A few things I won't need to try to remember

This has been a very interesting year.

It's been unsettling. And at times rapturous. It's been time with close friends. It's been frantically dealing with bills and difficult decisions.

But one of the things that I'll take away from this year is the growth I've seen from so many people around me. People of different ages, different walks of life... so many people have seemed to "get it" this year.

Whether is be walking away from a bad situation.
Or getting yourself into a good situation.
Or hanging in there when the worst fears are realized.
Or letting yourself try something new.
Or not being unnerved by massive change.

I won't get too existential right now, but my theory on the meaning of life has to do with differences and challenges. That something placed the ingredients that ultimately produced us, insects, micro-organisms, meteors in the same universe and we're all supposed to mix somehow. That coexistence would be realized and balance formed. And the relationships we have with one another are an example of this effort to relate with others that have a different view and outlook than our own.

I'll look back at 2010 as a year where many relationships were established and some very rewarding bonds were cultivated further.

But how about some of the more tangible, memorable things of 2010?


Top 5 Movies

... Okay, not a great year for movies. These two get an honorable mention...

Comedy: She's out of my league
Horror: Paranormal Activity 2

But these are the only two that deserve to be ranked:
2. (500) Days of Summer* (not 2010, I know. But was viewed then)
1. Inception (best movie I've seen in more than a decade)


Books:
5. The Hunger Games (I did like it!)
4. The Road - I'm surprised by it's acclaim. The tone and mood is consistent throughout. So are the characters. Usually books/movies without character development don't fare too well, but this bucks the trend a little. I'm glad to have read it but I don't know it's something that I'll revisit again.
3. Number 9 Dream
2. Dance, Dance, Dance
1. Heaven's Net is Wide - I don't know if I have a writing style when I actually write a story, but if I do it's most akin to Hearn. While I loathe my writing often times I can't get enough of Hearn. Heaven's Net is Wide is a prequel to the Tales of the Otori books. I'm only about 100 pages in but it's already wonderful and I'll finish it before next week. It's a hybrid between young adult, japanese historical fiction, fantasy, and with a little romance. This is my favorite series.

Cloud Atlas has a good shot to dominate this list, but we'll see if I get through that before the year ends. I need to find it first...!

And in the coming days I'll pull together the 2010 mix cd with tracks that I discovered or that were shown to me in 2010.


I'm looking forward to sitting by a fire with some hot cocoa with a touch of Baileys... ahh... I adore this time of year.