Year In Review 2018

Remember how "terrible" 2016 was and everyone was posting stupid memes like this…

And my 2016 was pretty much a normal year so I made this meme…

I was too sad at the end of 2017 to write anything or make fun of anyone. Though I do recall trying to write something out but scrapped it.

I am ready to review 2018 though so let's get started.

My family was devastated at the loss of Patton, and very much so my mom…If you know her, you know she is a very fancy, refined and classy lady. Think Cora, from Downton Abbey.

There are places I could never picture her going, but she on her own accord ventured to an animal shelter to find a new dog.

My mom taking us to the animal shelter.

Most people spend seven or eight months picking a name for a baby, and we spent like seven or eight seconds picking out a name for our shelter dog. I really wish we had taken a few extra moments since everyone unanimously (except my mom) can't stand her name. Poppy- sounds like potty (makes going potty confusing) and Aubi (the nickname for my sister). When I am in the house yelling for Poppy, Aubi is the one who responds.

I was hoping Poppy would be keen for fetching bow and arrows like Patton, but she is more into sitting in chairs like a human.

I left for California mid-January. I was still really sad - for like a long time. But afternoon trips to Disneyland did make me feel a little better.

I was living with my Aunt and Uncle - which sounds way more Pride and Prejudice than it actually was. We had a running inside joke. I didn't want to be uncouth and impede on their hospitality despite their assurances that I was 'cool' - so I tried to phase every request with…" Now, I want to make sure I'm having good boundaries (cue giggles) but I can I have dinner, go to Disneyland, borrow your car etc...? hahahaha

I was heading off to another 'all by myself'Valentine's day at the library but they invited me to Disneyland with them. And let me tell you, Valentine's day at Disneyland is the best. No crowds, ALL the princes are out and because we are generally fancy people, who don't wait in lines, that day we decided to tour Carthy Circle.

Carthy Circle is in Disneyland California Adventure, but it's just a replica. The original theater was torn down, but our guide hyped up the statue erected in its place in downtown LA.

My cousin Henry had to visit museums for his class so we decided to visit the statue after atteding the holocaust museum in LA (which did leave me a bit traumatized). 

It wasn't worth the hour of traffic we fought.

Carthy Circle theater statue and garbage can lol.

February I read an article about how a lady walked 20,000 steps a day and lost a bunch of weight. I thought I might give it a go and my aunt was on board. There are A LOT of miles in 20,000 steps and we became obsessed with hitting that number or higher every day.

We would get up at 6am and just walk. If we had to pick up groceries - we walked. Want to go to lunch? - walk. Oh, we are free for the next few hours? Let's go for a walk.

I really took it to the extreme and was running and walking in any spare moment I could. I went to Disneyland by myself and would loop around the park until I'd hit 25,000 or 30,000. I got horrible blisters, like quarter sized ones, after walking from Huntington to Newport and back, then some more.

After 2 months I'd only lost 5lbs and was really bored of my playlists so that was a short-lived hyperfocus.

Corona Del Mar is my favorite place of all the places to walk.

My friend was performing in the tour of the King and I. I call her my friend because we had some silly antics in ballet class back in 2010, but I honestly don't think she remembered me lol. But she met me at the stage door none the less and showed me backstage. Super fun.

She was one of the King of Siam's wives lol.

There was also A LOT of flying in there. I would have been more braggy about it, but my instructor was probably pushing 80 and I didn't think he would understand my millennial need to gloat about my adventures every day. So I never took pics.

 

A few years ago I heard about this thing called Dapper Day, and it seriously sounded like the best thing ever. Fanciest clothes you own + Disneyland = perfect day. Despite having an annual Disneyland pass the last 6 years, I avoided going on Sunday's (and Dapper Day because it's only on Sunday's) because I was trying to be righteously perfect and never break the sabbath day. 

I decided I couldn't spend another Sunday indoors dying from lack movement and boredom, in hopes Jesus would spare me from some firery end. I attended my first Dapper Day in April, and my Mint Julep dress was AMAZING!!!!

I don't ever talk about it but I'm crossing my finger's for reincarnation at this point. See there isn't enough time for me to do everything I need to do. I have a list of things I want/need to do, but my pockets are pretty empty and I'll admit sometimes it is easier to watch Netflix than do stuff on my list. But I've always wanted to design costumes and beautiful clothes because I HATE traditional fashion. 

I told my mom this and she got upset saying sewing lessons, would have been a lot cheaper than an instrument rating. But honestly, both were on my list. So with the help of my aunt, (she helped like 5%) I sewed my first costume for Star Wars night at Disneyland.

 

I spent my time in CA sharing a room with my cousin Henry - you gotta do what you gotta do to survive lol and I got to bask in the glow of Fortnite every night before bed (thanks Jett for the spelling).

Once my other cousins returned from college it was quite the party and I got to wake up most mornings with Jackson dangling over the top bunk holding a prequel memes in my face. "Chloe, are you awake? Check out this meme." lol

Prequel memes are life.

