2010

On New Years I was discussing with Meg (my girlfriend) and our friend Heather about how much people seem to always hate the year they had. Facebook was littered with updates such as "Good Riddance 2010" and "I am so done with 2010. Next year better be good" and "Fuck 2010. Bring in the new year". You get the idea. My point was that I don't think people really think about the year they had. They simply just talk about the next year being better in hopes that some life changing even will occur and mark that year into their memory forever. When I started to think about 2010, I realized that I had a lot of really great things happen and I must say that if I were to rank my favorite years, 2010 would probably be near the top.

In January I started up grad school going for my MBA. This was a big step since it had been 3 years since I was in school and still really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life (still not quite sure). While it was tough to get started back into it, once it got going, it got a little easier.

A low point of the year came in February when my beloved Colts dropped the ball against New Orleans in the Super Bowl. I know the majority of you reading this are Pats fans and were happy when this happened but imagine how you felt in 2007 when the Giants knocked off the Pats. That's exactly how I felt.

March brought me a "spring break" and for the first time ever I actually went somewhere for it! Meg and I went to London and had pretty much the best time ever. We stayed with her good friend Mollie who lives, works and studies in London. She took great care of us and showed us around to a lot of cool places that you wont find in a travel guide. We also saw the big tourist attractions such as Kensington Palace, Big Ben and the cathedral. One of the highlights for me was going to the Globe Theatre. I'm a big Shakespeare fan so seeing that as well as some of his writings at the London Museum gave me chills. While I wasn't a huge fan of the beer (warm!), by the last two nights I had been turned on to London Pride by Megs friend Drew, also working in England. I still enjoy a London Pride when I can get one here at a bar.

Right before I left for London, I quit my old job. For those who don't know I was a manager for Givovanni's at their Manchester and Nashua stores for a long time and with the MBA in the works I figured it was a good time to get out. The only logical next step in that business was to start my own restaurant and I didn't want to do that so I went the temp route and got a job in Woburn in an accounts payable department. Nice people, easy work and got me some experience.

April also brought another trip as Meg and I went to DC with our friends Mike and Heather for a nice long weekend. Their friends Matt and Erin lived there and Matt, a chef, took us out to a lot of great places to eat. We did the general tourist attractions as well, seeing the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial as well as the war memorials. A highlight of the weekend was food related (big surprise) when Meg and I , both feeling pretty buzzed if not drunk, went to a place called Jumbo Slice that I had seen on TV. They served 16 inch slices of pizza and I need to try it. So instead of being a normal person and ordering one slice, I took two. I mean I had a craving for roni and sausage. Anyway, I only ate one but damn was it good.

May is always a good month because its my birth month. How can you go wrong? More traveling happened as I went to Key West with my buddies Jeremy, Joe and Derek. Needless to say it was a shitshow most of the time. I got hammered till 6 am, got on a boat the next day and also vomited in its bathroom. I think what really encapsulates the trip was leaving a voicemail for Derek at 5:30 am telling him I was out on the street looking for a party. I was gone but damn, it was a good trip.

June brought the beginning of summer and wedding season. 2010 only had two weddings for us compared to the year before where it seemed like a dozen. Diana's wedding was a blast in June and was by far one of the best weddings I've been to (not just saying that because she is reading this). Any wedding gets a big up from me when you have an after party after the reception.

Summer was summer. In July I did my first 5K as I talked about in an earlier blog. I started enjoying more cigars which while the lady may not care for, nothing beats sitting out on the deck with a good cigar, a good book and a good beer.

August was pretty boring really. A wedding in western Mass for one of Megs friends. I must say though, my dance moves at that one was some of my best not too mention open bar with Shock Top on tap.

September meant the beginning of football season which is pretty much the greatest sport there is. As with millions of others I participate in fantasy football and yes, it's a bad addiction but its fun and sometimes, very lucrative.

October was a little boring. I started on a permanent basis at my temp job. It's not the greatest job but for now it works Halloween was a good time as I went as "GTL" from Jersey Shore. For those who don't know, GTL stands for Gym, Tan, Laundry, the three vital things to do each day according to the guidos on Jersey Shore. My favorite costume was my friend Brian going as Ray Finkle, porno mustache and all.

November was great. Mid month Meg and I with our friends Mike and Heather went to Indianapolis to see the Colts play the Bengals. The weekend was awesome. Indy was a great city to walk around in and everyone was incredibly nice. We found a great cupcake shop as well as some great bars. The game was great too. We had a nice brunch before where we got huge beers and bloody marys. The stadium was huge and clean. It was a great trip and one I hope to make once a year. Obviously a big plus to November is Thanksgiving. I went to NY with Meg and her family and had a great time even though I was hungover the morning of on the drive there. Like many others I attended the LHS 10 year reunion where I unexpectedly had a great time. The next night my sisters and I had a surprise 40 year anniversary party for my parents. It was a busy four days.

And then there was December. This was an okay month. I think everyone enjoys the holidays but the time flies by so quick with everyone being so busy that before you know it the year is over.

So there it is. Tony's 2010 in a nutshell. 2011? I'll let you know in the next blog what the year holds. And yes, I know, I don't blog as much but I promise to make 2011 a good blog year so make sure you check back. It'll be funny, insightful and probably a little annoying but I promise, it will be entertaining.