Miner Mishap, originally uploaded by Brian Wilkins.

Drank this beer while we were in Hot Springs, and it was deeeelish. There were not yet microbrewerys when I was living in Oklahoma so I’d never had it before.

The Oklahoma Historical Society has an excellent write-up of so-called Choc beer which has nothing to do with chocolate and does nothing to dispel the stereotype that Native Americans like to hit the sauce.

Hot Springs is beautiful and we spent a lot of time sleeping in, staying up late, and walking all over town. Bathhouse Row is pretty damn amazing, but there are other awesome middle-America aspects to the town that I’ll talk about in a future post. We were so lazy we didn’t even go hiking, and going to some pace outdoorsy was one of the main goals. Oh well. Just gives me something to do next time, and believe me, in fell enough in love with the town that there will be a next time.

The whole time we were there I kept thinking about where I was and what I was doing the year before. We have to travel so much to see family during the holidays (this year it was Oklahoma for Thanksgiving and Florida for Christmas) that New Year’s is usually our own holiday together. After all the stress and buildup of the previous months we usually like to get away to some place secluded. In 2008 it was Robber’s Cave, Oklahoma. Last year it was a week through west Texas, culminating with a camping trip in Big Bend.

2009 had been a pretty shit year for me. I won’t go into details but I will say that two major events sent me spiraling into a well of hate and depression. I’m not really much of a metaphysical person, but on New Year’s Eve, just outside of Big Bend, I decided to do something I’d never done before: I wrote down all my heartbreaks and regrets on a piece of paper, and I threw it into the fire at La Kiva in Terlingua.

It didn’t matter if it worked or not. It made me feel better. Then I got waaaay too drunk on champagne and puked in the National Park the next day.*

What’s crazy is, it seems like it *did* work. 2010 was one of my most amazing years in memory. I started it off by running my first half-marathon. In March I went to SXSW for the first time. In May I found out my portfolio was accepted into the creative writing program at UH. In June CLH and I went to Sweden for a month, spending July 4th weekend in Stockholm.

Just before our trip to Sweden, I’d been asked to fill in for my music editor at work. I was flattered by the responsibility. On my last day, I found out about a job opening there. Not just any job opening… and opening for my dream job. But, it had been years since I’d worked full time, and I agonized and agonized over applying. After applying, I agonized over whether I’d take the job if offered. Then I agonized over not hearing anything about it for the month I was in Sweden. I actually did my job interview from the kitchen of our apartment via Skype, miles and hours away from my interviewee. And then, a few days after we got back to the US, I was offered the job.

Life since then has been hectic and happy. Believe me when I say I am literally working at my dream job, the kind of place I wanted to work at when I decided to study journalism. But it is a 24-hour position and has left little room in my life for other pursuits, like all my crafting projects, blogging and the thing I miss most from my former life — travel. But I am working to balance things out and hat is one of the goals for 2011.

But the awesome year didn’t stop there. Probably the most amazing thing I did this year was jump out of a plane. In November a large group from my running club got together to do the scariest thing I can possibly imagine doing. I hate heights, I hate the feeling of not having something underneath me (like when you’re standing on a ledge) and I hate airplanes. But skydiving is probably the most amazing and formative experience I’ve ever had in my life. There is no way to describe the freedom you feel, freedom of movement and freedom from fear, as you are falling 120 mph toward earth. It was so peaceful. I can’t wait to do it again.

Just look at the grins on our faces there. That is life well-lived. I also kind of feel like I’ve done the scariest thing I can possibly imagine, and it was awesome, so what do I ever have to be afraid of again?

So what will 2011 hold for me? In three weeks I’m running my second half-marathon and I may run a third at the end of February. Other than that, I have really no idea. I have a lot of goals for work, for my personal life and for my creative endeavors, but if this year is half as challenging and rewarding as the last one was, I’ll be happy. Bring it on, Elevensies.

