Remembering Y2K

me in 1999 (left)

This time 10 years ago, I was twenty-something, too-thin, living in a 300 square foot studio in Manhattan, had a high-paying job, and I acted like I knew everything. It was the eve of the new millenium.

Since then the following has happened:

-For the first time ever, I paid attention to Kiribati, the first place on Earth to experience the new year. I celebrated the fact that our electricity stayed on when it was our turn to flip into the new millenium.
-I learned that airplanes can be used as weapons, and that I and my fellow Americans are not as safe as we thought we were.
-I felt patriotic for the first time in my life.
-I got married.
-I started, but never finished, my MBA.
-I paid off a huge mountain of debt.
-I shopped recreationally and often.
-I bought a condo in Brooklyn.
-I got outsourced.
-I continued to shop.
-I was separated.
-My grandmother died.
-My cat died.
-I experienced grief for real, for the first time in my life.
-I understood my mortality for the first time in my life.
-I stopped shopping.
-I was reunited with my husband.
-I was truly frightened of losing my job.
-I replaced shopping with volunteering.
-I felt fulfilled.
-I witnessed the inaugeration of the first black US president. I felt patriotic for the 2nd time in my life.
-I moved to the Heartland.
-My relationship with money did an about-face. My priorities were re-arranged. I slowed down.


All in all, I think it was a producive 10 years for me. I grew up financially, my romantic life matured, I gained confidence while ending my bravado-act, and I learned how to examine my life and my priorities. While my paycheck hasn't really grown that much, I have developed some much needed life skills.


me in 2009 (middle)