that was certainly the most eventful year in quite a while. it began with my return to school after almost 10 years (i’ve taken a bunch of courses online, but have avoided campuses since 1998). i survived two semesters and emerged as an honour student. i’ve also survived a full year living in another country. some people might say, “yeah, but it’s Canada. how different can it be?” well, my wallet got heavier from all the coinage for one thing.
during the spring and summer, i took WHiRR out to five craft shows in town and introduced Canadians to Boris. my inventory dwindled down to everything in my new Blissfully Bitter shop and a lot of boxed cards. people respond favorably to WHiRR but i don’t have a grand time manning tables and trying to deal with customers in noisy churches. so i’ve taken a hiatus from that for a while.
professionally, i wrote another profile for Orlando Arts magazine and completed projects for two clients—a brochure for a local community organization and t-shirts and postcards for a local pizzeria.
during my breaks from school, i took several trips stateside. in february, i visited my mom in Atlanta (she lives in my hometown in Alabama, but i’ve become unwilling to tolerate the growing delays via the ATL airport just to visit red mud and rebel flags). i dragged her to the design museum there to see the Cartoon Network display. i was enthralled, she was bored. we met up again in Atlanta in August for more food and shopping. she’s partly responsible for my ever-expanding argyle collection.
earlier in the year, boyfriend and i took a day trip over to the Toronto Islands, where i manned a vehicle without crashing or nearly crashing for the first time (my childhood is littered with instances involving wheeled modes of transportation and minor injuries. wheels are not my friends). we also went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, under the impression that we’d hear a voice-over he’d done for the company (we did not). we did play their mini-golf and my game showed marked improvement from years and courses past.
the boyfriend and i took a whirlwind trip ’round New England in October for leaf-peeping and visiting his family. most of my photos from the trip were just blurs of colours. i can certainly see the appeal of Vermont and the Adirondacks for visiting, but darling give me reliable internet access.
a few weeks ago, i took a trip down to Orlando to visit familiar faces and be silly. while i’m no longer in love with Orlando and tropical weather, i did need my partners in silliness and random shouting and giggle fits. i have yet to find Canadian dopplegangers of my giggle partners.
i also started learning sign language and stopped trying to hide my hearing loss. this is probably what some might think of as “emotional growth.”
that’s the basic overview of my life in 2007. what does 2008 hold? steady employment? selling out? licensing deals for WHiRR? clinical depression?