2012 in 30 bullet points. The positives only.

Because it's easy to focus on the negative things that happen to you when you're still recovering from them, when people post facebook statuses including questions like "what are you thankful for" and "what are you grateful for in 2012", sometimes you want to punch them in the face. But. At the same time, though my mindset has been far from thankful or optimistic at all recently, I decided to reflect on what's gone on in 2012 that I've been grateful for, independent of and concurrent with the things that went horribly wrong.

I know it's a little early. Theoretically, this is a blog post that should be written on December 31st, with the onset of the new year. At the same time, there is that omnipresent possibility that in a few hours we'll all get blown up by a meteor or something, so, with the solstice upon us, the days getting longer so long as we live to see more days, I thought it was fitting to think about my 2012.

I think rather than esoteric streams of consciousness I will write this blog in a logical progression. Bullet points. Here we go. Things that happened in 2012 to be grateful for.

January
1. The best New Year's Eve party I've ever been to in my life. I'm not at liberty to discuss certain aspects of this party. All that aside, we (Stimee, Adam, Brady and I) arrived around 11 PM and left at 4:30 AM. It was an outdoor party at Marsh Lake (Yukon) with a massive fire, bands (one of them played in the time signature of 11/4, step aside Pink Floyd with your amateur 7/8), food, and drinks. And, unlike any other Northern party I've ever been to in my LIFE, no one was sloppy obnoxious drunk.

2. The river froze over enough in 2012 that I could participate in my personal favorite hike in Skagway - the hike on the river. I have found no hike to be more calming and adventurous at the same time.

February
3. I participated in the Valentines Day dance at the Elks by playing bass and piano with the band. It was a good time. It'd been years since i'd openly participated in a group (the last time was Goat Stick and we only played 3 songs). It got things moving for me, musically, that hadn't been stirred in a long time. Namely, it made me remember that at one time I used to like doing that.

March
4. I started babysitting for Adalynn in February or March. Best kid ever, that's all. No more elaborating really needs to happen here.

5. Tomorrow, When the War Began was made into a movie, which I acquired in March. I also re-read the book series and introduced a lot of friends to it.

6. Choose Respect Skagway happened and was an overwhelming success to a much greater extent than it was in 2011. Although I co-chaired the event this year, Kathy had to leave town at the last minute. So on top of giving a speech I also got to emcee the event. The support for the cause (cracking down on domestic violence and sexual assault locally) was incredible.

April
7. My nephew was born.

8. I spent time with my family and friends on the east coast (as a result of #7), who put on a wedding shower and a bachelorette party for me. I rode a roller coaster for the first time since before I moved to Alaska. Although the sense of impending breakup overshadowed the whole trip, I witnessed the miracle of life and the miracle of love.

9. I moved into Deano's boxcar. What a relief. What a happy home that was for me and Merlin.

May
10. The Avengers. Saw it in the theater twice on opening day.

11. I reconnected with an old crop of summer friends and connected for the first time with the new ones. Since I was newly single I spent an awful lot of time with my summer friends and made connections that will last a lifetime.

12. I won the costume contest at trivia night. Small, but if you are aware of how competetive I am, yeah, it was awesome.

13. I played with 4 Over 50 featuring Steve Hites at the Skagway Reunion, my first real bass gig since Five Til Midnight. What a rush.

June
14. 80s Night: For the first time in my life I was a part of a social setting that involved little else besides dancing. in fact, I danced for about six hours straight, in between drinking and smoking. And it was six of the best hours of my summer.

15. I was offered a year-round full-time job in Skagway. Did you catch that? Because I've been trying for five years. And I've been applying for every single job that has been posted. And I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it would never happen for me. I had been imagining that moment for so long. I cried.

16. My parents came for their third visit. Many adventures were had, and they got to experience the 4th of July festivities.

July
17. I got second place in the arm wrestling on 4th of July.

18. I hung out with the pipe band from Whitehorse, drinking and playing music, getting a feel for the Scottish games i've been missing all these years.

August 19. I moved into a new house. A real house. Back at the north end of town where I belong.

20. I bought a van. I took said van on many adventures.

21. I spent a sunny, gorgeous day on the rocks by Smuggler's watching whales and eagles with Philip. The whales were basically swimming circles around us.

22. Lynx and Northern lights with Stephanie.

September 23. An unprecedented appreciation for friends and family, biological and otherwise. I never could have expected how much support I could have had during the otherwise miserable month of September.

October
24. My brother visited Alaska for the first time. Words can't really describe how much amazing came from that.

25. I started writing songs again for the first time in ages.

26. Harley Quinn for Halloween. The reason I am thankful for this is because I am thankful for the less-than-ten people who recognized and knew who Harley Quinn is.

November
27. Election. I am thankful for the election and grateful for its results.

28. EL MERCADO!! Now every Saturday I can go out and get tacos. In Skagway. In winter. Unprecedented.

29. Being brought Thanksgiving dinner at work.

December
30. Jim and Katie restored my faith in humanity. OK, not entirely, but they sure made me feel like love actually does exist.