2008 in Review: Memorable Moments

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

Much of the Year in Review stuff I’ve been working on has been fairly impersonal, I suppose. A laundry list of pop culture reflections and itemized evidence of how I’ve spent my free time. So I thought I’d try and put together a list that includes some very personal reminders of the things that happened in 2008 in my life that remain especially memorable to me.

Creating Change. In early 2008, I was fortunate enough to attend the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s annual leadership conference, Creating Change, in Detroit. Speakers included Julian Bond, Matt Foreman, and Rev. Gene Robinson. I attended workshops on topics ranging from communications strategy to fat-phobia. Especially memorable about the weekend, however, was attending the leadership meeting for United ENDA, a true grassroots movement stirred up by the 2007 decision to remove “gender identity” from the federal Employment NonDiscrimination Act. I felt as though I was in a room of under-recognized giants of the modern queer movement.
Wondercon. My second time at San Francisco’s annual comic book convention, I really took the time this year to enjoy myself and attend more events. Q&A sessions with J. Michael Straczynski, Terry Moore, and a queer artists roundtable; stars like David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, James McAvoy, Brendan Fraser, John Cho, Jon Favreau, Casper Van Diem, Jolene Blalock, among others; and tons of awesome geekery. Two moments really stick out: finding a complete 18-issue set of the entire Emma Frost series of 2003-2005, and when Jon Favreau showed a very excited audience the first public clip of the first reveal of Iron Man’s Mach 2 armor.
Accidentally getting caught in San Francisco’s St. Stupid’s Day Parade. There I was on April 1, minding my own business and studying for the LSAT when over the sounds of my iPod I hear a drum beat coming down the street. Suddenly, the little courtyard where I eat lunch and put in an hour of study is swarmed with people in crazy costumes (or no costumes at all). I threw my homework back in the bag and went with it. Only in San Francisco!
California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Gay Marriage. On May 15, 2008, San Francisco was experiencing unusually warm weather, so we only had half the overhead lights on in the offices of Out & Equal. At noon, the California Supreme Court released their ruling on the gay marriage cases. As my coworkers searched the net for news about the verdict, I began speed-reading the 172 page PDF off the Court’s website. CNN announced that the court ruled against gay marriage, but other news stations were reporting differently. I kept reading. About 20 minutes after noon, I announced to the room, “guys, I think this says we can get married! … listen to this, ‘in light of the conclusions we reach concerning the constitutional questions brought to us for resolution, we determine that the language of section 300 limiting the designation of marriage to a union “between a man and a woman” is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute, and that the remaining statutory language must be understood as making the designation of marriage available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples.’ That means gay marriage is legal in California!” Beatriz went out and got cake, we had an impromptu party at my office. That night, the Castro erupted in celebration. There were tears of joy. Heads were held higher. Regardless of what came later in the year, I will always think of that day with celebration.
Muir Woods. To celebrate my birthday, I rented a car and drove up to Muir Woods and spent and afternoon walking among the redwood trees. It was beautiful and amazing.
Taking the LSAT. Because of the demand for test centers in the Bay Area, I scheduled a vacation and flew back to Salt Lake to take the law school entrance exam at the University of Utah campus. After nearly 4 months of obsessive, every-spare-moment studying habits, the break from work responsibilities allowed me to calm down considerably. On Monday, June 16, I borrowed my sister’s car and reported to the designated classroom with a pack of freshly sharpened, glittery pencils in a large ziplock bag. The atmosphere was tense, but I think I had a good mental frame of mind. I flew through the test, easily beating the time limits and certain of all but a few of my answers. But it was grueling. We started very late, the test dragged on way longer than the practice tests had. When it was all over, I drove into downtown and met up with some awesome friends for drinks and dinner. Then I spent a few days playing with my niece and nephew before going home to San Francisco.
Working Out with Ben. Early in the year, I ought a large package of personal training from my gym in San Francisco. My trainer was a French-Israeli straight guy who loved action movies and crude jokes. I wasn’t sure if we’d hit it off at first, but by our third week, we were having a great time. Then, in June, I decided to leave San Francisco and move to Cincinnati at the end of July. Since I still had a lot of training sessions on my account, but there were no branches of my gym in Cincinnati, we began doing 3 sessions a week, then 4, and for the last three weeks I was in San Francisco, I was spending an hour with Ben every single weekday. Since I was also off the cigarettes, I never felt healthier or stronger. I genuinely miss my time with Ben and have suffered in the workout department simply because it isn’t as much fun hitting the gym without such a great motivating friend to gossip and pass the time with.
Driving Across the Country. Perhaps, the memorable event of 2008, I decided to leave my job and San Francisco to move to Cincinnati, where I’d live with my friends Jen and Jacob until I start law school. It was the first time I traveled by land east of the Rocky Mountains, the first time I took a multi-day road trip by myself, and the first time I got to see several parts of the country. Stops in Salt Lake and Iowa allowed me to spend time with my family, and a full week to travel gave me the leisure to stop at various attractions and take in a bit more than the road.
New York. Planned early in the year, my trip to New york was almost called off because of the expense of quitting my job and moving. It was Jen’s birthday weekend, however, and she wanted to go. So instead of flying, I bought a train ticket. For less than $1,000, I got a private room at a Chelsea hostel for a week. I saw two shows on Broadway, took in museums and art galleries, window shopped, did touristy stuff with Jen and Jacob, explored a great deal of Manhattan on my own, saw some friends, and spent time getting to know the schools in the city. In 7 days, I explored more of New York than I’ve explored in Cincinnati after 4 months.
The Election. So many specific memories wrapped up into one. The debate night parties, seeing Obama speak in Cincinnati, watching MSNBC all day every day while searching for a job, liveblogging and obsessing over every little detail, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Election night… watching Ohio turn blue, watching Florida turn blue, celebrating. Staying up to see if California was ready to report on Prop 8… the sadness of that defeat… the queer rights protests and rallies breaking out across the country… it was an emotional and thrilling.
Applying to Law Schools. With my LSAT score, my transcript, and my letters of recommendation underway, I spent many hours reworking and revising my resume and personal statement. Because I overspent on the trip across the country and my vacation in New York, I was delayed in submitting my apps until I had money coming in from my jobs. The first time I hit “send” about 18 times (the LSAC asks you “are you sure?” several times) to submit my first application, I was a nervous wreck. All told, I put in 8 applications and I still haven’t heard a definitive decision from any of them.