How Do You Measure a Year in Your Life?

2005 in Numbers:

ONEgraduation from Queen's. Sure, I did it alongside 3000 other students, but it didn't make the experience any less special for me. In hindsight, the four years I spent at Queen's felt like four weeks. Happily, I was able to leave feeling as though I had accomplished everything that I set out to do. Would I have gone to more classes? Definitely. Dated more boys? For sure. But all in all, I left Queen's this may with no regrets.

TWO Stuffed monkeys named Fat Guts and Fatter Guts. One wears a Toronto Maple Leafs hoodie and the other wears a Calgary Flames hoodie. They have a very complicated relationship, and I am pretty sure that Steve loves Fat Guts more than he loves me.

THREE Pearl Jam shows (Hamilton, London and Toronto) - only one of which I was expecting to attend, or could afford! I had a blast on my mini-tour of the province and seeing a band a couple of nights in a row gave me a sense of the depth of PJ's catalogue and the total fresh appeal of each of their shows: every night was completely different!

FOUR months since Steve and I dropped out of Grad School and Teacher's College, respectively. Three days in and I knew the program wasn't for me. I think I liked the idea of grad school more than the reality of it. After attending a class on Italian Liturgical Drama that was conducted almost exclusively in Italian, I realized that if I was going to put the energy and money into an MA, it should probably be one that excited me. Walking out of the U of T building for the last time was thrilling and terrifying, made more memorable by the fact that my lovely significant other, Steve Johns, was doing the exact same thing at Teacher's College. 4 months later, we're both broke and working half-assed jobs. The message? Stay in school, if you like the cushy lifestyle of being a student. I don't miss the program I left, but I really miss having free career advice and being able to sleep in on weekdays.

FIVE dollars, which I inadvertently waved in front of a strung out, homeless crack addict in Detroit on a trip to see Phantom of the Opera, trying to prove that we were Canadian and our money wouldn't be any good to him. Too bad for me, he took it anyway. Then Steve got it back, and he took it again.

SIX discs of Desperate Housewives, which I have been watching obsessively since I got them for myself on Boxing Day. I love Bree (obviously) and I think that I would want to be a mom like Susan when I got older

SEVEN Broadway shows: Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Rent, Les Miserables, and Movin' Out. One of the big pulls for Toronto has got to be the theatre that is here - since I've moved to the city, I've been like a kid in a candy store and I couldn't be happier.

EIGHT concerts in order from least memorable to rocked-my-fucking-world memorable: Jason Mraz, Sleater-Kinney, Pearl Jam (x3), Rolling Stones, Oasis, U2. Also a clear winner in the "most concerts seen in a single year of Bri Johnson's life" category

NINE weeks in British Columbia (does it qualify as a moment?) On a whim, I quit my job at Lonestar Texas Grill (where I was working as a hostess/fajita bitch ... bah!) and move back to BC, where I bunked with mom in her bachelorette pad. I quickly got a job in Vancouver that I loved and spent the rest of the summer with my brother, mom, sisters and grandparents. It was a smart move and helped me save a bit for 'school' to come (slash being unemployed and living off of my student loan while looking for a full time job)

TEN Blue Jays games, which I initially started going to for the afternoon of sunshine and the over-priced hot dogs, but eventually started to care about and follow (just a little bit). I couldn't think of a more enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon than at the Skydome with a few friends, a baseball cap and a bag of M&Ms. This year, I want to try to catch a fly ball!

ELEVEN hours a day, I now spend working as a nanny for a well-to-do-but-totally-crazy family living in Forest Hill. The kids are adorable, the parents are monsters. Needless to say I'm over-worked, underpaid, and made to cook dinner for the family EVERY NIGHT, even though everybody in the GTA knows that I burn broccoli to the bottom of the pot.

TWELVE months in love with my monkey-loving boyfriend Steve, who has given me more support and unconditional affection than I arguably deserve. Make that 12 very happy months :)

2005 was a bit of a roller coaster year for me. The highs - Charity Ball, Convocation, nights spent with Walkhome friends, time home in BC, a committed relationship, were peppered with pretty devastating lows: my dad and stepmother's divorce, my little sisters moving away to Calgary, my brother not being able to finish his business degree due to depression, leaving university and realizing that the 'real world' isn't as rosy as anticipated ... But ultimately what I'm hoping is that I can put the ups and downs of the past year behind me and focus on finding some stability in Toronto in 2006. I need a job that I like, friends that I care about and a budget that I can stick to - none of which are easy to find when you're new in a big city. That being said, I have three New Years Resolutions for 2006 and I really believe that they're worthy of the lofty title:

1. Love myself enough to stop eating like garbage and work towards a healthier-self over the next 12 months (slow but steady!)

2. Stick to a budget that works for me and my income. I make these lofty goals of NEVER spending ANY money, but then go out and blow my grocery budget on a new pair of boots. If I can get one thing under control this year, money would be it.

3. Practice gratitude. I'm keeping the idea that if I say one prayer every day, let it be a prayer of thanks, close to my heart. Despite being cranky lately, I have many things to be thankful for every day and I really want to focus on them instead of on the negative. This includes keeping up with my gratitude journal, and openly expressing thanks to people who make my life better.

A Happy Belated New Year to All, and thanks for reading :D