2010

We had the excuse to start over again

fresh in the year Two Thousand Ten-

or Twenty Ten, if you will-

Oh, what an endless semantics deal!

I settle on the former way of stating

but surely there's debating

over this much ado-of-nothing.

If this really means something...

According to the United Nations,

2010 was the year of biodiversity

Hurray, glorious nature creations!

Variety forever!

But, whatever...

More gripping- this was a year of adversity:

of the world economy, for Obama, Haiti,

the Gulf of México y
muchos Chilean workers in a mine...

Comparably, my year was just- fine.

Surely I wasn't rolling in the riches

but made dues and made enough to buy

cute boho smocks and britches,

costly Rush tix.

and other frills I fixed

All of these ...courtesy

of continuous non-temp work – How 'bout that!

Alas, there was a drawback:

Doing the dreaded 3-11!

Retail non-heaven!

Well, I did the quasi 3-11

with a few bones thrown in of 8-3 and 11-7

but only from time to time

So much for weekend sublime!

Aside from job-related joint pain,

I really couldn't complain.

I had steady employment

and a good share of enjoyment,

yet, didn't hold a candle

to Betty White,

a spry Golden Girl delight

holding up well in her 80s.

She more than proved to handle

gig after next- from a Super Bowl ad

to an SNL stand, Hot in Cleveland...

Indeed, Betty was one White Hot lady!

And speaking of hot lady...

2010 was huge the undeniable Lady Gaga

who sizzled up the music charts.

Luckily, no one sizzled her up

in her MTV VMA bacon get-up!

(OMG! What the...!!??!!

How did it stay up on her parts?)

Gaga had “Monster” hits, “Telephone”

“Alejandro”and the thompin' “Bad Romance”

which got top YouTube rotation ...

… and then there was the sultry sensation,

the smooth “American Honey” trio Lady Antebellum

who rose to enormous stardom.

Thanks to Lady A, dealing with a love funk

was better by getting “a little drunk”

with “Need You Now”.

Drunk through much of 2010 was Spain

who couldn't help but pop the champagne

or, mejor, make Sangria

to celebrate pure alegria.

Spain's sports dominance:

FIFA World Cup, Contador in the Tour de France

Formula One's Fernando Alonso in Ferrari,

Pau Gasol as a key frontcourt playmaker

for the champion NBA Lakers,

and last not least, Rafa Nadal, one fine, smily don

with winning the French Open,Wimbledon,

and several Clay tournies.

Greece needed ”poly”a drink during the year.

There was much to fear

from her declaring

great epic proportioned credit crisis

with bankruptcy glaring

straight in the face, through the iris.

Greece's citizens got vociferous

took measures beyond preposterous

by rioting.

Such irrational inciting!

On the lighter side of a riot-

Emmy winning Modern Family

and the popular Glee especially got

to America's funnybone in 2010.

Jay Leno quit the Tonight Show at 10

and settled back into the 11:30 slot

in March. Later in October, I got

lucky landing tix with great view

of Jay and Kenny Chesney- Woo-hoo!

And to great cheer

later in the year,

Conan O'Brien made a comeback

to make quirky cracks-

this time on cable TV

Network Conan wasn't meant to be!

2010 airwaves made a major splash

with the modern take on Hawaii 5-0

and I couldn't help a double crush

on the hot new McGarrett and Danno!

I couldn't help but be crushed

after As the World Turns ceased.

Farewell to Holden and Lily

Kim and Bob, Jack and Carly, Lucinda, Emily...

2010 was also the end for serial 24,

Lost was forever gone ,Ugly Betty was no more

and my dedicated Cold Case officially- died.

Many tuned in to Dancing with the Stars

just to see how far

Kate Gosselin and ingenue Bristol Palin would go.

Meanwhile, Grizzly Mama Palin, Sarah,

debuted a reality show

on family and Alaska.

Sarah, along with the GOP, succeeded

In fall elections, Dems were unseated

from House majority,

largely due to the insurgence of the Tea Party.

Many mocked the movement

but it brewed up and blew the whistle

astoundingly on the taxing ill.

Opposing opinions aside, most of us felt

gov needed much improvement

in tightening up its belt.

And directly speaking,

Prez Obama was sinking

terribly in the majority of the polls

and his administration took quite a toll

as did the deficit.

Up past a trillion....? Holy sh-t!

In 2010, there was severe murkiness

none the more muddied

than the BP oil disaster.

Couldn't aftermath efforts move faster?

Oh goodness!

A plenitude of pretty pelicans died.

And what a hot mess

that Ground Zero mosque proposal

all but flushed down the disposal,

as most weren't down with its designs.

Thankfully, public sentiment still reigns!

In the world, key places were flooding, literally:

Pakistan, the Philippines and Nashville, Tennessee,

which (very, very quietly) exerted a great rally

and revived herself beautifully.

Major leaks in 2010 came in Wiki form.

What a worldwide storm!

This was arguably the year's greatest scandal

featuring Julian Assange, the scoundrel.

What all to make of the revealing documents?

Certainly, some varying arguments

U.S. diplomacy once and for all dead?

If not, just what instead?

