Typically, I take the time between the end of December and the beginning of January to recap the past year and look forward to the one ahead. I wasn't going to do that this time because I had told myself that 2011 was such a shitty year so why bother? But when I actually started thinking about it, I realized that I, in fact, was the one who was full of shit. After all, 2011 was the year of Roller Derby Saved My Soul (That was just a few months ago? It feels like ten years!) - when I finally completed my successful one-woman show to great critical and audience acclaim; the year of Little Martyrs - a show that was named by one illustrious blogger as his favorite of the year; the year of translating my first play into French; of being cast in 6 student films in two and a half months; of working at the Great Canadian Theatre Company; of lots of acting classes; of being home for a family reunion in June; oh and 2011 was also the year of my own Grand Dérangement to that Big Smoke south of Ottawa... waaaaaaaay south. And that one came with a spunky Nfld roommate who could give Elaine Benes a run for her money with her kitchen dance moves. And yes, there was heartbreak and heartache and douchebags a plenty, but 2011 was not a shitty year by any stretch of the imagination, just a challenging one. A great Christmas card I got reminded me that you have to pull out the old weeds to make room for new growth, so here's to 2012 - do you have your gardening hat on?