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Happy to Celebrate a Happier New Year

31 Dec
One of my favorite pictures from one of my favorite days of the past year: Soaking in the excitement of the Red Sox Rolling Rally after they won the World Series

One of my favorite pictures from one of my favorite days of the past year: Soaking in the excitement of the Red Sox Rolling Rally after they won the World Series

What a difference a year makes.

For example, last year the Red Sox finished the baseball season in last place. This year, they’re World Champs. (Yay!)

Last year, my upstairs neighbor was annoying me with her late-night vacuuming and hyperactive dog. This year, she’s moved out. (Yay again!)

Last year, on this very day, the President and Congress reached a deal on the fiscal cliff, ensuring that the long-term unemployed would continue to receive benefits. This year, not so much. (Boooo!)

A year ago, that last item had me nervous up until the ball dropped. This year, I’m relieved that the insensitivity of our elected officials no longer affects me (directly, anyway).

In short, 2013 is ending on a much better note than 2012 did, and I have good reason to move into 2014 happy, hopeful, optimistic, relaxed, and in a better, more positive frame of mind than I’ve been in for quite some time.

Hooray, indeed.
Continue reading →

If My Year Had a Soundtrack, This Would Be It

23 Dec

John-Mayer-Paradise-ValleyEvery year has its share of ups and downs.

My 2013 was no exception.

There was hope, disappointment, fear, elation, relief, frustration, happiness, and much more. Sounds like a great movie.

Of course, like any movie, there’s a soundtrack. Here are the songs I was listening to this year, which, when listened to together, provide a pretty accurate representation of the emotional roller-coaster I was on in 2013. (For the record, no pun intended, I did the same thing last year.)

I invite you to relive the year with me — musically, anyway — if you choose. Continue reading →

41 Things I Learned During My Year of Unemployment

1 Apr

back-to-workIt’s a big day for me today: I’m going back to work!

(Insert obligatory Soul II Soul reference here.)

If you’ve been following along over the past 12 months, you know I left my last job at the end of March, 2012. Since today is April 1, that means I had exactly one year “off.”

During that time, I had some fun, took on some freelance and short-term contract work, and applied for more than a handful of jobs. Obviously, most of the jobs I applied for didn’t work out. But the one that did work out is one I’m really excited about.

And given the timing of when I was hired, it just goes to show you that things will work out when, where, and how they’re supposed to. It just may take longer than you expect it to.

In other words, you have to be patient.

That’s one of the important lessons I learned this year. I thought I’d take a moment to share some others:

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What a Year for a New Year

31 Dec

2013-new-year

It’s finally here: New Year’s Eve.

Break out the bubbly and let’s all thank God.

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33 Songs That Defined My 2012

17 Dec

fun-2012There’s a reason why everyone is falling over themselves to shower praise on Bruce Springsteen, Frank Ocean, and fun. right now.

It’s because they released damned good albums this year, ones that many of us are still listening to.

But they weren’t the only ones who put out great tunes in 2012. There were plenty of good singles and albums, and a good number of those really resonated with me.

Sure, it wasn’t all good: The eagerly awaited release from Fiona Apple (the one with the really long and crazy name), which I was looking forward to, barely made a blip on my radar. And I had had enough of Psy’s viral smash “Gagnam Style” within about 30 seconds of hearing it for the first time. But lets’s stay positive, alright?

Here, in no particular order, and with commentary where I have something to say, are 33 (mostly) new songs that I couldn’t get enough of this year — with apologies to #bFlat, who just missed the cut — and a Spotify playlist so you can relive my year in music with me.

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The More Things Change, Do They Also Stay the Same?

14 Nov

It’s hard to believe, but my 20-year high school reunion is just a week and a half away.

As I’ve previously written here, this will be the first time our class has gotten together in any kind of organized/“official” way since we all graduated in 1992, and I’m looking forward to it.

To remind myself of what I may have in store, this week I got out the journals I kept during high school and skimmed through the ones from senior year.

Wow.

Even though I read through them two years ago, I had forgotten just how lame I was back in the day. I obsessed about why people who drink alcohol are bad, stupid people — and about why I should or shouldn’t try a beer. I was a clueless flirt who missed so many signs (and sure things). I had an active (and delusional) fantasy life. And so on.

