A year in the life of....

[brokenshoelace]

So this is a remake of my favourite ever thread on these forums:

https://www.tennisfrontier.com/tennisforum/threads/a-year-in-the-life-of.2871/

The concept is simple. it's a variation of the "pass the baton" thread (we should keep that going btw):

The poster holding the baton picks a year and a poster to pass the baton to, who in turn will take a nostalgia trip back to the year in question and share their memories. It could be anything from personal anecdotes, significant events in their lives, achievements, disappointments, sports, movies, music, etc...

When done, pass the baton to another poster and choose the year.

So to start things off, I'll pass the baton to @Moxie. The year is 1997.

 

[Moxie]

I've been thinking about it, and I wondered if we could possibly add a rule or caveat to move our year, like say, within 3 or 5 or 2 years up or down? I can come up with almost nothing interesting for 1997, but I have loads I could tell you about 1999. Whadaya think? Otherwise, I'll do 1997.

 

[mrzz]

I've been thinking about it, and I wondered if we could possibly add a rule or caveat to move our year, like say, within 3 or 5 or 2 years up or down? I can come up with almost nothing interesting for 1997, but I have loads I could tell you about 1999. Whadaya think? Otherwise, I'll do 1997.

Well, you could have just written something like that: "In 1997 I was mostly watching the paint dry on my living room wall, because I was not aware of the FANTASTIC things that would happen in 1999. I also went on to a coffee shop once. I payed in cash. If I only knew the ABSURD things that would happen two years later on that same spot. Oh, almost forgot, the phone rang sometimes, but it was always a wrong number call. Of course, I would never had guessed who would go on to call me so often in 1999, you would not believe it..." and so on.

Of course, when someone would ask what about 1999, I would say "oh, no, I cannot tell you that!"

 

[Moxie]

Well, you could have just written something like that: "In 1997 I was mostly watching the paint dry on my living room wall, because I was not aware of the FANTASTIC things that would happen in 1999. I also went on to a coffee shop once. I payed in cash. If I only knew the ABSURD things that would happen two years later on that same spot. Oh, almost forgot, the phone rang sometimes, but it was always a wrong number call. Of course, I would never had guessed who would go on to call me so often in 1999, you would not believe it..." and so on.

Of course, when someone would ask what about 1999, I would say "oh, no, I cannot tell you that!"

That pretty much sums it up. Except I didn't even paint my apt. I couldn't even find any memorable films (Titanic? Yuck.) or music. Though I did have a great shoot in Italy...three weeks in Rome and Tuscany in the summer, and the first time I got paid because I speak Italian. (Nearly justifying all those years of study.) However, if anyone wants to hear about my 1999....

 

[DarthFed]

That pretty much sums it up. Except I didn't even paint my apt. I couldn't even find any memorable films (Titanic? Yuck.) or music. Though I did have a great shoot in Italy...three weeks in Rome and Tuscany in the summer, and the first time I got paid because I speak Italian. (Nearly justifying all those years of study.) However, if anyone wants to hear about my 1999....

You've built the tension up nice and piqued my interest, I want to hear about 1999

 

[Moxie]

OK, I'll stop being coy and just go for it. I think the point of this thread and the "Pass the Baton" one anyway is about talking about ourselves to each other, since we're a community. Broken will say tomorrow how he feels about my fucking with the rules.

April 1999 I got hired for a huge commercial. So big, we were 2 producers. Started in Buenos Aires. Worked rather non-stop, but did take off an afternoon to learn some tango at the Confitería Ideal.

We also shot in Sydney and Alice Springs, Australia. Shooting in the outback was a whole thing, including negotiating with Aboriginal people to shoot on the Big Emu Dreaming, and seeing the deep racism there. Though I did note that at least in Oz they are dealing with their native peoples, which in the US we do not.

On to Japan. Tokyo, Kamakura, and the coast. I didn't love Japan. The men there look down their noses at women, and you feel it.

Beijing: I did love Beijing and the Chinese, even though it is very rough travel, and we all got sick, eventually, from the water. But the Chinese are quirky and funny. I saw an outdoor dentist pulling a woman's tooth with a wire and a pair of pliers. And people dancing tango at dawn at the Summer Palace, and people walking with their birds in cages, as part of their morning Chi.

