Goodbye 2006

New Years is approaching as rapidly as ever, signaling the end of a momentus year for me at the very least.

Easily the best year of my life, and not through any terribly creative means I possess. They always try to tell you that you have to go out and get what you want. That it won't just fall into your lap. That's not always true.

So this year's been pretty good, though I regret that situations have more or less kept me from being close to some of my other friends. In any case, as with all good things, this year is coming to an end. True, I've got a full 24 hours yet to maximize the overall greatness of the year, but nonetheless I have to admit I'm a bit dissapointed that I haven't been doing that all my life. The year in review...

I got my guitar on my birthday, and though the art of playing it will probably not exceed the status of a hobby, it is still enjoyable, and it's good to know that I can play air guitar without looking like a dumbass. Plus, for any of you who have learned guitar by yourselves without any outside help, it's no walk in the park. It's about perseverance. I'm proud to say I made it past the intro stages, but I guess I always do.

I went to California with my band. Nothing too spectacular happened there, aside from great times with friends. There's a stormtrooper in your McDonald's! Also, the infamous four words... Yeah, it was a time of fun. I remember a friend of mine burned me the Arctic Monkeys and I listened to them pretty much exclusively the whole trip. Funny how music can do that. And then next thing you know, that music always gives you memories, even though the message has nothing to do with the memory.

In the midst of all this fun, I entered into my first relationship. I'd like to say I learned a lot, but I've got a history of being honest in times like these. I didn't learn much at all, aside from the fact that I had to act. Take control, live. I learned that I could combat my unhappiness instead of embracing it. I also learned that I'm a terrible gift buyer. But that's okay, because as you may or may not know the relationship ended three or four months later due to an ungodly amount of complications. I guess I did learn something else... Women say what they don't mean and mean what they don't say. You hear that knowing is half the battle, but in the case of women, knowing only gives you a fighting chance. And that's if a fighting chance means you get your sword back.

March 26th, 2006... a day that will live in my memories for years to come. Dragon Storm, Indemnity's Resurrection... Marcus Rielly and his struggle against the raiders. It's hard to believe that my friend and I actually pulled it off. We may have backed down from filming (for now at least), but we finished that script. And sure, we found out a bit later that we sucked. But it was fun, and it was about the story, and it was about expressing ourselves. It was about going up top, it was about changing lives. And that's something nobody can take from us.

Europe. Nice place. Had a lot of fun there. Was introduced to the master, Jack McDevitt. The greatest science fiction author known to man. There was something special about that place. It was the camraderie, it was the adventure. It was the frisbee, the bus rides, the music. It was about freedom.

But then! Tennis. But with tennis came school. In any case, it's nice to have some sort of purpose manifested in a physical outlet. In this case, sports...

And these past four months of school have flown by without precedent. I'm kind of worried about moving on to college and getting a job. But it'll be okay. I know it will.

Goodbye 2006. Thanks for the memories, the lessons. Thanks for the friends.

And don't get me mistaken, life. I still think you suck. Adios.