El Año Viejo

The traditional songs about a new year beginning seem melancholy and seem to focus on friends (Auld Lange Syne, My Dear Acquaintance [A Happy New Year]). The only Spanish song I know of on the same subject seems happier and counting-my-blessings-y (it's a scientific term), but that may be because the rhythm is so danceable. (this version is the best I can find on YouTube. Viva Celia Cruz.)

Good things that happened in 2011:

• I survived my first year and the first quarter of my second year of grad school
• I started a great job
• I got my driver's license
• I read some great great books and saw some good movies
• I hung out with my friends
• I bought a new laptop
• And a Nook 
• I did some library volunteering in the summer
• My brother and I bought our parents a new desktop computer
• My parents sold our minivan
• My little brother started college
• My mom started a new job she likes
• My sister studied abroad in France and Argentina (she's there now)
• and just got engaged
• My best friend's little girl was born, as was my cousin's second child. Babies are the best
• Said bestie^ graduated from nursing school and passed her boards and is now an RN
• I started this blog
• I got involved with Change.org and learned that if a lot of people click-sign petitions, stuff actually happens. It's a start.
• Other stuff I can't remember (these items are just in the order I thought of them)

Bad things that happened in 2011:

• My paternal grandmother died.  This has been the hardest thing to come out of this year.
• We just learned that my step-great-grandmother passed away too. She was my grandmother's stepmother.
• Natural disasters all over the world of varying intensities and horribleness such as tsunamis, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires
• Steve Jobs and Elizabeth Taylor died
• Political crap, such as awful and/or sexist laws and the way OccupyWhatever protestors were treated. You will never convince me that it is okay to pepper-spray an 80-something year old woman in the face.
• The State of Georgia killed Troy Davis
• My maternal grandmother has had some worrisome medical stuff happen. She fainted twice a few weeks ago.

I was a bit worried I'd have more stuff in the Bad section than the Good, but I'm glad that's not the case. I think 2011 was somewhat better than 2010, but it still was rather difficult in parts. Here's to hoping 2012 is great.

Number of books read in 2011: approximately 139