2004 In Review: Part I
Intro
This is my year in review, highs & lows, ups & downs. I wrote an outline & hit 2 pages so I am going to break this into 3 or 4 parts. This was one of those years I don’t think I am going to forget, ever, just for everything that happened. I grew so much as a person this year in so many ways through my experiences so I tried to be as forthcoming as possible. The 1st half of the year I was in a relationship & the last half I was sans a girlfriend. That breakup was probably the defining incident of my year for a lot of reasons but I certainly grew from it. Also, I tried to avoid names in the text and I think my writing reflects my new positive attitude towards life as I take the high road in a few situations. I don’t revise this either because I want my thoughts to be fresh & unaltered so I apologize for grammatical errors.
January
OK, so technically I got Band of Brothers last year for Christmas. I mention it because normally I am not about the X-Mas gift thing preferring pictures or just words. This was one of the best gifts ever & I have watched the series literally at least once a month. If you haven’t seen Band of Brothers, it is seriously up there on the all-time great list.
On January 11, the Packers played the Eagles. This was the year the Packers were finally going to win the Super Bowl again. Unfortunately, we know 4th & 26 happened & the Pack lost in OT 17-20. Proving how big of a loser I am when it comes to sports, I was crushed. For 2 or 3 weeks it is all we talked about at work. Some good came out of it, my girlfriend’s dad asked me how in the hell I can even enjoy watching games when even winning isn’t enough. I thought about this for a while & have kind of let go of my obsession. This season is the 1st in a while I haven’t watched every game. I get excited for plays but the bad doesn’t even bother me anymore. I can’t even tell you the entire Packer’s roster this year, which may be the 1st time since I was 10. The games are much more enjoyable & I don’t beat my dog anymore. J I guess I noticed as the year goes on, I don’t mention sports at all really, I am doing something right.
I guess sometime in here my girlfriend moved from Kaukauna to her cottage a half hour away. I mention it because it is probably one of the biggest factors in us breaking up. She was really broken about it & I listened for a while but eventually told her to just quit being selfish about it. I don’t think she ever really forgave me for supporting her parents on that decision.
February
The month of February started off interestingly enough with the Super Bowl on the 1st. Great game & the Patriots narrowly beat the Panthers 32-29. I remember this day mainly because in a hurry to get to my girlfriend’s house to watch the game, I was pulled over for a 77 in a 55. I knew my no ticket streak was over. Oh but it wasn’t, got off with a warning.
Two weeks later, on December 15th was my favorite sporting event of the year, the Daytona 500. This year was especially memorable as I got absolutely toasted watching the race at a small bar in Winneconne & my favorite driver dominated the race. You have to be a NASCAR fan to understand how awesome it is to have your driver win the 500 but it was a special moment.
In February I also applied to college again. I wouldn’t find out forever whether I got in but this was a huge step for me. Finally, with a lot of encouragement, I decided I didn’t want to be stuck in a hole my entire life. I didn’t want to be in a grocery store, or flipping burgers, or just stuck in a small town for the rest of my life. I always wanted more but I finally decided I needed to stop talking & get there.
Somewhere in this time my 3 Volcanoes story happened. Check the previous Blogs for that.
Also in here, my girlfriend moved out on her roommate. I don’t really care to talk about the specifics but due to a mother/daughter relationship with the roommate, my boss stopped talking to me. It made for an interesting work environment.
Another note, pretty much when I wasn’t working during this time, I was in Milwaukee. That is what my weeks were composed of. Work, Milwaukee, work Milwaukee.
March & April
On March 12th a guy I used to be best friends with went missing. We had stopped being friends due to his drug use & I kind of thought that was what was behind his disappearance. I was even investigated in his disappearance, that was a treat. Clarence’s body was found April 10th floating in the East River just a couple hundred yards from his apartment building. He had apparently jumped in after getting high on mushrooms. This hit me really hard. It was the second funeral of a friend I had to go to in the last 4 years & I didn’t realize until recently how much it really affected me.
I was already depressed at this time. I hated my job & was very unsure whether I would be able to get back into the SNC. This had a huge draining affect on those closest to me. I always was somewhat anti-social, at this time I was pretty much a hermit. I also began having panic attacks almost hourly. I don’t know, I was fucked up here.
May
This was an interesting month. My girlfriend & I went to Chicago for the 1st weekend. I loved this trip & it would be the last time I think we actually spent quality time together. I had this planned as a surprise weekend. We went to the Navy Pier & then went & walked the Miracle Mile. We ate at a couple nice restaurants & then went to the top of the Hancock building & saw the city under the lights. It was one of the most romantic moments I remember between the two of us. Since that was all she wrote, I couldn’t figure a better ending to us than that memory.
Chris, J, & I rolled down to the Indy 500 for Memorial Day weekend. This turned out to be the most interesting years ever. There was like a 4 hour rain delay & as we were leaving the track tornadoes were forming! Tornadoes! We got like 25 minutes out of Indianapolis in some of the worst weather I have ever seen & got some clear sky. Then we realized a tornado was forming above the car. OK, I hit straight Dale Earnhardt style here. As the guys will attest, I was a mad man possessed getting out of there weaving every which way. As we left the state, we got to see the best lightning show possibly ever. The land is flat for miles so we could see lightning strikes for miles. It was incredible.
On this trip I also got rid of my last bit of road rage. A little brake check on an Expedition & then an ensuing drag race & I was done. Nothing big but I have not had a single incident of road rage since. I flipped one guy off all summer. To realize how unbelievable this is, I literally used to flip people off about 5 times just on the way to the freaking mall. I think it reflects my lack of stress in my life or something. I guess life is too short to worry about that shit & trying to kill people on the highway.
I guess that is the end to Part I. Part II tackles my break up but more importantly all the good that came out of it. I already have a head start on it & I’ll try to post it in the next couple of days.
