The Last Good Day of the Year

Ye Olde Inevitable Year-End List:

Best movies I saw this year: The Return of the King; Kill Bill; 28 Days Later; Spellbound; Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

Best movie that I bet would be on that list had I actually seen it: Lost in Translation

Worst movie I saw this year: Love, Actually

Worst movie I saw this year that I don’t think I actually saw: Hulk

Best book I read this year: I can never decide this. I just finished Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides, which I enjoyed reading, but found the ending pretty lacking. I also thought The Partly-Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell and The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket were excellent. However, I probably had the best time during my annual re-reading of The Chronicles of Narnia, which always surprise me by getting better every year.

Best book read to me this year: Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin, as read by M. by candlelight in my boxed-up apartment

Best CD produced this year that I actually bought this year: The White Stripes, Elephant

Best show I attended this year: Tie: Yo La Tengo at Warsaw, October 10/Bishop Allen in Steve’s parents’ backyard, August 8

Best kiss I received this year: I could be coy and say that the year isn’t technically over yet, but if I’m completely honest, I’d have to admit that my best kiss of 2003 happened on Valentine’s Day, during the part of the movie Purple Rain where Prince sings the song “Purple Rain.” Shut up. It was a good kiss.

Best month this year: June

Worst/hardest month this year: April/November

Most impetuous decision made this year: Tie: Quitting my job and moving across the country/Spending $.99 to download an R. Kelly ringtone for my phone

Best outcome of most the impetuous desicion made this year: As of presstime, both results are still pending.

I kept a good number of my 2003 resolutions, as shown here and here: I wore more red lipstick, I sang and danced solo to “Hey Big Spender,” I dated men who owned more than one pair of shoes, and I did not get my heart broken, or at least not freshly broken. Also, three of my friends were real sports about holding up their end of the deal by having babies. I didn’t technically start a bar fight, but I did get thrown out of a bar thanks to Ryan starting one, and the outcome on the make-out-with-someone-who-has-a-black-eye thing was sort of murky, although I did manage to give at least one good one after several botched attempts. However, I have yet to throw my drink in anyone’s face, and I’ll be very honest with you: I didn’t wash my hair every single day.

In 2004, I resolve to start every day by listening to “Crazy Train” by Black Sabbath while in the shower, not date any boys who are clearly kindergarten babies who stick their heads in gravy, and find a way to spend a considerable amount of the year on Stephen Colbert’s lap.

My unofficial motto for 2003 was Sleep When You’re Dead, and I think my unofficial motto for 2004 will be Don’t Let No One Get You Down, courtesy of this awesome Latino gangster sticker my friend Kerry sent me.

Over Christmas, I went to a friend’s wedding and got pretty drunk pretty quickly on the free champagne, and for awhile there I was dead set on getting into the hotel pool wearing nothing but my fishnets and T-shirt, but then I suddenly realized I was tired, and decided instead to just go to bed. I see this episode as a roughly accurate analogy of my 2003 and my 2004. I spent most of 2003 attempting to get over 2002 by looking for a good run of trouble, and while that made for an entertaining and busy year, I think I’m going to spend 2004 looking for something a little more lasting.

I still probably should have gotten in the pool, though.

Happy New Year, all. Don’t let no one get you down.