I’d like to think I’m a smarter, cooler, funnier, more confident, more stylish, more grounded, and more socially savvy (online and off) person than I used to be. Continue reading →

Come Back When You’re Ready

21 Sep

My 20-year high school reunion is in a couple months.

For one reason or another, my class hasn’t had a reunion once in the two decades since we graduated — unlike my college class, which has had one every five years (for better and for worse).

So you might think I’d be dreading or feeling nervous about this gathering. Actually, the opposite is true: I’m kind of excited for it.

I’m looking forward to reconnecting with folks I haven’t seen or been in touch with in 20 years. I’m looking forward to remembering good times. I’m looking forward to seeing how people have changed. And most importantly, I’m looking forward to showing how I’ve changed, and how the me I am now is not the me I used to be.

I wonder if my class’ reunion will be anything like the reunion that’s currently on the big screen in the movie 10 Years. Continue reading →

Happy 7th Blogiversary to Me!

1 Sep

I never thought I’d be writing this blog post.

Seven years ago today, on September 1, 2005, I started a blog. I called it Martin’s Musings.

Really, I did so by accident. A friend had started a blog, and to comment on one of her posts, I had to create an account on Blogger.com. So all of a sudden I had a blog of my own.

In those early days, I had no real direction or raison d’être, and the random stuff I posted reflected that.

But over time, as I got the hang of blogging, and started to understand how it worked, Martin’s Musings got better and started to gain some legitimacy. Continue reading →

Can this Film Stop the Bullying Problem?

12 Apr

It happened when I was in fifth grade.

Our class had a substitute teacher one day, and we spent the last hour outside.

Many of us played kickball. But when the game started to get stale, the “cool kids” took the ball and started doing their own thing.

I wanted to play with them, so I tried to get in their game.

However, instead of welcoming me, they started calling me names and throwing the ball at me, hitting me with it multiple times in the head, chest, and back.

I tolerated it for a while, but then decided I’d had enough. Upset and near tears, I went inside without telling anyone. The substitute was so oblivious she didn’t even see me go.

I got to our classroom, picked up my bag and jacket, and before I headed out for the bus, I wrote a very simple note on the blackboard:

“I suck. Signed Marty”

Somehow, I held it together on the bus, and when I finally got home, I made a bee-line up to my bedroom, where I broke down and cried.

For most of my childhood, I’d been on the receiving end of bullying. From incessant name-calling to being pushed around and excluded from activities, I was pretty much your stereotypical suburban bullying victim.

And like most bullying victims, I’d gotten used to it, as if that was my lot in life and there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it. My parents didn’t know much about how I was being treated (I generally kept it to myself), and the teachers at school were doing very little to stop it. In fact, their coddling of me probably made it worse since I was seen as a teacher’s pet.

So that day in fifth grade was a real breaking point for me.

I told my parents what had happened, and they asked a lot of questions. Why? How? Didn’t anyone do anything? What were you doing? I didn’t really want to answer these questions, so they didn’t exactly make it easier for me, or make me want to tell my parents again.

I don’t recall any specific action being taken after that day, but I have to believe something did happen because I don’t have any memories of things being quite so bad ever again. In fact, by the end of middle school (around the time of my 13th birthday, to be specific), I’d found some confidence and strength, and things got much better for me.

But I never would forget those earlier days of being bullied, and how awful it felt. And even now, that one day in particular still stands out.

So you can probably imagine the visceral reaction I had while watching the new documentary Bully. Continue reading →

2011’s Movies Hit a Home Run

3 Jan

If you haven’t noticed, I see a lot of movies.

As I sit down to write this blog post, this year alone, of the ones that are considered 2011 releases, I’ve seen 50. Last year I saw 60, so I’m a little off my game, I guess.

But there are still a few movies that have yet to open in Boston that I’m sure I’ll see, and that’ll push the number higher.

And yes, I know it’s now a couple days into 2012. That’s alright. Again, we’re talking 2011 releases, the ones that are eligible for Oscars and all the other awards, no matter when they’re in my local theaters.

Okay, enough excuse-making.

2011 was a pretty good year for the movies. Looking back on all the ones I’ve seen, there were a good number of them that I gave high marks to (i.e., a B+ or better).

So what follows are my 10 favorite movies of the year. Continue reading →

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