December: Holidaze

December started off the way November ended: SICK. I was still trying to kick the sniffles, allergies, virus, etc. And with the weather jumping around like a pogo stick, it didn’t make it any easier. Eighty degrees one day, 40 the next. Not my idea of a winter, not even for Houston.

Due to sickness I completely missed Mustaches for Kids this year, and Spacetaker‘s WHAM–two events I look forward to each year. However, I made up for it the first weekend I was well, as Andrew and I completed a marathon session as we hopped from a Sean Carroll opening at The Julia (Montrose), to a CD release party for Diane Landry at Tommy’s Steakhouse (OTL), to my sister’s Birthday at Norton’s Bar and Grill (waaaay OTL), finally ending up at Lindsay‘s ugly sweater Christmas party (east side), only to find we had just missed the judging by 15 minutes! As we were told, we would have been contenders. Thanks, Matt, for the sweaters. We returned them the way we borrowed them: unwashed and stinky. :-)

Probably the most exciting part of December, besides Baby Jesus’ Birfdae, was SNOW!  Yes, it SNOWED in Houston this year. And I’m not talkin’ about no freezing rain, slush, or frost on the grass. It. Freaking. Snowed. Here. Y’all. The night it snowed, Andrew was over to cook some din din and help me decorate the infamous Kick Arse Christmas Tree. It did help to have a six foot plus man put the topper on (albeit, upside down). It was a great night of decorating, singing (him, not me, for Christ’s sake), crepe making (oh hell yeah i made the crap out of some crepes), and of course playing in the snow! | Full crepes, guitars, and snow set here.

Sway, by emmiegrn

December also celebrated the 12th month of Dr. Sketchy Houston. I still can’t believe it’s been a whole year. So many sexy Sketchy memories! Big props to the lovely and immensely talented, beautiful, kind, and wonderful HappyKatie for having the vision to bring Sketchy to Houston, and for doing such a phenomenal job of keeping it up every month all year. Don’t forget to join us Sunday, January 11th at Avant Garden from 2-6pm for the Houston Sketchy Birthday Party! Check out more December Sketchy fun here.

Although December was filled with many fun parties, I have to say, the one I look forward to each year is my Kick Arse Tree Viewing Party, and this year was no different. It was great timing, as the incomparable Gwen Bell was visiting Houston for the Hands On Kirtsy + Mom2Summit party at Caroline that same week, BONUS!

Image: Ed Schipul

We had some yummy Vietnamese bites from Les Girval (thanks in part to Jenny, who saved the day!), about a kabillion bottles of wine, which by the way, only 3 were left over, and about 60 of my favorite people. It is a night i look forward to each year. And this party did not disappoint. Andrew played a few acoustic sets, and Ed snapped a pic of the whole crew. Thanks, Ed! | view Ed Schipul’s party pics here. & view Paul Galland’s pics here.

Christmas was extra special this year, as we got to spend it with Baby Kailey. She kept us all entertained, as did my sister’s BF’s boys with Rock Band for Wii. I swear, I have the worst voice in the world, but I totally got 100% on vocal for Beastie Boys “Sabotage” the first time! True story. | View full Christmas set.

I ended the holiday season at Mark and Amber‘s place for a casual party with the peeps for some iPhone lessons and Christmas / Beauty & the Beast carolling. Margot totally rocked that shizz.

These recaps have been an amazing way for me to remember 2008. I stil can’t believe how much I packed into this year. I truly found out the meaning of community this year, and consider myself one of the luckiest girls alive to be surrounded daily with the family and friends I have. This city, this amazing, beautiful, hot, muggy, fantastical city that I call home, My Houston, you are the love of my life, and I wouldn’t be the same person without you.

And to that I say…”PEACE OUT, 2008! and bring on 2009!”

Peace Out, 2008!

love to you all,

Monica

Looking back at all the goings on in October, it’s no wonder November was filled with more sickness, this time it knocked me out for weeks.

Image: Ed Schipul

November kicked off with the Orange Show’s Annual Gala, this year themed Dia de los Muertos. Had a blasty as usual dressing up and volunteering with MagsMac, Jason, Tiff, Shannon, Foofers, Hala, Erin, and Andrew. 