Other 2010 hot button topics still lingering:

The illegal immigration issue in Arizona

(and in other states too),

the Korean border scrimmage

and accessing its damage

( was that just a hiccup?),

Enhanced pat down, up and all around

and full body scan at the airport,

the quandary of taking to town

foreign terrorists in federal court

the battle over Obamacare and fingering

just what it will mean to America

and then of course, just what was and will be up

with Brett Favre?

2010 hit a bad note with the passing

of lovely Lena Horne

Also gone from the sing-sing

was Teddy Pendergrass,

Teena Marie and Ronnie James Dio (no rumor, alas).

All of Poland was shocked

with the death of their president

and further rocked

by the loss of his lady and cabinet

Fashionistas began to mourn

following word of Alexander McQueen's demise

General sadness filled eyes

especially with cancer-stricken Dennis Hopper

and Elizabeth Edwards.

From beloved recluse, JD Salinger,

it was for good now- No more words.

(Holden Caufield's legacy will still linger)

A great toll for the thespian Redgrave family

was taken with the loss of Lynn and Corin....

The year was also fatal for funny men

Gary Coleman (oh Willis!)

and Leslie Nielsen (oh Shirley!)

Their easy, quick wit we shall miss.

And doggone!

Yet another Golden Girl, Rue McLanahan, gone

First: Estelle Getty,

in 2008, then Bea Arthur in '09 and now Rue...

Hang on Betty!

On a good note, New Orleans

tooted her horns resoundingly

after the Saints won the Super Bowl

Seemingly, all “for whom the bell tolls”

got behind the team
for the sheer admiration of the city.

With this feelgood piece is the pity

that was LeBron's “decision” disesteemed

as top sports story of the year

(not to slight Spain and the World Cup).

Cleveland began to erupt

collectively after LeBron said

“...taking my talents to South Beach”

How low could a superstar reach!

Well, perhaps what LeBron did

and what Tiger Woods didn't do

in golf tied for top sports story.

Following those may be the glory

of one Michael Vick, who turned a low

into a soaring Eagle high (who knew?),

with a great run and pass show

and in the process, rehabilitated a career.

In pop culture, 2010 was a-buzz

with the vuvuzela which was

as loud as the jeers against it,

The year was a-fizz

over the wha-cha-call-it

funny-named Icelandic volcano...

Eyjafjallajokull

(yeah, pronounce that right, if you will!)

There was the cute, studly Old Spice Guy

who caught many an adoring eye

on the tube ... and then there was the biz

of the blockbuster Avatar

which went so, so, far,

precisely to the very top box office-

only to not be sufficed

with Oscar Best Picture, losing to... let's see ...

The Hurt Locker? ( I forgot that, had to look it up on Wiki!)

Other formidable flicks that made a fortune:

Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows, Inception

The Social Network, Toy Story 3,

How to Train Your Dragon

but maybe the most compelling 2010 Hollywood story

was the hysteric “How Mel Gibson fell off the Wagon”

not released in theaters

but hyped up in tabloid papers.

Moreover, in music, Katy Perry was poppin',

giving us Teenage Dream fever

which was, perhaps, eclisped by Justin Bieber

(Baby, baby, baby -oh!)

The 4G phone craze

had techies counting the days

for the release of the Droid

and I-Phone.

And one couldn't avoid

all the love-gone-wrong gossip

Tiger Woods' tail-chasin' tale is a long novel

with the mistresses and ex-wife

emerging as Miss Elin Nordegren again.

There was also drawn out strife

of Sandra Bullock's love life.

But the bigger story for Sandy

turned out to be very dandy

with a secret baby named Lou

(and Oscar gold) getting her through the blues.

Happily out of the blue,

Prince William put his mum's blue sapphire

on the pretty, patient Kate.

So, the world entire

shall eagerly wait

for a royal ado,

perhaps the wedding of the century.

Kate indeed became an “it girl' to envy.

Another honoree for most notable “girl”of 2010-

the literary one of Stieg Larsson.

But the one to whom I give top girl badge

above all of the previous

is to my second niece for her courage

facing a surgery so serious.

Other noteworthy 2010 fems:

Chelsea Clinton, first daughter/Dem

who made headlines getting hitched

and Chelsea Handler who bantered, bitched

and made a big-time bestselling “Bang Bang”

There was the Kardashian gang-

Kim, Kourtney and Khloe,

and Jersey Shore's Snooki

who glammed and hammed it up in major fashion

but why, to them, we paid so much attention?

OK, now back to me!

Overall in 2010, I was in a better place

although some clarity

eluded me as I had to face

a relationship status so complicated

like the economy and healthcare bill.

Though at times I absolutely hated,

I marched with dedicated will

several thousands steps on the job

persisting through off and on heel throb

that had me poppin' Ibruprofen

ever so often.

But I could only imagine the pain

of the heart-wrenching suffering of Haitians

whose lives were utterly shaken

and separation anxiety of Chilean miners

(luckily not forsaken).

Gladly, my world was a “mine run”,

non 2010 Chilean style, gracias

On my account:

No Earth shattering chaos.

All my blessings to count.