A New Year, A New Decade

Remember Y2K?

Ten years ago, everybody was going crazy about the year 2000 -- worrying about technological glitches, global chaos, impending apocalypse, etc. But none of that came about; it was just another new year, another new decade.

Now, we leave the Ohs/Aughts/Naughts/Zeroes behind and it seems like most people are happy to see them go. I know I am. It was a decade of tremendous change -- none of which I regret whatsoever -- but I'm excited to see what the Teens have in store for me. (And I'm happy to ring in the new year with good friends and good drinks. Oh, and someone to kiss at midnight. )

My favorite NYE scene of all-time:

Very Good. Happy Christmas.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

This is the first Christmas I've spent away from Raleigh in nearly 18 years, and it was both easier and harder than I thought it'd be.

My parents moved away more than three years ago, and I never stayed with my brother in the meantime (before he moved to Austin this year), so I didn't think that, since the holiday wasn't about my family anyway, the where wouldn't matter.

But it did matter. A lot. More than a lot. And the who mattered too, to my great surprise. But "family" is a funny thing; so is the concept of "home." It's not logical, for sure.

Still, I had a very nice holiday, with very lovely people. I felt cared for, and cared about. And isn't that the true meaning of Christmas?

Previously, On ...

My Top 10 movies list will have to wait until the very last minute, since I haven't seen probable contenders like 'Up in the Air.' So stay tuned on that one. In the meantime, I'll look back at the year in television, starting first with my Top 10 shows:

1. 'Battlestar Galactica'
The finale was flawed, yes, but ambitious and rich and tragic and beautiful at the same time. And it broke my heart. When I go back and watch the whole thing again, I have no doubt it will captivate me as much as the first time around.

2. 'Mad Men'
Third seasons are often where television series falter, when the initial ideas have run out of steam. But Matthew Weiner broke apart his toy and put it back together again to make a different and exciting new puzzle.

3. 'Lost'
At the end of last May's finale, when the screen flashed white and then "LOST Final Season 2010" came up, the rest of 2009 felt pointless. I equally dread and can't wait to see how it all ends.

4. 'Friday Night Lights'
Since I watched season 3 during its first-air run last fall, this is for season 4, which has "rebooted" the series in a graceful, compelling way. But really, I'm just grateful to have Coach and Mrs. Coach around for as long as NBC and/or DirecTV will allow it.

5. 'Skins'
Like 'FNL,' this show about high schoolers rebooted with a new cast of characters. And though it took me a couple of episodes to warm up to them, by the end of the season, I loved them dearly. If you've never heard of this British teen soap -- get thee to Bittorrent!

6. 'Modern Family'
Best new show of the year and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. Also, produced one of the best lines all year: "WTF - Why the Face?" Just genius.

7. 'True Blood'
Hot Naked Eric. 'Nuff said.

8. 'Top Chef: Las Vegas'
The final four was set in stone from Day 1, and I was still riveted week to week. Hey, reality TV producers -- talent sells.

9. 'Big Love'
Even though this series features some of the best acting and writing on TV, I had to fight to get this on the "Best of the '00s" list at work. I guess, vampires are OK; polygamists not so much.

10. 'The Office'
Last spring's Michael Scott Paper Company arc was inspired; I only wish it had lasted a little longer.

Songs of Innocence, Songs of Experience

It's that time of year -- for Top 10 lists! Hurrah! I really do love Top 10 lists; they're so neat and orderly.

Now, I'm not as much of a music expert as I am with TV and movies, but I've always thought the music a person listens to says the most about them. So, I wanted to post my Top 10 list of songs -- but with some caveats. Since I'm not always on the cutting edge of the music scene, these aren't necessarily songs released this year. Rather, these are the songs that made up the soundtrack of my life in 2009. (And they aren't ranked.)

1. 'Fuck and Run' by Liz Phair
P. recommended this song last spring during a rather bleak time, and even now, it's almost always among the last 25 songs played on my iPod.

2. 'Lasso' by Phoenix
I always waver on which of the songs from the album, 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,' I like the best. But at their two live shows (Summerstage and Hammerstein), without a doubt -- it was 'Lasso.'

3. 'Let Your Love Grow Tall' by Passion Pit
Again, this is my favorite live song (same shows as Phoenix), even though I'd probably choose 'Sleepyhead' from the album.

4. 'Parallel Lines' by the Junior Boys
God, this is a really difficult one. I love all their songs. The lyrics to this one really get to me, though.

5. 'Hurt Feelings' by Flight of the Conchords
A lot of people were down on this season, but I think it produced some excellent work, including this number (best line: "The day after my birthday is not my birthday, mum").

6. 'Battlefield' by Jordin Sparks
Yes, I confess: I like pop music, OK?! Get over it. I first heard this on 'So You Think You Can Dance,' for a routine performed by Brandon and Jeanine, and it just stayed with me.

7. 'The Walls Are Coming Down' by Fanfarlo
Another band I had the pleasure of seeing live -- and will again in a week or so. Amazing.