From there we went on to Germany, Italy then shot in London and Cornwall. At this point I realized, 3 months in, that I could count on 1 hand the number of nights I'd slept 8 hours. Anyway, finished up in Vancouver for 3 weeks.

One thing I would share about this experience with those of you who know me on these forums: aside from the exotic travel, I spent 4 months with a majority male crew. The only women I saw were my casting directors, who went advance, so I rarely saw them, and the women on the ground we worked with in each country. It was mostly me and 7 guys. I learned things that would curl anyone's ears. But all my guys were great, and they respected my work. I like men, and I like working with them. I get when they act like horn dogs, but most of the ones I know are also honorable. Just saying, and traveling with men for a long time is not for the faint of heart. They can be stinky and horny and rude and outrageous, and surely non-PC. But the best can manage all that without being assholes, or perverts, and can also make you laugh really hard about it all. I suppose that's why I can deal with the men here. Because I deeply like and trust men, and enjoy their company.

Got back and spent a month at the beach, just staring at the sea, as I was so tired. House in East Hampton with friends. I remember seeing "The Sixth Sense," which I didn't like. A film that saved me was "The Matrix." I first saw it in Sydney, where it was filmed, when I first arrived there. I had the terrible jet-lag that is particular to going Down Under. I needed to feel like a tough girl, and that film was what I needed. I watched it every time I was on a plane after that. I think I watched it twice between Beijing and Hamburg. (Note here: I flew over the Gobi Desert. That was beautiful.)

So that's a lot of my exotic travels. Just when I thought my professional life had turned a corner, I came back to NYC, and the next job I got was with the least capable director I've ever worked with, and the least creative idea for an ad I'd ever had to get behind. So, there it is. Apex to nadir in zero to sixty. That was a big life lesson. I didn't have any kids that year, and I think I'll keep my romantic life to myself. But that was my 1999.

Now I'm supposed to nominate someone else, and a year. I'm going to throw it back to @brokenshoelace and 1997. Presumably you have a connection to that year? Or perhaps you can rehabilitate it, since I've thrashed it as worthless.

 

[Moxie]

@brokenshoelace: Maybe you don't want me to throw it back to you. If not, I'll go with another option. And I have a good idea for one!

 

[mrzz]

@Moxie, that was good to read. And it must have been a fantastic year to live... ok, I am "suspicious" to say that as I love traveling, but I guess even non-traveling people can see the beauty of it. It was nice to see that you found a way to connect the narrative with the (endless) discussions we have here. I won't say I would have guessed it... but it made a whole lot of sense anyway.

Only thing I would say is that -- quite in the spirit of the thread I guess -- you could put some more "99" to your description. I mean, someone could easily picture your story either in 2018 or 1972 (ignoring age calculations). Oh, there are the film references... ok, but there could be more.

In other words... there is more from were this came from, right? And this way you can entertain us while you give old @brokenshoelace a bit more time....

 

[Moxie]

@Moxie, that was good to read. And it must have been a fantastic year to live... ok, I am "suspicious" to say that as I love traveling, but I guess even non-traveling people can see the beauty of it. It was nice to see that you found a way to connect the narrative with the (endless) discussions we have here. I won't say I would have guessed it... but it made a whole lot of sense anyway.

Only thing I would say is that -- quite in the spirit of the thread I guess -- you could put some more "99" to your description. I mean, someone could easily picture your story either in 2018 or 1972 (ignoring age calculations). Oh, there are the film references... ok, but there could be more.

In other words... there is more from were this came from, right? And this way you can entertain us while you give old @brokenshoelace a bit more time....

I appreciate your review, Mrzz. I'm not sure how I could have made it more appropriate or specific to the year. It was my 1999, and I thought that was the only requirement. But how about this:



Not from the year, but you're welcome. Note this, it could have been "Living the Vida Loca," which actually was from the year. In the spirit of what we were saying about conversation, though, if you or others have thoughts/memories of 1999, why not add them here?

 

[Moxie]

@Moxie, that was good to read. And it must have been a fantastic year to live... ok, I am "suspicious" to say that as I love traveling, but I guess even non-traveling people can see the beauty of it.

