Finishing up the Best Of 2009 list

Dec 31, 2009 by Rochelle

December has got to be one of my busiest months on record, so when I fell behind on the Best of 2009 list, I resolved to finish it no matter what. Therefore, I’m posting the rest right here.

Just a reminder, this from Gwen Bell’s genius mind, over at www.gwenbell.com.

The Best Place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?

My bedroom. Although it’s been quite messy this year, my bedroom has become a true place for relaxation, happiness, and wholeness. I don’t know how to describe it, but I have made it into a wonderful place to be. If I had to choose a place outside of my home, I would probably say The UMC (student center on campus). I’ve had so many interesting conversations there with my friends Matt and Mike, and also my sister. I’ll miss our UMC time together now that she’s graduated.

New food. You’re now in love with Lebanese food and you didn’t even know what it was in January of this year.

I love Gwen’s example of Lebanese food, since I’m Lebanese. Ironically, I don’t like Lebanese food that much. When we were in England we saw so many Lebanese food restaurants. We had no idea that it was so popular! Anyway, I’d have to say that Mascarpone is a new favorite ingredient. Sure, I’ve had it before, but I’ve never appreciated it until this year when I had the most delicious dessert I’ve ever had a neighborhood Italian restaurant. It was some sort of white cake with Mascarpone. So delicious!

What’s the best change you made to the place you live?

There were actually quite a few changes to the place I live, none of which were really cosmetic. This year, I’ve had more people and pets in my place, and that has been a great change for me. Having more people around has helped me break out of desire to be alone. Now I’m lonely when no one is there, which is a huge change for me. I used to relish in my independence, but this year I’ve realized that having people around is a great thing. Furthermore, having little children around has been really fun.

Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

Wow, this is going to be a complicated and vague answer, so I’ll try to be as clear as possible. While writing my novel “Never”, I’ve had to perform a lot of research about London and make blind choices about where my characters would spend their time, where they would stay, etc. An important plot point is that my characters are staying at the same hotel. Well since one of my characters is a celebrity, and the other is on an all expenses paid vacation, I had to choose a hotel that was realistic for their situations. I ended up choosing the Mandarin Oriental as a model.

Models are really important for my writing. Call it cheating, but it’s helpful for me to have models for my characters, my settings, etc. So besides having a model hotel, I actually have a model celebrity that I use to inspire me. Mostly in physical appearance and slightly in situation. Well I was reading about him one day, and in the interview he was staying at the Mandarin Oriental. I just about died when I read that, because it confirmed so much for me and that I was on the right track. This was all before I went to London and could see it all for myself.

I know this all sounds so silly, but that confirmation really moved me and I swear to God I was shaking like a leaf after I read that. I called my sister immediately and shared the news. The amount of doubt I had over the issue was wiped away and it gave me the confidence to continue.

Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?

Maybe because this is so fresh in my memory, but I loved how my Kindle was packaged. Amazon has done a great job with it. I loved the “Once Upon a Time…” on the box. So smart and exciting. I couldn’t wait to tear into it.

Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What’s yours?

I wish I had some Boulder-ish awesome response to some new leaf I found. But alas, the truth is my favorite tea of the year was the iced tea at the UMC. I’ve had a billion times, it will probably be the thing that ends up killing me, but I love it. I crave it. I’m addicted to it. It’s also something my sister and I have in common and we had such a great time get iced tea at the UMC.

Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. “2009 was _____.”

Complicated. As life goes on, it gets incredibly more complicated. Harder to describe and harder to wade through. I loved this year, but it definitely had it’s drama and it definitely grew in complexity.

Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

I set aside a part of my monthly budget for “Internet things”. That means the like of online entertainment, like games and music and movies. I forked over a lot to Apple this year and bought up a lot of stuff in iTunes, I also have been handing it over to LaLa.com. And now that I have a kindle, I’m buying up electronic books like mad. So any place that sells online media, I’m a fan.

Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

I didn’t go on too many rides this year. One sticks out and that was to Estes Park for the Photo Walk. I rode up with my friends Matt and Mike and that was a good time. Driving up to Estes Park is always beautiful, and lucky for me I didn’t get car sick, but I think Mike may have.

New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

This one is hard for me because I don’t believe I have really met anyone new this year. I’ve encountered new co-workers, but that’s about it. I’m going to have to say that there are quite a few Twitter friends that I’ve made this year that I adore. My day would not be the same without them. Like @keris and @abstractimages and @allybspeakin.

Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?

I am all about projects and challenges. Obviously, I did Project 365 this year. While I didn’t actually complete it, I did so much better than I thought I would. Especially for a person who doesn’t have kids and doesn’t do terribly much during the work week. So I’m proud of that accomplishment. It may not have been 365, but it was definitely quite a lot.

Startup. What’s a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

This is definitely a tough one for me. I’m not that much of an explorer, although I could do better to be one. I recently got hooked on LaLa.com. It’s brilliant and a wonderful place to find new music. Who ever thought up this business is awesome. I heard they were recently bought by Apple, and I’m not surprised.

Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn’t live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

Easily answered. Twitter. Some say it’s a fad. I don’t think it is. Mostly, I don’t think it is because of how helpful and easy it is to receive updates from news sources that an individual user cares about. Sure it might not always be as pop or as social, but I certainly think that feeds like that are here for awhile. I can’t describe how many news worthy things I first heard on Twitter rather through other channels. I also use Twitter to work with my student employees, and that works well. And naturally, I love it because of the friends I have made on it. The ongoing dialogue never breaks and never ceases. It’s one long flow of life and I love that.

Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

That being alone is not all it’s cracked up to be. Relying on people is what makes life work. I can’t do it on my own and I have to let others in to help me out.

Gift. What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?

My camera. I am so in love with my camera still. It’s amazing what I have been able to capture this year. I feel like 2009 marks a definite change in my life and I’ll be able to see that captured through the pictures I took.

Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

The world is small. Distant lands are not that distant and we’re all getting closer together as each year comes and goes. Why not go and see it all instead of staying in our own yards. I want to travel more because every time I do, I not only see things with my own eyes that I’ve dreamt about, but I end up appreciating my home even more.

Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

Wow. All I’m going to talk about is Twitter. The folks that I’ve met through Twitter are cool cats, and I believe that if I were ever needing a lunch date and I was in their neighborhood, whether it’s here in Boulder or in Wales or in Boston, I would have one and it would be incredibly fun. That’s why I feel like our world is getting smaller. As annoying as it is sometimes from the flood of tweets, I always know when X-Factor is on, or when the Daily Mail is being ridiculous, or when Australian Idol is awesome. On Sundays, I can chat it up with a Chargers fan while they are playing my Broncos because for the rest of the year we’re friends. I’ve just had so many good experiences this year on Twitter. Half the time, I don’t even know who found who first and why we found each other at all, but I’m so glad that we did. When I need support, they are some of the first people I turn to because they will just listen and respond kindly. They won’t try to fix it for me, or give me their spin. They are always out there and I feel less alone because of it.

Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

As time goes on, paper becomes less and less a part of my life. I have been using a sketch book for the past four or five months here at work to take notes. The thick white paper magnifies my writing so well, and not having to write within lines has strangely opened me up. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to lined paper for note taking. It’s too constrictive.

Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

Ha ha! I totally know the answer to this one. It took me just a few seconds to think of The Room. Have you ever seen this movie? It’s ridiculous. And my first encounter watching it had to be my hardest laugh of the year. It’s sooooooo bad that it’s good. Here are few fine clips of this disaster movie.

If you want to have your own big laugh, have friends over, have some drinks and turn this on. If you can get by the two lame sex scenes that actually repeat the same footage because the actress refused to film more than one, you are golden.

Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?

I’m not sure this made me think, but I LOVED it. I love me some Bono, no big surprise if you’ve known me for the past 15 years, so of course I loved this Ad!

Plus I think the lyrics do make you think a bit.