Reviewing: 2014 Year in Review – October through December

Part 3 of my 2014 Year in Review.

October

The Paul McCartney concert that was supposed to happen in June was rescheduled for October. He did not disappoint. He was another bucket list artist I have always wanted to see. I think I teared up four times during the performance. The main two were his tributes to George, where he played “Something” on the ukulele and when he sang “Yesterday,” because it reminded me of my dad. He played for three solid hours.

We went to the Dallas Comic Con. I cosplayed as Amy Pond (cheap and easy!). I met Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, the original voice of Charlie Brown, Karen Allen, and some others. I love going to the Dallas Comic Cons. They are so much fun and they always have nice guests.

Voodoo Fest was a great time, as always. Foo Fighters and Outkast were my two highlights.

November

Rochelle and I went to see the Nick and Knight tour, which was Nick Carter of BSB and Jordan Knight of NKOTB. There was almost no one at the Civic Theatre, but they put on a fun little concert. They did a medley of old 80s and 90s songs that everyone know, so it was great just reliving the olden days of our youth.

I also got to finally see my favorite play of all time, The Phantom of the Opera. We have season tickets to the Saenger Theatre, and besides seeing Beauty and the Beast earlier in the year, we also saw Chicago. But Phantom is my favorite. I thought the Phantom rushed his singing lines, and of course, it’s not broadway, but it was still delightful.

On the 17^th, I took the last big obstacle to graduating from grad school: COMPS. The whole month of November, that’s all I could think about. I studied for six different classes everything that I learned in them. Not only did I rewrite my notes and key points of the class, but I also read my notes aloud and recorded myself, so I could then listen to myself when I got too tired to read. But, it was all worth it, because I passed with flying colors!

The Renaissance Festival is one of my favorite things to do. Jousting, bawdy wenches, games and carnival rides that are completely unmotorized and made of wood, medieval food, and all sorts of craft and clothes booths make the Ren Fest an extremely fun and unique experience. I love dressing up in corsets and long dresses and eating a meat pie while watching the joust, as the queen looks on. One year I hope to do tea with the queen or the wine tasting.

Over Thanksgiving break, I went on a cruise with my mom. We had so much fun on the Carnival Dream out of New Orleans. Even though our stop in Belize was cancelled due to rough waters (the boat couldn’t tender), we still played with monkeys on Roatan Island (part of Honduras) and went cave swimming in Cozumel. The monkeys were so mischievous and climbed on you like it was nothing! The cave swimming was amazing. Cool, clear water with stalactites and stalagmites all around you. If you are good at diving, there are underground caves you could explore. So we just swam and did some light underwater exploring with some goggles. We then ate an authentic Mexican lunch under the ground. I highly recommend this tour! There was time for shopping at the end before you took the ferry back to Cozumel (the tour is on the mainland).

December

Dave Chappelle randomly did a comedy show, announcing it a week before the show. It sold out in minutes. He then added a late night time, and then an additional time the next night. We did the late night time. The first act was a newbie, but was pretty solid. Then it was a surprise set by Hannibal Buress. It seemed like he was trying out some new material, so some of his act wasn’t as polished as the rest, but still, not bad. And then Dave Chappelle killed it. I haven’t laughed that hard at comedy in a long time. I’ve loved Dave since my favorite movie, “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” came out in 1993, so this was a real big treat. Worth the late night with work the next morning. Worth every penny to see him.

On 12/13/14, the day I’ve been looking forward to finally arrived: GRADUATION! I did it! I received my Master’s in History with a 4.0 GPA. It was such a tough road at times, but I made some great friends, travelled abroad twice, and learned a lot of history, in addition to refining my writing. It was a dream that I pushed off for many years, but luckily, I finally plucked up the courage to start and finish. Kurt also received a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership Technology with a 4.0 GPA (though I know that my 4.0 was more hard fought and earned).

We finally ended the year in Panama City Beach. We rang in the New Year at my grandparents house, where we watched the festivities happening in Pier Park, where 10,000 beach balls descended upon the crowd and a giant beach ball (think Times Square) dropped as the clock struck 2015. It was a great year and Kurt and I continue to pray for good health and the ability to lead a full and happy life together. Thanks for reading and I hope that I can finally start writing many interesting articles in 2015. Now that grad school is over, I have the time for it!