1999 - I graduated from college with honors a year early. I still have no idea why I decided to graduate early. I think I was bored. I broke up with my boyfriend when he decided to propose on New Year’s Eve.
2000 - I worked as a reference librarian at a public library and in a really obscure department of a university library. Both were full time jobs. I spent the entire year working, sleeping, or driving to work. I made more money than I ever had before (or since). I bought a car. I saved up to go to grad school for Library Science. I was dating a guy that I thought I would marry someday, but he wouldn’t make plans to move to Seattle with me, so we broke up. I realized that guys had a thing for librarians and went out with every guy who had the balls to ask me. There were a lot of really bad first dates.
2001 - I dated a guy who was 10 years older than me, until he wanted to move to Seattle with me and get married. I broke up with him and he wrote me a 10 page letter calling me a cold, heartless bitch. I still have the letter. I moved to Seattle and started grad school. I realized that Library Science school sucks, so I switched colleges and started working on a masters in history. I got a job managing an office. I hated it. I lost one of my scholarships and got a part time job at Starbucks so I could pay tuition. I planned to work there for six weeks (exactly how long it would take me to make up for the lacking funds) I liked it so much that I just never got around to quitting. I worked every holiday that year because I always assumed that I would quit before I needed to ask for it off.
2002 - I realized that I hated my day job. So I quit. I told my boss at Starbucks that I wanted to work more hours, and he promoted me. Whee! An endless supply of coffee! I continued my habit of dating anyone who would ask me out…resulting in quite a few more bad first dates. I dated a Microsoft millionaire for a while, but broke up with him when he wanted me to quit my job and let him pay for my school. I dated another Microsoft guy for a while, mostly because he lived about four blocks from my Starbucks. We broke up when he proposed and offered to pay for my school. (What is it with people wanting to pay for my education? And why on earth didn’t I let them???)
2003 - I dropped out of school, but didn’t tell anyone. My boss went to Hawaii for a week vacation. When she came back, she said she wanted to move there. I said I would move with her. Within a month, I got a job with Starbucks Hawaii and left Seattle. I loved Hawaii. I met a nice Coast Guard boy and broke his heart. I drank way too much and had military boys falling in love with me left and right. I met a Navy pilot and fell madly in love. On New Year’s Eve he told me he wanted to marry me, and I threw up.
2004 - The Navy pilot and I made plans to get married before he was deployed to Iraq. Two weeks before the wedding, he called me and told me that he had fallen in love with someone else. Heartbreak. I did the only logical thing - I hooked up with a Navy boy who had a fiance back home. I still feel bad about that. I realized that if I stayed in Hawaii, I’d end up working at Starbucks for the rest of my life, so I applied to grad school (yes, again) in Boston. I was horribly in debt, but I didn’t care.
2005 - I moved to Boston to go to BU to finish my masters. I lied about having experience and got a job waiting tables. Within a month, I was training new hires and bartending. Duck in water or something like that. I got a better job at a better restaurant closer to home. I dropped out of school (yes, again). I got a job at Starbucks (yes, again). I worked 7 days a week for 9 months straight and paid off every bit of debt I had.
2006 - I got stuck in the Phoenix airport on New Year’s Day. Thank God for internet. In my random surfing, I applied for a position teaching English in Barcelona. The next day, they called and offered me the job, if I completed a certification course first. I sold all my stuff and moved to Spain. I got certified to teach English. I just couldn’t get a work visa. I got a job anyway, and they paid me cash. It was great until they got busted by government inspectors. I was told I couldn’t work there anymore. No one would hire me, so I packed up and went home to Arizona to figure out what to do. I went to Boston to visit for a bit, then to Seattle. I never left. I got a job at an amazing bar and found an apartment downtown.
2007 - I adopted a puppy from the pound. They told me he was a border collie and that he was 2 years old. He doubled in size within three months. His ears stood up. More German Shepherd than Border Collie. Oops! I worked four days a week at that amazing bar, and spent the rest of my time wandering aimlessly. I was dating a few guys, but no one special. Then I met a boy who had a crazy little dog that always seemed to want to kill my (much larger) dog. He came into the bar one night just before Christmas and asked me out. I said yes. I was still seeing the other guys, and they all showed up at the bar for New Year’s Eve. Luckily I was working. To avoid getting busted, at midnight I kissed every guy in the bar. It was a fun night.
2008 - I broke up with all the boys except the one with the dog. We moved in together. We went to Thailand and got stuck for an extra week when protesters shut down the airport. We missed Thanksgiving because of that extra week. I became an aunt. I took the boy home to Arizona for Christmas (and to meet the family). I spent New Year’s Eve with the boy, his mom and his aunt.
2009 - I discovered Tumblr and Twitter, which was really fun. I realized that if I didn’t leave Seattle, I would work at that amazing bar for the rest of my life. And while that’s not a bad thing, it’s not what I had in mind. So, the boyfriend and I decided to move to Santa Monica, and here we are. The boyfriend found out that he can’t have gluten. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Arizona. My nephew turned 1 year old and started walking. And now it’s New Year’s Eve and we still aren’t sure where we’re going to drink tonight.
