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Year in review Postish thingy
Jan. 1st, 2005 09:50 am2004 got off to a rocky start - On January 1, Michigan got thrashed by USC 28-14, and the matter was made worse by the general atmosphere of the USC fandom - bunch'a pricks seemed to be the general consensus. The band was not much better. There were bright spots, however - the playing of the SSB under John Williams of a John Williams arrangement comes to mind as the biggest one, and that we took some solace in that the split national championship made the BCS look bad.
January had the Model United Nations conference, and the beginning of second semester. In February, politics had already entered my mind, as I was watching nominations - being where I am, the place was inundated with messages of one sort or another endorsing a particular political candidate.
Come March was the beginning of the "oh, look, your knee's not looking so good" bit - saw Doc about the relatively consistent pain I was getting, had an MRI done, that sort of thing. Apparently, I also had a couple bouts of vituperance against the religiously conservative - more were likely to follow. Plus, the beginning of the rant and rave about how one should vote ideologically rather than to play the politics.
In March, I met![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
torakiyoshi in person. He went with my blessing, even though I knew by then that welah would be following along to Spokane not too long afterward. By the end of March, or so, the two were in Washington, leaving my primary sounding board a few thousand miles away. But he's flourishing there, and so I wouldn't wish him back here, except on vacation (but who vacations in Michigan from out of state?)
In April, I declared myself a MEMS major, even though I knew a thesis was part of the requirements. By the end of it, I was on summer break, but with no job at the moment. I think it was about this time, too, that I really FUBAR'd a good friendship with someone - she's out in Japan at the moment, enjoying herself, and occasionally, it stings when I think of how I messed things up. Perhaps when she returns, we can try being friends again.
May meant surgery, no jobs, two rents to take care of, and a somewhat nasty downward spiral where I questioned whether or not I had actual worth or marketable skills. There was a bright spot, though - ACEN 2004 was a great convention, and I had a lot of fun there.
June did okay by me - found myself a job. Even so, the pontification and complaints continued - although you'll find that even with a job, certain issues still strike me upside the head with sufficient force. By now, I was beginning to grasp the paradoxical nature of Discordianism and either was well on my way to understanding or confusion. Plus, I spent some time at home to recharge. Those things helped me return to apparent balance, although they do still give me a slightly scary reminder of how easily I can be tipped off my perch.
July had a birthday - mine. That was number twenty-one, and I had a modest party, considering when my birthday actually falls. More religious (or lack thereof) rambling, and also bits about relationship issues. July also had my taking the GRE, which I did reasonably well on (enough to make my applications to Graduate school, anyway. This reminds me that I need to pester my last recommendation letter-writer to DO IT.) By August or so, I was moved into my new (and current, as of this posting) room. Smaller space for more money... yeah.
By the end of August, I was settled and ready to begin Band Week (Fortnight, Hell...), even on a few months rest from my surgery. And it was fun, that Band Week, because it was the last one I ever had to suffer through (assuming I don't try to juggle marching band and grad school next year.. meh-heh-heh.) And it didn't seem as bad as before.
In September, school and the marching season proper started. That, and election materials started to come out of the woodwork gearing up for the matter to come. The whirlwind once again descended on my life, trying to make sure that everything got done according to "plan" or so.
It failed. And through October, things fell apart. There were good things, like SpaceShip One winning the X-Prize, and the creation and success of The Zone, the trombone-led volleyball cheering section, and the triple-overtime thriller that was Michigan versus Michigan State, but for a large part of it, it was the unbalanced self - lots of doubt, recrimination, questioning,
In November, there was RHPS. And it was good. And I was back in block (and would stay there). And that was very good. Unfortunately, there was the general election. And that was not good. While annoyed that the shrub was back in office for a second term, and further annoyed that some people seemed to believe it some sort of mandate for his party to run roughshod over the whole world, the thing that really annoyed me about that was that eleven states passed amendments to their constitutions that "defined" marriage as one man-one woman. Here, they might be using such language to get rid of domestic-partner benefits that are currently being awarded to same-sex couples.
