To continue with an annual tradition started at least half a decade ago, it’s time to look back at the year that was. I’ve already been quoted calling it “the longest year ever,” but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Let’s see. We said goodbye to John Wooden, Leslie Neilsen and George Steinbrenner, the whole country learned what a blowout preventer was and somehow I made it through all of 2010 without seeing a single episode of ‘Glee’.
Noteworthy Taiwanese Imports: NextMedia Animation, the company that makes shameless animated versions of the news, and that chubby cherubic looking kid Lin Yu Chun, who totally KILLED IT with William Shatner on a rendition of karaoke fave, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”:
Noteworthy Low Moment: When the Tribune’s Niran Babalola and I tried to karaoke to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in front of 500 strangers packed into an Austin bar during SXSW in March. We were bad, and I’m not just saying that. Behind us was an oversized projection of the instant Twitter comments as we were singing. “This is OUT OF MY RANGE!” Niran kept reminding me.
Personal Buzzword: “Werd.” I realized it’s spelled “word,” but my partner-in-crime Justin and I feel we pronounce it slightly differently, and that the difference is in the vowel.
Blissful Discoveries: Breaking Bad (OMG!), Austin’s Rainey Street district, and how I can hold down Apple+H keys to hide all of my windows MUCH FASTER now. How did I go so long without these luxuries?
The Rest of the List:
-Became a godmother
-Became a wife
-Became a contributor to The New York Times
-Got eyesight (due to the advances in laser vision correction)
-Attended six weddings (including my own)
-Rode a donkey up a mountain to a cave where they say Zeus was born
-Took a trip to LA to receive a journalism award
-Took a trip to New York to pick up a different journalism award
-Spent two delightful weekends in D.C.
-Ran into Danger Mouse at a bar
-Reluctantly endured the cycle of losing my cat and finding him at least three times
–Visited Greece and Spain, allowing me to mark Thanksgiving by gorging on seafood in Barcelona (Thankful, natch)
-Got a too-excited photo with Chuck Todd at the White House Christmas party for the network television folks, which my White House staffer friend kindly let me formally crash (not wearing a sari, natch)
-Formalized our Celebrity Death Pool, in which our competitiveness led us to strangely dark proclamations
-Threw one epic, four-day party in Amsterdam, preceded by a swank engagement party hosted by a dozen of my besties, a pair of bachelorette nights (one on each side of the Atlantic), a shower at (where else?) a hot dog place, followed by a raging after party held by a pair of distinctly Austin hippies, also featuring hot dogs.
Thanks for another wild one, 2010.
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