- moved 13 times, lived in 9 different cities in 6 countries.
- witnessed a murder and testified against the murderers.
- had my heart properly broken 3 times.
- met and married my one true love.
- worked with Indigenous and Tribal Peoples at the UN in Geneva.
- visited my adopted Grampa Tony Black Feather in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; he has since passed away.
- wrote my first novel, play, and screenplay.
- drew countless Angels, sometimes on cardboard boxes or in notebooks, on the backs of free postcards, heavy duty paper, whatever I could find.
- threw away dozens of my artworks because of the 13 moves.
- graduated from University with a degree in Anthropology.
- got tattooed. Many times.
- worked for 2 newspapers.
- found the earliest mention of chocolate in the USA while researching for Mars Inc. in the Archive of the Indias.
- discovered my dad was cheating on my mom for 30 years; now they’re divorced.
- developed Pelvic Inflammatory Disease from an allergic reaction to antibiotics, had tendinitis in both wrists at the same time, developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome, struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and had profound bouts of sadness that I refuse to call depression.
- made lots of great friends who are more like extended family, even though they are scattered to the four corners of the world.
- finally began to appreciate The Cure and The Smiths.
- completed one year of a PhD in Sociology.
- lost my darling Cubby, my best friend of 15 years. (I miss you so much, Cubbo.)
- met a number of total assholes who took advantage of my open heart and wounded me terribly. My heart is warier these days.
- took care of a dozen stray cats.
- reconnected with my older sister, who is easily one of the loveliest people in the world.
- celebrated my 30th birthday singing Karaoke.
- visited Portland (Oregon), Seattle, San Francisco, Boca Raton, Amsterdam, Berlin, Erdek, London, Colombo, Doha, Dubai, Aachen, Lunen, Norwich, Canterbury, Las Vegas, Crete, Athens, Lausanne, Nyon, Dresden, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, San Diego,and Venice (Italy).
- saw the Buddha’s Relics, The Temple of The Tooth, Sigiriya, The Olympic Torch in San Francisco and Barcelona, the Louvre, the Reina Sofia, Van Gogh’s museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Grand Canal, the Red Cross Museum, a Powwow, the Pahalawela Elephant Orphanage, the Atlantic Ocean.
- participated in a number of real sweatlodges.
- understood the beauty of BladeRunner; it only took 6 views.
- still didn’t get what was so great about The Big Lebowski, other than the fabulous soundtrack.
- was published in a magazine and a newspaper.
- read hundreds of books, my favorites being “The Last Report On The Miracles At Little No Horse” by Louise Erdrich, “The Temple of My Familiar” by Alice Walker, “Pay It Forward” by Catharine Ryan Hyde, “Saving Fish From Drowning” by Amy Tan, “Change of Heart” by Jodi Picault, “Peyton’s Place” by Grace Metalious, and “Lisey’s Story” by Stephen King.
- fell in love with the Sookie Stackhouse books, MGMT, P!nk, karaoke, Ethiopian food, Frida Kahlo, and Twitter.
- danced and danced and danced, and once I danced under the Full Moon in a warm rain.
- gained weight, then lost it, gained it back, then some more, lost a bit, gained more, and now I just need to start working out.
- listened to a lot of Ani DiFranco.
- recognised I have a special connection with the Spirit Realm and that I believe in fairies. And vampires.
- was usually ahead of the curve.
- watched some great television, like Carnivale, Six Feet Under, Sex & The City, One Tree Hill, Dexter, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Friends, LOST, Desperate Housewives and Angel.
- regret time I wasted on certain people, and sadly many members of my blood family.
- fulfilled a number of dreams, like working for a newspaper, in an archive, at an international school, writing a screenplay, married my true love, and more.
- got dressed up every chance I got, which is never enough no matter how often.
- lived in Spanish for almost 3 years.
- drank a lot of vodka and absinthe.
- grew my hair long, long, long.
- met Paolo Coelho, Paul Theroux, Sergio Viera de Mello, Oren Lyons, Bill Means, Simon Ortiz, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Parker Posey liked the tattoo on my back.
- practiced Buddhism and meditation for a time.
- did not manage to learn how to drive a car. Yet.
- was really sad when Heath Ledger passed away. We had the exact same birthday, year and almost time. Also when Patrick Swayze died, and MJ. Goddess, way too many others.
- thought about River Phoenix and Wendy really a lot, as well as suicide.
- happily watched as Wes Craven revived the horror genre into the thriving and sometimes brilliant culture factory it is today.
- read a lot of cards.
- mysteriously went from a C-cup to a DD.
- ate meat, then became a vegan, then again carnivorous, then stopped eating wheat and processed sugar, then vegan, then vegetarian without wheat and sugar, and now occasionally eat some chicken.
- amassed a great collection of books and DVDs.
- saw Ani DiFranco, The Indigo Girls, Sizzla, Flogging Molly, Moby, Outkast, The Roots, and many flamenco shows live.
- remained obsessed with JFK, RFK, Marilyn Monroe, butterflies, horror, Stephen King, carnivals, freaks, monsters, Alice in Wonderland, the Wizard of Oz, and tattoo collecting.
- never thought I’d be so happy that this decade is over. Happy 2010!
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