Yes, that’s the Angela version 20yrs up there, patiently waiting for the Y2K bug to doom us all in Boston’s Government Center. I wanted to party like it was 1999 (does it ever get old?!). Looking back at that photo, it blows my mind that it was taken ten years ago. That’s the funny thing about getting older… time begins to pass by quicker and quicker. Remember being in third grade and the year dragggggggggggggggged on, almost into infinity. Then… BAM!… you wake up one morning to find yourself 30 years old with gray hair sprouting, your kitchen table covered in bills, and you haven’t shaved your legs in a month because, god damn it, you’re just too damn tired (or maybe that’s just me).

The 00’s – or “aughts” or “naughts” or whatever the fuck they’re calling this decade – were good to me. I did enjoy almost my entire 20s in ‘em and if you can’t enjoy your 20s, then you’re just screwed because it’s all downhill from there, right? I began the decade as a fresh-faced 20-year-old (view above) and am leaving it a jaded 30-year-old with a new lease on life. So much has happened in these past ten years. Some good, some bad, but overall, I experienced a boatload of that “life experience” shit that all the old folks talk about.

A few of the highlights:
In 2000 I:

• Dropped out of college for the first time
• Got my first job waiting tables
• Dumped my high school boyfriend
• Lost 20 pounds
• Turned 21
• Went to Disney World
• Went to my first Patriots game (Patriots vs. Tampa Bay)
• Voted for Ralph Nader

In 2001 I:

• Met my future fiance
• Drove threw D.C. during George W. Bush’s inauguration
• Visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio
• Narrowly escaped being in NYC for September 11

In 2002 I:

• Lost 50 more pounds
• Watched the New England Patriots win their first Super Bowl (the single greatest day of my life)
• Went back to college
• Took the Massachusetts State Police Exam

In 2003 I :

• Got engaged
• Dropped out of college again

In 2004 I :

• Watched the Patriots win another Super Bowl
• Broke up with the fiance
• Started dating the king of the dickheads
• Went back to college
• Watched my car literally blow up in my college’s parking lot (hey, it got everyone in my class out of our midterm; the professor delayed it until the next class)
• Got totally blitzed at my cousin’s wedding.
• Went to Disney World

In 2005 I:

• Dropped out of college again
• Got a new car
• Started working at the newspaper
• Quit the first restaurant
• Started working at the bar in Southie
• Got dumped on Valentine’s Day by King Dickhead
• Took back King Dickhead
• Watched the Patriots win ANOTHER Super Bowl
• Finally got rid of King Dickhead for good.
• Made a boatload of new friends
• Met my boyfriend
• Went to my first Bruins game
• Got into a straight-up bar room brawl

In 2006 I:

• Got pregnant
• But lost the baby
• Had my wisdom teeth pulled
• Moved in with my boyfriend
• Met his son and became the world’s coolest step-girlfriend-whatever-you-call-it-person
• Quit the bar in Southie
• Bought my sister’s car
• Went to Disney World

In 2007 I:

• Didn’t do a whole lot of anything besides wanted to kill myself each day on my way to work at the paper
• Watched the Patriots go on an NFL Rampage, finishing the year at 16-0

In 2008 I:

• Cried nearly every day
• Was fired and promptly rehired at the worst job ever (newspaper)
• Went back to college
• Nearly died after Super Bowl you-know-what
• Got my car stolen two weeks before Christmas (but I got it back)
• Was crushed when Tom Brady got hurt
• Almost lost my boyfriend

In 2009 I:

• Found my car missing two tires
• GOT MY NEW JOB AND WAS FINALLY ABLE TO QUIT THE WORST JOB EVER!!!
• Met a ton of awesome people

Here’s to an awesome 2010!