Sussing out 2006: The highlight reel

Ah, the year-end list. The love of journalists everywhere, as it a) comes in a snappy, easy-to-write format that can be easily replicated for years to come; b) allows us to avoid doing any actual reporting at a time of year when we’d much rather be toasting ourselves with rich delicious drinkables; and c) gives us a chance to pat ourselves on the back for the swell job we’ve done over the past 12 months, thank-you-very-kindly.
It makes sense, then, for me to post such a summation here. Don’t worry: this won’t echo last year’s soul-crushing 100-good-things-about-2005 albatross. Rather, I present a brief list of what rocked my little world in 2006.
1. Toronto. While I spent the last few months of 2005 flirting with this new city of mine, in 2006 I fell totally in love with it. I discovered the waterfront, Spacing Magazine, Toronto Island, Harbourfront concerts, the Doors Open festival, Winter/Summerlicious, the Ronces Polish festival, Joe Fiorito’s Union Station book, free movie showings in Trinity Bellwoods Park, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the Gladstone Hotel, several delightful local characters and more kickass bars and restaurants than I can list. In the words of Carrie Bradshaw:
“I think it’s getting serious!”
2. Running. I’ve been doing it regularly for more than four years now, but never quite to the extent that I did this past year. I started running to work and home again, which has bred a love/hate relationship with the unforgiving sidewalks of this city and an unholy obsession with efficient backpack packing. In September, I took it up a notch and ran the Scotiabank waterfront half-marathon. Not to sound insufferable, but I feel great because of it.
3. Nahanni. Anyone around me in the months preceding and following this wonderful trip to the NWT will attest that it loomed very largely over my year indeed. Truly something I hope never to forget.
4. Sushi. In that I ate a lot of it.
5. Ontario microbrew beer. In that I drank a lot of it.
6. Road trips. My little Corolla took me to Montreal, Algonquin Park, Niagara, small-town Central Ontario, Kingston (twice), Georgian Bay (thrice) and home to Arkona (more times than I can count).
7. Terrible reality television. From Idol to Top Model, I just couldn’t get enough of competitions to crown America’s next best nonsensical something-or-other.
8. My new relationship…even though it carried the truly nasty corollary of ending my old one. It may make me a girl to say so, but the man who has become my boyfriend shaped and coloured my year in a remarkable way, and it would be wrong to leave him off this list.
9. Lays Curry flavour potato chips. Because they're heaven in a snack food.