* Didn’t think about it until now, but might this have been some kind of purging of negative energy? God, listen to me.

My shitty iPod tape adapter only plays music out of one half of my speakers, and I was sick of the 10 or so CDs I had. For some reason I thought it might be worthwhile to scan the dials, hoping there would be listen-worthy radio on a Friday night. Somewhere between Schulenburg and Luling, I caught several Christian/self help stations in a row, including one where three gossipy women were having a would-you-ever conversation regarding stripping for one’s husband/boyfriend at his request in the privacy of one’s home. All three women talked about this hypothetical request as if it were the most scandalous thing they could possibly think of doing.

It took all I had inside not to swerve to the side of the road and pull a Sailor and Lula after that.

Just a little yé-yé to tide you over until I can actually write something. I got back from (beautiful, glorious) Florida Monday evening and promptly took over for my wonderful editor at the paper, who is taking his own much-needed vacation, Tuesday morning. I am busy beyond belief and I am actually between trips — Sunday we are leaving again for nearly a month in Sweden. I am excited! I get to see the Malm whale again!

I haven’t found any tar balls on the beach yet, and I’ve already been to both coasts. Oh yeah, on Friday morning I got to ride a fuckin’ manatee! Not really, but I definitely swam with a bunch in the murky waters of so-called Crystal River. They felt slimy. More on that later, when I don’t have to buy a round of beers at World Of Beers in order to get access to the internet.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the west coast, to Spongeorama, the Greek wonderland of Tarpon Springs, the creepy Scientologist wonderland of Clearwater, Fla., and lovely Tampa/St. Pete, maybe my favorite two-cities-in-one in all of the Sunshine State. Considering I ate my weight in steamed blue crab this weekend, my beach motto is above. Translation: A woman without a belly is like heaven without stars.

• May 27-31 — AmeriVespa 2010 in San Antonio
• day ride to New Bruanfels to go toobin’
• including a police-escorted ride to the Alamo for a group picture. The mayor is giving the VCOA president the keys to the city! It’s like an episode of Batman or something.
• raffle and party at the 125-year-old Pearl Brewery
• June 2-14 — Florida!
• I’m going diving with manatees!
• Hukilau 2010!
• Somewhere else! But we’re not sure yet! Maybe Key West? Or Tampa!
• June 20-July 13 — Gothenburg, Sweden
• Now it really sounds like a Batman episode!
• Maybe I’ll check out the Epidemic of Art
• 18 hours of sunlight a day!
• The Malm Whale!!!
• July 15-19 — Cloudcroft, NM
• We’re riding the motorcycle from Houston for my family reunion
• Maybe we’ll make a side trip to White Sands
• or hike to the famous rotting railroad trestle one of my relatives helped build
• August 15-22 — maybe back to Sweden?

We’ll only be home about five weeks total during the entire summer. Looking forward to may adventures.

At Hukilau 2010 in June (our annual pilgrimage to Florida) I’ll be volunteering at the door for the world premier of this documentary. There’s a sneak peek below. At around 9:34 you can see brief footage of CLH and I sailing on the Tikki Beach at Hukilau 2004, the “Hurricane Hukilau”. There’s also footage of many of the places we visited during our month in French Polynesia, including the tallest tiki in the world.

What is Tiki // The DVD OF TIKI from Van Hagen on Vimeo.

The Lorraine Motel on our 2008 visit to Memphis, TN.

This geologist friend is the same person who was the subject, three years ago, of a Houston Press cover story wherin he kayaked down Buffalo Bayou all the way to the Houston Ship Channel, one of the most polluted bodies of water in the U.S. Who knows what kind of adventures he’ll have in store for us in Big Bend.

At first I wasn’t planning on taking my computer but I might have to do some work on the road. Stops along the way include Marfa, Terlingua and our friends’ cabin in the middle of nowhere. The rest of the nights we’re just playing it by ear.

Here’s to a new year and a new decade.