2000 and Late: 2009 in Review

Normally this gets done at the beginning of the year but since I have reiterated a million times of the debacle that is my broken pc (which in a way, is a blessing), we're doing this 2000 and late (cue: Boom Boom Pow!).  I just love to make a recap of my year as I do every year on the blog just to get a clearer picture of how good (or bad) the year was and to steer the year in a more eventful direction for blogworthy purposes (so many year  in one sentence, eh?). So, without further ado:

A couple of goals met in 2009

-- attend a spinning class finally

-- visit museums, although I ended up just doing one: The Met

Then the firsts:

-- attend a ticker tape parade (thanks to the Yankees)

-- my first Thanksgiving dinner (thanks to my friend Ariel)

-- attend an art exhibit opening (you rock, Scooter!)

The shows

-- I saw Britney lipsynching in Long Island in March with bonus appearance by the Pussycat Dolls

-- British rock band Keane in May, which is also my first time in Radio City Music Hall 

-- I traveled all the way to DC for Beyonce in June (unblogged)

-- Then Las Vegas for Mariah in September (also unblogged)

-- watched my friend Nick in Peepshow in Vegas (unblogged)

-- Back in Madison Square Garden for Pink, one of the best shows ever

-- last concert of the year in NYC was Kylie at the Hammerstein Ballroom (also unblogged)

-- in December, out with my boyfriend, the very first time I've been with somebody in a concert ever, to see Philippines' greatest, Lea Salonga

The celebrity sightings

-- very honored to meet Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors) during my first book signing event in November

-- the cast of Glee at Borders also in November with a special handshake from hottie, Mark Salling

-- saw Whitney Houston's Good Morning America performance where she struggled in every song back in early September

-- woke up early to check out American Idols Kris Allen and Adam Lambert back in June in the Today Show (unblogged)

-- not quite a celebrity but met Instinct magazine coverboy, Billy Steeves, who also happens to be a nurse, in early March

Activism. The fight for marriage equality was very prominent in 2009 and I was able to participate in some major activities in the city:

-- in May, I joined the first Broadway Impact Marriage Equality rally

-- a few days later, on my way to work, I dropped by the Day of Decision rally where I met friends, Terrence and Michael

-- then I signed on for telephone banking for Broadway Impact in June

-- then in November, when New York senators failed to pass the marriage equality bill, I was there at the Union Square rally

-- of course, the NYC Gay Pride parade is a big rally in itself 

Travels, kind of limited this year; to wit:

-- Niagara Falls in July coinciding with Rosey's birthday

-- following Beyonce's concert, Melissa took me to Georgetown area of DC (unblogged)

-- in September for Mariah's concert, I did a three-day getaway to Vegas (unblogged)

-- On Day 2 of my Vegas trip, I went on a day tour to the Grand Canyon (unblogged)

-- then I was in the Philippines for most of December

New stuff on the blog:

-- sometimes funny, sometimes serious talk on my life as a nurse on Nurse Mark's Tales

-- remembering the past via Reminiscing (although I don't do it often enough)

-- syndicating my posts on Twitter

Low Points. Not everything in 2009 was glam and fab.

-- the layoffs at work

-- a big mess of a medication error

-- around April, I blogged about meeting a Tony Award winner in the workplace but then got attacked by some people who thought that I was violating privacy rules and what-not and ended up taking the post down

-- most horrifying ever, the almost-got-mugged moment

Biggest Thrills, a.k.a, I thought could never happen category:

-- spending the holidays with the family and my boyfriend for the first time in many years

-- our dear friend, Blanca, visiting us in New York

-- being on a Broadway stage and performing with the cast of Hair!

-- my blog post featured in mariahcarey.com!

-- meeting Oprah and Mariah freakin' Carey! Perhaps the biggest story of my life last year was meeting Mariah and having a picture taken with her. It was all I could talk about to my friends. I'm still beaming just trying to recall every single minute of it. The picture is now immortalized in a 16"x 20" frame given to me as a Christmas present by Xon and Rosey.