At this point, I'd reached the peak of summer and still was kind of bumming around by myself most days. I had some fun times at Disneyland though. And good outfits. Always good outfits.

Honestly, my least favorite Rey (she works like all the shifts lol) but my Phasma shoes were on point.

July was a real turning point because after months and months and months and months of entertaining myself by myself lol, with experimental step counts, tasting all my favorite gelato flavors and basically pining for some new conversation I finally made some new friends.

To read about the specific friends jump here to the previous blog post.

Disneyland Meetup

I have this terrible problem. I only make friends when I'm on my way out. I'll go months without any new conversation and just as I'm about to jet off again, new engaging people waltz into my life. And the cycle repeats itself. 

Back in 2016 I lived with these girls, and my last night of living in the house with them we all played a game. I really hadn't spoken to them at all the whole time of living there and they were really nice. I spent so many nights there feeling completely isolated. Why on earth did I wait until my departure to make friends with them? Clearly, that's one of my flaws.

Summer was beginning to fade and I spent as many free evenings as I could with my new found friends at Disneyland. I even applied to jobs and went to Disney auditions (which I hate auditions and performing) because I was keen on staying and holding onto those friends for dear life. But the allure of regaining some freedom and space back in Atlanta was too great. I had spent every ounce of will money, and perserverance taking my instrument check ride, and I was spent.

Of course, that didn't deter me from a marathon of Disneyland filled celebrations my last week in California.

See? Same Rey, different day lol.

I'm going to let you in on a secret. I'm kind of tired of Disneyland. Everyone thinks I'm like this big Disney fan but I just go there for the friends, Starbucks, and sunshine. If my friends were drinking Starbucks at a regular grass park, I'd rather go there than Disneyland lol. I kind of internally cringe when I see people shell out big bucks for Disney. Honestly, it's a giant internal eye roll in my part.

"ooooooh, you're going to Disney….LAME lol."

So, of course, my parents decided to hit up Disney World (the worst- Disneyland only for me lol)  for fall break for the Halloween party. The Halloween party is cool though… I mean Disney is LIT for Dapper Day, Star Wars Night and Halloween because you can wear cool clothes.

And my costume for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was so lit, Disney reached out to me on instagram and asked for my permission to use my photo in Halloween promotions. I didn't see my picture pop up anywhere, but I was just thrilled to be asked because obviously, my costuming skills are superior.

"Gimmie some of those man' catching bengints." Also it takes a very special person to survive Disney in heels. Watch out Dapper Day 2019 ;)

Ok, getting close to the present.

So, I'm back in ATL. Business as usual. 

Growing up I had this weird mentality that I should wait to buy nice things because I didn't have a perfect job, or a perfect life. I believed was no point to surround myself with beautiful things until I could afford to have them at all the same time. 

In 2016 I spent a whole year sleeping on a mattress on the floor with holey sheets because even though I had the money to buy a nice bed, I didn't have enough money to have my own room, or house. I spent the whole year regretting even buying the mattress figuring I could have saved the 100$ and just slept on the floor.  

The infamous mattress on the floor.

During Thanksgiving this year I decided that I deserve nice beautiful things and I spent the entirety of my money (don't worry I recouped it all) on silk bathrobes, framed art, beautiful pillows, decorative mirrors and boutique clothing. I'm not wearing clothes with holes in them, or sleeping on the floor with Walmart pillows, or old pajamas anymore. So that's good and I feel much better with my personal space.

I'll be doing a room unveiling in 2019 so watch out lol ;)

The only downside to returning to ATL was the loss of my flesh and blood Disney friends. I've got like 500 facebook friends, but everyone knows that facebook friends aren't real lol. JK they are, but I don't talk to them. So I started the process again, Tinder, Bumble, only to be met with casual sex offers…

So there is always my Kung fu crowed, but my job schedule is unpredictable and I'm just too mentally exhautsed to be aggressive and fight people lol. And while I love my kung fu friends dearly they are mostly older gentlemen who are married.

In an act of brazen impulsivity- because I thought I was going to die lol (ok that was an exaggeration but like mental anguish from lack of personal social interaction) I signed up for ballroom dance lessons. (Now I know the last time I took a dance classing everyone flipped out. 'cue massive eyeroll. So I won't say where, and I'm sure most people haven't made it this far down anyway…but it was AMAZING. I felt better than I had since leaving CA.

I just wrote beginner on the intake form because I've never had any formal ballroom training. But they were quite surprised at my skill and adeptness.

 "Oh, well I do have a degree in dance, just haven't done any ballroom..." lol

I know I'm going to be their star pupil in 2019.

Over Christmas I asked my cousin, who just finished her first semester of college, what her kiss count was. Just to kind of gauge how I was doing for the year…Well, she kissed 8 people in one semester and I kissed 2 1/2 in an entire year…so I gotta work on that in 2019.

My birthday is today and like every year I'd like to kiss someone at midnight but as my luck will have it I missed the mark again. So in the theme of 2018 I'll end this with a prequel meme.