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I’d Like to Thank You for the Year

29 Dec

Most people will tell you that Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks.

After all, it’s right there in the name of the day.

But at the end of the year, as songs like “Step into Christmas” are on repeat play, I can’t help thinking of one line in that song: “I’d like to thank you for the year.”

So in the spirit of showing even more appreciation, I’d like to say a few thank-yous to some (but not all) of the people, places, and things that made 2011 so much fun.

This list is in no particular order. Continue reading →

Six Years Later, Still Blogging

1 Sep

September 1 means different things to different people.

I have a handful of friends who call it their birthday.

Here in Boston, it’s moving day (and holy hell, there are a lot of people moving today).

For others, it’s the start of a new school year.

But for me, September 1 will always be the anniversary of the day I started this blog.

This year marks six — count ’em, six — years I’ve been blogging, and I like to mark the day, not just to look back on what I’ve written, but to pat myself on the back for my dedication. Continue reading →

A Reunion I Could Watch

2 Jun

It may be hard to believe — I know it is for me — but this year marks 15 years since I graduated from Brandeis University.

In less than two weeks, members of my class will gather on campus for our 15-year reunion. Of course, if you’re a longtime reader of this blog, then you won’t be surprised to learn that I have no intention of attending any of the events.

Not after the great time I had at our 10-year reunion (munch munch munch).

Still, I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so over the Memorial Day weekend, I got out my home videos from senior year and watched them, start to finish.

That’s right: I have video footage (shot on a hi-8 camera that I got for my 21st birthday) of those so-called “good ole days.” It includes orientation, graduation, some BBQs and parties, random wandering around campus, lots of silliness in my mod, midnight buffets, and much more. Continue reading →

2010 Was for the Birds

30 Dec

Never Speak of 2010I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s no coincidence that one of the biggest timewasters of the past year was the iPhone app Angry Birds.

That’s because as far as I’m concerned, 2010 was for the birds.

2009 was an awesome year for me, and this year was, well, not.

I started the year alone in my apartment on New Year’s Eve, and then it continued from there. There was disappointment, frustration, challenge, and laziness. Relationships didn’t pan out, I got too used to spending time on my own, I was let down a few too many times, and things I hoped to do I never was able to set my mind to.

Sure, things got better after the midway point, but especially after the year I had 12 months earlier, this year just kind of sucked. Continue reading →

It Really Is a Small, Small World

28 Jul

Anyone who knows me knows I have a soft spot for nostalgia.

Reconnecting with old friends is, for me, one of the most fun aspects of Facebook, for example. And I’ve already told you about how I’m reliving my high school days by re-reading the journals I kept during those four years.

So you can only imagine how much I enjoy reconnecting with people in the most random of places, far from the computer. Continue reading →

How Far I’ve Come

30 Jun

I’ve been spending a bit of time lately with the me I used to be.

Freshman year of high school, my English teacher, Mr. Montgomery, assigned us a class project to begin keeping journals.

I was so into it that when the official assignment was over, I kept on writing for myself.

I checked in almost daily, beginning each entry with “Hey Mont,” which was what I always said when I walked into class or saw him in the hall.

I wrote in my journal all through high school (and over the summers), and when I left for college in the fall of 1992, I left behind eight notebooks that pretty much documented my life over those four years. As you might imagine, it’s something I’m really proud of.

The collection (plus a couple of failed restarts) is one of my most significant possessions. Continue reading →

Do It Again?

9 Jun

Almost six years ago, in celebration of my 30th birthday, I went skydiving.

It was both a gift and a challenge: I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, and if I could, then my thinking was I could never use the excuse that I was too scared to do something ever again.

To this day, it remains in my list of the top 3 things I’ve ever done.

Though I said almost instantly that I wanted to get right back into the plane and do it again, time has tempered that excitement (my experience taking trapeze lessons did too).

On the fifth anniversary this past October, I actually said I was happy with both feet on the ground.

But now I’ve sorta got that itch again.

Continue reading →

Life Was Good

31 Dec

Generally, I’m not a fan of New Year’s Eve, but this year especially, I’m not looking forward to it at all.

You see, unlike many people I know, and contrary to general trends in the economy, 2009 was a great year for me. Really and truly it was.

So perhaps I jumped the gun when I called 2008 “The Year of Martin” because I enjoyed 2009 so much more.

Here are some of the reasons why. Continue reading →

High Five for Me

3 Oct

I saw on an old high-school classmate’s Facebook page recently that he had gone skydiving.

Initially, I was psyched for him, but then I actually watched the video he had posted. I have to admit, it kind of freaked me out. Even virtually, the sight of someone falling through the sky at a speed of nearly 120 miles per hour was scary.

Which makes today all the more special for me.

Five years ago this morning, I went and jumped out of a plane with nothing on my back but a parachute (alright fine, there was a professional on my back and he was wearing the parachute). Continue reading →

Four More Years! Four More Years!

1 Sep

So here we are again, another year later.

When I first started this blog, did you ever expect it to last four years? I surely didn’t. But today does, in fact, mark the four-year blogiversary of Martin’s Musings, and at least for me, that’s reason to celebrate.

Continue reading →

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