New year, new me.

Happy new year to my adoring fans.  I made many resolutions this year and too many have already fallen by the wayside ("Dry January" began on January 3rd and ended on January 4th.  “Eat healthier food”—a frozen pizza is heating in the oven as I write this).  The resolution I am most serious about, however, is to write weekly in this blog.  I will do so on Wednesdays, so I hope you will tune back in and keep me honest.  Without further ado...

2015 by the Numbers

Blog posts: 20

Presidential biographies finished: 1

Remember me?

Weddings attended: 5

Times I flew from sea to shining sea: 14

Architectural Registration Exams passed: 2

Architectural Registration Exams failed: 1 :(

Dollars the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards swindled from me: 1,485

Times I correctly identified an earthquake: 1

Times I was fooled by the spin cycle: 1

Times I was fooled by loud noises or perceived vibrations: pleading the 5^th

I think that covers the vital statistics.  For me, 2015 was a gratifying year—exciting move to San Francisco, Erin’s wedding, etc—but for the world, 2015 seemed to be when the crazies took hold…everywhere.  Here’s to hoping everyone can CALM DOWN in 2016.  A vain hope for an election year, I realize.

A small glance forward at 2016, by the numbers:

Blog posts: 52

Architectural Registration Exams to knock out: 5

Weddings on the docket: 6

Nerd alert.

Last night, I finally embarked on a self-imposed assignment that I have procrastinated for almost a year.  Last night, I finally got cozy with Martin van Buren.

Be still my heart.

About six years ago, Erin and I made a pact to read a biography of each president, starting with George Washington on down.  Erin quickly abandoned our agreement, but I forged ahead.  In 2009, I read His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis, John Adams by David McCullough, and American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph Ellis again.  Then, faced with the incredible 760-page hulk, James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham, given to me by Uncle Pat, I took a three-year hiatus from the project in order to pursue other interests, like getting a boyfriend.  In 2013, I was ready to dive back in.  I tackled and defeated James Madison.  Invigorated by my victory, I went backwards in time to read ANOTHER book about Thomas Jefferson—Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham.  In 2014, I read The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation’s Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger, who would have you believe that James Monroe single-handedly won the American Revolution.  I will not be reading any more biographies by Harlow Giles Unger.  I then read John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul Nagel and finished out the year with American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. 

After Andrew Jackson, I peered out over a long stretch of boring until Abraham Lincoln.  But, as a later president once said at Rice University, “We do not do these things because they are easy—we do them because they are hard.”  And actually, I’m lying when I say I’m bored by the idea of reading about these dudes (why would I do this to myself if that were the case??).  Martin van Buren (MVB, as I will affectionately call him from here onward) gets a lot of airtime in American Lion, and definitely piqued my interest.  I’m also looking forward to the John Tyler presidency (annexation of Texas, baby!).

So I researched which MVB biography to read, and as it turns out, there are not too many options.  The only people reading about him are reading a biography on every president.  The only people writing about him are doing a deep dive for some obscure dissertation.  My options were the 700-page version or the 500-page version.  Not that I don’t want to give MVB a fair shake, but I went with the 500-pager.  Hopefully I can still get the full picture.  I will report back when I am done.

I’m sure you are all curious as to my assessments of the presidents I have read so far (that is, if you haven’t already had the joy of hearing me discuss them in person).  It’s bedtime here, so I will have to save that for another post.  I will leave you with the man of the hour, MVB.  He was supposedly quite the snappy dresser in his younger years.