The best of 2007
Maria tagged me to do a list of the best stuff about 2007. Here goes:
1. Going back to school. Even with the freakouts about financial aid and having to quit my job soon, my life is markedly better since going back to school. I know now what really makes me happy: learning stuff and working towards some sort of goal. I'm smart, dammit, and my brain needs stimulation, and going back to school has really helped me get back on the ball with that.
2. WNYC's Radio Lab. This podcast is the greatest thing that's come into my life in years. It blows my mind straight out my face (to borrow a phrase from dreamy host Jad Abumrad) every time I listen. It's reawakened the keen interest in science I had as a kid. Everyone who listens to it thinks it's amazing, so if you haven't heard it, go right now! I recommend Detective Stories, Memory and Forgetting, and Space just to start with. I don't care if you hate science - listen to it anyway, I promise you'll like it.
3. Podcasting in general. Podcasts have saved my life - there's no way I wouldn't have had some sort of breakdown at my boring ass job by now if it weren't for podcasts. I'm now able to sit all day and punch ISBNs into a computer while learning neat stuff at the same time. In addition to Radio Lab, I go through phases of listening to NPR's Science Friday, On Point With Tom Ashbrook, The Splendid Table, Skepticality, and sometimes I'll dig up interviews with cool people on the Fresh Air site. Nova also has a really cool series of scientists (including Neil Degrasse Tyson) explaining E=MC2 that you can download from iTunes. And of course, there's always the venerable This American Life. There's a podcast for everyone's interest - if you have a boring job or you drive a lot, I recommend sitting down with iTunes one day and searching the store for topics you're into.
4. Discovering the places to rent canoes and kayaks in DC and using them fairly regularly. It's so good to be able to get out on the water! I'll add hiking to this list, too - I only went once, but I hope to do more this year. The city really gets to me sometimes and I'm so happy to have discovered some ways to get out into nature every once in awhile.
5. Meeting Oliver Sacks. I've loved him since high school and it was so cool to hear him read from his new book at Politics & Prose and then talk to him for a second afterwards. He's soooo shy.
6. Ratatouille, No Country for Old Men, and Knocked Up = some movies I enjoyed last year.
7. "30 Rock." I can't believe I didn't watch the first season from the beginning! Damn funny, and I probably relate to Liz Lemon more than any other character I've seen on TV.
8. Bermuda. The cruise itself was meh, but Bermuda was gorgeous and I got in lots of kayaking, sailing, swimming, and zoo-going time. I hadn't had a real vacation in ages and I really needed one.
9. Allergy shots. They haven't changed my life yet, but I have high hopes. At the very least, getting two shots a week has helped me get over my fear of needles.
10. Pie. I made my first pies ever this year. Lemon, chocolate, and pecan. And they were delicious. 2008 will be the year of the pie, I think.
11. Reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Along with my beloved podcasts, this book definitely helped fuel the learning-stuff spark provided by my classes.
12. Hellboy. Michael lent me his Hellboy comics this fall. I heart Hellboy! Plus comic books were a great way to have something to read that wasn't schoolwork without being too dense or requiring too much of a commitment.
13. To steal one from Michael, The Shining and Barry Lyndon at the AFI Silver. So very cool to see these on the big screen, especially pretty pretty pretty Barry Lyndon.
14. And last but definitely not least, Carl Sagan. 2007 was the year I discovered "Cosmos" and the writings of Carl Sagan. They have definitely changed my life for the better. I've never been a person of faith, but Sagan allowed me to see that I actually DO have faith in something: the scientific method and the fundamental laws of the universe. There are two things Sagan said that particularly resonate with me: "We are made of star stuff" and "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." This knowledge makes me feel part of something bigger than myself. It gives me a sense of peace to know that when I and my loved ones are gone, even if our consciousness doesn't continue, our atoms will keep on chugging along, even when the Earth is swallowed by an expanding or exploding sun. I guess this is the sort of thing religions are for, but science is way better. Because it's real. When observations prove that a previously held belief is wrong, science changes to fit the new knowledge. That's something I can truly respect and believe in. Sagan sparked this epiphany for me and I'm thankful to him for it.
I really need to be working on internship applications right now, so I'll have to come back and do the "disappointments of 2007" list later.
