New Year's Eve 2019
We stand on the precipice of a new year and new decade to boot. Let me open my Instagram account so that I can remember what I did in 2019, because that's where we're at these days.
I Saw Hamilton
Will's parents took us to see Hamilton in January as a Christmas gift. In all this time since it exploded on the world stage, I never once listened to more than whatever I caught in snippets and memes in traditional or social media. I am that person who often (but not always) shies away from super popular things when they first blow up, and Hamilton was one of them. I think I'm afraid of disappointment that the thing won't live up to the hype, but fortunately for me, Hamilton did. I loved every minute, and I mostly just listened to the original Broadway soundtrack for the rest of the year, according to Spotify.
I Danced Flamenco
I Kept Up With Kappa
I'm in my second year as a volunteer content director for programming. I'm still convinced that I have the best team.
Locally, I'm still involved with my alumnae group as its Treasurer. I'm just working my way through the exec board now, eh?
I Quit Facebook
We parted ways in July. I was done, and I haven't regretted it.
I Moved
To hear Will tell it, he sang a song with lyrics that he improvised on the spot while we were walking from Sewickley village back to our apartment one day, and I decided it was time to move. That's only partly true. When he moved in with me and we agreed to stay put for the forseeable future to save money. We talked about our next move being into a house that we would buy. Then after a few months, it became increasingly obvious that we needed more space and wanted to be closer to the action. (Read: closer to the city.) After a couple weeks' search and a few viewings, we settled on a house strikingly similar to the one we were in: a 1920's-built duplex. Friends and family pitched in to help us make the second most traumatic move I've ever done to date. We couldn't move in early, and someone bought the house we were moving out of, and they wanted to move in as soon as they closed. Throw in 3 cats, high summer heat, and a rental truck that was several cubic feet smaller than what we had reserved, and you have insanity.
We gained an additional bedroom (or rather, an office for Will) and lost a bunch of storage space, but in the end, it's been a much better arrangement for all. For you see, we live in Squirrel Hill now! Yes, it is the neighborhood where a terrorist opened fire in a synagogue, but it is still one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh. We're so much closer to the best restaurants, shops, my dance classes, and my office downtown. Will's commute is about the same, distance-wise, but he's much happier with the route. We love it here and intend to stay for a good while. *knock on wood*
I Went to Canada
Because of the wedding, I stayed pretty grounded, travel-wise. However, that didn't keep me from going across the border with six of my best gal pals for my bachelorette weekend! Pinch me, because this is still like a dream to me. I've been such a nomad my whole life that it's hard to impress upon you how strange and wonderful it was to have all of my best friends in one place simultaneously, because I formed those friendships in such different times and places. Tina and Alyse even flew in from out of state, bless them. We rented an Airbnb in Niagara Falls, went on a wine tasting tour, had dinner, and some hijinks here and there. It was amazing and I'll never stop thanking everyone for celebrating with me.
I Got Married
When October 1st finally came, we were so ready. After nearly a year's engagement, Will and I married ourselves over tacos at Emiliano's in Cranberry. The photo below was our celebratory ice cream afterwards.
You read it right. We married ourselves in a Mexican restaurant...nearly 2 weeks before the wedding. Long story short, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the burden of proof is on you to prove the validity of your marriage if you are married by anyone other than one of the handful of people that the state recognizes as people who can marry you. You know, clergy, JPs, judges, boat captains, and the like. Our officiant, one of Will's best friends since college, is not among any of those professions, so we had to get creative. Thanks to PA's Quaker heritage, we were able to get a self-uniting license. We paid our $85, applied, got the license, signed it, had our officiant and his wife sign as witnesses, dropped it off at the city-county building the next day, and *BOOM*, we were legally wed. It was nice, because we had a fun little secret for awhile, and we were able to jumpstart the process of doing paperwork like health insurance and all that sexy married stuff.
On October 13th, we had ourselves a big fat multi-cultural, Day of the Dead themed wedding. It was insanely fun and exhausting all at once. See a mini-gallery at our wedding photographer's blog.
I Had a Quiet Christmas
Will and I decided to just be low-key and stay at home this year. We opened gifts, watched the Disney parade, and ate a new Thai/Lao restaurant in our neighborhood. (A huge benefit of living in the Jewish area of town is that you have no shortage of options for Christmas dinner.) That's about it, and it was perfect.
Onward
Next year brings new adventures that include a honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam in the spring, Kappa convention in Boca Raton, and maybe another trip to Disney World if we can manage it. As for the rest, who knows? I mean, aside from the crushing expectations of a presidential election year in the United States. Perhaps I'll aim my reading goals back up into the 40-50 book range again, or take up knitting. Perhaps both.
I Saw Hamilton
Will's parents took us to see Hamilton in January as a Christmas gift. In all this time since it exploded on the world stage, I never once listened to more than whatever I caught in snippets and memes in traditional or social media. I am that person who often (but not always) shies away from super popular things when they first blow up, and Hamilton was one of them. I think I'm afraid of disappointment that the thing won't live up to the hype, but fortunately for me, Hamilton did. I loved every minute, and I mostly just listened to the original Broadway soundtrack for the rest of the year, according to Spotify.