Soon after, I got very ill with an upper respiratory infection + strep throat that just won’t go away.  Smashed in between was my Lasik surgery, at which I was praying to Jesus, Mary AND Joseph that I didn’t cough when the laser hit my eye. I think the Valium helped. Yes, I’m most certainly it did. And of course, as I should have guessed, things weren’t to go as planned.

The right eye went fine. I won’t get into the details of Lasik for you squemish readers, but everything was cut, peeled and lasered just fine. However, when they got to the left eye, they apparently discovered what I had been claiming for years! My left eye is smaller than my right! After trying about five times to get the Lasik instrument in my eye, they took a break and decided on PRK for the left eye.  The eventual result would be the same, but it would take longer to heal. Figures!  The result has been great! For someone who has been in glasses or contacts since 2nd grade, it’s an amazing feeling to awake from sleep and see your alarm clock clearly. It’s a dream. But it’s real. :-)

November was also the month we were blessed with little Kailey. As some of you have read (if not you can read the post here), in November my parents were given custody of my 3 month old baby cousin, Kailey. Since then, our lives have transformed as the whole family has pitched in to help give Kailey the best care and safe home as possible. She’s been such a joy to be around. Thanks for all  your well wishes and prayers for her!  She is doing fantastic! All healed and grow to be quite the chubber! Will update more in the New Year. | View my Baby Kailey set on Flickr.

Even though I was down for the count for most of November, it was still jam packed with events. I had the pleasure of helping Tina Zulu with the DJ Melodic Benefit Raffle at Block 21, spend an awesome evening at HappyKatie‘s for the Nintendo Wii Fit Party (where I scored my very own Wii Fit!!), saw my first show at Houston’s new House of Blues, and celebrated the birthday + engagement of my best, dear friend, Taneka. One of SEVEN wedding I’ll be celebrating next year!

Yep, it had finally come. The dreaded 3-0. Thing was, I wasn’t dreading it at all. Every year of my life had been getting better and better, and I didn’t see any reason for that to not continue. I had become excited about turning 30, about being taking more seriously professionally, about getting past some of the train wrecks of my 20′s, and about coming into my own. It was around then that I began the idea for the book I’ve been writing. I had an incredible 10 years in my 20′s, and I wanted a way to document those stories. So the book is in the process! Stay tuned.

Every year I make a pretty big deal about my birthday. I figure it’s the one time of the year that’s it’s OK to celebrate yourself. :-) So when it came time for deciding on a location for this year’s bash, it was pretty much a no-brainer.  In 2006 I had teamed up with Dave Wrangler for Vinyl Ranch at Leon’s Lounge in Houston, and the party was a huge success.  And i figured, if it ain’t broke…

Vinyl Ranch + 30th Birthday Bash – Leon's Lounge

So, we headed back to Leon’s for the second installment of the Cosmopolitician B-Day Bash + Vinyl Ranch. The night was proceed by the Schipul 11th anniversary party, which laid ground for the perfect amount of toasty Schipulites in attendance. I seem to always get teased for having made such random acquaintances over the years, and I LOVE my birthday each year because it is a time to get all the randoms under one roof. This year’s party was followed by an impromptu after-party at my place, where a few of us (Katie + Michelle I owe you big for the thievery!) continued the party into the wee hours of the night, where Andrew played the guitar, Paul took some pics, and Michelle, Wod Wod, Nadnuk, and Sean screamed sang in unison. It was the perfect way to ring in the new decade. With friends and music. And alcohol. Stolen alcohol.

Phil, Katie, Ed – Image: Carlos Meltzer

The next morning, after just hours of sleep, Miggy rallied me out of bed for a day long drinking session at Brian O’Neill’s, where we sipped mimosas, chomped on fish and chips, chugged Blue Moons, met some crazy characters, and may have walked home. (Michelle, do you remember?) Following that, we somehow persuaded Susan and Mandy to bring us MORE beer and held a Reba Karaoke Fest. In my dining room. What more can a girl ask for on her 30th?

View party pics from Carlos Meltzer & PureAmber.

