lists*

I've been digging through boxes of my old diaries, photos and other knickknacks while at my parent's house. They are planning to sell their house in California, so I am trying to throw away more of my stuff stored at their place. Actually, this is not a new activity for me. I go through these boxes twice a year in my semiannual family visits in an attempt to cut down on the pamphlets and trinkets I've collected over the years. Every year, the vast majority of these inanimate objects end up back in their boxes because they are attached to some event or person-- I am afraid that if I throw the stuff away the memories will disappear along with them. I let go of these objects by photographing them. Yet this time, even after photographing old Playbills and movie stubs, I still stuffed a few travel brochures and postcards back into a box for old time's sake. Though I've managed to whittle down the contents of two dressers, two bookshelves, and two closest full, 12 boxes remain as a testament to my packrat qualities.

In glancing through my old diaries, I noticed several “year in review” entries at every New Year’s, birthday and even diary-end. (I used to personify my diaries, like Anne Frank, except I would name them after crushes—some parts of my past are perhaps better forgotten). I would write long reflections about the prior year and interpret my personal life themes. I abandoned that practice of self-contemplation and reflection towards the end of college. But 2008 was an important year, a milestone year in my nearly quarter-of-a-century long life, so perhaps I will inaugurate the new year with some lists.

memories of 2008 (the good, the bad and the ugly):
altar cloth scorch marks.
moving speeches from fathers.
nights climbs by flashlight up rocky slopes.
shiny kitchen gadgets.
warm tights.
hardwood floors, drafty windows and sunlight.
American citizenship and voting.
Martin Buber.
20,000 at 52nd and Locust.
Wall-E.
Phillies World Series Win.
Alan Greenspan.
Sarah Palin.
$700 billion dollars.
Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and many others… R.I.P.
$4 gas and $1.50 gas.
Foreclosures
Casino zoning in Philadelphia Chinatown.

hopes and dreams for 2009:
daily journaling and prayer (though I’ll settle for three times a week)
read read read write write write (and actually make submissions!)
knit knit knit sew sew sew
more blogging with more photos
using dried beans instead of canned beans
figure out what to do with my life
a growing awareness in our culture of institutional/systemic guilt and responsibility
executive compensation caps
a better economic system
world peace and an end to hunger and poverty
finish writing our wedding thank-you notes
finding a good pair of black flats
start practicing pilates again (I think the odds are for world peace over this)


* As a result of reading William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, I would like to make a concerted effort to write better. I will be experimenting with different writing styles so my entries may be hit or miss in the next while.