2009 - The Year of Firsts?

Well, to be fair I can't designate the entire year already because it has only been a week and thinking about it, 2008 had a lot of firsts in it too (buying a house, starting a blog). I guess I will consider this a year for expanding my horizons and experiencing firsts on a smaller scale.

With the exception of being sick, the year so far has been great from the first minutes after midnight up to the minute I started writing this post (even during when I got a nice phone call).

I got my first taste of Baltimore's Sip & Bite 24 hour diner on Boston Street New Year's Day. I have driven by there many times and always wanted to try it. I was surprised how small it was, but loved the atmosphere and the food was pretty good to. Jenny mentioned how it reminded her of a diner from where we went to college and I definitely had to agree. The service, the open kitchen, the atmosphere and even the food was just like the Colonial (where I spent many weekend mornings trying to get over the night before).

My other first came in the form of something I have done before; ice skating. I am still considering it a first because of the venue, Patterson Park ... did you know that big white bubble complex is a skating rink?? I didn't, I thought it was indoor tennis courts. I think it has been somewhere between 8 and 10 years since I went ice skating. My group of friends used to roller blade in high school and we'd ice skate in the winter. I recall being pretty decent but all those memories were shattered when I got on the ice Saturday. The rental skates weren't sharp, the ice had bigger groves in it than the ice luge at my last party and my ankle was still trying to get over a moderate sprain from two weeks earlier. Don't get me wrong, it was fun ... and definitely a great value ($6 for entry and rental), but I think I would be better off with my own (sharpened) skates and a smoother surface. If the company remains the same, I'll definitely be back on the ice sometime in the near future.