This is my favorite holiday. It seems custom built for me -- I'm a highly skilled reflect-er who is very fond of countdowns and who, at heart, is a glass-half-full optimist who savors the opportunity to constantly look for reinvention and new ideas and new experiences.
As I've done for at least the last two years, here are my random favorites of the year that is fast fading (12 of them for 2012 -- in alphabetical order):
1.) Apocalyptic Television -- My name is Troy and I'm a TV addict. And based on the number of entertainment hours I consume and the fact that the end times is all zeitgeisty anyway, that means I had plenty of exposure the end of the world scenarios -- Falling Skies and Walking Dead and Revolution played out variations on the theme, but it was Doomsday Preppers that provided the perfect perspective, especially as it changed between seasons 1 and 2 to launch into full mock-out mode of the people it was profiling. Feeling so prepared, I'm just a little bummed that the folks referenced in #9 (see below) were so wrong.
2.) Ashley -- As in the lady who has furniture showplaces named after her. The apartment's been in need of a "refreshing", and all things lined up from a promotional point of view to do just that this past summer. A couch and a dining room and a bed later, and suddenly it's all looking like new, with a new home office space and a new guest bedroom set-up and a new challenge for the cats to get comfortable on what is, let's face it, their couch.
3.) Election 2012 -- Sure it was frustrating at times (after all, I was a Republican before I became an independent), but at least the early months were enjoyable when it was pure entertainment as the extremists all took turns being ridiculous on the national stage. With it out of the way, I can return to bemoaning the fact that leadership as compromise and moderation and reasonableness and consensus-building seems to be a concept only found in the abstract world of textbooks for ideologues, but it sure was a (mostly) fun ride for so much of the year.
4.) Forty -- No more 3's in front of my age. Nope, 2012 was my 40th year -- and I memorialized it in a series of special posts that are tagged as "you can't deny you've hit 40 when ..." Observations included that I was the only one in my apartment building who grabbed a phone book when they were delivered, and that my ear (which is still somehow growing) hangs up on people on my cell phone, and how I can now somehow be sucked into watching the whole half hour of "Wheel of Fortune".
5.) fun. -- All that old age stuff aside, I could still pretend to be young -- mainly be listening to the same music that the kids were listening to on their fancy i-devices. I gravitated toward "We Are Young" when on my winter vacation, and "Some Nights" when I got to take another trip in September -- and I described my appreciation for their hits thusly: "I like the whole mash-up of self-evaluating call to action angry-man lyrics with epic Queen-ian pop-song-in-multiple-movement flourishes all powered by that Tusk-esque drum line that has always worked to get me revved up." Or, more simply, I found fun. to be a lot of fun.
6.) Indianapolis -- It's the favored new place for a weekend getaway. Friendly people, different things to see and do, a great bar crawl crowd, and it's just far enough away to make it feel like a mini-vacation each and every time. Don't get me wrong -- I still love me my Chitown, but Indy's impressed me. I have a feeling that visits there are not going to be limited to only having happened in the year that's ending.
7.) Martina McBride -- There's a reason she's the most frequently "randomly" chosen artist in my Tunes for Tuesday shtick. As I said this fall when I got to see her again in concert in Toledo, "of course there's her technical proficiency and those soaring high notes -- but it's the songs themselves that just really really 'get you'. I couldn't even begin to list all the tunes that get me all verklempt when I hear them, and kudos to her for tackling so many different kinds of social issues as she entertains. A class act all around ..."
8.) Mauler -- She passed this July, stubbornly holding on for months beyond the time she was probably ready to go, just on the strength of her sheer will -- and she was the most willful creature I've known. Every pet loss hurts, but Mauler had become so humanized in her actions and vocalizations and in how she chose to run this household. Just because I haven't said it in a few months, "... she was found in the woods in Mt. Gretna as an abandoned kitty, and she slept inside my shirt for the first few days ...". Rest in peace Mauler.
9.) Mayans -- So the ending was a fizzle and not another big bang, but I so enjoyed the getting there. Thanks to the Mayans and their predictions, I was able to spend just over 100 days of this past year entertaining myself with the series of posts called "100 Things I've Always Wanted To Say But Never Did And Now Maybe Should Since The World Might Be Ending". I cleansed my spirit, offered up long overdue thanks to folks, reflected back on people and places and experiences that had been key in my development, took just a few pot-shots at those who deserved it and overall had one heck of a time.
10.) Nephews -- To be clear, I have a bunch of nephews (as I have a big scattered family and lots of branches on the old family tree -- plus a tendency to play fast and loose with the genealogical definition of "family", expanding it based on life experience). In 2012, I'm talking about two of them from my Indiana family who have flown the coop and abandoned the nest and who were unable to return for the holiday celebrations. The family holiday dynamics have changed somewhat (we're all still adjusting) ... but thanks to the Facebook, Jac and Teddy K can be as "virtually" close as how present they are in our thoughts and well-wishes.
11.) Ralph -- That's my bio-dad to whom I'm referring. And he's now entered hospice in the nursing home and is resigned to fighting his liver cancer that is spreading and untreatable due to his advanced age and other health complications. But he's still as feisty as ever, with reports coming in that he's flirting with his hospice nurse (could I actually get a mommy #6 before he passes?). Me, I visited him this past May and said my goodbyes -- I'm not sure if he'll be around for days or weeks or months (or years?) ... but 2012 was the time for me to put it all in perspective.
12.) Sarah Paulson -- In the vein of Dot Marie Jones and Bonnie Hunt before her, I sometimes catch myself by surprise when I realize that there are certain performers who make me smile every time I see them. And after American Horror Story and HBO's Game Change, it hit me that Sarah P belongs to that club. Her participation in an artistic project raises the quality of it just by having her appear in a single scene.
For those 12 reasons (and for oh so many more, like for (c), my sounding-board who is so much more, and for you, for sampling my artistic wares every now and then) ... 2012 ... you will be missed.
[Oh -- and Happy New Year to you and yours!!]
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