I wonder where I'll be next year. After May I am done with CO and the US for awhile, and depending on my school and work situation for the coming months, will probably be getting the hell out of dodge faster than you can say "nonstopflightfromdenvertofrankfurt" while hopping on one leg. If I am lucky, someone will pay me to go to school. If I am not lucky.... well, I have no plan B, just three versions of plan A. I always have friends whose couches I can crash on should worse come to worse. And I can always get a job, though that may be easier said than done, particularly with restrictions for foreigners...

So best of luck for you all in 2008, in life, in love, in whatever else you do. Make some resolutions, try something crazy (skydiving, anyone?), expand your horizons. It'll be worthwhile, I assure you...