Prime, priming, and primed

When deciding where Sam was going to be for New Years, Jess mentioned that the friends' party she was going to was going to feature a flaming punchbowl. 2010 has been a rough year for many, especially among our group of mutual friends. The idea, apparently, was that 2010 was a year that deserved an ending involving something being set on fire. And a punchbowl was the largest thing they could do without a permit or potential property damage.

I agreed - 2010 had indeed been that sort of year. And agreed that Sam should go to the party to see other friends' kids. And the flaming punchbowl. No five year old should ever miss that opportunity.

My initial reflection was that 2010 was a year that deserves to be beaten senseless by the empty champagne bottles that rang it in with such hope and optimism a year ago. However, on further reflection, most of my own issues with 2010 were the final "hangover" pangs of that apocalyptically Foul Year of 2009. There needed to be a year of adjustment, of changes, and of alterations. 2009 had legs, I tell you.

My final act of 2010 is to prime the bedroom of my apartment. I'd finished painting the rest of the place back in the summer, and declared that I could live with the bedroom in its current state. But I realized I was suffering from some chronic exhaustion, lack of spark, and occasional recurring bouts of leftover depression.

I blame the bedroom. Bed placement, looking at the holes in the door and the wall, the scarred, dark, and depressing paint job. New Year, new bedroom to get strength from. So over the past week I've finished patching, and today I coated the walls and trim with Kilz primer. Not sure what color I'm going to paint it - probably some sort of blue, though much lighter than the Dark Night Of The Soul Blue it was before.

I have no flaming punchbowl, but there will be fireworks on the bridge at 9. And there's a band down at the Eagle. So, a shower, a few shots of Jagermeister to drown the dregs of 2010, and a bottle of champagne in the fridge to cheer on the New Year when I get back.

And I'm going to hold on to the wisdom of Red Green in his Facebook status: "[2011] is a prime number, so it should be a prime year!" Indeed. Raise a glass.