More bad health news came in October. I contracted Salmonella poisoning, along with 4 other friends who all attended an event. And let me tell you, it. ain’t. pretty. I’ll spare you the ugly details. Stomach. cramps. aren’t. fun. For. reals. As I got over the Salmonella, I swear my digestive track still isn’t the same, I learned during a Lasik eye consultation that I had several holes in the lattice of my retina. Of. course. i. did. This year, nothing surprised me. SO after 3 eye surgeries to repair the holes, I could finally be a candidate for Lasik.  I scheduled it for later in November. The better to see you with, my dear.

Ryan Adams – Verizon Wireless – October 14, 2008

The rest of October was a whirlwind of events.  From the debates at Caroline to a 2 week stretch of incredible concerts: Ryan Adams + The Cardinals (i heart you Neal Casal), Girl Talk, Portugal. The Man (thank you, Paul!), The Ton Tons, Ray Lamontagne (2nd row, baby!) and ending the month-o-music with Kings of Leon.

Bandcamp at Caroline (the brainchild of Matt and Philip of  KTRU’s Revelry Report rounded off the end of October, an awesome sidelines visit to the Texans Game with Broadway Bankmann (see goofy video below from Michelle); And finally ending the month with Halloween at 13 Celsius with Migs and Foofers.

Whew! What. a. month!

Did you miss a recap? Check out Jan-September here.

As August hit, I hadn’t had the time to stop and think that my birthday was approaching. And not just any birthday, the big 3-0! A large group of my friends from college and high school had been planning a “Dirty Thirty Bash” in Vegas for Labor Day Weekend.  So what else to concentrate on August than getting in shape?!

I went all out. Stopped drinking, started eating healthy, started working out again, and kept the social events to a minimum. I was very strict about it. I was determined to look great in front of 30 of my closest friends in a friggin’ bathing suit.  Half of my friends have kids, and have better bodies than me. And it’s terrifying! So I worked my ass off. For an entire month. Even during a trip to the Big Easy for Katie’s Bachelorette party I was still good!

So imagine my surprise when after 4 weeks, I saw no results. I was crushed! frustrated. defeated! I went to the doctor nearly in tears. And sure enough, I had my answer! I had, just like my mom and sister,  been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. I was elated!  Probably the most happy person to every find out they had a disease. I was just so excited to know that there was a reason for my inability to lose weight. I started on meds immediately and they seem to be working! Whew! Thus continued my year of bad health.

Vegas was a blast! With 30 of my closest friends, we closed out the 3rd decade of our lives together, and welcomed the next! I travel to Vegas quite a bit, but I’ll always remember this as the trip that trip that I learned to win at Blackjack!  Thanks to Julia, (and to the casino for putting up with our drunk karaoke at 6am at the blackjack table.) | Full Vegas set here.

September: Stormy Weather

In September we experienced some unusually cool weather a few weekends, which always makes event hoping more bearable. One night in particular, as my first Christina was visiting from Florida, I was excited to show her a night in the life of me. We had not spend time together in years and years, so I dragged her from event to event to let her get a taste of Houston at it’s finest.

The Orange Show Foam Raiser, Image: Ed Schipul

We headed to the Orange Show’s Foam Raiser, sponsored by Saint Arnold where we tasted some yummy Lawnmower, and listened to some great music. Next up was the 80′s Movie Night at Caroline. She has heard me talk so much about Caroline int he past months, she was eager to see what it was all about. After a swing through the 80′s party with Erin, Carissa and the crew, we headed for the Museum of Fine Arts for one of my most favorite events in Houston, Mixed Media.  We danced all night on the lawn of the MFAH, and I was so excited to share this night with my great, sweet friend. I’ll never forget it.

We had another visitor in September, who wasn’t quite as welcome. When the news that Ike was rolling in, many didn’t know what to believe. Fantastical news reports in the past, had jaded many of Houston’s citizens from taking refuge. I wasn’t about to risk it, and grabbed Michelle and Fayza and headed for my parents in Jersey Village. Dad had purchased a generator large enough to power the whole house and AC. We ended up with quite a crowd, as my mom’s best friend, my sister and her boyfriend, his 2 kids, their dog, his co-worker, wife, 2-year old, and their dog all piled in with me, mom, dad, Michelle and Fayza. Oh, and my parents’ 2 dogs, Patches and Harley.  Thirteen in all, plus 4 dogs–who didn’t get along, so we had to keep them separated.  It. was. a. zoo! But we were glad to all be together and safe.

