Favorite Things Of 2012

OMG. I just realized 2012 might've been the best year of my life--socially, writing-wise, happiness levels, etc. 

In no particular order, here are a bunch of the coolest things of my year:

Big Big Mess Reading in Akron with Layne, Christopher, and our country-sensation/hype woman Ashley. Started some of the most interesting and solid friendships of the year.

AWP Chicago, especially the Lit Party.

Over The Top Reading Tour. Again, solidified/kick-started some stellar friendships.

My summer road trip, pretty much everything about it, but especially: 

• Megabus trips to Chicago/ATL
• Having a bald eagle fly over me as I was kayaking Lake Monroe
• Hang-time in Tuscaloosa, including hoola-hoops, group writing time, and juggling
• Seeing the Katy Perry movie with Laura
• The Vouched ATL birthday bash
• King of the Hill night with Michael Straub
• Walks with Pinky
• Getting a tattoo in Akron with Ashley
• Reading in Kleinberg's basement/opening for a metal band
• Bro time with my actual brother
• Being at the final day of the World Disc Golf Championships in Charlotte
• A week at the beach with Layne 
• Seeing Japandroids in Chicago with Kleinberg

Favorite album of the year: Celebration Rock by Japandroids

Other favorite albums: Now Here's My Plan by Bonnie Prince Billy, Baptist Girls by Bro. Stephen, Savages by Bonesetters (Okay it was late 2011), Attack on Memory by Cloud Nothings 

Favorite book of the year: Bender by Dean Young

Other top books: The Collected Works Vol. 1 by Scott McClanahan, Sermons and Lectures Both Blank And Relentless by Matt Hart, Madness Rack and Honey by Mary Ruefle, the two chapbooks by Nick Sturm, The Map of the System of Human Knowledge by James Tadd Adcox, I Take Back The Sponge Cake by Loren Erdrich & Sierra Nelson, What Is Amazing by Heather Christle

Check out my list of my favorite small press stuff at Vouched

Regular e-mail chats with Ashley Farmer, Mike Young, A.T. Grant, and several more.

Regular poems dropping in my inbox from Zach Arnett, Nick Sturm, Wendy Xu and more.

Seasons 2 and 3 of The Voice

Taking over as Associate Editor for Magic Helicopter

My first Ace!

Reading at the Forklift, Ohio Pool Party

Weekly Elwood Disc Golf League

Playing in my first PDGA sanctioned disc golf event

Winning the Pank 2012 1000 Awesome Words contest, judged by Michael Martone

Having Tiny Hardcore Press publish my chapbook, Goodness Is A Fine Thing To Chase

Layne becoming my girlfriend!

Moving out of my parents house!

What Matters For 500

HEY YOU KNOW ME LOVE ME

Day 6 — A stranger
Sup Stranger,

I hope there’s no danger between us. Haha. That’s a joke, my kind, I hope you like it. I’m not sure why you’re reading this letter, but thanks. I hope you can read, because if not, it might seem like I’m making fun of you. I’m not.
It’s odd walking through life not knowing some people and then you know some more, like you meet them shooting hoops (WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?) or they read a letter you write them, grabbing it, thinking WOW I CAN’T BELIEVE HE WROTE THIS FOR ME?! I did.

Good Luck has this song called “Contact,” and I sing it a lot when I’m lonely or in large crowds and here are some lyrics from the middle:

I start to wonder exactly how many different people I've seen throughout my whole life
Can't even fathom a guess
they'll just continue walking or driving along their separate ways before I can even forget

I wonder out of all those millions

How many have I met?
How many have I spoken with?
How many have I simply brushed in passing?
How many have I slept in the same building as?
How many of them are left-handed just like me?
How many have shared my exact date of birth?
How many have I genuinely care about?
How many have I taken the time to get to know real well?
How many have I loved?
How many will I ever love?

Are you as stoked about these lyrics as I am? I hope so. I think that’ll increase the odds of us being pals. People all around the world are bonding over music, so it’s not original or anything, but likely, neither are we. Lots of friendships blossom over music, or words at least, like this letter.

Bye Stranger,
Tyler

WHATEVER YOU CALL IT IT'S COOL

Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative):

Hey Darrin,

I bet you are thinking: I am not his sibling or closest relative. Looking at the chart of a family tree my Anthropology teacher gave me, you are my cousin once removed. As a child, I thought that meant some kind of weird cousin emancipation, but it just means you’re my mom’s cousin. Okay.

But in a way, I guess you are my closest relative, going on the definition of closest that means “emotionally close” and not “bloodline close.” I’m so stoked about what we’ve got going, this friendship thing. That’s what I call you now. I say, my friend Darrin in Bloomington. I hope that’s okay. Because, I feel like what you’ve taught me and do for me and the way we interact isn’t the humdrum boredom of cousinship, but of friendship.

As a human being in general, I like to think that I think more than ever, and much of that, it seems, would be because of you. Simply, you taught me to think about the choices I make. You taught me to take an interest in others, not in a you’re-my-friend-so-I’m-listening-kind-of-way, but in a you’ve-got-experience-and-life-and-culture-and-I’m-gonna-listen-kind-of-way.

I remember when Sara and I moved to Scheidler that sweet summer where we lived across the yard from each other. That was so much fun. You were all about the birds, with a hook thing and a bird feeder outside your window. Sara bought one and you wrote a sticky note on it that said, HEY BIRDS THIS FOOD IS POISONED THE GOOD FOOD IS OVER THERE→. Yeah, I’m still laughing about that.

I wish you were here sometimes, so we could ride bikes to get frozen yogurt or go to the farmer’s market. I wish I was there sometimes, so we could do culturally cool things and shoot pool. I know you’ve got a two year plan, but I do too.

Love,
Tyler

Nothing is meant to awe, except maybe the football stadium.

I was reading Vanishing Point by Ander Monson (more on this later I'm sure) and I came upon INDIANA and EXPLOSIONS: "Things explode here more often because Indiana is close and many things purposed to explode are legal there." Sometimes, I like to use Indiana instead of people's names, because Indiana is nice and loving, but can also make me super bitter and possibly even gut-wrenched. Like last night, I was walking with three Indianas, all within arms reach, and fireworks started shooting up on the edge of campus. I think I said something about America. The Indianas all went "oooooooohhhhhhhhh" or "aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwww." Then, birds bursted from the bushes, barely missing our fragile heads. The Indianas all went together towards the middle of campus, and I walked towards the fireworks. Often, I have a difficult time deciding which is more important, the parts or the whole.

IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL LOVE

The swirling cool wind brushed my friends' faces off, and they went to hide, ducking into buildings and their heated homes. I've got this new haircut, and people said they love it, but then they left. I'm in a spot between stoked to see your face and stoked to hide mine. Love is a list is a list, like here is what you do for me and how well you do it and how important each thing is, and they adjust and rise and fall, and boo-yeah, that's friendship and love and stuff. People see "boyfriend" and "mistress" and "best bud" and "that guy i know but can't stand to be around but still invite him places why." I see faces, beautiful faces, and arms and hands that wrap around me and voices that say "you're okay" and "OOOOO COMFORT." I feel a breath on the back of my neck and I can stay there for a while. Sometimes, I feel like people say "come over" or "I love you" so I won't go back to the hospital. I think I'm okay with that. I think I'm okay with looking at faces, touching faces, hearing voices and being cool. I think I'm okay with being committed to a handful of people. Mike Young said on his blog: here's an idea: how about let's stop fucking harassing people to death over who and how they want to love. AND I THINK THAT IS PERFECT. THANKS.