Highlights of 2016

I had actually forgotten all about this annual post until reading the one from last year.  At the end of every year for the past five years, I have made a list of the most awesome (or not-so-awesome) things that have happened.  2016 has been a hell year for a lot of people, and it's definitely had some intense downs for me, as well as ups.  Since I don't want to break the tradition, let's get crackin'.

January

• 4 January – I traveled to see Theo in person for the first time from Montréal to Tennessee and spent a week with him.
• 7 January – I rented a 2016 Ford Fiesta and drove up to Kentucky to surprise my mom and aunt (with the help of my sister, Emily), as Theo worked late nights at that time.
• ? January – I began a series of four coaching sessions with Gabrielle Destroismaisons, my friend and one of my favorite singers, to prepare to enter a singing competition.
• 15 January – I saw Bruno Pelletier perform his Musique et cinéma show with Guy St-Onge for the last time in Joliette, as it was the final show of the tour.
• 19 January – My mom went to the hospital and was diagnosed with pancreatitis, the first time of many.
• 22 January – Went ice skating on the frozen lake at the Parc Lafontaine and seriously hurt my bad knee.
• 23 January – Went to the ER at the Hôpital Général de Montréal only to be told that there was nothing they could do.
• 30 January – I pierced my tongue!  It was more painful than the Internet said it would be.  I loved the piercing, but I experienced some complications later, so I ended up letting it close in May.  Sad.

February

• 2 February – Theo got me a bouquet of plush dinosaurs for Valentine’s Day.  It was magical.
• All of February – Montréal was very, very cold.
• 20 February – Kate came to see me in Montréal and we argued about how to pronounce “pasta” and she was wrong.
• 23 February – Because Theo and I couldn’t wait any longer, I went to go see him in Tennessee again.
• 26 February – I rented a Toyota Camry and drove down to Georgia with Theo to surprise my family for my little sister Mary’s ninth birthday, aided by my sister, Sarah.
• 28 February – Theo gave me his old guitar and I named her Lzzy.

March

• 4 March – Something cool happened, but I can’t tell you what it was.  But it was cool.
• 9 March – I began writing a non-fiction epistolary book, basically stream of conscious, about Québec.  I haven’t really continued it since I left.
• 11 March – I began taking a month-long workshop about teaching at university that ended up being useless.
• 30 March – I left the dorm and moved to an apartment much closer to my campus.

April

• 1 April – The seventh anniversary of me studying French.
• 10 - 15 April – I chronicled the passage and sinking of the Titanic on Facebook.
•  22 April – I completed my first and only year of grad school.
• 24 April – I flew to Tennessee to be with Theo.

May

• 7 May – Chopped all my hair off.  It was down to the middle of my back and I cut it to above my shoulders.  Sob.
• 8 May – Took a bus from Nashville to Lexington to spend a while with my family in Kentucky.
• 12 May – I was offered to be a preceptor for both sessions of JBA instead of just the second.
• 21 May – My mom was hospitalized again for pancreatitis.
• 22 May – My other mom in Georgia was also hospitalized.
•  23 May – My mom was released from the hospital.

June

• 6 June – I took a bus from Lexington to St. Louis.  It was very, very long.  But I also got to see David, Deb, and one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, Kat!!
• 8 June – JBA started!

July

• 2 July – JBA session 1 ended.
• 4 July – I spent Independence Day in Hannibal, chilling at Java Jive.
• 6 July – JBA session 2 commenced.
• 20 July – I made the decision to leave Concordia (and my beloved Montréal).  Theo and I decided that I should move in with him in Tennessee.
• 31 July – JBA session 2, and my final JBA session, ended.  And Theo took a bus to St. Louis to come see me!

August

• 2 August – Theo bought Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for me as an early birthday present.  It was awful.
• 7 August – Theo took a bus back to Nashville and Kat and I flew up to Montréal together.  Whilst walking around near the Place-des-Arts, we stumbled upon the First Peoples Festival, which was awesome.
•  8 August – After many delays and being forced to spend the night in Chicago, Lauren finally arrived in Montréal!  Later, Kat got to try her first “real” poutine at La Banquise.  And she loved it!
•  9 August – Dinner at a microbrewery (Les Trois Brasseurs) and dessert at Le Chocolat Favoris, where you can get soft-serve topped with a shell of chocolate.  Drool.  We went there a lot.
• 10 August – Bruno Pelletier was filming an episode of Mario Tessier’s show, Permis de Chanter, along rue Ste-Catherine, just a couple of metro stops from my apartment.  We almost missed him because he was scheduled to be at the corner of rue Ste-Catherine and rue Union at a certain time, but a post on his Twitter showed that he wasn’t there.  However, he had taken a selfie and posted, and we were able to identify the signs behind him to figure out that they were still filming at a park a couple blocks away.  So we headed over there and voilà!  I got to talk to Bruno for a bit and say goodbye, he remembered Lauren, and Kat got to meet him for the first time!  We were also on TV and I danced with Mario Tessier while Bruno sang karaoke in the background.
•  11 August – We took a bus to Québec City and a ferry to Lévis.
• 12 August – My mom was hospitalized yet again.  Kat and I also ziplined down the Vieux-Port.
• 14 August – Kat flew back to St. Louis. :(  Later, Lauren and I met up with my friend François and we saw the Montréal Pride Parade and were waved at by Raven-Symoné and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
• 15 August – Lauren flew back to Wisconsin. :(
• 16 August – My mom was released from the hospital.
• 19 August – Flew to Michigan to spend a few days with my family and retrieve the car my grandparents gave me, Bumblebee (B.B. for short.)
•  21 August – Got to see and spend time with my oldest niece, Leah!
•  22 August – Got to see and spend time with my sister, Dawn, and her daughter, Sarah!
• 24 August – Drove fifteen hours from Michigan to Montréal.
• 25 August – The worst day of packing and parking ever.
• 26 August – Began the drive down to Bell Buckle a day early to surprise Theo.  Spent the night in Beachwood, Ohio.
• 27 August – Arrived in Bell Buckle!
• 29 August – My twenty-fifth birthday.  Also, Theo proposed.  EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

September

•          1 September – Aunt Chris stopped by to visit on her way down to Georgia.
•         21 September – Surprised my mom in Kentucky again. Muwahaha.

October

• We carved Jack-o-Lanterns.  It was fun.  Aaaand that’s about it.  There was also a huge craft festival in Bell Buckle.

November

•           1 November – I began NaNoWriMo for the thousandth time.
•           8 November – I voted for the first time.
•           21 November – Drove up to Kentucky to pick up my mom and sister for Thanksgiving.
•      23 November – Headed back down to Tennessee with Mom and Emily.  They had never met Theo in person before!
•           24 November – Thanksgiving!  Mom and Emily got to meet my future in-laws and vice versa!
•           29 November – I finished NaNoWriMo a day early with 50,176 words!

December

•     1 December – Mommy’s birthday!  She got to see and pet a couple horsies, Emily and I made her a cake, we watched Inside Out, and we put up our Christmas tree!
•      5 December – Drove back to Kentucky.
•     7 December – Back down to Tennessee.  Theo watched Titanic with me and it made me feel loved.
•     13 December – 1-year anniversary dating my Theo.
•     21 December – Went to the Opryland Hotel and Resort to see the lights and stuff with Theo, his dad, and uncle.
•     22 December – Opening presents via Skype (in person for them) with my lovely Lauren and Kat.
•     23 December – Present day with my wonderful future in-laws.  I was also accepted to Middle Tennessee State University to work on getting a license to teach high school French.
•     25 December – Christmas!  I made my first big dinner.
•     30 December – I finished a puzzle for the first time in, like, ever.

Golly that was long.  I’m all out of words.  Some things in 2016 were great, some not so great.  Here’s hoping 2017 is out of this world!  (As I’m getting married, I assume it will be.)  Noodles.