2008 in Review

In the last year, things have changed quite a bit. The biggest change, for all of us, of course, is our selection of Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. Our country is in one of the lowest of the lows, and this is huge. It seems like this is a moment in history our kids will be asking us about, and we'll remember.

For me, personally, things have changed quite a bit. The year I had my first skinny dip. My first apartment, all to myself. My first case of Shingles. SO many new friends. The top three events to define 2008 would have to be Paddling for My Soul (Moose River canoe trip.) The Break Up. And I know it sounds ridiculous, but singing I Would Do Anything for Love with Tess at karaoke. I think I'm that much closer to figuring out who I am and what I want- I almost feel like a different person. A new woman. I've gone from dating a journalist to Journalistic dating. And rekindling. Spring break Indiana wasn't bad, either.

Here are a few other standout 2008 things:

My cat Baby!

ChaCha!

Telethon at WABI (I do what I do for YOU!)

Best Birthday ever! (Thanks, ladies!)

The Theme Party that was not to Be.

Homecoming at Space.

DZUSA and Feel It Robot.

Best burger ever at Kelly's birthday party- it was made of Bison!

My Beyonce Pandora station.

"Hey, You bitches want some olives?"

The Mujoy Hill Exxodus (and the bittersweetness of it all.)

Gossip Girl.

The iPhone, obviously.

Mount Dessert Island

We were talking about the pronunciation of that island that is home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Mount Dessert Island. All my years living in this state, I've only ever heard it pronounced "desert," like the Sahara. Then I'm informed that the correct pronunciation is actually "dessert," like ice cream. Although a mountain of ice cream does sound a lot less ridiculous than a mountain of dry, barren sand. The desert pronunciation evolved over time, bastardised from the French-Canadian (ahem, Acadian) dessert. Now you all know. To be on the safe side, if you're there, it's safe to refer to it as "The Island" or "MDI."

Last weekend was another long road trip, but instead of heading southeast to Boston, we headed Down East, to Ellsworth and Bar Harbor. I found a lot of similarities between Portland as a tourist destination, and Bar Harbor as a tourist destination. I will henceforth compare:

	Portland, ME	Bar Harbor, ME
	Booze Cruise with the Awesome	Whale and Puffin watch cruises
	Cool as a Moose store	Cool as a Moose store
	That guy in a lobster suit	Lobster Pounds, where you can hand-pick your live, thrashing lobster, and get terrific meal deals!
	Bars with decks	Bars with decks
	Lots of affordable housing	Lots of affordable Motels
	More bars than anyone could ever go to	More T-shirts and Ice Cream than anyone could ever want
	Serious art in Museums and Galleries	Not so serious art- priced so people like me can afford (including sweet frames!)
	The Space Gallery, The Soundpost	Timber Tina's Great Maine Lumberjack Show, Dr. Wilson's Memory Elixir Medicine Show
	WABI, TV5	WGME 13
	The Portland Press Herald	The Bar Harbor Times
	Scenic Cityscape	Scenic Landscape
	The Downtown Lounge	Geddy's Pub (has a "Jeter Drinks Wine Coolers" T-shirt in the shop downstairs.)
	$53 Average dollar amount spent on a Josh and Amanda seafood dinner at J's Oyster Bar	$78 Average dollar amount spent on a Josh and Amanda seafood dinner at some place we picked from a tour guide
	Maine Narrow Gauge Museum	Whale Museum
	Maine College of Art	College of the Atlantic