In November, someone gifted me with a year's worth of paid LJ time. Plus, I found out that Michigan was returning to Pasadena for another Rose Bowl. December was the finishing of a few things I won't miss, like recording sessions, examinations, and the bulk of the thesis draft (which I had been complaining about the whole semester) and a Winter Holiday, so I got to see my relatives again, and we had great fun. So now I'm ready to begin another year. Hopefully one better than the last.
January had the Model United Nations conference, and the beginning of second semester. In February, politics had already entered my mind, as I was watching nominations - being where I am, the place was inundated with messages of one sort or another endorsing a particular political candidate.
Come March was the beginning of the "oh, look, your knee's not looking so good" bit - saw Doc about the relatively consistent pain I was getting, had an MRI done, that sort of thing. Apparently, I also had a couple bouts of vituperance against the religiously conservative - more were likely to follow. Plus, the beginning of the rant and rave about how one should vote ideologically rather than to play the politics.
In March, I met
torakiyoshi in person. He went with my blessing, even though I knew by then that welah would be following along to Spokane not too long afterward. By the end of March, or so, the two were in Washington, leaving my primary sounding board a few thousand miles away. But he's flourishing there, and so I wouldn't wish him back here, except on vacation (but who vacations in Michigan from out of state?)In April, I declared myself a MEMS major, even though I knew a thesis was part of the requirements. By the end of it, I was on summer break, but with no job at the moment. I think it was about this time, too, that I really FUBAR'd a good friendship with someone - she's out in Japan at the moment, enjoying herself, and occasionally, it stings when I think of how I messed things up. Perhaps when she returns, we can try being friends again.
May meant surgery, no jobs, two rents to take care of, and a somewhat nasty downward spiral where I questioned whether or not I had actual worth or marketable skills. There was a bright spot, though - ACEN 2004 was a great convention, and I had a lot of fun there.
June did okay by me - found myself a job. Even so, the pontification and complaints continued - although you'll find that even with a job, certain issues still strike me upside the head with sufficient force. By now, I was beginning to grasp the paradoxical nature of Discordianism and either was well on my way to understanding or confusion. Plus, I spent some time at home to recharge. Those things helped me return to apparent balance, although they do still give me a slightly scary reminder of how easily I can be tipped off my perch.
July had a birthday - mine. That was number twenty-one, and I had a modest party, considering when my birthday actually falls. More religious (or lack thereof) rambling, and also bits about relationship issues. July also had my taking the GRE, which I did reasonably well on (enough to make my applications to Graduate school, anyway. This reminds me that I need to pester my last recommendation letter-writer to DO IT.) By August or so, I was moved into my new (and current, as of this posting) room. Smaller space for more money... yeah.
By the end of August, I was settled and ready to begin Band Week (Fortnight, Hell...), even on a few months rest from my surgery. And it was fun, that Band Week, because it was the last one I ever had to suffer through (assuming I don't try to juggle marching band and grad school next year.. meh-heh-heh.) And it didn't seem as bad as before.
In September, school and the marching season proper started. That, and election materials started to come out of the woodwork gearing up for the matter to come. The whirlwind once again descended on my life, trying to make sure that everything got done according to "plan" or so.
It failed. And through October, things fell apart. There were good things, like SpaceShip One winning the X-Prize, and the creation and success of The Zone, the trombone-led volleyball cheering section, and the triple-overtime thriller that was Michigan versus Michigan State, but for a large part of it, it was the unbalanced self - lots of doubt, recrimination, questioning,
In November, there was RHPS. And it was good. And I was back in block (and would stay there). And that was very good. Unfortunately, there was the general election. And that was not good. While annoyed that the shrub was back in office for a second term, and further annoyed that some people seemed to believe it some sort of mandate for his party to run roughshod over the whole world, the thing that really annoyed me about that was that eleven states passed amendments to their constitutions that "defined" marriage as one man-one woman. Here, they might be using such language to get rid of domestic-partner benefits that are currently being awarded to same-sex couples.
In November, someone gifted me with a year's worth of paid LJ time. Plus, I found out that Michigan was returning to Pasadena for another Rose Bowl. December was the finishing of a few things I won't miss, like recording sessions, examinations, and the bulk of the thesis draft (which I had been complaining about the whole semester) and a Winter Holiday, so I got to see my relatives again, and we had great fun. So now I'm ready to begin another year. Hopefully one better than the last.
