1) Remember how I took Spanish? I barely do... I was watching a movie recently where someone said "lo siento" and I was pleased that I remembered that meant "I'm sorry". It was fun taking the course with my buddy Fea, and it did come in handy when I was in Barcelona because I was great at reading signs (I even impressed Becca T), but I think the biggest thing I learned from the course is that it's really hard to take a course during the school year, and I don't think I'll do it again. But it was fun.
2) I had a nice birthday this year. The day was during the week, and I had a quiet night in with Jason, who cooked me dinner. I also had lunch with some coworkers, and a dinner that weekend with friends. It was nice.
3) In March, I met up with Becca T in Barcelona. Barcelona is a beautiful city with a lot of neat things to do. I have such fond memories of that trip. I pretty much even forget that it was raining the whole time. I'd like to definitely go back to that city in sunnier times.
4) After my visit to Barcelona, I flew to London to spend a lovely weekend with my friend Claire. It was very low-key, and I also had the opportunity to meet up with a friend from here, who now lives there, for tea, and meet up with my cousin who was teaching there at the time. It was nice and chill, and made me feel ridiculous that I'd weekended in London.
5) In April, I went to see the Tim Burton exhibition at the TIFF Lightbox with Jason. I love Burton, so it was a really cool exhibition for me to see.
6) Remember in April how I was on Jury Duty? I don't know if it was a "favourite" moment, but it was something I'd never done before! Pros: the "You & Jury Duty" film on day one was hilarious and like something straight out of The Simpsons that would feature Troy McClure; I got a lot of reading done; I got to see one trial in progress (very educational); I got to go out for lunch on Queen Street; and I got to wake up a little bit later. Cons: there was so much sitting around that I started to lose my mind by the afternoon; and I felt like I had TWO jobs because most days after duty, I had to drop by school to finish off my lesson plans. However, overall it was an interesting experience. I'm now exempt for three years, I think, which sounds like a ridiculously short period of time.
7) In May I ran my first 5K race. I ended up running four 5K races in total this year, including one across the Brooklyn Bridge, the Night Run through Sunnybrook Park with a light on my head, and the Scotiabank Waterfront 5K, where I pulled my personal best time. In total, according to RunKeeper and my fitness journal that I used before RunKeeper, I've run over 350 miles (563 km) in 2011. That's like running from here to NYC! I'm very proud that I stick with running this whole year, and I've signed up to do a 10K race in May as a new goal.
8) I went to my first Hillside Music Festival in Guelph, Ontario this year. It was three days of awesome independent music on a gorgeous and sustainable site. I wrote a really long post about it. It was so much fun, and it's something I'd love to do again.
9) My summer trip was oh-so-fun. Chicago/Utah/NYC. My friend Vern is a hoot as a travel buddy, and we had a great time exploring the beautiful city of Chicago, road-tripping through Utah to visit our friend Sandra who has ended up living there, and glamming it out in NYC. So many fond memories from those two weeks.
10) In September, I took a weekend to visit my friend Sandee up in Sturgeon Falls. I've been meaning to do this trip for years, but I finally got myself organized to do it. It was fun visiting her, going to see a pig, eating poutine, catching up, and enjoying a beautiful drive home in the fall colours of Northern Ontario.
11) Professionally, I've had a good calendar year. This semester especially, I have really great classes, and I've pulled off some big projects, such as being a head-organizer of Multicultural Day. It's good that I still like my job, despite occasional frustrations and challenges. It also looks like in the next couple of years my school will be changing (becoming more academic, I kid you not), and I look forward to that.
12) I guess my last favourite moments of 2011 include all of the times I've spent with awesome people in my life. I just came back from a really relaxing week with my parents in Stratford, and some friend time there as well. I've had visits from lots of people this year, and have also been able to see my BFF Becca T, who will be in Paris for the next three years, in Barcelona, and in Toronto over the summer. I've enjoyed all of the visits I've made with my friends from down the street in Toronto, to Utah, to Sturgeon Falls, ON. In addition, I was able to go to so many fun shows (see previous post) because I am fortunate to have a good set of concert buddies. And of course, it does help that my partner in crime this year, really likes shows and went to the majority of them with me. It's been nice having him around, and not just for the shows.
Well, that was 2011. Bring on 2012. I wish all of you the best in the new year and hope you have a great NYE. I have a night in with Jason planned, which will be chill and nice.
Happy New Year!
p.s. Best albums of 2011 post to come in the next couple of days. I'm still working on it.