Year in Review: Looking Back at 2010

Happy New Year everyone!  This is of course the time to reflect on the past year, maybe try and forget some things, try hard to remember others, and then look forward to the future where new adventures, resolutions, and no doubt mistakes will be made.  So before I look forward I want to take the time to reflect on what can only be described as yet another roller-coaster year.

2010 started off with emotional goodbyes and hopes for a promising future along with many doubts and significant uncertainty.  Communication and trust were both common themes and/or issues throughout the winter and spring, eventually lost in the summer.  With my own self-confidence hitting a defined low point and not knowing which direction to take my career it was easy to turn to negativity but even easier to take it out on those I loved the most.  This negative aura surrounding me started a downward spiral emotionally and mentally, leading me to make rash/stupid decisions and lose faith in myself.

After being sick of waking up angry everyday I was able to turn things around and I started thinking positively, rolling with the punches and using life as a learning tool instead of trying to find excuses.  And even though things did NOT pan out how I had pictured in my mind things started falling [scarily] into place and my  new path was chosen as I embarked on a life changing journey that will forever have an impact on me as a person.

So cheers to the lessons learned, relationships lost, friendships found and family members welcomed in 2010 and let us pray that 2011 holds more adventures, deeper lessons, less DRAMA, more change (and not just scenery) and cross our fingers that this newest journey has led me to find a purpose because I'm sick of doing the same ish in different states!  To new beginnings and forgetting; not to erase the memory, but to lay the emotions surrounding the memory to rest.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Highlights from 2010
- Jackson Evans Doran: February 9 - Welcome the newest member of the Doran family!  Jackson Evans was born to Jason and Wendy, such a great addition to a wonderful family and I'm glad to get the chance to spoil him rotten!  We also need to make sure he's a lefty Jay...or a shortstop.

- Jacob Nicholas Barry: March 9 - Someone needed to steal the show from all the attention Jax was getting; welcome Jacob Andrew!  I'm so happy for Allyson and Matt and I'm grateful that I get to watch Jacob and Jax grow up (albeit from WAY too far away). But that just means more toys and fish stuff for the kiddies to play with when I visit!

- Jason and Kristine get married: April 9 - In one of the most beautiful wedding ceremonies I've ever been a part of one of my closest friends finally took the plunge with another one of my favorite people.  These two both looked amazing at the alter overlooking the water on Davis Island.  The ceremony was topped off by escorting the wedding party to the reception by sail boat...pretty awesome, congrats again guys!

- Michael Linehan and Sara Goblinger get engaged...yes that is correct...yes, THAT Mikey Linehan...way to go kids, can't wait for the wedding!!!  I'm glad to have gotten to know Sara slowly but surely over the past year.  She is an amazing individual and Mikey is a lucky guy.

- Amy and Kelly graduated from high school, Erin from nursing school - congrats ladies, I'm very proud of all of you!

- Big Apple: Finally made it to Times Square, the WTC site, Rockefeller Center and a couple other places.

- Cali or Bust: Sept 10: After making one of the harder decisions of my life I decided to up and move to California.  You all know how the story goes and so far it seems like it was a good decision but I definitely miss my fam, friends, and New England in general.

- 2010 Fantasy Baseball Champion: Put Me in Coach Season 3 - Of course the ONLY fantasy leagues I win are the no-money leagues but it's still a sweet victory.

Galileo Was Under House Arrest

The last time there was a lunar eclipse on the winter solstice Galileo was under house arrest!  Back in 1638 there was a full lunar eclipse on the northern winter solstice; it was the only other one EVER recorded.  I'm lucky to say I was able to watch this extremely rare event this evening, the next one not scheduled to happen again until 2094!

And luckily for us on the west coast this happened before bedtime so we were able to watch it from 10:30-1:30AM.  Watching the moon disappear is a great scientific observation as it starts off slowly and quickly dissolves to darkness as the hours pass on.  Once fully eclipsed a red hue enveloped the man in the moon and the sky around it lit up with every star the brightest I had seen in a long time.  Cue the shooting stars!  Good job God...not even 10 minutes after the moon was fully eclipsed the shooting stars started lighting up the sky.  I saw at least 8 or so from 11:40 on; absolutely incredible.  I hope many others reading this got to witness this spectacular event.

