a year in rear view.

this is not going to be a very good year in review, i can tell you that right now. everything is a bit of a blur and 2009 was not the easiest periods of my life. the highs were high, don't get me wrong, and our summer travels across the continent will stay with me forever. but i leave 2009 feeling kind of melancholic and feeling hopeful about the fresh start to come (even though i think that 2010 sounds like a fake year).

that picture up there is actually from 2008. it is the amazing tin ceiling of one of my favourite places to eat in athens, georgia. i have been thinking of athens lately because of singer/songwriter vic chesnutt's death there on christmas day. he was someone i had said hello to once but whose music has stuck with me through over a decade of moving around. it is strange how the deaths of some strangers can affect me. it feel uncomfortable but real. if you are not familiar with his work, you should check it out. 'new town' was the soundtrack to all the small places in northern california to me.

speaking of northern california and the passing of time, i just read this account garth & claire's kitchen wallpaper and found it fascinating. there is something both sad as exhilarating about discovering something beautiful that is also pretty much gone. i will try my best to focus on the excitement for 2010.

why does this bottom point of the year always make me feel so down? whatever, it will all turn around friday.