The nervousness and exhaustion soon turned to hilarity, as we began broadcasting live from the eye of the storm, followed by a delirious video of how to wash your hair in a hurricane. Still not sure how we all made it out of there without killing each other. | Full Ike set here.

Image: Mark C. Austin

After the Ike madness calmed down, a few musically-inclined souls headed West for Austin’s Annual Austin City Limits Festival. A great lineup this year, with some excellent sets by Band of Horses and Jenny Lewis, and a chance for me to catch one of my all-time music idols, Robert Plant, during whose set, I called my mom, nearly in tears, “I’m watching Robert Plant!” I think she got a kick out of my freaking out about one of HER favorite bands. :-) | View Mark C. Austin’s ACL full set here.

June: Community. Coworking. Caroline.

The first week of June, we feverishly prepared Caroline for her debut to the world. Gutting, cleaning, painting, gardening, desk assembling. We didn’t leave a brick unturned, as we spiffed her up for the 600 people who came through the doors on June 7, 2008, to witness the beginning of an amazing movement in Houston. A marriage of technology and art, a product of the passion of a select few, and the support of a an amazing community. It is one of the proudest things I’ve ever been apart of. And I am thankful to Matt and Ned for asking me to take part in it. Today I look back at this year, and I will always remember it most for Caroline, Sweet, Caroline. | View Caroline Opening Party Pics

Image: Ed Schipul

June also brought many events to Caroline.  This first Annual Lebowski Bash organized by our very own, Jason McElweenie, was the highest attended event at Caroline to date. With over 800 Nihilists, Acheivers, Dudes, Donny’s, and Maudes streaming in to share in Caucasians, Tasty Libations from Houston’s own Saint Arnold Brewery, and a special performance by Houston’s own, The Ton Tons. And of course….we screened the movie. We even got Sexy Attacked!—which had me beside myself with excitement. | View Lebowski Bash Flickr Pool

After the hustle and bustle of June calmed down, Miggy and I head for the border! We spend an awesome weekend in Riviera Maya, sunbathing, canyon repelling, and ruin climbing. It was the perfect mid-year break. Much needed for both of us, I’m sure.

July: July continued with more great events at Caroline.  Jeremy Jay and his band stopped by for a set, and later stopped by my place where I made them vegetarian pizzas (yes, me, cooked) and helped them set up a blog.  (Which looking at it now, looks like they haven’t touched it since!)

ArtStorm, Caroline’s resident art organization and gallery, opened their 2nd, and extremely sucessful show at Caroline,  Creature Comforts, featuring the art of some of my favorite Houston artists: Lisa Marie Godfrey and Ely Sebatian Brumbaugh.

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco"

July was also more travel, as I headed to San Francisco for 2008 BlogHer Conference. I also had a chance to visit with my great friend, Laura Mott, and spend some time in the city with Fayza, as she prepared to move BACK to Houston!

Houston Chronicle Covers Green Networking at Beaver's Icehouse

We had some great times at Beaver’s this summer, thanks to New Living’s weekly Happy Hour, Green Drinks.  Some of our favorite charities and non-profits benefited each Wednesday as proceeds from eco-friendly drinks and munchies were donated.

April: Defensiveness

Houston Chronicle

April things really started picking up at the Caroline Collective, a coworking space in Houston that I was asked to help open with Matthew Wettergreen and Ned Dodington. The media really started pick up on what we were doing, so lots of photo shoots, interviews, and tours went on in April. Matt and I stayed up all night customizing a WordPress template, which eventually turned into the current Caroline site. I understand now how programmers can work for hours and hours at a time. Addicting! Taught myself some CSS in the process. Now I’m hooked. :-)

April was also the month that Matthew defended his 7 year long thesis at Rice University. I was glad to be there to share in this moment with him, and to celebrate this awesome accomplishment.  Afterward, he, Ned, Michelle and I headed for the Son Volt show at The Continental Club, a spectacular set by those guys, a perfect end to a great day.

