Year In Review - Part I

I only have a few days left of this year and since this year has sucked so royally, next year, the big 2010, will be grand. One can only hope.

As today is my Friday, I'm feeling pretty good. I thought that I'd get started on my year in review. To say I don't know where to start would be completely cliche, but true. It's not that I did so much that I can't even begin; rather, I just don't remember. Lucky for me (and you), I wrote a blog this year!

Instead of recapping all that has happened in the year, I'll simply start with the topic of "Downtime- What I Did to Recharge". Wonder where I got this great [modified] idea? Well, check out this fellow here!

I Blogged at stephysite and hoklife!

There are the obvious things to make myself physically "unwind" and these consist of Nyquil and diphenhydramine. A lot of Effexor helps too!

I've spent some time this year "getting in shape" which translates to "tearing up my knees". I ran a couple of 5k's and tried to regularly stick to jogging that allows me to think alone while physically exhausting myself. The best benefit is the endorphin high.

Doodling has become a new "stress reliever" at work. I suppose it started one night after talking to @ironstef about zentangle. I recently purchased a lovely handmade [out of used books] journal to store my doodles. The lovely journal was made by @thefancylamb

Reading is always high on my list of things to do. It serves so many purposes (keeps the mind fresh with ideas and knowledge, kills the time on the bus, lulls me to sleep, tells me amazing stories, gives me things to talk about, and relaxes me). This year I've read more than most years because I've used public transit about 75%-85% of the year; which happens to be where I do most of my reading. Here is a small list of what I read in 2009:

• A Dirty Job
• Fool
• Blood Sucking Fiends
• You Suck
• The Twilight Series
• Let the Right One In
• Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible
• Broken

Want some words? Here ya go...
jump the couch: A defining moment when you know someone has gone off the deep end. Inspired by Tom Cruise's behavior on Oprah.
Chrismukkah: the holiday mixture for Hanukkah and Christmas.

Alphabetical Order

When I can't sleep, I have a few techniques that I dazzle myself with in order to doze off. The first trick consists of a healthy dose of diphenhydramine. If that fails me, or if I manage to resist the urge to consume medication, I do the alphabet thing. It's simple, much like counting sheep.

The problem with counting sheep is that it requires too little thought and therefore my brain begins to wander again as the sheep roam about doing their own thing. So I have to do something more complex. [Once I wrote equations in my head, but I found I got so consumed with trying to remember complex ideas that I wanted to get up and write things down rather than sleep. So, I go to my good old alphabet thing.]

For ages (or since junior high school), I said the 50 States in alphabetical order. Then, when I got too used to that, I'd count how many states had A's, or double letters, or ending in vowels, etc. I rarely bore of this; however, on occasion, I like to mix things up for my brain. In these cases I list items in alphabetical order, based on theme, and repeat them until I eventually fall asleep. It never fails that eventually I just doze off with little recollection of where I even left off. For example, last night was animals...

armadillo
armadillo bear
armadillo bear crocodile
armadillo bear crocodile donkey
...you get the idea...this is my list...or as far as I got...
armadillo bear crocodile donkey elephant ferret giraffe horse impala jaguar kangaroo llama moose n..n...n...

Today's Entertainment

Mood: So-So

Entertainment for today: Ransom Note, see below: