I honestly don’t know how official decades work, but tonight is the last night of a year beginning with “200-“, so we will proceed thusly. This decade has had its ups and downs, but I was able to grow from an awkward 12 year old to a slightly less awkward 22 year old. Like my “Year in Review” entries, I will make a brief rundown of each year then rank them from worst to best at the end. For more detailed looks at 2004-2009, click on the year.
2000: I consider it the birth of my “Modern Era”. I had my first intense crush, really established my niche group of friends, and began to move towards becoming who I wanted to be. Going back to Stone really helped that. For the first time in my life up to that point, I was in shape and it gave me confidence both socially and on the basketball court.
2001: The first up-and-down year. This would become a recurring theme of the decade. The first half of the year was great. I concluded my career at SCCA, went to camp for the first time, and had many good times at many 8th Grade graduation parties. Starting high school was probably more difficult for me than most. I went to a new school knowing no one, and it took me a very long time to figure out where I fit in. My apprehension towards high school was at points mistaken for snobbery and standoffishness and I was the target of some very rude behavior. Back then I unfortunately lacked the ability to stand up for myself, but all things are lessons learned.
2002: This year I think I spent a greater percentage of time trying to “find myself” than any other year of the decade. I was knee deep in involvement at the youth group at PBC, decided to start being myself more at school, and tried maintaining the friendships that I had. After hearing that a girl who I wanted to date found me “boring”, I devoted a large portion of my time trying to prove her wrong. I tried gimmick after gimmick, and it culminated in the creation of my former website “Inside the Mind of Jakob Duehr”, a site that became more popular than it ever should have. I met a lot of people this year, but the most notable were Murdock and Jessica.
2003: Socially, the year everything finally came together. Though the first two months of the year was spent with a feud at Stone and the last four months were spent attempting damage control at TPHS for a situation that was only partially my fault, the year was great. Perhaps the best decision I made all year was to leave PBC, where except for a few exceptions (mainly Pastor Scott… he was always great) I was underappreciated and felt unwanted. I made the choice to return to Stone’s youth group. It was that decision that brought me closer to my closest friends and set the groundwork for that summer, the greatest summer of my life. My friends and I spent practically every day together doing something fun, and our camp experience that year was filled with the most hilarity of any single week in my life.
2004: Honestly, this year felt like each day was even better than the one before. Though I still spent the first two months of the year diffusing that situation at school, things just kept getting better. Even my mistakes and missteps led to positives. At school, for a short time I felt like I was on top of the world. I had my greatest experience at camp ever, and going to Convention that year is still one of the greatest memories of my life. I look back on that year with unbelievably fond memories.
2005: The year the wheels fell off. After a promising beginning to the year, things fell apart. Nothing seemed to go right at all. I narrowly missed out on a full scholarship at one school, was cheated out of one at another, and had to say goodbye to how life was with my friends. I fell out of favor with some people at school and fell just short of winning my fantasy football championship. Even camp was a less than amazing experience. As everything around me was changing, I had to be strong and deal with some very intense personal issues. Looking for a job that summer was misery, and when I finally did get the job it was miserable. I would get three hours of sleep on school nights. Sometimes I wonder how I made it through the year.
2006: Another up and down year. I had to take the somewhat good with the really bad. My Seahawks fell short in an extremely questionably officiated Super Bowl, I was marginally betrayed (for the first of many times) by someone I thought cared about me, and most importantly I lost a great friend to a car accident. I gained thirty pounds in a month. I even spent my Christmas vomiting. However, it was not a lost year. I had some of my greatest professors in college, had some of my best work experiences, really got attuned to my thoughts and emotions, and became friends with Stacie.
2007: This, for all intents and purposes, was actually a good year (in fact the only good year I had in the second half of the decade), but I have this lingering feeling that it could have actually been great. I made my first attempt to lose weight and failed. I had a good time taking more responsibility as a youth leader, but I think I could’ve done more. I squandered some opportunities due to being me, and I stressed myself out more than I needed to. Even with that, the year was good. I had more enjoyable classes, moved to Orland, and went to my first WWE PPV event.
2008: It was a challenging year but an extremely productive one. I was able to transform some of my failures into successes. I traded a failed romantic pursuit and an out of shape body for a sixty pound weight loss. It didn’t help at all with the pursuit, but it gave me my body back as well as confidence to attack other goals. I took the bouncing around from school to school for my student teaching and made it a very positive experience at Richards that I will never forget. I accomplished my goal of completing my Bachelor’s degree early. I admit I made mistakes throughout the year that left me weary by its end, but from failure was born success, and there became a greater balance between my confidence and ability.
2009: An extremely challenging year. At many points it felt like I was dealing with 2005: the sequel. Most things did not go as I planned. Some did, but in the past it would’ve left a bitter taste in my mouth. I choose not to let it consume me. I’d like to think it was a rebuilding year of sorts and that everything will come together in 2010. I met some great people, and I finally eliminated a fear of failure. Nothing is as bad the second time around. I realized if I can deal with something once, then I can deal with it again.
All in all, I am pleased with how this decade has turned out. I would be lying if I told you that the twelve year old Jakob would have imagined the 22 year old Jakob to be exactly as I am, but perfect foresight is a luxury which few are granted. I made great strides in becoming who I wanted to become as opposed to what I thought everyone wanted me to be. That said, here are my year rankings. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
10. 2005
9. 2009
8. 2001
7. 2008
6. 2006
5. 2002
4. 2007
3. 2000
2. 2003
1. 2004
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 in Review
In what has been one of my favorite traditions since 2004, it is that time of the year for me to give a month-by-month rundown of my 2009. I know I usually do it on New Year’s Eve, but this year I will be spending that doing a rundown of the decade. It has been quite a year. Here it goes.
January: We welcomed a new addition to the family with my sister’s wedding at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to the two of them for a couple months, as my brother-in-law is a Marine stationed in North Carolina. Met the ever-interesting Shan, Jannelle, and Melmo and madness ensued. I also had one of the highlights of the year at the beginning of the month when Rex, Merrill and I went downtown and another highlight at the end of the month when Rob and I went to Detroit for the Royal Rumble. The Rumble was great, but Detroit is an absolutely awful city.
February: While subbing for my mom’s class, I realized I made the right decision to choose secondary education rather than elementary education. After one day of teaching a combined first and second grade class, I had the worst headache I have ever experienced. Again, I did not observe Valentine’s Day, but I did complete the 10000 crunch challenge.
March: I went to a teaching job fair, started to apply for jobs, and drank a lot of Shamrock shakes. I also stayed up for 40 hours straight once. I also hung out with Stay-C a couple times. Always great to hang with her.
April: I turned 22 and welcomed my sister and brother-in-law back to Illinois. I also embarked on a trip to D.C. and Florida with my friend Dan. The majority of the trip was great, as we saw our nation’s great landmarks as well as the Kennedy Space Center and some beautiful beaches, but I also had to endure the worst day of my life. To make a very long story short, let’s just say that I got awful sunburn, got stood up by the one person I went to Florida to see, lost my wallet and got treated like a terrorist at the airport, and endured a major personal space invasion on the flight back from St. Louis to Chicago.
May: Had the first of what would be many unsuccessful interviews with school districts. I kept filling out applications nonetheless. My brother-in-law shipped out to Afghanistan, so Heidi came back to live with us for an extended period. Unfortunately my cousin was not with us this summer, as I drove him to the airport for his flight to Washington to intern for Senator Burris. Stay-C also had a birthday party that was more fun than I expected.
June: This was a good month for catching up with old friends. Rob was actually back for the whole summer, and Merrill was back for a little while. We had some good times playing Rock Band. I got to see Pastor Scott a couple times, and it is always a positive experience hanging out with him. Had a really weird interview with a school district in which they never once told me what I was exactly interviewing for.
July: More unsuccessful interviews. Frustration began to mount. I had some good social experiences this month, though. Had great times with Rob at the Thunderbolts game as well as a trip to Cici’s where I finally got a chance to chat with my favorite Cardinal Fitness employee. I also snapped my string of awful experiences on July 12 when I had the opportunity to hang out with Melmo.
August: This was an awful month. I hit rock bottom. After the last of the unsuccessful interviews I was struck with an awful illness that kept me in bed for a couple days. Everything around me felt like it was crashing down. Reading “The Gift: You Ask and You Get” by David Dayan Fisher (shameless plug for a new friend: BUY THE BOOK NOW!!!!) really helped though. Things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen. Much of them are uncontrollable, but reactions are a choice. I began to make the choice to react positively. At the end of the month, I moved from Orland back to Tinley.
September: I began my current position as a substitute teacher in a junior high school district. I was surprised to find I quite enjoy it, and even more surprised to find that the kids quite enjoy me! I obviously would like a full time position, but I guess sometimes dues need to be paid. I also finally got closure from an issue with a person.
October: More subbing; more fun. I was able to make it back to Richards for a football game. I can’t even begin to explain how great it is to visit there. Some of the greatest kids in the world can take pride in being a Bulldog. I also picked up SmackDown! vs. Raw 2010 and a PS3 and created some pretty sweet things.
November: I once again had the opportunity to go to Richards, this time for a playoff game. We unfortunately lost, but I loved cheering them on and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Thanksgiving wasn’t as great as I had hoped it to be, but I had a blast with Heidi and Andy at lunch that week.
December: We welcomed back my brother-in-law from Afghanistan, which is great for both him and my sister (though unfortunately it means we will be saying goodbye to both of them soon). Christmas was long but enjoyable, but by far my greatest achievement of the month was my first ever fantasy football championship. After falling short so many times, it feels great to finally succeed.
I would be lying if I said that this year was not a challenge. I would also be lying if I said this year was good, or even decent. For a lot of the year it felt like I was throwing stuff against the wall to see what would stick. My laundry list of goals for the year was only partially completed. I really need to thank the good friends I have, whether from face to face experiences or online as well as my family for being there for me. I am also thankful for the chances I had to connect with people like Shan, Jannelle, Melmo, Kacey, and David, because in one way or another you have helped to make me better (or at the least help me fix some of how I’ve been). For the most part, this year was an unmitigated failure. However, failure is not final, and it is not an option. I truly feel that the hardships of this year have set the groundwork for success in 2010. I am prepared to succeed. It’s time.
January: We welcomed a new addition to the family with my sister’s wedding at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to the two of them for a couple months, as my brother-in-law is a Marine stationed in North Carolina. Met the ever-interesting Shan, Jannelle, and Melmo and madness ensued. I also had one of the highlights of the year at the beginning of the month when Rex, Merrill and I went downtown and another highlight at the end of the month when Rob and I went to Detroit for the Royal Rumble. The Rumble was great, but Detroit is an absolutely awful city.
February: While subbing for my mom’s class, I realized I made the right decision to choose secondary education rather than elementary education. After one day of teaching a combined first and second grade class, I had the worst headache I have ever experienced. Again, I did not observe Valentine’s Day, but I did complete the 10000 crunch challenge.
March: I went to a teaching job fair, started to apply for jobs, and drank a lot of Shamrock shakes. I also stayed up for 40 hours straight once. I also hung out with Stay-C a couple times. Always great to hang with her.
April: I turned 22 and welcomed my sister and brother-in-law back to Illinois. I also embarked on a trip to D.C. and Florida with my friend Dan. The majority of the trip was great, as we saw our nation’s great landmarks as well as the Kennedy Space Center and some beautiful beaches, but I also had to endure the worst day of my life. To make a very long story short, let’s just say that I got awful sunburn, got stood up by the one person I went to Florida to see, lost my wallet and got treated like a terrorist at the airport, and endured a major personal space invasion on the flight back from St. Louis to Chicago.
May: Had the first of what would be many unsuccessful interviews with school districts. I kept filling out applications nonetheless. My brother-in-law shipped out to Afghanistan, so Heidi came back to live with us for an extended period. Unfortunately my cousin was not with us this summer, as I drove him to the airport for his flight to Washington to intern for Senator Burris. Stay-C also had a birthday party that was more fun than I expected.
June: This was a good month for catching up with old friends. Rob was actually back for the whole summer, and Merrill was back for a little while. We had some good times playing Rock Band. I got to see Pastor Scott a couple times, and it is always a positive experience hanging out with him. Had a really weird interview with a school district in which they never once told me what I was exactly interviewing for.
July: More unsuccessful interviews. Frustration began to mount. I had some good social experiences this month, though. Had great times with Rob at the Thunderbolts game as well as a trip to Cici’s where I finally got a chance to chat with my favorite Cardinal Fitness employee. I also snapped my string of awful experiences on July 12 when I had the opportunity to hang out with Melmo.
August: This was an awful month. I hit rock bottom. After the last of the unsuccessful interviews I was struck with an awful illness that kept me in bed for a couple days. Everything around me felt like it was crashing down. Reading “The Gift: You Ask and You Get” by David Dayan Fisher (shameless plug for a new friend: BUY THE BOOK NOW!!!!) really helped though. Things have happened, are happening, and will continue to happen. Much of them are uncontrollable, but reactions are a choice. I began to make the choice to react positively. At the end of the month, I moved from Orland back to Tinley.
September: I began my current position as a substitute teacher in a junior high school district. I was surprised to find I quite enjoy it, and even more surprised to find that the kids quite enjoy me! I obviously would like a full time position, but I guess sometimes dues need to be paid. I also finally got closure from an issue with a person.
October: More subbing; more fun. I was able to make it back to Richards for a football game. I can’t even begin to explain how great it is to visit there. Some of the greatest kids in the world can take pride in being a Bulldog. I also picked up SmackDown! vs. Raw 2010 and a PS3 and created some pretty sweet things.
November: I once again had the opportunity to go to Richards, this time for a playoff game. We unfortunately lost, but I loved cheering them on and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Thanksgiving wasn’t as great as I had hoped it to be, but I had a blast with Heidi and Andy at lunch that week.
December: We welcomed back my brother-in-law from Afghanistan, which is great for both him and my sister (though unfortunately it means we will be saying goodbye to both of them soon). Christmas was long but enjoyable, but by far my greatest achievement of the month was my first ever fantasy football championship. After falling short so many times, it feels great to finally succeed.
I would be lying if I said that this year was not a challenge. I would also be lying if I said this year was good, or even decent. For a lot of the year it felt like I was throwing stuff against the wall to see what would stick. My laundry list of goals for the year was only partially completed. I really need to thank the good friends I have, whether from face to face experiences or online as well as my family for being there for me. I am also thankful for the chances I had to connect with people like Shan, Jannelle, Melmo, Kacey, and David, because in one way or another you have helped to make me better (or at the least help me fix some of how I’ve been). For the most part, this year was an unmitigated failure. However, failure is not final, and it is not an option. I truly feel that the hardships of this year have set the groundwork for success in 2010. I am prepared to succeed. It’s time.
Monday, December 28, 2009
On Uniforms, Communities, and Time Periods
And now, for something different….
My posts as of late have been pretty deep, and while I love that depth I am cognizant of the fact that it can be a little heavy for my readers (as well as for the writer). For this post and this post only, this will be a little bit of a lighter entry as it discusses two of my favorite subjects: sports and uniforms.
Maybe I’m looking at this too deeply, but I think you can learn a lot about a community by the uniforms its professional sports teams wears. As much as I hate Pittsburgh for Super Bowl XL and the continued success of the Penguins, the continuity in their uniforms across the board of black and yellow/gold symbolizes the unity present in the blue-collar community.
