There’s an old Chinese curse that says “may you live in interesting times.” I’m hoping that it isn’t really so much a curse, seeing that it is the motto that I base my life around. Sure, I think this particular curse is speaking toward more disastrous times, but I think that 2008 was interesting on both a global and personal level. The Presidential election was one of the most interesting in history, the economy took some interesting downward turns (that was in fact a curse), Ohio saw it’s first dry hurricane (okay more bad stuff), and the gas prices fluctuated between four dollars and just over one dollar (some bad, some good). So I guess globally speaking, interesting was roughly equal to curse.
However, on a personal level, I have done my utmost over the past year to keep things interesting. In fact, I routinely go out of my way to do some highly unusual things…to the point that many people might think I’m the ultimate weirdo. But I can live with this. It seems to balance the few who faithfully follow what I’m doing and secretly wish they were doing some of the same things - all one or two of you, that is. And besides, it’s my life and I think I’ve hit on something unique that some folks just either ’can’t see’ or ‘don’t get’.
Since I first began this website, which both dwells on my past and chronicles my present life, the concept of a year has taken on a whole new meaning. To me, a year has become a big intangible book of events that I create and purposefully fill with memories and experiences, all the while knowing that it might also include events of which I have no control. I think life only begins to seem short and time begins to whisk by at unprecedented speeds when the mundane begins to permeate my personal book. It’s all an illusion really, but at least for me, recalling the many things I did in 2008 helps me to realize that it really was a nice, long, busy, healthy, and memorable year.
But at midnight on New Years Eve, I hit the temporal pivot that shifts me off into the next volume…2009. The old 2008 book is closed. It’s a bit intimidating…how to fill up the new one, and fill it well. Resolutions imply that I will be resolutein specific actions, so I tend to just set out some challenges for myself which are almost rudimentary in their simplicity: to live well, stay healthy, be responsible, experience new things, experience cool things, reduce idle time, learn all I can, foster friendships, appreciate and be good to my family, count my blessings, and enjoy all that life has to offer. It all seems simple, but there’s a lot buried in there. So that’s my philosophical year-end musing. It’s time to cover the events that transitioned me out of the old book and into the new one.
New Years Eve fell on a Wednesday this year which meant that I had to work. I was hoping to go home mid-day to get my house ready for the ‘cocktail mixer’ party that I was hosting that night. By 2:00pm, my boss hadn’t sent us home, so I went ahead and asked if I could leave. No problem. I went home and got busy with getting the house straightened and cleaned, placed toilet paper onto all the rolls, and went to the store to pick up some snacks and alcohol. Christi and Creed came over early to help me with some of this.
One of these three doesn’t belong here. C’mon can you guess which one?
Caught red-handed with my hand in the salsa
Me and Christi, still stuck in 1989…er 2008
I had created an ‘event’ on Facebook and invited quite a few friends in the area to stop by for a drink, but was somewhat disappointed – even if not really surprised – that most declined the offer. I guess as we get older, more and more friends have either settled down, had kids for whom they can’t find a sitter, or are just paranoid about being out and driving on New Years Eve. Or maybe they just had better offers. So I ended up with just a small handful of friends to see in the New Year with me.
Ashleigh had some of her friends over as well: Derek, Kyle, Allison, Curt, Ashton, and Justin. Another merry band of jackasses stopped over late in the evening, well after midnight, but I didn’t take too kindly to their arrival and they were rushed out soon afterward. All the kids mostly hung out in the basement doing ‘heaven knows what.’ Actually, I could ask Christi since she was mostly downstairs with them. Creed went to bed by 10pm.
Justin, Alison, and Kyle trying to get a game of Apples to Apples going
Ashton and Ashleigh…with Christi darting out of the picture
Derek and Curt, guarding the beer pong table
Upstairs, the small turnout of my friends hung out and chatted in the kitchen over a bar full of chips and salsa, Pringles, beer, and red wine (Jenn brought a nice Bordeaux). We all had interesting and humorous conversation although most of my friends didn’t know one another before the party. It was an odd assortment of folks whom I knew from different places and times in my life: my cousins Chris & Sarah and Jacob & Lauren, longtime high school friend Eric Flinn, former co-worker and friend Jennifer Young Beaver, and of course Heidi, who came late after getting her own kids off to sleep at her parents’ house.
