One of my coworkers and I always joke that these days all sentences seem to begin with “In these troubled times…” So we’ve started saying ridiculous things like, “In these troubled times, I find our dress code policy to be rather limiting.” or “In these troubled times, it’s hard for me to stay focused on work all the way until 5 p.m.”

But in all seriousness, in these very difficult and trying times, I find myself frequently turning to the following two pieces of genius and wisdom:

This photo

and this quote:

“The process of collapse is not always degenerative.”
- Gloria Steinem

And they help me get through the days.

“You know what? I don’t Twitter. When you Twitter, the subject line automatically is ‘What are you doing right now?’ And the answer I have to that question at any moment of the day isn’t interesting enough. It’s not interesting to my family and friends; my dog doesn’t wake up when I come home. So until I can answer that with a more compelling thing… It’s just not my game.”

- Brian Williams on The Daily Show.

Today I am older.
Just a little bit more,
And on this date
In 1904,

Another man was born.
We saw eye-to-eye;
Both kids at heart.
He was my kind of guy.

Age doesn’t matter.
At least, not to me.
It’s growing up that sucks.
Dr. Seuss would agree.

So I’m staying young,
Forever. For real.
Age is irrelevant.
That’s my new deal.

But I do love holidays
And birthdays are great
So yeah, I’m twenty-six.
And I’ll celebrate.

I’ll raise a glass
(or a cupcake and a beer)
to the enjoyable passage
of another great year,

And I humbly ask you
To write me a note
Or maybe a wish,
Or a favorite quote;

Anything you’d like
To share with me here.
Anything that you have
That can help me this year.

Thanks in advance,
Friends and family,
for all the good wishes.
Happy Birthday to me!

“When I die, I want someone to play my ipod.”
- Sandy (a woman I work with), on funerals.

“This year will take me to England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Spain, plus forty American and Canadian cities, but I always come home to Portland. If this is love or inertia, I don’t know, but my friends are here. All of my stuff is here.”

- Chuck Palahniuk, Fugitives and Refugees

I’m copying Blythe, who’s copying Linda‘s reflective questionnaire. I’m thinking I’ll do this every year like she does. Any suggestions for questions I should add?

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Wow, pretty much everything relating to my job. Worked for a nonprofit in a full-time position? Planned an auction? Been heartwarmed by the work I’m doing?

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t believe I made any new year’s resolutions this year… So I’m doing pretty damned well. And I will definitely be making some for 2009 (coming soon!).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friend Michelle gave birth to an adorable baby boy named Seamus on Christmas day. He turned a week old yesterday!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Nobody close to me, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?

Canada and Mexico. Yahoo, North America! (This is a HUGE difference from 2007, when work took me to Taiwan, Spain, France, and Japan in addition to my annual Canada trip for fun).

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Boots with the fur. To be purchased on Endless shortly…

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

November 4th. History was made.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Honestly? Making cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving dinner that actually tasted good. I can now cook one thing!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Probably not paying for all of those parking tickets when I had the chance (and the money)!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Well, I tend to get sick fairly often, but nothing major. I’ve always been pretty lucky that way…

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My wool coat, I think. Or maybe my first Jubelale.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

The Democrats. Way to get your act together. And in an election year, no less.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Still President Bush and Vice President Satan.

14. Where did most of your money go?

To pay rent for my awesome apartment. But other than that, lots of it went towards my car.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Am I focusing too much on Barack Obama becoming President of the United States?

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

Low – Flo Rida and T-Pain, Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis, So What – Pink, Rehab – Amy Winehouse, Viva la Vida – Coldplay, Mercy – Duffy, anything by Katy Perry or Taylor Swift, and the Mamma Mia! soundtrack.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:


a) happier or sadder? 
happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner, but this last week may have changed that…
c) richer or poorer? poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Hanging out outside when it wasn’t raining. Walking by the river and in Forest Park.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Beating myself up. Being negative.

20. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Nope. Fingers crossed for 2009!

21. What was your favorite TV program?

Ooh! Either 30 Rock or So You Think You Can Dance. Those were the ones I started watching this year. Then there’s always The Daily Show, Scrubs, and Boston Legal.

22. What was the best book you read?

I’ve had a pretty long string of bad books, but I did like Three Cups of Tea and Eat, Pray, Love (I’m embarrassed to admit it). Plus I received quite a few books for Christmas that I’m looking forward to reading!

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Paramore.

24. What did you want and get?

Brian to stay in Portland.

25. What did you want and not get?

Talia, Alex, and both Bens to stay in Portland.

26. What was your favorite film of this year?

Hmmm… Probably either Wall-E or The Dark Knight.

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 25 and did a pub crawl with my friends on N Mississippi Ave.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A relationship that worked out.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Low-maintenance clothing in solid colors. I’m guessing that every year I complete this survey, this answer will be the same.

30. What kept you sane?

My roommate. As always.

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I’m going to go with Jon Stewart on this one. I am so predictable.

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

Usually I’m pretty fired up about abortion rights, but this year healthcare was front and center.

33. Who did you miss?

My family. I can’t get enough of them.

34. Who was the best new person you met?

I’m going to go with either Michelle or Jess from work. Sami’s a close third, too.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

I have a hard time enjoying the moment when it comes to relationships because I’m too busy worrying about the future. This is not a good thing. I’m working on it.

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Outside you will find
There is love all around you
It takes you, makes you wanna say

That it’s a beautiful life
And it’s a beautiful world
And it’s a beautiful time
To be here, to be here, to be here

- Beautiful Life, by Fisher

“Next year couldn’t possibly be this good.”

- James Spader as Alan Shore on Boston Legal

Happy New Year, Internet. Cheers to 2009!

“If stars are the light, then I’d say saints are people the light shines through. Light shines through the everyday saints around us in the world and illuminates what they see. The light just goes right through them to what they love so that we can see its beauty. They don’t get in the way because they’re looking too.”
- Michael Malone, First Lady

I read this book years and years ago, and this quote struck me. So much, in fact, that I grabbed a pen and wrote it down on a piece of yellow legal paper, which I have kept ever since. Tonight, I was reminded of it and pulled it out of my bedside table drawer in order to share it.

A man named Noah passed away today in Missoula, Montana. He and I had gone to school together for years, but had never been particularly close. He was an amazing guy, from what I knew of him, and was one of the upperclassmen that always went out of his way in high school to say hi to the younger kids by name. Stuff like that was always a huge deal to me.

One of the incredible things about small towns is the strength of the community. I heard about Noah’s death from 3 different people all over the country this morning in a matter of hours. This is testament to how many lives he touched and what an integral part of the community he was.

It’s pretty incredible to google his name and see how many videos, articles, and blog postings come up (about him, too. Not some celebrity with the same name). There will be another article in the city paper tomorrow about what an amazing person he was, but today I read this one from last month. And here is my favorite part:

He taught us that, if by being true to ourselves, we wind up looking silly, so be it.

He taught us that the best possible target for poking fun is ourselves.

He taught us, Liston said, the value of human warmth, of friendship, of devotion, of humility. He also taught us that sometimes a bit of inappropriateness makes a point perfectly.

“What he really taught was that it’s OK to be ourselves,” Liston said.

At the end of Noah’s graduation of one, the speaker closed with one of the nicest things anyone may have ever said; “May you experience more love than you thought possible.”

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
- Dr. Seuss