Thirty Things I Did Not Know Last Year

It seems to be a “thing” to reminisce about the past year. I have found that certain outfits are all ga-ga over listing things we (as a people, I guess) did not know last year. Sure, they’re great and all — science and nature and the world around us and such — but really, what do they have to do with me?

Here are some things *I* did not know last year. They are numbered, but they are in no particular order.

1. Alex can be in five plays, teach three classes, and defend her dissertation, all in one year.
2. Metalheads are generally pretty nice people
3. Cats can hurt themselves in creative and expensive ways
4. Bubbles tend to burst, and what goes up can come down
5. Distilling your water doesn’t mean it will taste good
6. Algonquin Provincial Park is larger and wetter than I previously imagined
7. I probably only need one gear on my bike if there are no hills whatsoever where I live
8. I totally need a lens like Duncan’s
9. My wife can make people cry and stand up in theaters
10. The Office is more enjoyable after an initial pre-watch, followed  by some downtime, to let the vicarious social hurting mellow a bit.
11. I have a job I most definitely do not want to lose
12. Birthdays generally continue to blow chunks; it is the way of adulthood
13. Canoes are perhaps more social than kayaks,  but they are not as cool
14. A Black guy can be President
15. The political barrel — in terms of candidates and brilliant ideas – has no bottom
16. Acting is kind of scary, once the teenage illusion of invincibility wears off
17. Those cute birds are called Black-Necked Stilts
18. Sometimes, the disappointment starts even before a candidate takes office
19. No, apparently I’m not going to get any publications in 2008
20. The Department of Homeland Security is like the worst girlfriend ever
21. The majority of my students are a source of great joy and satisfaction in my job; however, a small but consistent proportion of them just… baffle me
22. The stock market is not my friend
23. Sleep deprivation is also not my friend
24. Caffeinated beverages do not have my best interests at heart
25. Kitties and cute women are perfectly acceptable subjects of photographic projects
26. There is something about the allure of facebook that I don’t completely get
27. Linux is not so scary, after you use it for a while
28. Linux is sometimes scary, especially after you use it for a while
29. I apparently stopped listening to new music in about 1997 and now am no longer cool
30. A lack of TV is good for your soul, but bad for your sense of what the #$@% is happening in the world, and even worse for any budding internet addiction issues you might be developing

I invite anyone who reads this to post their own list. I would be interested in reading it :) Hyperlinks not required.