making Sense of 2004

Given that this year not only involved an enormous change in my future and some of my greatest experiences and most treasured memories, but also a lot of fantastic music, movies and random moments that are worth recording - well, I'd like to take a minute to reminisce about the year that was.

BEST MOVIE
Tie for first place:

Garden State: It was just such a refreshing and honest movie. It's hard to do the love story in a new way, but Braff and Portman enchanted me, and I was struck by how genuine their romance appeared to be. The characters were interesting and quirky and loveable, and managed to find each other, even when things weren't going right in the world. Never have the words "this is life" meant more to me than after watching this movie.

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: God, I love this movie. A smart screen play, profound and flawed characters who, even through the abstraction, seemed likely and believeable. It's the kind of movie that deals with love without understanding the answers, which makes me want to watch it over and over again. At once beautiful and depressing, and painfully relevant to being 21 and having no idea who you are.

Runner up: Mean Girls: Legitimately, this movie shouldn't earn accolades for innovation in cinematography, and I don't expect to see Lindsay Lohan accepting an Oscar for best Actress come March. That being said it's worth pointing out that Mean Girls did for the teenage comedy genre what Dawson's Creek did for WB teen melodramas - gave audiences something smart. Add this to the fact that I idolize Tina Fey, and you've got the makings of an honourable mention on your hands.

Second Runner Up: I (Heart) Huckabees: A movie about existentialism that manages to be both hysterical and sentimental, AND features Dustin Hoffman sporting a Ringo Star haircut, and Jude Law as a bad, bad boy? Count me in. But I'll probably have to watch it twice to get that whole blanket theory.

WORST MOVIE

Alfie: It was SO SO BAD. Even if it meant gazing through the screen into the eyes of Jude Law for a full 2 hours.

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Green Day/American Idiot: Green Day is back, in no uncertain terms. This album represents a huge step forward for everyone's favorite punk-band-that-could; a certain amount of maturity and social awareness that might have been lacking on previous records. Overall, Billie Joe proves that he and the boys can rock out with the best of them, securing himself a new status in the concept album kingdom. Bri's choice track: Are We Waiting

U2/How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb: By far, my pick for album of the year (but who's asking?) I'm sure you're tired of me saying it, but I'll say it again: Bono & Co. have gone back to their roots, and have perfected a sound that is both refreshing and familiar. Did they go out on a limb and change the face of modern music? Nope - that's what Achtung Baby was for, dummy. *However* - did they make an album that I want to listen to every day for the rest of my life? Yeah, I think they did. Bri's choice track: Original of the Species (it's sexy sexy sexy)

Elliot Smith/ From a Basement on a Hill: Sometimes when people die, their music starts to sound even better - so goes the tale of the forlorn (deceased) Smith, whose friends put out this mix of his unfinished work. Listen to this album on a rainy day when you want to feel like you're the only living soul in the universe. Bri's choice track: Pretty (Ugly Before)

Modest Mouse/Good News for People who like Bad News: I want to marry Modest Mouse - that's how much I love this cd. It's edgy and unproduced enough to make my mom tell me to 'turn off that noise', but strings together melodies that appeal to the mainstream crowd, making it seductively listenable. MM finally let go of the emo status that has previously haunted them, resulting in fast, guitar-heavy songs that say "I don't give a fuck". Bri's choice track: Float On

Garden State Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: It's time to bring indie to the collective spotlight (ironic, I guess). For Nick Drake alone, the album is worth purchasing. Throw in a delicate and haunting cover of Such Great Heights, done by Iron and Wine, and it becomes an essential addition to this list. Bri's choice track: Such Great Heights

BANDWAGON I SWORE I WOULDN'T GET ON, BUT DID ANYWAY

Franz Ferdinand: so shoot me.

ALBUMS FROM LAST YEAR THAT I'M STILL TALKING ABOUT

jet/get born
the strokes/room on fire
the postal service/give up

BEST FROSH WEEK MOMENTS
tie for first place:

The Coverall Fiasco: On Saturday, September 10th, 2300 first-year students painted their coveralls using latex wall paint, and then boarded busses destined for Shinerama fundraising locations. At 5:00, the busses came back, and I was approached by one of the drivers, who furiously told me know that *all* of the bus seats were covered in paint. Together with an economy bucket of Varsol and a bottle of paint thinner, 10 OCs and I disregarded the warning labels about wearing gloves and ventilated masks, soaked our sponges, and cleaned each and every bus seat by hand. We passed the time comparing how many layers of skin were coming off of our hands, and singing "Because I Got High", making up our own verses, like, I was going to run Frosh Week, but then I got high. I was going to go to the semi-formal, but then I got high. And now I'm gettin' fired, and I know why! (I said hey!) Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high. This was followed by me barfing in the Victoria Park Port-A-Potty while Stuart held my hair back.

Who-Ah!: Picture this: 17 girls dressed in pink tee-shirts and jean skirts, no boys allowed, and more alcohol than we could fit on a kitchen table (including my massive container of vodka-jello). It was, on its own, a recipe for an amazing night. Half a litre of booze apiece, and one drinking game entitled "Who-Ah" (courtesy of Emily from drunken Duncan BC) later, and we were friends for life. Enter the boys, ambushing the house from two sides, and moshing to "OBC, WHO THE FUCK ARE WE", followed by a *very* memorable night at Beach Slam, and we've got the stuff that real memories are made of.

