2007 - Year in Review!

Better Late than Never

January.

• Began the year in Philadelphia among friends.
• Chugged along at work though not very satisfied.
• New ministers at church. Sure they came out of retirement, but they had spunk.

February

• Took a Pilates class. By “took” I mean I signed up for 8 weeks and only went twice.
• Took the bus more. Yea! Public Transportation.
• Not much happened in February.
  

March

• Flew to Europe with Felecia and Charley. Whirlwind tour of 4 countries in 7 days.
• Learned that Holland and the Netherlands are the same.
• Sang, danced, thought about life, and took pictures of French things.
• Continued to chug along at work, but applying for an alternative teacher-certification program.
• Forgot to register for an actuarial exam. Oops. Secretly relieved.

April

• Attended Brewers Opening Day. Proud to be Brewer fan.
• Met with a new pastor for the church.
• Took an exam for teacher certification; lie to get out of work for that morning.
• Easter included an egg hunt in the dark.
• Crazy Legs was first fun run of the season. 8 Kilometers. With our late registration we were in the last wave. Because we were at the back of the pack, we spent the entire race passing other runners. Not once did someone pass us.
  
• Trevor hosted first cook-out of the season though there is still snow on the ground.
• Attend ed retirement party and confirmed that I do not want to work for the Man.

May

• Worked a great deal even though I had been accepted to a teacher-certification program (MTEC).
• Organize MS Walk team – with only 1 other co-worker.
• Organize Symphony on the Square at lunchtime – with only 2 other co-workers.

June

• Jess visited during Riversplash. We had a blast and I tried to convince her to move to Milwaukee with my super friends.
• Christie and I talked about purchasing a duplex together.
• Met with real estate agent.
• Met with mortgage brokers.
• Small ulcer developed.
• Last golf outing with work. Said good-bye to job perks.
• Mick got married. Boogie-woogied as every white boy should.
• Ran in the Beer Run, the only race I know of sponsored by Miller.
• Mom and Alaina visited.
• Surreptitiously attended MTEC classes.
• Ulcer grows.

July

• Offer on house accepted. OMG!
• Announce d my intention to leave my job. But still plan to take the following week off.
• Storm the Bastille 5K Run through the streets of Milwaukee. Vive la France!
• Flew home for the Croomdaddy wedding.
• Got a little homesick.
• Rode a jet-ski for the first time.
• Visit ed NYC with aunt and cousins.
• Hope springs eternal for Hardy, Fielder, and the Brew Crew.

August

• Quit job.
• Bought a house.

September

• Started school.
• Showed various signs of stress.
• Slept less.
• But have much better stories to tell.
• Lost our first (but not last) kickball game. Did well at the bar afterwards.
• Flew to Philadelphia for Adina’s wedding.
• Tease, joke, gossip, eat, drink, and dance.
• Host Ugandan orphans in my house overnight. Talked to their chaperon, Julius, about being a twenty-something in the 21^st century in our different countries.

October

• First parent-teacher conferences.
• First homecoming dance.
• Learned that the latest dance craze is to hump the floor.
• Weekly kickball continues – thank goodness.
• Attended kickball tournament on a Saturday morning.
• Begin drinking at 9 am.
• Meet Papa Smurf.
• Organized church’s team for CROP walk. Realize that we have more Jews on our team than Christians.
• Jacob moves in for 3 months. Make the joke that I only live with “Jacobs” several times.

November

• Just kept swimming.
• Word of the Month: Survival
• Threw a House Warming Party with a wide range of people. Success!
• Ran around the zoo for the Jingle Bell Run
• Observed Dan Goldin Day with a Brewery Tour. This year we actually made it!
• Recognize another teacher working at the brewery. Say Hi.
• Went on another brewery tour later on in the month.
• Hope that fellow teacher/brewery worker does not remember me and the frequency of my tours.
• Teach origami to my students.
• Celebrated Thanksgiving with a close group of friends. Give Thanks.

December

• Countdown the 20 school days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Told by several people to “Hang in there.” Even the homeless guy who sat with me at the Co-op one day when there weren’t enough tables and we had to share.
• Realized that I am a bluegrass fan.
• Realized that Trevor is an a capella fan and Christie definitely is not.
• Flew to Moscow for the holidays.
• Tried to fly back to Milwaukee but became stranded in Cleveland.
• Drove a yellow mustang convertible back to Wisconsin in 8 hours.
• Welcomed my friends to MilONYE.
• Blacked out after 9pm on NYE.