I Danced Flamenco
This is from my 10 year challenge Instagram post, in which I dug up a photo of me dancing at a street festival in Oceanside, CA with Raks-el-Anwar dance troupe in April 2009, vs the Fiesta Flamenca show a decade later. Funny how I'm wearing the same color palette. This means I'm going on my 3rd year of lessons already! I'd still put myself in the beginner territory, but at least some foot combinations come a little easier now. I've never been one to practice much outside of the classroom, and I've just been sticking to 1 class once a week this whole time, so progress is slow, but it is progress none the less! The April show was a lot of fun, especially since Will and my parents came to see me perform.
 |
| Abusing my feet on the stage in the name of art since 2007 |
I Kept Up With Kappa
I'm in my second year as a volunteer content director for programming. I'm still convinced that I have the best team.
 |
| Yay Programming Team! |
Locally, I'm still involved with my alumnae group as its Treasurer. I'm just working my way through the exec board now, eh?
I Quit Facebook
We parted ways in July. I was done, and I haven't regretted it.
I Moved
To hear Will tell it, he sang a song with lyrics that he improvised on the spot while we were walking from Sewickley village back to our apartment one day, and I decided it was time to move. That's only partly true. When he moved in with me and we agreed to stay put for the forseeable future to save money. We talked about our next move being into a house that we would buy. Then after a few months, it became increasingly obvious that we needed more space and wanted to be closer to the action. (Read: closer to the city.) After a couple weeks' search and a few viewings, we settled on a house strikingly similar to the one we were in: a 1920's-built duplex. Friends and family pitched in to help us make the second most traumatic move I've ever done to date. We couldn't move in early, and someone bought the house we were moving out of, and they wanted to move in as soon as they closed. Throw in 3 cats, high summer heat, and a rental truck that was several cubic feet smaller than what we had reserved, and you have insanity.
 |
| Loading the car with angry cats before taking them to my parents' house to escape the moving activity for a couple days |
We gained an additional bedroom (or rather, an office for Will) and lost a bunch of storage space, but in the end, it's been a much better arrangement for all. For you see, we live in Squirrel Hill now! Yes, it is the neighborhood where a terrorist opened fire in a synagogue, but it is still one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh. We're so much closer to the best restaurants, shops, my dance classes, and my office downtown. Will's commute is about the same, distance-wise, but he's much happier with the route. We love it here and intend to stay for a good while. *knock on wood*
I Went to Canada
Because of the wedding, I stayed pretty grounded, travel-wise. However, that didn't keep me from going across the border with six of my best gal pals for my bachelorette weekend! Pinch me, because this is still like a dream to me. I've been such a nomad my whole life that it's hard to impress upon you how strange and wonderful it was to have all of my best friends in one place simultaneously, because I formed those friendships in such different times and places. Tina and Alyse even flew in from out of state, bless them. We rented an Airbnb in Niagara Falls, went on a wine tasting tour, had dinner, and some hijinks here and there. It was amazing and I'll never stop thanking everyone for celebrating with me.
 |
| Wine Tasting |
 |
| Classy Leopard Clad Clan |
I Got Married
When October 1st finally came, we were so ready. After nearly a year's engagement, Will and I married ourselves over tacos at Emiliano's in Cranberry. The photo below was our celebratory ice cream afterwards.
You read it right. We married ourselves in a Mexican restaurant...nearly 2 weeks before the wedding. Long story short, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the burden of proof is on you to prove the validity of your marriage if you are married by anyone other than one of the handful of people that the state recognizes as people who can marry you. You know, clergy, JPs, judges, boat captains, and the like. Our officiant, one of Will's best friends since college, is not among any of those professions, so we had to get creative. Thanks to PA's Quaker heritage, we were able to get a self-uniting license. We paid our $85, applied, got the license, signed it, had our officiant and his wife sign as witnesses, dropped it off at the city-county building the next day, and *BOOM*, we were legally wed. It was nice, because we had a fun little secret for awhile, and we were able to jumpstart the process of doing paperwork like health insurance and all that sexy married stuff.
On October 13th, we had ourselves a big fat multi-cultural, Day of the Dead themed wedding. It was insanely fun and exhausting all at once. See a mini-gallery at our wedding photographer's blog.
I Had a Quiet Christmas
Will and I decided to just be low-key and stay at home this year. We opened gifts, watched the Disney parade, and ate a new Thai/Lao restaurant in our neighborhood. (A huge benefit of living in the Jewish area of town is that you have no shortage of options for Christmas dinner.) That's about it, and it was perfect.
Onward
Next year brings new adventures that include a honeymoon to Paris and Amsterdam in the spring, Kappa convention in Boca Raton, and maybe another trip to Disney World if we can manage it. As for the rest, who knows? I mean, aside from the crushing expectations of a presidential election year in the United States. Perhaps I'll aim my reading goals back up into the 40-50 book range again, or take up knitting. Perhaps both.
Wishing you and yours a prosperous 2020.
Get out and vote.