LFO Roatrip to Hooters in Ottawa: Not too many 2004 memories beat the first night of OC Transition: The rookies were dressed as trailer trash, and the vets were wearing white 'LFO' wife-beaters with black bras. On the way to Ottawa (via chartered school bus), in the company of 30 of my closest female friends and several boxes of cheap wine, the following LFO chant was written (sung to the tune of that annoying Engineering cheer):

We are we are we are we are the hottest girls around,
No matter how hard you try, you'll never get us down!
We drink, we swear, we dance all night,
We're smarter than the guys,
Quit looking down here (point to breasts) and focus on our eyes!
No matter how hard you try, we'll never be your hoes:
'CAUSE ALL WE FUCKIN' CARE ABOUT IS L-F-FUCKIN-O!

Follow this with a few hundred dollars worth of wings and beer, two girls puking in the bathroom of Hooters, and a night at a random Ottawa bar, where I did damage control as several rookies took it upon themselves to collect sharpie autographs from drunk boys (on strategic body parts) - well, it was one for the record books.

BEST SPORTS MOMENT

The Calgary Flames: The last time I saw my favorite team win the Stanley Cup was on May 25th, 1989. My heroes were guys by the names of Otto, Suter, Roberts, MacInnis and Nieuwendyk; I was 6 years old. This year, the hockey gods were good to me, and I got to witness an epic cup run that stopped one overtime goal short of the Stanley Cup (and for that matter, the Gelinas goal in Game 6 OT was IN). I was grinning stupidly for two full months, and cared more about the outcome of each series than I did about my health or exams - thus making it the most epic sports run of the year, despite falling short of the ultimate prize.

BEST CONCERT

Hawksley Workman / Aj's Hanger / Kingston: I've been to a lot of concerts; however not many artists put on a show quite like Workman is able to. Not only does his talent translate from the recording studio to the stage, the experience is heightened by his showmanship - the intimacy that he creates in a small atmosphere like a Kingston club makes every word that comes out of his mouth sound like sex. There is no other way to describe how beautiful and raw the show was, thus landing the coveted spot of best concert of the 2004.

Runner Up: Green Day / ACC / Toronto: I saw them play their Dookie tour in Calgary 9 years ago, and have loved them ever since. Seeing them rock the ACC, and experiencing an epic new album with an entirely new generation of Green Day fans was deeply satisfying. Sitting next to someone who sent shivers up my spine every time he looked at me catapulted this show right up to the top.

BEST AIRPLANE MEMORY

Singing the entire score of 'Cats' with Dave Homouth, flying from Kingston to Toronto (ending with a tear-jerker duet rendition of Memory, which actually ended in applause from fellow travellers). On this same flight, I told our flight attendant that "I totally loved him" after he offered me shortbread cookies, and was probably blacklisted from travelling Air Canada as a result of hitting on their employees.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2005

- Seeing Wicked play in Toronto
- the U2 world tour, which I plan on spending a ridiculous amount of money on
- the Pearl Jam world tour, which I'm going to be broke for, after spending all of my money on U2
- Attending my first Hip concert ('cause do these guys ever stop touring?)
- Bright Eyes releasing 2 cds on the same day (January 25th)
- going overseas for the first time (and the prospect of having a real stamp in my passport)
- graduating. Which also terrifies me. My entire family in the same room at the same time? And they said it couldn't be done.
- my relationship with Steve getting better and better every day that it lasts

GUILTY PLEASURE THAT REPLACED AMERICAN IDOL

The O.C. I'm officially out of the closet - I'm obsessed with this show. And by the way, Adam Brody? Heaven called - they want Seth Cohen back.

BEST SUMMER MEMORY

Getting caught in the biggest DOWNPOUR of my life with Ian Anderson on the way home from SOAR, where we worked in the afternoons. We held hands, and made a run for it, getting s-o-a-k-e-d in the process. Eventually, we stopped trying to stay dry, and engaged in a brutal water fight, tripping and dirty play allowed. Several times, I had to stop and catch my breath I was laughing so hard. It was literally like running upstream in a river, and by the time we got to the Common Ground, we both agreed that we had just experienced the coolest 15 minutes of our lives.

The same rainstorm put my basement under an inch of water, which *almost* negates the amazing experience it gave me. Almost.

WORST IDEA OF THE YEAR

Deciding to order Fried Pickles from the QP with my brother at midnight on the Saturday of homecoming, at a point in the evening when I was already so drunk I could barely slur out the sentence, "you've never had f***** friend pickles? Have I got a surprise for you!" Two hours later, that decision came back to haunt me (again and again and again)

BEST IDEA OF THE YEAR

Going to Toronto to see Hairspray. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I've been blessed with someone who walked into my life and literally swept me off my feet. I feel like everything that happened in 2004 has led me to where I am now: sitting in a computer chair, wrapped up in a blanket, and wondering what I ever did to deserve him. 2005, therefore, promises to be an amazing year. At some point tomorrow (if I get a chance), I'll post my resolutions - that way I can be publicly humiliated when I break them.

With that, I'm done. It's hard to capture the vitality of what has been the best year of my life in such a limited way, but I hope that I've done 2004 the justice it deserves. Happy New Year everyone!