the year that was

I've been referring to 2006 as my little exercise in mediocrity.

I'm proud of my achievements of the past year - I've edited a magazine, received a grant, and managed to (finally) get back to London. I received my first piece of fan mail. I've started a blog (albeit not kept it up so much), and met new people. But I was functioning at about 45%. No more of that.

I've also been broke, lost a friend and a car, experienced ennui in its most depressing form, and been stressed out beyond belief. But I wouldn't exchange last year for anything.

2006 was about coffee and conversations. Holding on and letting go. It was about reading in Arabic, writing in Spanish, and WD-40ing my French. It was about meeting new people, and reconnecting with old friends. It was about wanderlust precipitated by hearing stories from Bangkok, Cambodia, Geneva, Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Khartoum, Muscat, NYC, Chile, Singapore, and Capetown. It featured Zen and Jainism, hip hop and opera (and a dose of hip hopera), stuffed red peppers, and French perfume houses.

2007 will be about renewal, acceptance, discovery, faith, and over-achievement. And, hopefully, let 2007 be about friends old and new, and stories familiar and unheard.