Sarah and Chris get ghetto
Lauren and Jacob
Me and my old pal Eric
Jennifer, bless her heart, was nice enough to come back after she had already left because I ‘forgot to get a picture’ with her
Me and Heidi
As it got closer to midnight, we poured everyone a plastic cup of champagne and headed to the TV to watch the ball drop…with about six seconds to spare by the time we got the on the correct channel. Everything was rather blurry from my perspective by that point. The party went on for about another 90 minutes as Heidi and I played on Facebook, the cousins began to doze off, and Christi fell asleep with Creed. Most of Ash’s friends slept at my house along with Christi and Creed. Everyone else trickled out at various times.
Tiny looks cuddly in 2009
Sarah also looks cuddly in 2009
I started the New Year bright and early on Thursday the first, waking up at about 6:30 in desperate need of water. Then I fell back asleep only to re-awaken at about 9:30, now in desperate need of White Castle, cold pizza, and potato chips. These I enjoyed while I watched a few episodes of Wings. Finally around noon, I got up, showered, cleaned up the main level of the house (Ashleigh will be responsible for the lower level), and got ready to head out to my Mom’s at about 3pm.
New Years day at her house marked a departure from the previous two years at which times we met up at Jim and Jan’s place. I had seen their house as the so-called temporal pivot location, so I reluctantly accepted this new place and hoped that it would not be any sort of bad omen. Losing miserably to Chris in a round of pool games wasn’t a good start. I had a couple of victories, meaning I won about 20 percent of the games, but mostly played like poo.
Chris and me before the pool fiasco began
However, for the most part, it was a great turnout for the New Years gathering. And the food array was massive: Jan’s famous sauerkraut and pork, brats, metts, & dogs, oriental salad, green bean casserole, and massive amounts of appetizers, snacks, and desserts. Of course, as per usual, I made sure I filled up on anything and everything possible knowing that my traditional first-of-the-year weight loss initiative would be beginning the next day.
Grandpa, Karen, Diana, Bev, and Mom. There’s so much food on the table, there’s barely enough room for plates.
Jan and Ed. Someone has to sit near the broccoli.
Andrew is proud to have reached the bottom of his fruit cup
The men of the basement, Ed, Bob, and Bob, catch some New Years Day football
Allie curls up on her Papa Joe. She’s smaller than he is.
Also, as usual, everyone seemed quite lethargic at the beginning of the gathering, silently eating at the table or slumping in front of the television watching football. But soon, everyone seemed to perk up and get into the spirit of the day – especially when they began to play the game Don’t Forget the Lyrics!
Zac lewdly leads Darlene and Bev in an impromptu mangling of some famous pop song. Actually Darlene has quite the pipes.
Diana and Mom mull over some unknown song lyrics during the Don’t Forget the Lyrics! game
In attendance at the gathering were: Grandpa Murphy, Diana & Tom, Mom & Bob, Bryan & Erine, Bev & Ed, Susan & Charles and Charley and Sam, Chris, Karen & Joe and Andrew, Abby, and Allie, Jim & Jan, Darlene & Bob, Jacob & Lauren, and Lewd Zac. Ashleigh didn’t go with me because she just wanted to start off the new year by relaxing.
The traditional Murphy sibling portrait: Bev, Mom, Grandpa, Diana, Darlene, and Jim
I had such a nice time being with everyone that I lingered around for about four hours, heading home at about 7:30, fat and sassy, and not much caring that I had been demolished at billiards. I finished up the movie Bloody Mama which I had started on Tuesday and then watched a Wings in bed, drifting off into business as usual in the New Year.
2009 will continue…
Happy New Year Brad. I look forward to another year’s worth of interesting postings. And in the “Derek and Curt, guarding the beer pong table” photo….is that perhaps a hint as to your DVD storage methods in the background??
Peter
January 2nd, 2009
I AM one of your loyal readers, and I want to tell you how great a job you’ve done in 2008 with all your postings. I look forward to what 2009 has to offer and even though I totally understand you limiting your time to 3 to 4 postings a week; I miss the daily column. Thanks for all your time you put into this especially for the family events.
Bev
January 3rd, 2009
Brad, Never a dull moment with you! I was glued to every line on every page. Have you considered writing a novel? Love the pictures of you and all the family/friends. Of course, I do love the one with you and Christi. Happy New Year and many blessings! Joy
Joy
January 3rd, 2009