crash course

New Year's Day, 2009, was marked by my dad and I trekking down to Hoopple's to see Glenn Schwartz play guitar and preach his particular brand of fire and brimstone. I think that set the tone for the rest of the year.

2009 has been one of the strangest years ever... rife with urban exploration misadventures, run-ins with shady characters, the death of the Sexy Saturn, familial drama, death, taxes, car crashes, bailing friends out of trouble, getting screwed for trying to help people in trouble, too much to go into here. My heart broke for my city and its people this year more than ever, and yet I'm still finding strange redemption even in the most warped of situations.

I've learned that guys say all sorts of things to try to get you to go out with them and that most of them aren't really true, and that most people in the business of helping people see it as a business and not a social service, learning that sometimes you actually have to deal with conflict instead of running away from it all the time, and who my true friends really are. I had a whole lot of crisis this year and I am so thankful for those who've seen me on my worst days, seen me cry, seen me freak out, and still love me anyway through my occasional spells of massive depression. Really, that says something.

and then the good stuff... going back to school part time, being immersed in cultures different than my own, exploring the ruins of our industrial past, constant hanging out at Edgewater soaking in the sun, walking on the beach, watching the sunset, catching some great shows, the amazing Bridge Project, picnicking Cleveland style on the back of an old Crown Vic eating Jamaican food at the Hessler Street Fair, meeting Neil Gaiman, Columbus adventures, playing lots of music, beautiful late night drives and a lot of laughter even at the bleakest moments.

I don't know what 2010 is going to look like but I feel like this year I've really learned a lot about the general suckitude and occasional profound moments of goodness in human nature and the constant goodness of God which I'm convinced is why the world isn't in even worse shape than it is right now.