"Suspicious" of what? Is this a translation glitch?

 

[mrzz]

"Suspicious" of what? Is this a translation glitch?

Yes, quick and lazy translation of a Brazilian expression. Actually, the literal translation of the Portuguese word would be "suspect"... it is an expression you use to announce your own bias about something.

About my comment above, I was not clear enough. I didn't mean just isolated references to 99, but something on your story that could be in connection with the general context as a whole. I read back the original thread linked in the OP and I thought this was the idea... also considered that this would be back in the mind of who proposes the year -- otherwise it would be just a random number. Well, maybe it is.

[EDIT] : If that is the case 99 is as good as 97 context wise -- only not if the person who proposed it is thinking of a specific event . Or. I am just dead wrong and being a pain the ass. In that case never mind my painintheassness...


By the way, thank you for not posting a video of "living the vida loca" or whatever...

 

[brokenshoelace]

@brokenshoelace: Maybe you don't want me to throw it back to you. If not, I'll go with another option. And I have a good idea for one!

I'll get on this tomorrow. Sorry I usually don't post much during the weekends. Killed the momentum of my own thread, I know.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Well, 1997 was just a random year I chose for Moxie so it doesn't really hold any significance to me. In fact I was only a 8 year old kid at the time.

Lebanon was recovering from yet another war with Israel so power outages were frequent, and they took their toll on my Sega Genesis console. Ugh, the amount of Sonic the Hedgehog playthroughs that were cut short.

I spent so much time playing Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Still one of my favorite video games of all time. As you can tell, I have very permissive parents...I remember my mom walking in during one of the infamous "Fatalities" and seeing a man being cut into pieces by Jax. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head with a grin that was both amused and bemused.

It was the year I "fell in love" for the first time. Or at least, whatever concept of being in love I had at the time. It's funny, the girl in question and I had the most rollercoaster dynamic ever. When we got a little order we became super close friends. This in turn made me realize she was a completely awful human being and I hated her guts. However, a very recent school reunion made me realize she's become an absolute sweetheart and we're close friends again. People evolve and change I guess. It's quite the full circle turnaround, and an unlikely one at that, since I had moved to Canada in between and completely lost all contact (back in Lebanon now and have been for a few years).

It was also the year I was told by my parents that my half brother is in fact a half brother (from a previous marriage of my mother's). I took it so bad and cried my eyes out that night. The next morning I realized it changes absolutely nothing and he remains one of the people I adore the most in life to this very day. He's now married with children and my nephews are running around the house as we speak and god damn I love them so fucking much.

Sports wise, I experienced my second big heartbreak (after Italy's loss to Brazil in the 1994 WC final and Roberto Baggio's infamous penalty miss) as Juventus, who were overwhelming favorites, got crushed by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final. Going to school the next day was not fun...then again it never is.

Patrick Rafter was my favorite tennis player at the time and that was the year he won the first of his two major titles at the US Open.

One of my biggest regrets of that year was that my then favorite band, The Scorpions, came to Lebanon in what was a huuuuuge deal at the time (first major name to come and play in Lebanon since the civil war had ended in 1990). My parents did not buy me a ticket as they thought I was too young. Hearing my father talk about how amazing the concert was the next morning and worse yet, his surprise at the amount of children in attendance bothers me to this day. On the flipside, my parents and I attended the press conference a few days before the concert and the lead guitarist, Matthias Jabs, asked me over, gave me a little hug and signed an autograph as I was the youngest person in attendance. Consolation prize I guess.

On the big screen, I remember my mother taking my brother and I to the movies every Monday. She was and still is an action movie buff, so the two movies that stood out to me at the time were Face Off (still a guilty pleasure of mine) and Con Air, both starring Nick Cage (whom I don't even like). I also remember a huge debate between my mom and my aunt (who wanted to take me to watch the Titanic with her) that resulted in my aunt convincing her that it would be OK for me to go. That's when I saw my first boob. Thank you Kate Winslet. Another movie that stands out to me was one that I didn't even watch until I was much older, "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Now, it's just a mindless slasher, but hearing my brother describe the plot to me at the time terrified me.

Next, I'll pass the batton to @mrzz. Sticking with the 90's theme.

