2005 Recap

E and I rang in 2005 thousands of miles from home, in Australia. A few days later, on Bondi Beach, E asked me to marry him and I said yes.

After we returned, I worked as an extern for a judge and took one 2-unit class. It was a blissfully relaxing semester, filled with many weekend trips, as well as training for and running my first half marathon. A month later, I did my second one.

So, 2005 will go down as the year I was first a real runner. After the first two races, I put together a very ambitious race schedule. Life got in the way a few times (weather, sick grandfather, required trip with summer law firm, etc.) but for the most part, I ran the races I'd planned to run. My running log totals out at 1,192 miles for the year, slightly over double last year's 583 miles. That's about 22 miles a week, on average. (I'd love to maintain that level of running for 2006, but I'm guessing things like the wedding, the bar, the bar trip, and working as a lawyer may get in the way.)

After a relaxing Spring (where the only tasks requiring discipline outside of work were finishing my journal note and planning the wedding), we started our Summer early with a trip to Puerto Rico. Upon our return, I spent a gluttonous 16 weeks (and 7 pounds--almost 1/2 a pound a week!) as a summer associate, first in transactional IP work, and later in litigation. Summer was ridiculously busy and set the pace for the rest of the year.

Fall semester was rough. The first month, I attended as much of my 16 units of classes as possible while juggling being a bridesmaid in my college roommate's wedding, a trip to Washington DC to accept an award for my journal note, a trip to the South to visit E's family, and my last trip to my hometown before Christmas. 16 units, wedding planning, several weddings, trips, and deciding where to work after law school made the semester fly by. Unfortunately, that level of activity translated into a lack of preparedness which combined with family drama for a perfect storm during finals.

I'd complain, but my December was nothing compared to my father's. For him, the month began with his father being placed on Hospice. Several days later, his father passed away. He went to the ranch, joined the family in celebrating his father's life and then stayed behind to pack up the ranch house and deal with my papa's belongings. Upon his return home, my father checked himself into the hospital with severe abdominal pain, only to be told that he had several lumps and needed biopsies. After his release, his oncologist fell ill and he was forced to wait patiently for the results. While waiting, his dog fell ill and unless she gets better by monday, he will have to put her down.

My last conversation with my father in 2005 ended with him saying, "I can't wait for this year to be over." While the year as a whole was fun and wonderful, I agreed with him about much of December. For some reason, I get the feeling that many people felt that way about the end of this year. So we all can now celebrate. We made it. (Unfortunately, I only managed to read 18 books on my approximately 25 book challenge, but... close enough. Given all the other stuff, I'm calling it a victory.)

Unlike last year, when we were thousands of miles from everyone we knew, E and I began 2006 in our own home with good friends, enjoying good food (I finally have time to cook again!), and good conversation. I'm excited for what this year has in store for us -- it should be just as crazy as 2005, if not more.

Happy New Year!