Guy Kawasaki at HTC

Web 2.0 guru Guy Kawasaki also visitied Houston in April. After meeting some super talented H-town ladies at SXSW, he couldn’t keep himself from finding out what was in the water in Houston. He shared many principles of success, one that particularly stood out for me: Don’t Be Afraid to Polorize People. With success, will come negative and positive attitudes. A lesson I learned a lot about this year.

May: Mergers & Misunderstandings

Migs + John Volunteering at the Art Car Parade

As summer approached, May was filled with parties:  Art Car Parade, my first Derby Party (thanks to Bill and Angela Green!), and my very first introduction to Sarah Gabbart and her crafting lounge, Sew Crafty Houston. | full Sew Crafty Set.

I also learned in May that my company was being acquired by Halliburton. A shock to us all, but a change that has so far worked out wonderfully in my favor. I’m excited about the new role I hold there, and am looking forward to help take Halliburton into the world of Web 2.0!

May was a tough month emotionally, as the opening of Caroline grew closer, as did stress surrounding the opening party, balancing personal and professional lives, and strained friendships. I ONLY got though that month because of the awesome support of ma peeps and this awesome community in Houston. And to that I am ever thankful to you all.

Whew! I feel like just yesterday we were ringing in 2008 at the Proletariat.  RIP Pro! :-(

So much has happened this year, and I was looking for a way to document it all. Over the last few months I’ve been writing a book. Mainly something to document my twenties, seeing as I turned the big 3-0 this year.  And so far, 30 has been fabulous.  :-) The first step was looking back at the last 10 years and attempting to make a timeline. Things like boys,  trips, weddings, boys, New Year’s Eves, Birthdays, boys, and a lot of boys.  But we’ll save the boys part for the book.

So with that process, I’m in documenting mode. So here goes. With lots of help from my gCal and Flickr: A year I will never forget, (nor hardly remember).

And I totally didn’t plan this, but this is my 100th post on CosmoPolitician! Woo-hoo!

I’ve decided to split this post up, there is just too much to get in.  Here are the first three months, and the rest will follow each day from now until the end of December. Enjoy!

January: New Beginnings

Towards the end of 2007, when word was spreading that our beloved neighborhood bar, the Proletariat would be closing in February, we decided there would be no other fitting place to ring in 2008. So with some of Matt’s friends in from Austin, we headed to the Pro for one last blow out. It was happy, and sad, and all those things in between. We snuck beers into the bar, we shared bottles of champagne, and we danced until our feet stopped working. | Full New Year’s Eve @ the Pro set here.

January was also the month of our very first Dr. Sketchy! Still can’t believe it’s been a whole year! Big props to HappyKatie and the crew for an awesome monthly event that just keeps growing and growing! Looking forward to 2009 Sketchies! | Dr. Sketchy Pool on Flickr

One of my favorite memories from January took place on a night that Jeff Balke’s band, Orange Is In, was playing at Rudz. Earlier in the day, Noel was visiting and we all had gathered at the Microcinema house for a party. Following the party, and day long drinking, Matt, Ned and I headed to Rudz to catch the show; proceed to have one (read: five) too many Red Bull and Vodkas, and head to a Rice Archie party. In between resulted in car hurdling and surprising and kidnapping, Brandon, Matt’s transient roomie, and dancing the night away in a way too small grad student apartment with entirely too many people.  Oh to be in college again. Well, at least for one night. No picture exist from this night. And that is probably a good thing.

January was also the very first time I laid eyes on Caroline. More about that later.

February: Wanderlust

Feb was my month of travel.  I had just started a new job back in November of 2007, and with it came the opportunity for me to get back overseas. Something I had been dying to do since my days in the UK, and Europe proper. My first trip took me to Malaysia, where I fell in love with the city of Kuala Lumpur, and the Malaysian people.  I stayed for a week, stared out my hotel window at the Petronas Tower, and ate the most yummy food. Encountered women with four arms, bruised up my OWN leg taking a spill into a Singapore swanky hotel, even made it to infamous KL Beach Club. Oh. those. stories. | Full KL set here.