8. 'When Will You Come Back Home' by Ryan Adams
Isn't it just the best when you rediscover a song that you first heard a long time ago, is in your music library and had been gathering dust?

9. 'Wake Up' by Arcade Fire
Soundtrack behind one of the best movie trailers, ever.

10. 'Something True' by Band of Annuals
If this were a list of one, this song would be the one. And I love a good harmonica solo.

And of course, honorable mentions:
- 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson: RIP MJ
- 'Poker Face' by Lady Gaga: This is what world domination looks like, huh?
- 'I Fall to Pieces' by Patsy Cline: Because Patsy never goes out of style

Luck Me

Well ... I lost my wallet again.

As I wrote before, I was robbed in Granada. And this weekend, just as I was about to go to the airport to return to NYC, I left my wallet at the gas station where I'd refueled my rental car. When my parents, who were nearby, went to look for it -- it was gone (and later, I found out someone tried to charge something to my credit card). And getting through airport security, while not impossible, isn't pleasant when you have no identification whatsoever.

So, yeah, it's been that kind of year. But if this whole karma thing works, that must mean 2010 will be fucking amazing, right?

Right?

But while 2009 has been quite the roller coaster ride, it's been fun. Sure, I've experienced mishaps, nursed a wounded heart on a few occasions, endured professional setbacks, and I didn't do nearly all the things I wanted to do. And I often felt a little lost, and that I was moving in the opposite direction as my peers and friends. But I lived, I learned. And I am thankful for that.

• I've been to eight of the 38 restaurants on Eater's Must Eat List, and my first 2010 resolution is to eat at eight more.
• OK, winter is my least favorite season and I pretty much dread the whole thing, but I am sort of looking forward to the first snow. A little.
  
• I'm also looking forward to getting a real Christmas tree, one that isn't two feet tall and potted. I love love love that pine-y smell. Can't be beat.
  

Homeless for the Holidays

My parents are asleep in the next room, while I "sneak" a glass of wine. They arrived yesterday and leave tomorrow for Raleigh, where I'll meet up with them and my brother next week for Thanksgiving.

It feels a bit strange to spend the holiday in Raleigh now that none of us live there. The only reason we're going there is because my brother is attending a wedding in the area, and my parents are visiting because it's my dad's 60th birthday. Otherwise, I don't know if I'll be in North Carolina for future Thanksgivings -- or Christmases, for that matter.

(I may not be there this Christmas, so L., if you're reading this, I'm sorry if I don't get to meet H.)

So if Raleigh isn't home anymore, I guess that means ... I'm a full-fledged New Yorker now?

I'm a ... Yankee?

Family Ties

Last night was the third season finale of 'Mad Men' and I've been either watching it, thinking about it, talking about it or writing about it ever since. I've probably watched the episode in its entirety three times already, and certain scenes more than that.

It was an exceptional hour of television, to cap off a standout season. Year 3 or thereabouts is danger time for most series, when viewers' infatuation wears off and the cold, hard reality of episodic television sets in. Think about 'Lost'; in season 3, we got episodes like 'Stranger in a Strange Land' (Jack gets tattoos!), 'Par Avion' (Claire goes to the birds!) and the much reviled 'Expose' (Nikki/Paulo exist! Which I actually found hilarious). 'Lost' luckily rebounded, once the showrunners declared an end date.

'Mad Men' hasn't set an end date, but last night's finale felt like the closing of a chapter. The unraveling of characters and relationships throughout the season -- Roger checking out mentally, Joan's departure, Sal getting fired, Pete about to jump ship after missing a promotion, Peggy being wooed by Duck -- came to a highly satisfying conclusion.

And it was fun. The episode had all the makings of a caper or heist film, where different pieces come together to form a cohesive team with a single goal. I can't tell you the glee I felt when Roger left to make that phone call, because I knew it could only mean: Joan! (My colleague wrote that she's never had a bigger crush on anyone real or fictional than Joan Holloway Harris. I quite agree.)

In the scene depicted above, when the triumphant team of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (totally naming my band that!) gathers at the Pierre in their makeshift office, you realize: This is a family.

So it's no wonder that just at that moment, Don goes to call Betty to let her go to Reno for a divorce. He's able to do that because he's found another family to replace the one that he's losing. And while this is not the picture-perfect family he always dreamed of ... it's the one that's right.

For me, the key scene of the entire episode, and of the three seasons so far, was the one between Don and Peggy. I was struck by how humbled Don was. Someone recently told me that love humbles you. And so here Don is, hat in hand, telling Peggy that if she turns the job down, he will "spend the rest of my life trying to hire you." Isn't that love? Not in a romantic way, but not in a strictly professional or platonic or mentor-y way, either. Don and Peggy have always had a connection, an affinity, a common view of the world. And it's indefinable and inexplicable and mysterious. Like attracts like; they belong together.

I won't even attempt to talk about what might happen next season; my 'Mad Men' predictions have been woefully wrong.

In other news:
9. Attend at least two: Knicks, Rangers, Mets and Yankees games