 

[mrzz]

Here we go then. Curiously my year is exactly 1999. If I had a brain back then, I would have learnt a lot... it was a completely crazy time in my life, and I simply cannot understand how the hell I survived being so fucking dumb.

It was the year when my first (and still only) daughter was born -- which is surely the positive highlight of the year, and that turned out really well. She grew up an incredibly talented, intelligent and beautiful girl. She was born on December the 25th. The very first thing her mother said when she knew she was pregnant was: "I just don't want her to be born on Xmas..."

But I was far away from a family man those days. I was married, yes (my first), and it was a very bad marriage at that time. It was only the pregnancy and the fact that we practically lived away from each other that made it bearable. I used to live in the south end of Brazil (Florianópolis, Guga's birth town), as I grew up there. But back then I was doing my PhD in São Paulo (physics, defended the thesis in 2000), so I went back and forth almost every week. It was a 12 hours trip by bus. Actually I spent around 20 years traveling one way or the other, for different reasons. I literally know those roads by heart.

I was quite young -- 26 years old -- but in a lot of ways I was a teenager. It was a late adolescence in many aspects. With the marriage in crisis -- some sort of a mute/coward agreement that we did not had to be faithfull/loyal to each other, that year (with her pregnant) was the year I had most affairs my entire life. I probably had more in 1999 than in the rest of my life combined. In São Paulo I shared with friends a house close the Physics Institute (old friends from graduation days, still my friends to this day), and boy we partied. Once we went on a run of two entire weeks going out every night. Don`t ask me how I managed to write that damn thesis -- and how that ended up being quite good.

I could tell some complete absurd passages... three times I almost got killed. In two of them, the guy who wanted to kill me ended up crying on my shoulder. Some others I cannot even summarize without using some explicit word. A few of them became urban legends among guys in science here. I remember ten years after in some bar somewhere hearing one guy telling this crazy story about some guys from "IFT" (my institute) which was something that actually happened to me and two others -- that I had simply forgot, by the time the guy was in the middle of the story I suddenly realized I was one of the characters...

Tennis wise, although 1999 was peak time for Kuerten, I did not follow much tennis at that time. I played from early childhood to my early teens, have not touched a racquet in years... but I always felt kind of embarrassed/ashamed of that, so I ran away from tennis. I knew I was being stupid, this was one among other things that I simply let go, rather foolishly. On one hand, it was a hard life, having to travel up and down, short on money and etc... but that was basically just an excuse, and I knew that.

I was not reading that much those days as well. Anyway, I never read contemporary authors so that only meant I missed a few good books. Fortunately I had a good taste since I was a boy... but I do remember discovering Samuel Taylor Coleridge about that time... he still amuses me to this day. Also regarding music, I am an "orthodox" heavy metal fan, so was not following whatever was being issued by that time. I am less radical nowadays, and I do remember listening a lot the "Demolition" and "Jugulator" Judas Priest albums, which are from that time. And I like "Virtual XI" from Iron Maiden, from those times as well (fuck you, orthodox fan wannabee if you don't like it).

Here in Brazil those were kind of sad days... it was the beginning of the end of the educational system, we had very good universities that one way or another started to have a terrible dip in quality. This is concurrent to start of better access to this system, but those are two completely different and independent processes. It was a strange feeling, looking at something that you knew was invaluable going down the drain...

Being Brazilian, I need to mention football. 1998 was when I started to dislike football, how I hated that shitty national team we had (it got to the 1998 world cup final by sheer luck). In 1999 I probably haven't watched one single match (even if years later my interest grew a bit, but more because I played a lot, instead of watching).

As a Ferrari fan, it was another year waiting. I always watched a lot of Formula 1 -- and root for Ferrari just because it is Italian, but I kind of hate it to be honest. I went to the Brazilian race that year (went to a few). I actually hate the crowds of motor racing. But there is something about motor racing that I really love.

In general, it all went down so fast... I felt it back then, and now I am completely sure, that I was somehow daydreaming through it all... actually not that many dumb decisions that year, but the seed of dumbness was planted then. Some complacency regarding the results of the life altering decisions started right there.

Oddly enough, after all the crazyness, I spent the next five years taking care of my daughter. That part I did well.