2010 Edward H. Bean Award

"The Edward H. Bean Award is a historic award within the Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA). It originated as recognition for the most significant birth or hatching of a species and/or subspecies. Later it also began to recognize propagation or management programs as first births/hatchings became less frequent and collection management focused increasingly on long-term programs and commitments. With this evolution in mind we now proudly award the Edward H. Bean Award for propagation or management programs that contribute to the reproductive success of one or more species and/or subspecies."


Check out this link http://www.aza.org/honors-awards/ and click on the New England Aquarium - Queen Triggerfish application under the Significant Achievement section.  I was involved in the raising of this animal and I wrote the Post-Settlement Summary section.

Go NEAq!!!

2010 Beard Contest

It must be Christmas time again because the 2010 Beard Contest is currently in progress (hopefully almost over) and I'm looking pretty hairy!  I don't think I've shaved since around Turkey Day.  Who is involved in this contest you ask???  This involves a lot of the guys I used to work with at the New England Aquarium and last year it was just a beard contest, this year it's a beard/castaway contest.  What do you win???  Nothing except the pride of victory but it's fun anyway. 

Don't worry Mom I'll shave for Christmas!

Kinda Full, Lots of Sap!

Got my Christmas tree this past Sunday night and boy what an adventure it turned out to be.  This is only my second real Christmas tree, the first my roommates got when I was in Tampa.  Growing up we always had a fake one which is much easier to manage but does NOT make your place smell like Christmas!  First stop was Save Mart which had 6-7' trees for only $20.  We drove down in my spacious Ford Focus and immediately on the lot I saw the tree that I wanted...it spoke to me if you will.  My friend picked out her tree and then we had the daunting task of figuring out how to bring two 6'7" trees back in my four-door sedan.  Luckily for us Target was right next door so off we went for lights, rope, and some trashbags.  My tree went on the roof and hers went in the trunk.  Before we could shove it in the trunk though we had to tie it up and put a couple of trash bags on it.

Once the trees were all ties up and ready to go we went back to Target to find more decorations, a santa hat, tree stands, and a hot chocolate.  Target though had other plans and all we walked out with the second time in was a hot chocolate...very disappointing Target!!!  Where to next??  From Target we went to Walgreens, Home Depot (a stop we should have gone to initially!!!), and CVS.  While Casey was collecting Christmas lights from each and every store in Monterey County I was getting frustrated that I could not find a Santa hat for my work Christmas party.  At Home Depot though we were able to get a tree stand, some ornaments and of course some more lights...the people at Home Depot were beyond nice to us and let us come in after they had closed to get what we needed.  With everything piled up in my car we finally headed back to get the trees set up.

My apartment isn't exactly the biggest apartment in the world so shoving the tree down the stairs, through the walkway, and into my front door into the living room was a bit of an adventure in itself.  The tree was a bit tall and needed to be trimmed at the top and some branches off the trunk.  Of course I didn't have any sheers so wire cutters were the next best thing and worked quite well.  After wrestling with this beast and getting it set up in the tree stand the lights were ready to get put on.

I bought red, green and white lights; all separate and not the multi-colored strings to create a pattern more fit for a California lifestyle and not so cliche.

Found the hat at CVS!

1st ornament on the tree "Merry Christmas!"

Final Product

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Merry Christmas!

God Has a Sense of Humor

Pretty awesome night out in San Fran last night!  Drove into the big city around 8:00PM and grabbed some eats at a pizza place (Pizza Orgasmica; http://www.pizzaorgasmica.com/) in the Embarcadero Center and fittingly the BEPs song "I Gotta Feeling" came on as soon as I sat down.  And the night definitely was a good night!  After devouring our food we played around in the huge hotel next door for a bit and then headed to the outdoor ice rink at the Embarcadero (http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/photosofsfattractions/ig/SF-Christmas-Lights/Embarcadero-Ice-Rink.htm).  The rink was decently sized and it wasn't even that crowded.  We got on the ice for the 10:00 skate which unfortunately meant no more Christmas music but instead pop music to appease the kiddies.

Before I got on the ice though I got to very briefly catch up with a friend from high school who I'll hopefully catch up with a bit more after the holidays.  So skates laced up nice and tight and with a bit of added pressure being from New England I got on the ice appropriately to a little MJ.  Once I got the first lap under my belt I was good to go though and as my friend Abby from HS told me, "nobody here knows how to skate."  Man was she right!  People were falling left and right, they were making me look like an all-star and I'm definitely NOT that great on skates anymore.  I go once a year if I'm lucky but I was cruising in and out trying not to run into the raindrops of people hitting the ice.  We even saw one extremely inebriated guy in his early 20s hit the ice so hard chest first that he actually bounced.  The entire crowd watched it happen and everyone went silent before a few chuckles crept out.

