2009 starts off with a bang

What an interesting year it has been thus far...and it's only been 2 weeks! I started off 2009 with a lovely stomach virus. Woke up in my hotel room after a great New Year's Eve seeing Hall & Oates with my parents and best friend at Mohegan Sun, and I didn't quite feel right. We hadn't been drinking the night before, and I actually barely ate a thing (our much-anticipated BBQ dinner wasn't quite what we expected), so I didn't really know what was going on, but it wasn't good. I was incredibly naseous and could barely move without feeling like I was going to lose whatever food I had in me. It was a very long three-hour drive home, to say the least - for me, and for those in the car with me. And it wasn't much better when I got home. I was sick for the rest of the night, throwing up just about every hour, and feeling just awful. Even the next day, although the vomiting had ended, I still felt terrible. And on Saturday, I forced myself to get out of the house for a while. By nighttime, I felt almost entirely better, but boy was it a doozy.

Tuesday rolls around, and I wake up for work with a terrible migraine. I'm talking terrible. I get migraines a few times a month, but with the right medicine, they haven't been really bad in years. But when you get them while you're asleep, there is no stopping them. Monsters I tell you. So that wiped me out for all of Tuesday, and still on Wednesday I didn't feel so great. This week, knock on wood, so far so good.

Maybe I'm just getting all my sicknesses out of the way in January, and I'll be perfectly healthy the rest of the year. Yeah. That must be it.

It really hasn't been all bad in 2009; I have had some fun in between the illness. Last weekend I went out with a guy I've been talking to on Jdate for months, and we had a really nice time. After, I met up with Brian to go to some bar by NYU where we were supposed to meet a whole bunch of my friends from my Birthright trip. Unfortunately, the weather was just awful, and instead of the 15 people who said they'd be there, only three were able to make it. But it was really great to see them, everyone brought friends and it ended up being a fun night. Hopefully more people will be able to come when I plan another reunion for the summer.

This weekend is a Morristown weekend. It's going to be a high of 15 degrees on Friday, so once I get there, I'm pretty sure we're locking ourselves inside Vic's apartment for the night. And Saturday we're having dinner in the city, drinks at our friend's apartment and then out for his birthday with a whole bunch of his friends. It should be a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to it despite the frosty, frigid weather. We'll be sure to bundle up and hope to make it home alive.

the year's end

The holidays are coming to an end, and I find myself reflecting on the past year and thinking about the year ahead. So much happens in the course of a year, and I think we tend to forget about some of the things that occur in those 12 months, or not realize how important and amazing they are. Of course, we have television show countdowns (yes, I watched the top 40 videos of 2008 on vh1), and year in reviews in newspapers and magazines, but I'm talking about the personal things that happen to us. We must look back and try to remember all those little things that we did or happened to us, good and bad. I know it's tough to remember small or seemingly insignificant details of our lives, but I think doing so helps us realize how full and rich our lives really are.

This year, as I've been doing my yearly reflection, I've come to realize how amazing this year really was for me. I've done and experienced so much, and personally, I hope 2009 can even just match 2008 in that aspect. Here are some highlights from my life in 2008:

I went on my first trip to Israel; a trip that has changed me forever. I took trips to Philadelphia, Lehigh, Florida and New Jersey. I traveled alone, with family, with friends and with people who started off as strangers, but have become life-long confidants. I went on dates. I dated. And since 2008 did not bring my soul mate to me, I will continue my dating excapades in 2009. I made new friends, reconnected with old friends and lost some others along the way. I planned, organized and ran tons of events at work. I learned a lot about my job. I learned a lot about myself. I stood up for myself and doubted myself. I helped welcome new life into the world, and watched as life was taken away much too soon. I experienced joy and heartache; happiness and sadness. And all in all, I had a very full year. A year that helped me grow and change. A year that will shape the next year to come.

My hope for everyone in the new year is to really, truly live life. Experience all you can. Learn and grow from all your experiences, whatever they may be. Take time to tell those who matter to you that you love them. Take time to think and reflect on your life. Take care of yourself and take care of others. Live your life. Love your life. Happy new year!