YIR

status check - a little tired
background ambiance - typical

year in review, compiled during the last tuesday of 2004.

most memorable experience i can't really remember: graham colton's headlining set at metronome, may 10. averi opened, with dennis replacing the out-of-commission michael. it gets fuzzy (hilariously so) once beth and i went to the bar, ordered a round of kamakazi shots and started talking to dennis.

surreal moment 1: on oct. 27, i watched the red sox win the world series in a dining hall at the university of vermont. i was one of three reporters covering burlington's reaction if the sox pulled off the sweep. when foulke recorded the second strike of the final out, each of the 20-odd people in the room groaned - it was so close but we couldn't quite believe they'd pull it off. after the toss to first base, everyone screamed and hugged - i watched the team rush the field and then bolted out the door for the victory celebration on the green. "dirty water" was piped into the night from a dorm window, revelers swarmed the green among the cops in riot gear. twice as many people stood pressed against every window, curious as to what would unfold but afraid to come out. it didn't start to dawn on me that they actually WON until much later that night, but i was able to call my dad and yell, "how 'bout dem red sox?" and hear him cheer.

surreal moment 2: hopping into my car at midnight with my father to drive from burlington to beverly on oct. 30. we arrived at my grandmother's around 4, i tossed and turned until 5:30 - we were at the train station among other baseball fans around 6:30. we stormed the trains and met up with my brother in front of the museum of science, where we stood for several hours on the curb until the duck boat rolling rally approached. any fatigue was forgotten when the motorcade of area police officers approached with flashing lights; the confetti bursts cleared just in time to see johnny damon sticking his head out of the front of the first boat with a grin, wave and flash of the victory sign. the photos taken that day remain among my favorite taken in 2004; i didn't process what i'd seen until the photos came back.*

it had finally sunk in: on dec. 2, bronson arroyo (the one red sox autographed i'd actually sought in 2004) brought the trophy to NoVo. after standing in the snow with beth and chuck for three feet-numbing hours, we enjoyed being there, but acknowledged that the disbelief had dissipated at some point during the stretch of november. but it was still neat to see.

loyal to a fault: the living room, middle earth music hall (2), nectar's, paradise, metronome, the roxy, avalon, pickel barrel. nine averi shows and two vows "never to let myself be disappointed by a performance again." "for better or worse" rings true.

"alternacoustic": pete thurston. gregory page. tristan prettyman (whom i wound up seeing four times in a series of lucky breaks). ryan montbleau (seen live twice). tides (andrew's band - seen twice and prepped as my next favorite boston band). finally see damien rice, ben folds, rilo kiley, rufus wainwright in concert. the last dispatch. the rise and fall of gavin degraw (witnessed over the course of three shows during the year), lost with the guitarist. saw again: jason mraz, guster, ani difranco, matt nathanson (2), howie day (3, including the second-dual-day day).

"ah, my people" moments: standing in a theater packed with people who knew every bit of rilo kiley's musical canon, singing along to "a better son/daughter." reading "elliott smith and the big nothing," full of its references to music i actually care about.

casa de racca: june move to the new place with two flatmates. never realized what a selling point color on the walls could be.

happy birthday: surprise! bush's re-election confirmed on my birthday. i postpone birthday celebrations in order to properly mourn; the weekend celebration at the pickel barrel is less-than-spectacular. i cut my losses and think of when i'll turn 25.

and i thought the bridges were burned: my first trip back to dc since moving is an absolute delight. as i walked down the familiar perilous sidewalks of capitol hill, the sense of relief i experience surprised even me. seeing my byline on the wall of front pages at the newseum served as delicious icing on the cake.

"stop the presses": full-time journalism job. got what i wished for.

dirty water: i make many trips; i start to make many plans.

greedy american period-abuser: i start my novel. for real, this time.

*since i couldn't sleep last night, i watched the NESN red sox year in review my uncle gave me for christmas. as i watched footage of the rolling rally, it still didn't feel like i was there, among the 3.2 million crazy people flooding the streets and river shores. huh.