2008: A Retrospective

Ok, so in my stumbling and bumbling around the internet and in life, I've come across many things that have made me smile. And since everyone and their grandma forms some sort of list at year's end or, if you're a procrastinatus summa cum laude like myself, at the beginning-somewhat of the new year, here's a [insert choice adjective here, for example: silly, unnecessary, random] list of MY favorites for the year 2008, in no particular order:

Mint Mojito Orbit gum (by Wrigley's) - A minor find, but one I'm happy to share. As I was telling a friend of mine just the other day, it's not a baked "good" unless there's alcohol in the recipe, it would only classify as a baked "okay". This also holds true with gum as well...and if it tastes (sort of) like a Mojito, EVEN BETTAH! Apparently there are flavors called Sangria Fresca and Fabulous Fruitini, but I have yet to try them. I'm sure they'll be fast favorites.


The internet, in general. People all over this vast planet who should be my friends just because I can relate to their humor who I've found on the internet, in particular. Relative geographic distance should not stand in our way, seriously. Take, for example, Nikki Rice and David Malki. They so should be my friends because he's a writer/filmmaker/comic creator/movie trailer editor. She's a photographer and a special effects make-up artist. Helloooooo?!? I read, watch films, enjoy comics and love movie trailers. I also like looking at pictures and have plenty of need for special effects make-up especially when I wake up in the morning. See? So compatible. You really need to look at their wedding cake, the whole reason I found them. (I'll get to that in a sec.) I love the Bond themed cake...and if I had to plan my wedding again, would SO steal that idea! And the "Save The Date"/wedding trailer they did. So creative. LOVE it!

You might be wondering HOW I found this cake. I've got a confession to make. I've had quite a cake obsession lately mainly due to ...


CakeWrecks - One of the blogs I stalk regularly because I, too, have noticed some really terribly decorated cakes sitting on bakery shelves. There is one that has been giving me nightmares since I saw this post. And when I see something as ridiculous as this:
part of me wants to moan then scream, "Make them stop!" and part of me wants to leave it alone so that Jen over at CakeWrecks has more material to post. Yes, I borrowed this picture from her site. She is also responsible for showing off David and Nikki's cake (and from that, I now stalk their websites) on the occasions that she actually praises rather than becomes bewildered by the awesome baked creations that some bakers/pastry chefs do actually put out in the world. More fancy cakes than you can shake a star-point tip at. You thought I was lying when I said I was obsessed with cakes lately, didn't you? A mere exaggeration, as is expected from me, right? No. Really. REALLY OBSESSED. Then again if you type "cakes" in the search bar on Flikr or Photobucket, you'd see what I mean. I wouldn't advise Googling images of "cake" though, that would cause severe sugar overload. Cake or death? Cake wins. Hands down. EVERY time.

Son of Rambow - "You want to be the SON of Rambow?" From my movie 2008 list, you can see that we watched our fair share of movies in the comfort of our home theater. I have always been an avid fan of cinema, but have never felt worthy enough to provide reviews because, as I've said before, it is a true rarity when I can't find something positive to say about every movie I watch. I really do like them all: Asian extreme, period pieces, biographical dramas, classics, westerns, foreign films with subtitles (do NOT send me dubbed versions...ever), documentaries, chick flicks, musicals (yeah, that's right, musicals...what of it?) and action-packed shoving-popcorn-in-my-face-while-on-the-edge-of-my-seat blockbusters. I've even been known to enjoy sci-fi and horror thriller movies (think "El Orfanato"). With all that is out there and all that I've been lucky enough to enjoy, I still think "Son of Rambow" was MY film for 2008.

And finally, my "real friends" would know something was amiss if I didn't mention FaceBook. With all the social sites out there, this one has become completely ridiculously addictive for me. The fact that everyone and their mothers (LITERALLY!) are on there these days doesn't help when I should log off and actually be productive. I've re-connected with tens of tens (not quite hundreds or thousands, but fast-approaching those multitudes) of people from my past be it high school, college or co-workers. And, no, I don't need to know that they're off to bed, or the grocery store, or to do another load of laundry...but it's funny how much I feel a part of their lives because I DO know. Plus, it's the easiest way I've found to stalk hundreds of people at once. I love looking at their pictures of family, fun times, past silliness, travel, pets, etc. And I LOVE the humor that people put into their status updates when they're angry with their spouse, overwhelmed by their kids, sick with flu, or other seemingly mundane situations they face daily. My husband and son tease me relentlessly about my blogging, "social networking," Twitter-ing and the like, but it's really been fun for me to catch up with people I haven't seen or even thought about in twenty years, give or take. To see the person that has evolved from the awkward adolescent I knew because of each individual's life experiences, to see what type of job the class clown ended up in, to see the exotic places people have had the lifelong dream or unwitting opportunity to explore, to see the faces and antics of the children they are now raising or the loved ones that have entered and/or exited their lives...it's all interesting to me. And now I have the luxury of sending them a quick note just to let them know I'm thinking about them and to tell them I'm sorry for their loss or wishing them good luck on their career moves or hoping their struggles with an angst-filled teen or chicken pox-covered tot will be short-lived. I'm lucky to have had some really wonderful people enter my life and luckier now that I can communicate with more of them, even ones that I thought I'd never see again.

There are more things I could probably list, but I see that glazed look in your eyes. Besides, I haven't checked the latest Tweets on Twitter or the status updates on FaceBook in a whole five minutes. I know I'm missing out on something somewhere happening to someone!