I could have stayed on the ice all night it was so much fun.  It was just very cool being in California and ice skating in a tshirt.  After an hour or so on the ice we headed out to Temple, a club somewhere close by and had a blast dancin' and watching some guys and gals battle it out doing all sorts of freestyle moves in the middle of the circle, it was pretty cool to see.

So a very good night in San Fran and I hope to make it up again soon after the New Year!  2 weeks to Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

Do You Remember the Time???

I sure do...It's Christmas time everyone, the happiest time of the year!!!  I've compiled my list of movies that I try very hard to see during the Christmas season.  Everyone has their own favorites and I'll be sure to criticize your cliche lists as well, but for me these movies have the most meaning for me during the holiday season.  And remember that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear! Only 3 weeks!


My Top Ten Christmas Movies of All Time

10.  Gremlins

9.  The Santa Clause


8.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas (this is MY list, not yours!)


7.  Home Alone

6.  Elf



5.  It's a Wonderful Life

4.  Christmas Vacation




3.  A Charlie Brown Christmas



2.  A Christmas Story




1.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Almost Made It:
- Die Hard (in my all-time top 10, just not for Christmas)
- Jingle All the Way (Angry Arnold on Christmas, pretty good stuff)
- Rudolph (I love me some claymation reindeer)
- Nightmare Before Christmas (Halloween/Christmas movie)
- Scrooged (Bill Murray Classic)
- Frosty (Never seems to get the recognition he deserves)
- Ernest Saves Christmas
- Batman Returns (Merry Christmas Catwoman!)

Movies I haven't seen enough that I'll get crap for:
- White Christmas
- Miracle on 34th St.
- Bad Santa
- Christmas Carol
- Muppet Christmas

Movies I have NEVER seen:
- Polar Express


Merry Christmas!!!

What's on the Menu?

So being here in an apartment by myself like a big kid I've had some time to cook for myself and no dad, not just ramen and easy mac but I think I've been making some pretty good stuff lately.  What is on the Payne Train menu you ask???  So far (some items may be absent):

Apps:
Chips and Salsa
Nachos
Salads

Breakfast:
Blueberry pancakes
Toast
Bagels
Cereal
Eggs (cooked to order; omelettes available upon request)
Sausage
Egg Sandwiches
Oatmeal

Entrées:
Eggplant Parm
Jambalaya
Chicken Stir Fry
Macaroni and Cheese (baked, not out of the box)
Penne, Chicken and Broccoli
Homemade Pizza
Stuffed Chicken
Grilled Cheese
American Chop Suey
Stuffed Peppers

Desserts:
Ice Cream Sundaes
Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Pie

Beverages:
OJ
Milk
Hot Apple Cider from TJs
Water
Iced Tea
Wine

Now I just need people to cook for!!!  Come on over!

Where Have I Been Hiding???

Yes I know I haven't written in a while.  My computer was getting fixed by the lovely people at Dell.  I had my motherboard, hard drive and charger replaced.  So I'm back...what have I been up to you ask?

Well for Turkey Day I spent a majority of the day at work taking care of the jellies and seahorses but after that I was invited to a friend's parents place and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with a ton a great food.  I even had an entire turkey leg on my plate!  I worked the entire weekend to cover for the people that were out and to give myself some extra days to use for Christmas.

On Tuesday I had the day off and my friend Casey and I went down to Big Sur for the latter part of the afternoon.  We went to an area called Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and wow was it amazing.  We walked up a few trails, ate some plants (look like wanna-be clovers) that tasted like lemon, saw some banana slugs, an 80 foot waterfall, and a gorgeous sunset.  What an incredible day!

Yummy!

Unreal huh???

What else???  I haven't been running too much lately.  I guess it's my way of taking a rest before the marathon training starts in January, the 3rd to be exact.  I went out this afternoon because it was in the 70s but I wasn't feeling it.  I've got one month to rest up my legs and I'll probably run a few times here and there but won't push it until the new year.

That's what's been going on in good ol' Monterey.  Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!