Conversely, take the large metropolises of the United States and you will see almost no continuity in logos or colors. Take Chicago for example. A few of the teams share red as a main color, and a few of the teams share black, but other than the Bulls and the Blackhawks, there is no continuity. Similar spectrums are found in New York and Los Angeles. In fact, if you take the ten largest cities in the United States and examine their sports teams, almost no continuity would be found outside of Houston (and their different uses of the color red could be classified as marginal continuity at best). The melting pot of colors is accurately representative of the diversity found in large cities.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the city of Seattle. As most who know me can attest, I am quite the Seahawks fan, but my love for the Seahawks is mostly irrelevant to my love of Seattle uniforms. The city has not been afraid to take fashion risks. Sometimes these experiments flop, like the lime Seahawks uniforms they wore in a loss to the Chicago Bears this season. Others, like the current Mariners uniforms and the mid- to late-1990s Sonics uniforms were great because they stood out without being too extreme. I still personally believe those Sonics uniforms were the second greatest NBA uniforms of all time (behind the black pinstriped Bulls alternate uniforms during the same time period).
Finally, uniforms are indicative of the time period. The 1990s in particular was very experimental with its uniforms, creating color combinations and patterns (Vancouver Grizzlies) that were horribly unpleasing to the eyes. The NFL this decade has seen a shift towards sleeker, more intimidating uniforms with trimmed, modern-looking numbers and sectioned jerseys. The best part of sports uniforms is that they immediately alert the viewer to the era from which the event originally occurred (barring the use of any “throwback” uniforms) without having to know anything about the players.
Alright, let’s be honest. I just wanted to have an excuse to post these uniforms. Feast your eyes on some of my favorites.
The great Sonics uniform
These jerseys meant a 35 point victory was imminent
These didn't go over so well.
My posts as of late have been pretty deep, and while I love that depth I am cognizant of the fact that it can be a little heavy for my readers (as well as for the writer). For this post and this post only, this will be a little bit of a lighter entry as it discusses two of my favorite subjects: sports and uniforms.
Maybe I’m looking at this too deeply, but I think you can learn a lot about a community by the uniforms its professional sports teams wears. As much as I hate Pittsburgh for Super Bowl XL and the continued success of the Penguins, the continuity in their uniforms across the board of black and yellow/gold symbolizes the unity present in the blue-collar community.
Conversely, take the large metropolises of the United States and you will see almost no continuity in logos or colors. Take Chicago for example. A few of the teams share red as a main color, and a few of the teams share black, but other than the Bulls and the Blackhawks, there is no continuity. Similar spectrums are found in New York and Los Angeles. In fact, if you take the ten largest cities in the United States and examine their sports teams, almost no continuity would be found outside of Houston (and their different uses of the color red could be classified as marginal continuity at best). The melting pot of colors is accurately representative of the diversity found in large cities.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the city of Seattle. As most who know me can attest, I am quite the Seahawks fan, but my love for the Seahawks is mostly irrelevant to my love of Seattle uniforms. The city has not been afraid to take fashion risks. Sometimes these experiments flop, like the lime Seahawks uniforms they wore in a loss to the Chicago Bears this season. Others, like the current Mariners uniforms and the mid- to late-1990s Sonics uniforms were great because they stood out without being too extreme. I still personally believe those Sonics uniforms were the second greatest NBA uniforms of all time (behind the black pinstriped Bulls alternate uniforms during the same time period).
Finally, uniforms are indicative of the time period. The 1990s in particular was very experimental with its uniforms, creating color combinations and patterns (Vancouver Grizzlies) that were horribly unpleasing to the eyes. The NFL this decade has seen a shift towards sleeker, more intimidating uniforms with trimmed, modern-looking numbers and sectioned jerseys. The best part of sports uniforms is that they immediately alert the viewer to the era from which the event originally occurred (barring the use of any “throwback” uniforms) without having to know anything about the players.
Alright, let’s be honest. I just wanted to have an excuse to post these uniforms. Feast your eyes on some of my favorites.
The great Sonics uniform
These jerseys meant a 35 point victory was imminent
These didn't go over so well.
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