I know that normal people marvel over how fast time flies when they see Rite Aid putting out the holiday tchotchkes in July or read stories of their college roommates' babies get busted for dealing meth, but I'll tell you what, nothin' sez "Old timer!" to this old timer like posting your SEVENTH annual "Things I Learned in Whatever Year" to your blog.

This year was not an easy year for many people. On the other hand, easy years are rarely memorable ones. And, as my memory ain't what it used to be (I think), maybe I'm better off with a "challenging" year.

Part 2 coming at you on Thursday...

xxx

Love is easy.
Forgiveness is hard.
Which means that actually, love isn't easy at all.
December is way more fun when you do it in January.
The best slide shows present you.
To get down with the future, meet the kids who'll be running it.
For someone who never liked dogs, I sure turned out to like dogs.
Then again, no one told me they had medicinal properties.
You're never too old to learn how much you have yet to learn.
Or too good to make light of it.
The way to read a lot of books is 40pp at a time.
If you build it, they will cum.
You may never work harder than the year you don't "work."
Exhaustion is the true mother of invention.
The two greatest blogs about change are newsletters.
But the king is the king for a reason.
There will never be enough hours in a day.
I don't know why or how, but wishing works.
I finally have enough author friends to form a football team.
And 2011 is bringing in some strong starters.
As for me, we'd better hope those Mayans were wrong.
Car washes are infinitely better when you add free magazines.
Everything is infinitely better when you add hot guys.
The best pictures are inevitably the worst pictures.
When it comes to chasing, I give up.
Uniforms rock.
Pen pals rule.
Nothing underlines the need for self-love like a run-in with one's inner shithead.
At a certain point, "procrastination" becomes simply "one's working style."
The biggest learning is in the doing.
Cheap is beautiful.
Ice cream is better than gossip. For everyone.
You'll hate half of what you try.
If you're incredibly lucky.
And unusually diligent.
Feminism and heat are not mutually exclusive.
I'd walk a thousand miles for a singular comment.
Two thousand, if the comment comes from the elusive Dan Owen.
I like my books like I like my eggs: hard-boiled.
The biggest skies are the hardest to get to.
But when you hitch the right ride, they're beyond worth it.
Maybe video ain't so bad.
When life won't buy your lemons, offer it lemonade.
On the other hand, when assholes spill oil, set them on fire.
Although some of them are pretty good at self-immolation.
Nothing feels as good as true service.
Belly laughs run a close, close second.
Then again, these days, belly laughs are the highest form of service.
Social media is dead.
Long live social media.

Part II is here. And have I mentioned that I've been doing this 100-things thing for SEVEN years now?

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004