closing.2012.

it is only 12/20 but i imagine that between christmas and n.y.e. i will be rather busy. this feels as though it might be rather long in length. keep up.

if i'd only known how perfectly amazing 2012 would be. i declared on 12/31/11 that i'd make 2012 my bitch. i feel as though i did. while driving around athens this evening picking up the last of the small christmas items i thought about how i spent over seven years of my adult life thinking i was happy. what i truly was, was simply content. i wasn't unhappy by any means, i just had absolutely no clue what i was missing. after all, how could i?

i spent the first five months of the year learning. by reconnecting with so.cal i was able to find my confidence again. i was able to smile and i was able to grow. for five months we formed a friendship and a bond that will always be a little different. she showed me that i wasn't broken and that i was worthy. for those five months and the friendship that we keep to this day, i am grateful.

by the time spring came to a close and summer rolled in, all of the work that my team and i put into c.a.m. was crashing down around us. our client disappeared and we laid off most of our colleagues who were much more than co-workers, they are friends. when the smoke and mirrors began to be too much, the father of my fave four and i met on a patio to talk about what may lie ahead. over several beers and half a pack of cigarettes, iCapital was born. it would take hours after work and many weekends to get our plans in place. who knew we could own a business?

a week long family vacation spent right next to uncle joey (walking the beach, laying in the sun, and sitting on the balcony for hours every afternoon watching the waves roll in) wrapped the summer. by the end of september i was working from home and spending every spare minute in the jeep. i met a girl that blew my soul wide open. that kind of instant happiness that you can only describe once you've been there. falling in love with nicole has been the most beautiful experience of 2012. while she is everything that i am not, i've never truly had his passionate emotion for another person in 28 years. can't stop smiling.

2012 has been the most successful (both personally and professionally) year of my life.

p.y.t.

love.this.song.

perhaps the best cover, but i'm not biased. still can't believe ms. nettles is a mama.

jingle.jam.2012.

andy grammer - "ya gotta keep your head up, oh oh"
grace potter - "you and tequila" (though i love her solo records more)
alex clare - "and i think that i am just too close to love you"
phillip phillips - "i'm gonna make this place your home"
jason mraz - "i'm gonna love you, like the woman i love"
ed sheeran - "they say, she's in the class a team, stuck in her day dream"

bad ass line up. mr. mraz was our main attraction as his latest release "love, is a four letter word" is a record that nicole and i can't get enough of. he is just good....good all the way around. genuine love and support for everyone. prolific songwriter, singers, musician, and entertainer. love.

on a completely different note, i had NO CLUE that anyone other than myself had a clue who ed was....or that he is so popular with the tweens. not going to lie, the screaming girls at 10:15 were enough to talk nic in to just listening to his cd on the way back to the athens digs.

we lit up the arena thursday night - spreading the love during the end of jason's set. after the heartbreaking events of this morning in CT, this world just needs more love.

dream.

"everyday that you get up and force your cards
you're playing your story in fits and stars
you take your prospects and your pickaxe
and you trudge down to the stream
and you bloody your hands, digging for your dream" - emily saliers of the indigo girls

a.list.

of some of my favorites from 2012 (in the order in which i remembered them...not favorite order) :

1. iPhone 5 - most fave iphone ever...i can't get enough, seriously. 
2. smash* book - since meeting nicole, i wanted a way to quickly document all of the different things we do together (firsts, restaurants, shows, games, vacations, road trips, experiences in general). it's art, memories, creative juice, and more with out the pressure of perfection. 
3. 2012 macbook air - it is 11 inches of apple perfection. i take it damn near everywhere. favorite apple computer i've ever owned (and that my friends, is saying something).
4. dropbox - using the 128 gb macbook air, there isn't much room to "store" stuff. i use this computer for personal stuff as well as iCap work (photos/music are still on the imac), so being able to virtually save documents on a "cloud" or share them with business partners is fabulous. 
5. dr. dre beats - i have the studios and the ibeats. the music nerd in me is in love with the clarity of what comes out of these headphones on a consistent basis.
6. Toms - i fell hard and fast for Toms when i caved and bought some. between the gray and the red pair, they are damn near all i wear this fall/winter.
7. glow light nook - more electronics. i can't help it. so, i love books. real books with real paper. what i don't love is storing said books in every possible drawer / shelf / basket i can get my hands on to the point that books turn in to stuff. i still buy real books but when i am looking to read and pass the time on a book that i don't intend on needing in the future, the nook (that lights up at night!) is super fun and easy to read on. i can dig it too. 
8. netflix - i have the $7 or $8 a month subscription and i use it on my iPad quite a bit. i am hoping to hook up an apple t.v. to stream movies/documentaries/t.v. shows on after the holidays. 
9. acupuncture - admittedly, i just started but i love it. maybe the inner hippie / crunchy chick is coming out but so far it is helping with stress and chronic hives....also use it to release the pressure on my sciatica. i recommend it....if only to relax.
10. athens, ga - though a huge tennessee fan through and through, i have come to love this city. my girlfriend lives here and i have come to love several of the restaurants / bars that only athens has. i have had some really great food here.