Looking back on 2009

I'm no good at lists. Many bloggers seem to be good at making Top 10 lists and the like. I think I've done about 2 in the history of this blog. It's way too much effort to come up with a set number of things to exemplify some idea. So this is my haphazard ("lazy blogger") retrospective on the year 2009.

Personal
This was a significant year for me personally. I left the job I'd held for two years, moved 5000 miles to Hawaii, began graduate school towards a PhD in oceanography, and got my first boyfriend (first date, first kiss, etc.). I also went to Germany for the first time to make my first presentation at an international conference and got my first peer-reviewed paper published. I still feel like the same person, though.

Movies
I don't really go to the theater that much (though that's all relative, I guess), but I saw a good selection of new movies this year. I got to see Push (the sci-fi movie, not Precious based on the novel Push by Sapphire), which was admittedly not a particularly remarkable movie, but it was exciting for me because I had read the script a few years before it came out. Watchmen was a bit of a disappointment. Star Trek was awesome--everything that I wanted it to be and more. Up was delightful, as Pixar films tend to be. District 9 blew me away--a sci-fi film that was provocative, original, exciting and refreshing. Avatar was enchanting and gorgeous, not to mention successful, capping off a record-setting year at the box office.

TV
The epic Battlestar Galactica came to an exciting, thoughtful end. I was satisfied, and it remains one of my absolute favorite TV series ever. Joss Whedon's clever Dollhouse came and went--Fox will air the finale in 2010, but it can basically be said to be a movie of 2009 alone. Glee aired its delightful pilot in the late spring and built its fan base over the summer to become the biggest new hit of the season. With a great cast, clever songs, and a sharp wit, it deserves the distinction.

Games
Dragon Age: Origins. The beginning of the year for me was sadly all filler just to tide me over to November's release of BioWare's DAO. I still haven't finished it (why is my vacation so frakkin' busy?), but so far it's been very smart, fun, and engaging.

I thought about doing some list of the best of the decade (leaving aside the argument that due to the lack of a year zero the decade won't end for another year), but since this decade has essentially been everything since my early high school years, where my tastes were maturing to their current state, to make a list of my favorites from the decade is almost like making a list of my favorites. Basically, I don't have enough decades behind me for comments on the past decade to show much perspective. Plus...lists are hard. But the aughts--or whatever it is we're calling them (I think it should be "the double oh's")--have been good to me, bringing me through high school, college, and into grad school. The decade has been pretty rocky on the national and international stage. May the upcoming decade bring good things to us all.

Farewell, 2009!