 

[mrzz]

I know I need to pass the baton to someone... just give me one day to think about it.

 

[mrzz]

Well, 1997 was just a random year I chose for Moxie so it doesn't really hold any significance to me. In fact I was only a 8 year old kid at the time.

Lebanon was recovering from yet another war with Israel so power outages were frequent, and they took their toll on my Sega Genesis console. Ugh, the amount of Sonic the Hedgehog playthroughs that were cut short.

I spent so much time playing Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Still one of my favorite video games of all time. As you can tell, I have very permissive parents...I remember my mom walking in during one of the infamous "Fatalities" and seeing a man being cut into pieces by Jax. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head with a grin that was both amused and bemused.

It was the year I "fell in love" for the first time. Or at least, whatever concept of being in love I had at the time. It's funny, the girl in question and I had the most rollercoaster dynamic ever. When we got a little order we became super close friends. This in turn made me realize she was a complete awful human being and I hated her guts. However, a very recent school reunion made me realize she's become an absolute sweetheart and we're close friends again. People evolve and change I guess. It's quite the full circle turnaround, and an unlikely one at that, since I had moved to Canada in between and completely lost all contact (back in Lebanon now and have been for a few years).

It was also the year I was told by my parents that my half brother is in fact a half brother (from a previous marriage of my mother's). I took it so bad and cried my eyes out that night. The next morning I realized it changes absolutely nothing and he remains one of the people I adore the most in life to this very day. He's now married with children and my nephews are running around the house as we speak and god damn I love them so fucking much.

Sports wise, I experienced my second big heartbreak (after Italy's loss to Brazil in the 1994 WC final and Roberto Baggio's infamous penalty miss) as Juventus, who were overwhelming favorites, got crushed by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final. Going to school the next day was not fun...then again it never is.

Patrick Rafter was my favorite tennis player at the time and that was the year he won the first of his two major titles at the US Open.

One of my biggest regrets of that year was that my then favorite band, The Scorpions, came to Lebanon in what was a huuuuuge deal at the time (first major name to come and play in Lebanon since the civil war had ended in 1990). My parents did not buy me a ticket as they thought I was too young. Hearing my father talk about how amazing the concert was the next morning and worse yet, his surprise at the amount of children in attendance bothers me to this day. On the flipside, my parents and I attended the press conference a few days before the concert and the lead guitarist, Matthias Jabs, asked me over, gave me a little hug and signed an autograph as I was the youngest person in attendance. Consolation prize I guess.

On the big screen, I remember my mother taking my brother and I to the movies every Monday. She was and still is an action movie buff, so the two movies that stood out to me at the time were Face Off (still a guilty pleasure of mine) and Con Air, both starring Nick Cage (whom I don't even like). I also remember a huge debate between my mom and my aunt (who wanted to take me to watch the Titanic with her) that resulted in my aunt convincing her that it would be OK for me to go. That's when I saw my first boob. Thank you Kate Winslet. Another movie that stands out to me was one that I didn't even watch until I was much older, "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Now, it's just a mindless slas

Next, I'll pass the batton to @mrzz. Sticking with the 90's theme

Man, I wanted to comment before I wrote mine, but my time is so crazy lately that I did not want to miss the little window of opportunity I had.

So let's confuse it all for good...

Another big Scorpions fan here. First true metal band I ever heard, I was 12 years old and got crazy about Love at First Sting... and got really crazy when I bought "Tokyo Tapes" soon after (yes, I like both phases of the band).

About 1994, I know how you feel. But it was pay back for me. My father is Italian and I had 1982 in my mind. I still have it....

 

[brokenshoelace]

I know I need to pass the baton to someone... just give me one day to think about it.

Make sure to also specify a year.

 

[mrzz]

Hey, @El Dude , care to join and share something about your 2005?

 

[mrzz]

Our friend El Dude might be having very little time to post lately (pre-USOPEN anxiety?) so I hope @don_fabio can come to the rescue with his 2008 (for a change).

 

[don_fabio]

Our friend El Dude might be having very little time to post lately (pre-USOPEN anxiety?) so I hope @don_fabio can come to the rescue with his 2008 (for a change).

I just saw this, will write tomorrow my 2008.