2010

So here we are, balls deep in the future, 2010. It seems almost surreal, many classic sci fi stories and films were set before 2010, or right around it. It seems as though the fantastical futures envisioned by the scribes and storytellers of the past shall not come to pass. While we may not have flying cars, private space travel, artificial intelligence or interstellar travel, one thing we do have that no one anticipated is the unbelievable speed and power of computers. Blackberries and iphones are basically laptops now, and the internet and computers have revolutionized business, finance, personal interactions, and the way people manage their lives. Fascinating really, the rapid rate of change. Literally 10 years ago, no one but businessmen had cellphones, and the internet consisted of dial-up connections and was limited in its usefullness. Now, no one under the age of 35 even has a land line telephone connection, and the vast majority of people in the know run much of their lives with the aid of the internet. Whether it's shopping, finding places to eat/go, ordering tickets, getting directions or corresponding, the internet is an integral part of virtually everyone's day to day existence.

It's odd really, thinking that really not all that long ago, everyone functioned just fine without cellphones or the internet. Now? The world would screech to a grinding halt. I got a blackberry the day after Christmas, and I will not lie, I was a blackberry/smartphone hater in the past, but that damn thing is as big of a jump from having a regular cellphone as having no cellphone is to having a regular cellphone. I've had it for 2 weeks and don't know what I did before it. I never really realized how heavily I rely on things like the internet and cellphones before last weekend, I was in Columbus for New Years, wound up staying the entire weekend and my phone died on Friday, meaning I was phone-less from Friday to Sunday. I was like incapable of doing anything. I had to follow my friends around like a puppy for fear of getting separated and having no way to re-unite with them. How the hell did people interact before cellphones? It truly is bizarre and world-changing that a relatively recent invention can completely revolutionize the way people interact and carry themselves.

That is just an aside, now let's talk about the new year. So we're in 2010. After almost 3 months living at mom and dad's, I've moved back to Cincinnati, and am now a sole practitioner in Lebanon, Ohio. I'm in a one bedroom in Pleasant Ridge, and I actually really like my place, a lot. However, it's been a long time since I've lived alone, and it can be lonely, to say the least. I've gone and made the plunge, and this is at once a prospect both exciting and terrifying. I've gone and made a move, tried to grow up, I suppose. Couple this with the fact that my younger brother got engaged, and I'm in an existential funk, to say the least. I feel like I'm back to square one on the love front, and that sucks. Not so long ago, I honestly felt as though I had that mostly under control and was interested in seeing where that took us. Unfortunately, it turns out that females who you bang multiple times on the second night you meet don't necessarily make good "relationship" material. Who knew. Turns out Kurupt was right on this one. When you've dated someone on and off for 2+ years, and are pretty sure things are going well, and then she breaks it off to bang some guy with two first names she met at a bar across the street from her house, that will make you feel like a million bucks. The worst part is that I'm actually upset about it. Still. This is me we're talking about. I don't care about anything, ever. Meh - c'est la vie I suppose.

So where am I looking to go in 2010? I'm looking to value people that actually care about me, and that I actually care about. Loyalty is a rare, rare virtue in our world today, and it's extremely undervalued. 2010 is going to be the year that we figure out if it's going to work out or not. By this point next year, I'm either going to be a (somewhat) successful and established attorney, or I'm going to go crawling back to mom and dad's, failed and broke. Ouch. Intense.

Any resolutions, you may be asking? Yes, I have two, and they are sort of linked. First, is to get back on my feet, get back out there, and find something new and exciting (and hopefully smart and funny). Second is, I need a damn hobby or some sort of productive activity to engage in, meet to people, and expand my horizons. The question is what sort of hobby? Outdoor sports are out. Not my style, to say the least. Can you picture me mountain climbing, hiking, kayaking or anything of the sort? Me neither. Movies are already kind of a "hobby" of mine, but that's not really all that conducive to meeting new people. So I don't know if I need to join a book club, take up knitting, the piano, or what. Maybe running. Something fun, social, and sober. That's my resolution. Switch it up in '10. Also, I'm going to blog at least once a week, I'd love to give my loyal readers regular updates, witticisms, criticism, complaints and good old fashioned whining on a regular basis. So try to hold me to that, I'm going to shoot for either Sundays or Tuesdays, haven't decided yet. Oh, I'm also going to blog and post a review of every single film I see for the first time in 2010. Look forward to it.

In an aside, what the fuck is up with the response to snow in Cincinnati? Yes, it is very hilly here, and that can make road conditions troublesome when there is something slick on the road. However, when the roads have been salted and plowed, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the roads, and travel is both safe and easy. Snow being plowed to the sides of the road thereby renders the roads completely passable. You can stop driving 15 mph under the speed limit, thank you.

Lastly, I think it's finally time for the Big 10 to cease being College football's whipping post. For whatever reason, it's become fashionable in the mainstream media to pick on the Big 10 as if the teams, programs and players therein are overrated, "slow", and play an inferior brand of football. This bowl season should cease all of these misguided complaints. Yes, Ohio State got dusted by Florida in the '07 national title game and lost to LSU the next year. Oklahoma has been dusted multiple times in BCS bowl games. No one talks about Michigan's defeat of (Heisman winner) Timmy Tebow's '07 Florida squad. How about Ohio State beating Oregon this year? Did you watch the game? All of the pregame nonsense was Chip Kelly, Jeremiah Masoli and Co. talking shit about how fast and quick-hitting their offense was. Yet no one talked about the true dominance of Ohio State's defense, including two future top 15 picks in Cam Heyward and Thad Gibson. Iowa thrashing Ga Tech by completely taking away college football's best rushing attack was another great win. Penn State beat the SEC's third best team in LSU. Northwestern (who is shitty, by the way) came within a shitty kicker of beating a solid Auburn team. Yes, folks, the Big 10 is finally back. Time to stop the hate and hyperbole and recognize that if you look around the NFL, there are as many guys from OSU, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan as there are from any 4 schools from any other conference. Slow? The NFL certainly doesn't seem to think so. But whatever, that's the media in the age of the 24-hour news network, you have to create stories from thin air.