As the year is winding down, I've found myself thinking a lot about everything that has (or hasn't happened) over the course of this year.

I began 2009 turning 25, thus throwing my crazy head into a tailspin, putting myself into a somewhat quarter-life crisis. I began questioning everything about myself, I isolated myself for a bit, and still came up without answers. A freak-out of sorts. I got over it quickly though. Turning 25 is a huge thing, but I guess you can say that about any age. I taught myself to stop comparing my life and accomplishments to others that are around my age. Otherwise, I probably would have driven myself crazy. I convinced myself that I could change some things if I really wanted to, and I'm still working on it.

I didn't go to a lot of shows this year, in fact, I think I only went to two. Both were MC Lars shows (opening the Lilac Fest, and the WBER holiday show). At least I can say that both shows were awesome. I was forced to go on stage and dance at the BER show...yeah, I hid in the back. But, I got to experience it with one of my best friends!

I saw a lot of movies this year, both in theaters and via Netflix (which I joined this year also). There's still a few movies I want to see, but as of now, my favorites have been: Inglourious Basterds, The Hangover, 500 Days of Summer, This is It, and Star Trek. So many good movies came out though. My least favorite: Bruno, Extract, Terminator Salvation, Observe & Report and My Bloody Valentine (sorry Kristy).

The Fame Monster (Lady Gaga), The Blueprint III (Jay-Z), Embryonic (The Flaming Lips), Grand (Matt and Kim), and This Gigantic Robot Kills (MC Lars) are my favorite albums released this year, and I played the ish out of them.

Lets see...there was the time I was going to move in with a friend...then they stopped talking to me for no reason, then I was going to move in with another one, and then we weren't and then we were going to again. Then I had an epiphany and chose not to move out because I had an even better plan, which, (fingers crossed) will happen before the end of next year.

I met an awesome guy and allowed myself to just go with the flow (maybe all hope isn't lost after all). Ridiculously fun times. (Said boy was also supposed to come visit, then I got MONO!? WHO GETS MONO ANYMORE? I'm still bitter about that one.)

I got over stupid anxiety and (with some help) learned how to be more "in the moment".

I was in my sister's wedding and danced (which I never do), and sang along to "The Humpty Dance" and "Poison" while my family watched and laughed.

I became a proud owner/mother of an adorable lop bunny who just may be my new best friend.

I became closer with a few of my already close friends. I got to know some acquaintances better. I lost some people I once thought were friends. At least I now know who the real ones are.

I knitted up a storm, but still have yet to finish the almost-a-year-in-progress afghan.

I wrote more, I painted some, I got rid of a lot of things that were no longer useful to me (both emotionally and physically).

I took a semi-spur of the moment trip to Philly with Kristy. I'm hoping more travels are in my future, but that short Philly trip was a blast!

I think I learned a bit more about myself this year, and finally feel like I'm growing up, if that makes sense. I think I've shed a little of my shyness, and am becoming a little more comfortable being myself.

2009 was not a bad year, but I'm thinking 2010 will be even better...

I've been meaning to write lately, and though I've had a lot on my mind, I feel that I haven't had much to say.

I was talking with one of my co-workers a few weeks ago, about dating and whatnot. While I absolutely despise the act of dating, every now and then I find myself feeling "adventurous" and decide that since guys in real life hate me and never hit on me, why not sign up for a dating site?

Now, I've done the big sites before, and not once have I ended up going on a date with someone that was as cool as they sounded on the phone/online. Well, this time I signed up for plentyoffish.com. I wish I could put into words how awful people are on that site. Now, I know that a lot of people use such sites for random booty-calls and whatnot, but I figured I could at least find someone decent looking and cool enough to kick it with....and maybe a little makeout action. (Seriously though, I can't begin to count how many conversations I've had about how awesome making out is). Well, upon signing up and posting a photo, I got at least 20 different guys sending me such "awesome" messages like "hey cutie wanna chat?" I know, a message like that is seemingly harmless...but it irritates the hell out of me. I hate being called "cutie" or anything remotely related to that. The quality of these guys was absolutely amazing. I deleted my profile after three days.

I used to think that I needed someone in my life to make me feel valid, to feel complete. I abandoned that thinking years ago. Though, it would be nice to have someone around, I don't think I want anything like that now. I've got so much I want to accomplish, and so many things I'm working on. I was joking with my co-worker that maybe I just need a "friend with benefits" haha. Nooooooo...

I haven't been going out like how I was for a while. I used to go out pretty much every night, and it was nice. But, the past few months, its been few and far between. Plus, throw in me getting mono, and that only made it worse. But I'm over that now. I just need to get back in the swing of things.

On another note...

I've never really been one for regrets, but I'm still in "reflective" mode and thinking about things I would definitely change if I could do them over. Its kind of annoying. It's all about making positive changes.

I'm a procrastinator, but I'm really trying to make progress.

Anywho, I'm really excited that The Mighty Boosh guys are in the US! Unfortunately, the closest they came was to NYC...but I'm hoping now that they're over here, and seem to have a decent fan base, perhaps they will tour and come somewhere closer at some point. Hell, for The Boosh, I would go just about anywhere though. I totally wish I was at ComiCon this year. For them, and Kevin Smith, of course!

I feel that I have a lot I want to do. I feel stagnant. I've been picking up some overtime. Money is good. Hopefully, I'll be able to put it to good use...

