Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A look back at a decade

I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that in a matter of days, 2009 will be over. And it's not just the end of the year. It's the end of a decade. That's big people. At the beginning of this decade? I was in a completely different place in my life.

So when I saw Jess over at 21 Days do a decade in review, I thought that was pretty cool and it was something I wanted to do for myself. So I give you, Badgergirl's review of the decade that was the 2000s.

2000: I was a college kid. As a college sophomore, I rang in the new decade with friends on a street corner in Pasadena, Calif. We had driven cross country for a trip out to a warmer climate to watch the Badgers beat up on Stanford in the Rose Bowl. Bucky continues its good year with a Final Four appearance (miss that game with a nasty bout of mono). In the fall I become a 6-pointer at the Wisconsin State Journal, my first "real" (i.e. non-college) newspaper job.

2001: I meet The College Boyfriend. Fall in love. Watch the Twin Towers fall.

2002: I become a college graduate in May. Follow The College Boyfriend and move to Indiana in the fall. I get my first full-time newspaper job as a sports writer. The College Boyfriend cheats on me. We break up. It's a miserable year.

2003: Misery continues in the spring. I snag tickets to first round NCAA games in Indy. Start looking for a new gig back in Wisconsin. 365 days after I moved to Indiana I leave, go back to Wisconsin for a job in The 'burg. I stop writing about sports and start writing about crooks.

2004: Mid-year I decide to start a weight loss journey. I change my eating habits. Start hitting the gym.

2005: A little more than a year after I started, I'm 50 pounds lighter. I'm happy. I start flirting with running.

2006: In September I leave The 'burg, take a new job at a bigger newspaper in The City on the Water. I still write about crooks. I start my blog.

2007: I train for and run my first 5K since middle school. I catch the running bug. There was the Great Neck Slicing of 2007. And I train for and run my first half marathon. Start dating The Coach. Then The Monster invades my head.

2008: It's a year of recovering from The Monster. The Coach breaks my heart. Not a good year. But I do finish my first triathlon. And get the word from my doctor that The Monster has left my head.

2009: Spent the year regaining my fitness and losing the extra pounds the medicine I took to banish The Monster left me with. Ran a personal worst 5K early in the year, did three triathlons (shaved almost 17 minutes off my time from 2008's Danskin time!) and a bunch of 5Ks (shaved 3+ minutes off that personal worst time from earlier in the year). Rediscovered why I like running. Oh and I flew upside down with a stunt pilot.

Not a bad decade. Some rocky parts. Some smooth parts. Some happy days, some sad days. I'm kind of excited to see what the 2010s have in store for me.

7 comments:

No Longer Using said...

oh my gosh, i LOVE it!!!! that is quite the review. and you do it so well and in few enough well chosen words and thoughts that i feel like i can see the entire decade on one page. and so much happened. we are always stronger for the hard things we go through, right? i mean it is a cliche but i think it is true. maybe i will do this too! it is really helpful to see yourself in this way.

Kristie said...

Thanks for sharing all of that! And a good way to sum up a pretty crazy decade :)

Mike Russell said...

What a up and down decade you had. The good thing about everything that happened is it made you into the person you are today. For better or worse, we are the sum of our experiences. Sounds like you turned them all into positive learning ones.

Suzy said...

You have had quite a decade so far! 2010 is your year! Take it by the horns and go...

Mark said...

Enjoyable post! Great idea!

Carolina John said...

looks like you've had a lot of fun this decade! good times and bad, they all make us who we are today.

Jill said...

What a great idea, to summerize your decade. That'd be so hard for me! Good luck in 2010 - may your miles be happy and healthy!