7 Great Things About 2011

2011 was an eventful year. Egypt revolted and Libya rejoiced. Berlusconi stepped down and SEAL Team Six stepped up. We learned that philandering pizza executives, bloated moguls, and cerebrally challenged gun-toters don’t make solid presidential candidates. Tweet became an official word and Taylor Swift looked surprised a lot. In between The Royal Wedding and The Fake Wedding, I had my own wedding. With five remaining hours of 2011, I compiled a short list of favorites.

Best Song: Stone Rollin’ by Raphael Saadiq for its molten instrumentation and ability to both honor and transcend Motown.

Best Album: Culture of Fear by Thievery Corporation for molding to every imaginable mood.

Best Film: I’m going to cheat and say Year of the Fish. It was released in 2008, but I watched it in 2011 and it has burned in my psyche like a 900-hour candle.

Best Book (three-way tie): Bossypants by Tina Fey, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, and The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. The first two for busting bladders and the latter for reminding me that unpaved literary paths still exist.

Best Comic Strip: The Oatmeal. You are welcome.

Most Notable Vegetable Reconciliation: Avocados. It was just a matter of time before I learned to adore those chartreuse squishmongers. I also made peace with beets.

Favorite Contraption that I Never Knew Existed and Now Can’t Possibly Live Without: Mini cupcake maker from my beautiful younger sister. I will have made 94 of them in the time it took you to read this sentence.

Let’s delve into 2012. See you on the other side.