1. Going back to school. Even with the freakouts about financial aid and having to quit my job soon, my life is markedly better since going back to school. I know now what really makes me happy: learning stuff and working towards some sort of goal. I'm smart, dammit, and my brain needs stimulation, and going back to school has really helped me get back on the ball with that.
2. WNYC's Radio Lab. This podcast is the greatest thing that's come into my life in years. It blows my mind straight out my face (to borrow a phrase from dreamy host Jad Abumrad) every time I listen. It's reawakened the keen interest in science I had as a kid. Everyone who listens to it thinks it's amazing, so if you haven't heard it, go right now! I recommend Detective Stories, Memory and Forgetting, and Space just to start with. I don't care if you hate science - listen to it anyway, I promise you'll like it.
3. Podcasting in general. Podcasts have saved my life - there's no way I wouldn't have had some sort of breakdown at my boring ass job by now if it weren't for podcasts. I'm now able to sit all day and punch ISBNs into a computer while learning neat stuff at the same time. In addition to Radio Lab, I go through phases of listening to NPR's Science Friday, On Point With Tom Ashbrook, The Splendid Table, Skepticality, and sometimes I'll dig up interviews with cool people on the Fresh Air site. Nova also has a really cool series of scientists (including Neil Degrasse Tyson) explaining E=MC2 that you can download from iTunes. And of course, there's always the venerable This American Life. There's a podcast for everyone's interest - if you have a boring job or you drive a lot, I recommend sitting down with iTunes one day and searching the store for topics you're into.
4. Discovering the places to rent canoes and kayaks in DC and using them fairly regularly. It's so good to be able to get out on the water! I'll add hiking to this list, too - I only went once, but I hope to do more this year. The city really gets to me sometimes and I'm so happy to have discovered some ways to get out into nature every once in awhile.
5. Meeting Oliver Sacks. I've loved him since high school and it was so cool to hear him read from his new book at Politics & Prose and then talk to him for a second afterwards. He's soooo shy.
6. Ratatouille, No Country for Old Men, and Knocked Up = some movies I enjoyed last year.
7. "30 Rock." I can't believe I didn't watch the first season from the beginning! Damn funny, and I probably relate to Liz Lemon more than any other character I've seen on TV.
8. Bermuda. The cruise itself was meh, but Bermuda was gorgeous and I got in lots of kayaking, sailing, swimming, and zoo-going time. I hadn't had a real vacation in ages and I really needed one.
9. Allergy shots. They haven't changed my life yet, but I have high hopes. At the very least, getting two shots a week has helped me get over my fear of needles.
10. Pie. I made my first pies ever this year. Lemon, chocolate, and pecan. And they were delicious. 2008 will be the year of the pie, I think.
11. Reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Along with my beloved podcasts, this book definitely helped fuel the learning-stuff spark provided by my classes.
12. Hellboy. Michael lent me his Hellboy comics this fall. I heart Hellboy! Plus comic books were a great way to have something to read that wasn't schoolwork without being too dense or requiring too much of a commitment.
13. To steal one from Michael, The Shining and Barry Lyndon at the AFI Silver. So very cool to see these on the big screen, especially pretty pretty pretty Barry Lyndon.
14. And last but definitely not least, Carl Sagan. 2007 was the year I discovered "Cosmos" and the writings of Carl Sagan. They have definitely changed my life for the better. I've never been a person of faith, but Sagan allowed me to see that I actually DO have faith in something: the scientific method and the fundamental laws of the universe. There are two things Sagan said that particularly resonate with me: "We are made of star stuff" and "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." This knowledge makes me feel part of something bigger than myself. It gives me a sense of peace to know that when I and my loved ones are gone, even if our consciousness doesn't continue, our atoms will keep on chugging along, even when the Earth is swallowed by an expanding or exploding sun. I guess this is the sort of thing religions are for, but science is way better. Because it's real. When observations prove that a previously held belief is wrong, science changes to fit the new knowledge. That's something I can truly respect and believe in. Sagan sparked this epiphany for me and I'm thankful to him for it.
I really need to be working on internship applications right now, so I'll have to come back and do the "disappointments of 2007" list later.
posted by ekrobi at 10:07 AM
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