I've been lacking motivation to work on the site lately. Mostly due to thumbnails. I'm trying to come up with a better way to display the photos. Pain in the ass, really. In due time, I guess.

I miss people. I wish I could see some people more than I do, or that some of them would pick up the phone once in a while. I have a few 'friends' who like to bitch that we never hang out and they miss me, yet never do anything about it when I give them an opportunity to change that. Its frustrating and makes me reevaluate why we're friends. Of course, on the other hand, I have numerous friends that I can go for months without talking to or seeing, and we pick up like we just spoke yesterday. I love that I have that with a good amount of my friends. I mean, I'm not clingy, but I do like to see my friends every now and then.

I'm about to go force myself to hop on the elliptical for a few. Good times!

I've been very reflective lately. In fact, I've actually been doing it religiously since I turned twenty-five. Whether one is related to the other, I don't know for certain, but I choose to believe they are.

I always thought that by the time I turned 25, I'd be in a different place than where I am now. For example: I figured I'd have completed college, got my own place, perhaps owned a dog, had a boyfriend, a nice car, and a job that I'd be doing for the rest of my existence, that, I (hopefully) loved.

My my, how things are different. I've been in and out of college courses since 2003. I never had that "feeling" that people get when they just KNOW what they're going to do with their lives. I never just had one extreme passion or really seen myself primarily doing one thing for the rest of my life. I remember during my final year of high school, I was certain I'd go to school for photojournalism, and, I did for a semester. Thanks for my professors, I slowly began to despise it. I must have had at least ten other possible career choices since. I'm interested in a ridiculous amount of things, and I know I could probably take any path of my choice and do well. Its just a matter of wanting that feeling of certainty. Of knowing, and feeling that THIS is what I want to do. I think I have that with writing. Writing is my weapon of choice, its my comfort food of sorts. It's helped me through numerous bouts of anger, sadness, and sometimes even happiness. It helps me figure out all the craziness in my head. Writing is a wonderful thing.

I began following Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" a few months back. Its a great 12-week writing program to help people tap into their creative side. Its amazing, and helped me figure out so much, just in doing my daily morning pages. Writing three pages every day of anything that came to mind without stopping to think, or slow down. No correcting mistakes or editing. Just writing as raw as possible. At first, it was kind of scary, but it began to help me realize things about myself, and about the people I surround myself with. I recommend it to pretty much everybody.

So, back to where I thought I'd be. That's what this was initially about, right?

Yes. Well, we've covered the whole schooling thing...for now at least.

I've discovered a lot about my work ethic, and working as a whole over that past few years. About four years ago, I began my first full time job. I was a bank teller. Oh, it was fun. Quite an experience, that I attribute to my boss and co-workers. Before I began there, I was a part- time cashier. I had the assumption that people who worked at banks were uptight suits. Boy, was I wrong. Eventually, I chose to leave, (and its a good thing because after I left, so did everyone else pretty much), and found myself working (yet again), some place that I never thought I would. I ended up at an agency supporting adults with developmental disabilities. Almost two years later, and I'm still there. It's still exciting and rewarding. It's quite great.

Now, for the real exciting stuff.

Actually, its probably quite the opposite.

I have a car that I love, but has financially made it difficult to find a place to live on my own that I can afford. The search is on.

My love life still doesn't exist. Details to follow (When there are some).

I've had Manic Haze since I was 18. So much has changed since then (obviously). So many site layouts and overhauls. I had a lot of fun when I first started out, going to shows, meeting bands, taking photos and doing reviews/interviews. Its something I wish I still had a passion for. Photography, perhaps, is the only one that remains.

I'm still taking photos, still painting, and writing like there's no tomorrow.

Things are good.

I've found that sitting outside on my front porch, is both productive and counter productive. On one hand, I got my blog up and the first one is posted. On the other hand, it took me over an hour to actually want to sort through and edit some photos so I could get them back up on the site.

I've been out here for almost two hours now. Out of the corner of my eye, I just noticed that my neighbor is sitting in a chair in the middle of his driveway, reading. Thank god I didn't do anything embarrassing, because I have no idea how long he's even been out here. My neighbors are odd anyway, just ask my mother.

Having creative outlets really is a great thing. Truth be told, I am absolutely MISERABLE when I am not: a.) making something, b.) thinking about making something or c.) thinking about how I should be making something. Trust me, those last two are completely different.

I split a lot of my time (outside of actual 8-to-4 work) between writing and painting. They both, essentially, produce the same result. I feel better afterwards. An accomplishment. It's out there for every one to see.

I used to be really protective of my stuff, and it took me years to get over it. However, I have notebooks full of things I will never let anyone read, solely because its nice to have some things completely to myself.

I have a stack of paintings lined up against the wall in my room, some scattered here and there, and a huge container full of them underneath my bed. I've thought about how I'd like to get rid of some of them, some of them I wouldn't want to part with. I've thought about getting them up as some sort of exhibition, and up until recently, thought that that would simply be too much to bear. Art is subjective. I'm sure some people might see my stuff and think its complete shit. I've learned that thats okay. Everyone does it. Its just hard to swallow sometimes. I'm really excited to get my stuff out there, and hopefully find people that connect with some of the things that I've done.

I feel like I've written two way-too-serious blogs now. I swear I'll stop.

...test test test!!!