Like everyone else on the Internet, I am officially recognizing that today is the last day of 2011. Well. Unless you’re one of my Australian readers, in which case you’re already in the future. What’s the future like, you guys? Are there Hovercars yet? Is everyone psychic? Anyway, if the Mayans were right and the world is going to end in 2012 (although don’t bet on it because the Mayans practiced human sacrifice to bring about religious weather magic, just saying, it’s not science!), I should probably spend today writing less about work and writing more about how decent this past year was for me. Because you know, it really was a decent year.

March – Graham and I went to Chicago together. I mean, I realize that it’s only 5 hours away and we drove there and back and were only there for a day and a half, but we never get to go anywhere together. Our schedules are too different, we’re too poor, etc. But we finally carved out a tiny fraction of time to go somewhere, stay in a hotel, get drunk, and eat good food. Chicago welcomed us with open arms. It was terrific.

April – The Val Kilmer Project, which Brennan, Fiala, and I started in February (although it was more like me and Brennan because Fiala frequently expressed contempt for it but still had to go along with whatever we did) started to take off. This was a ridiculous Internet experiment that got an absurd amount of attention for how completely idiotic it was, but it was a lot of fun and gave Brennan and I the opportunity to get drunk at his house while watching Tombstone and The Saint. Also Val Kilmer liked it. Which was hilarious.

June – I started writing for KDHX, the best radio station in St. Louis and a spectacular source of independent music and media that anyone can access! Really, you can! I’ve written before about not being ashamed to have enjoyed pop culture garbage in the past, and with that in mind, I’d like to share a piece of Rainer Maria Rilke-related wisdom I gleaned from repeated viewings of Sister Act II: “When wake up in the morning and you can think of nothing but writing, then you’re a writer.” While I know this isn’t really true (you’re a writer when your tax return says you’re a writer, THAT’S REAL LIFE), it’s nice to think about. Because I do. I wake up in the morning and think about what I’m going to write that day. This blog and the workshop and all my Internet garbage is all well and good in its own way, but writing about music for KDHX, an organization I respect and love, makes it feel so much more real. (Recently posted: review of the Black Keys’ “El Camino” and the Murder By Death show!)

August – Brennan, Fiala, and I closed the Val Kilmer Project after 6 months of Internet fuckery. I chose to keep the Tumblr base and switch it to a personal format called punk rock mom jeans. It’s been going pretty well. I get new followers and find hilarious things every day, and sometimes, I use it to pretend like I have my own Internet empire.

September – I bought a new car. It’s not paid off yet, but it’s not a 14-year-old Lumina with rust spots and hail damage, either. Now I get to ride around in a zippy silver Mazda with a KDHX sticker and a Cthulhu Jesus fish. W00t!

October – We moved in together! Into a house! Those two exclamations really go hand-in-hand, because there’s no way I would have been as excited if we’d chosen a large apartment, which, fine, it’s okay for some people and I don’t think I’m better or anything, but for me, and for that particular decision, only a house would do. I love this place. I love it’s size, and the way it holds us and our stuff, and that I feel safe here. It’s a feeling that only years of ghetto living can provide, and it’s fantastic. Plus, it’s nice that Graham and I live together. It only took four and a half years and plenty of foot-dragging from me, but I like that we stay in the same place and he takes out the recycling.

December – Chicago was nice but not a real vacation, so Graham and I took some more time off and went to see our friends in Seattle. Oh, Seattle. I love you and your drearily mild climate, your public transit, and your polite hobo population. I’d have to give up a lot (my house, my nephew, my ghetto-borne aggression) to live in you and Graham keeps asking, but for right now, I’d like to stay friends.

New Year’s Eve – The 3rd Annual Pajama Jam New Year’s Eve at Jake’s house (even though he now lives in KC and is only visiting the place he still owns). I guess some people might prefer dressing up for a club and bottle service, but for me, New Year’s Eve is best when you can spend it dressed like a slob with your oldest friends.

Happy New Year’s to all, and to all, at least a semi-decent 2012.