Looking Forward, Looking Back

I'm guessing that "the blogosphere" is a lot like the gym at the top of a new year: everybody pledges to be more consistent and disciplined about posting and, for a few weeks at least, they will be.  I'm not sure if 2010 will be the Year of the Blog for me or not (I've decided to try to limit my time on the internet to hours in which my sweet children are asleep) but I'm going to try and start out on the right foot by posting on day one.

January 1st is a tricky day for me.  I spend a little bit of time thinking about the previous year.  My nature is to make lists and take stock so I do some of that.  Then I think about the new year.  I make a note of the things I'm looking forward to.  Then I forget it all and I just take the year as it comes.

Here's how it goes in my head:

2009 Highlights By Category

Recorded Music Releases

Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

U2 - No Line On The Horizon

Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk

Norah Jones - The Fall

Tom Waits - Glitter and Doom Live

Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend

Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

The Beatles - Mono Box Set

David Mead - Almost and Always

M. Ward - Hold Time

Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid

Live Shows

M. Ward - Cannery Ballroom, Nashville

Andrew Bird - Ryman Auditorium, Nashville

U2 - Memorial Stadium, Norman OK

Movies

Coraline

Star Trek

Up

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Fantastic Mr. Fox

TV

The Office

Glee

30 Rock

Food

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Books (not necessarily released in 2009)

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck

This Wheels on Fire by Levon Helm

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

and then I might do:

Great Expectations for 2010 By Category

Recorded Music Releases

Vampire Weekend - Contra

Fleet Foxes - Unannounced

Midlake - The Courage of Others

Fionn Regan - Shadow of an Empire

Live Shows

Bill Frisell, Buddy Miller, Marc Ribot - Belcourt Theatre

Vampire Weekend - Ryman Auditorium

Movies

Alice in Wonderland

Clash of the Titans

Oceans

MacGruber

Iron Man 2

Robin Hood

The A-Team

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

TV

LOST Final season

Food

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Books (not necessarily released in 2010)

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Brave Companions by David McCullough

You get the picture, I'm sure.  This is pretty much how it goes for me each New Year's Day.  And just so nobody thinks my only interests are music, movies, TV, and burgers, I should also specify that I plan to earn, save, and give as much money as possible, remodel our tiny kitchen so that it is not just tiny but also very cool, and wear bow ties as often as I can this year.