From KL, it was on to Western Australia!  It was to be my first trip down under, and I was stoked. I headed for Perth from KL, and spent an amazing week in the sleepy Oil & Gas city. I went surfing in the Indian Ocean, hung out at the trendy Subi Hotel Bar, hiked to King’s Park, met a local chef who we spent a wild night at a casino with, swimming(?!), experienced Perth’s “Sunday Session” at the Little Creatures Brewey (same day as Heath Ledger’s funeral—it was 5 minutes from where we were) and  learned of the ridiculous shopping hours: Everything closes at 5pm! Whaaa?! The night our flight was supposed to leave at 2:55am, so we headed back down to Subiaco, and ran into some US ex-pats, who took us to get MORE wine, beer, and Indian food. Highly intoxicated at this point, Josh and I stumbled into the hotel at about 11:30pm, attempted to throw everything into a suitcase, and head for the airport. Here’s a tip. If you are about to board a plane, from Australia to KL to Tokyo to LA to Houston—do not get wasted, eating Indian food, a mere hours before you get in the plane. Not the best idea we ever had. | Full Perth set here.

On my way to Perth from KL, I also encountered a little WATER problem back home at my place. One of the most terrifying things to ever happen, especially when you are thousands of miles away. Always in debt to Mom, Matt and Maggie for their help with that situation! Maggie even made me feel better with her adorable marker presentation to assure me all was OK. What a doll. Loves her mucho.

From Perth, it was back home for a few days, serendipitously in time for the February Dr. Sketchy! It was great to see all my peeps after traveling for a few weeks, and what a welcome home with boobie cupcakes!

After a few days home, I was back off again.  This time to Amsterdam, where I went on the shopping spree of my lifetime, resulting in my new favorite winter coat; had a run-in slash fall out with KLM, spend a dreadfully boring day at the RAI for a trade show, hence resulting in Queen Trivia Post. |  Amsterdam full set

Then, on to the Middle East, Manama, Bahrain, where, yes, I rode a camel and smoked the hookah. It was a great month of traveling, but I sure was glad to crawl back into my bed. | Bahrain full set.

March: Music + Medicine

March began my first experience with my bad year of health. But before that, as with every year around SXSW, Houston gets some stellar shows coming to town. We were lucky to get two of my all time favs in a period of 4 days: Wilco and My Morning Jacket. The day after the MMJ show, Michelle and I drove to Austin for the night to attend the SXSW Rock Band party. We had a blast catching up with Gwen + Joel, met both Pete Cashmore and Marianne for the first time, and proceed to try on every single winter item of my cousin’s coat rack. Promise it was MUCH funnier at the time. Hell, maybe it’s funny now. “Let it snow, biatch.” This was probably the first time Michelle and I realized we would be friends forever.  “I love animals.” | SXSW Rock Band Party full dr. miggy set.

On Good Friday, i didn’t attend Mass.  And maybe I should have. I came down with a horrible pain in my stomach, which turned out to be, wait for it….waaaait for it…APPENDICITIS! Whoo-hoo!  Yep, I needed an emergency appendectomy Friday night. I still have a hard time believing it. I mean, how random?

If i learned anything this year, it’s that things never go as planned. My old roommate doesn’t call me Drama-ica for nuthin’. Of course, once they got in to do the surgery, they discovered that my appendix was hiding behind some important organs. So, instead of doing the nice and clean laproscopy, they had to do the old fashioned cut. Brilliant. Huge scar. Perfect.

Big thanks to Matthew who kept me company in the hospital for 3 days, Michelle who came to visit, but I feel asleep while she was there (“nobody likes sticking their finger in their eyeball!”), Stefanie and Paul for bringing by the portable DVD player (which I JUST returned last week), Shekara, Kasey, Jaime, Jill, Matt and the boys, and Mom and Dad.  Did I miss anyone? Lesson Leanred:  Demerol is AWESOME! (but not  awesome for remembering hospital guests.)

before

after

So that’s all for today.  The first quarter of 2008.  That was exhausting just recapping it!  Much more to come.  So check back everyday for a new month’s recap.