525,600 minutes: how do you measure a year?

how can you measure whether the past year was a success or failure? and what's really more important, quantifying or qualifying? let's start by checking to see how i did on my resolutions:

1. run my first marathon! done and done!

2. run at least 2 half marathons. nope and nope! santa cruz was a no go for a variety of reasons and i never signed up for a second one.

3. run at least 3 days a week, every week. hahahahahahaha. um, no. this didn't happen either.

other non-running related goals. this year, i also want to:

1. learn to sew. nope.

2. pay off one of my credit cards. yup! and i paid off my car!

3. find steady employment, whether it be with my old company i'm freelancing for now or a new job here. technically yes.

4. live up to (or down to, i guess) the weight documented on my driver's license. not even for one minute was i the weight on my driver's license.

so out of 7 resolutions, i made good on only 3. less than half! does this make me a slacker? nah. am i too lenient on myself? nah. because i like taking the qualitative approach to measuring.

running that marathon makes up for missing those other two resolutions. i mean sweet jesus, i ran my first marathon! who cares that i didn't run all my training mileage? who cares that i didn't have any half marathons to practice? essentially, i ran my two half marathons during my one marathon! ;)

as for my non-running goals, i didn't learn to sew, but i did learn to cook better. if there were a sewing network on tv, i'd be all good with the sewing. and as for my weight and my current weightloss challenge, my feeling is this, if i really really really cared about being smaller, i would have manned up and lost the weight. as it was, i think i had other priorities. or maybe ive gotten complacent. either way, i'm not bummed that i'm not a size 4. i think this year, i'll just resolve to being smaller than i am right at this very second. or maybe not even make a resolution about my weight, which will be a first since, i don't know, 7th grade?

what else can i say about 2007?

if you've been reading my blog, you know 2007 was a big transition year for me. i came into it really trying not to pressure myself or expect too much. i was reeling from a horrible breakup from someone i wanted to spend the rest of my life with and was ridiculously emotional and unsure of how i would really handle the change. throughout the year, i had doubts about whether my move was smart. not so much the move itself, but the timing. but ultimately i knew i made the right decision. i came home to be closer to my family. and everyone knows, that you just don't know how much time you'll get with your loved ones. my little nephew knows my name, runs to me when i come to visit, cries when i leave, and is seriously, the coolest and smartest toddler around. i'm very happy i'm not just the crazy aunt he sees at holidays, but one that is around to influence his life on a regular basis.

i'm happy to be home, amongst my brothers and cousins, who to my surprise are totally grown and capable adult human beings! they aren't babies anymore! and as adults, they're pretty fun to be hang out with. i'm happy i'm home to be with them, to get to know their significant others, and watch them add to our family!

and then there are my parents. everyone said i'd go totally freakin' insane living with them again. there were bets placed on how soon i'd move out. and to my surprise, i've actually liked living at home again. i think we missed each other that much. i'm glad i'm home with my mom at night during the week, while my dad is at work. i'm glad i'm home to take them out to places they've never been, trying things they've never tried. i'm glad i'm here to drive them around to run their errands. i'm glad i'm here to just keep an eye on them. they're still relatively healthy and active, and i know that if i wasn't here they'd be ok. but they are getting older, and i'm happy to be here to help them when they need it. i know i can't live at home for forever, but this year hasn't been so bad, really. dare i say, my senior citizen parents are the best roommates i've ever had.

i've kept in touch with everyone back east that i wanted to. and it seems that in the year i've been gone, i haven't really missed much. that will change once my best friend has her baby in march, though. i will miss that. and i'll miss her shower. but i think i've gotten to a place where i think i'm ok with that. the hardest thing about my 20s was watching my friends couple off, get married, move out to the 'burbs, and now start to have kids. i was still "stuck" at the trying to couple off phase. it sucked so bad not having my girlfriends around to do the things we used to do. and it sucked trying to find new ones. i think i'm now at the point where i, a singleton, can co-exist in a world with couples and parents, and not have it feel so strange. and i've had a whole decade of learning to rely on myself.

the job-front has proved interesting. it's probably the area i put the least amount of effort in. many times during this year i was depressed about it and many times i felt guilty for not really wanting to do more. but i think i now have a better idea of what i want in my career and where to find those opportunities.

transition is always a weird place to be. throughout the year i always felt like i was missing something or someone. it felt like i had no home and it felt like all i had was the past. but now, after a year, i feel like i have my bearings and i can begin a future.

so here's to 2008! here's to turning 30!