Martin Spitznagel Pianist. Composer. Writer. Filmmaker.

The Top 90 Moments of 2009

Here’s a tradition carried over from my old blog, Prayer to the Sun. At the end of every year, I make a list of the top moments in my life for that year.

Wow, it must have taken some cajones to put him on the cover of anything.

The list is not about my favorite moments, nor my best moments. These are the top moments, the “Hitler as Man of the Year 1939″ moments, the ones that changed me, moved me, taught me, inspired me, humiliated me.

They are mistakes, triumphs, failures, wild successes. Some are comprehensible by anyone, others belong only to me. They are not listed in any particular order, only the one in which I think of them.

If I left out a moment you think should be here, don’t be upset. Exact your revenge by leaving a comment!

Martin’s 90 Top Moments of 2009

1. Finding out on a conference call, while in the process of cleaning out Jessie’s grandfather’s house, that my employer had been sold to a company nearly 20 times its size.
2. Shooting the SSCC Golf Invitational video with Mark and friends, including arriving an hour early to the course to secretly film the epic opening with Mark.
3. Mark’s epic drive at the SSCC and then chasing evil SSCC squirrel up the hill at Cacapon Resort.
4. Having a friend say “how dare you” to me in anger and actually mean it.
5. Selling out of my CD, “Tricky Fingers,” halfway through my concert in San Antonio.
6. Getting a fire started at the campsite in Shenandoah using wet wood, an air-mattress pump, and the fabled “awkward catamaran” log structure I invented.
7. Performing “Maple Leaf Rag” blindfolded at the Stark Pavilion in Sedalia with Bryan Wright.
8. Deer hunting with Mark and Dad, inc. freezing my fingers off, shitting in the woods, staring for what seemed like hours at a branch in the wind, downing hot chocolate like it was my job, seeing the doe and its fawn, and feeling like a part of nature and not above it.
9. Mark blasting the hell out of a baby squirrel when we went small-game hunting with Dad in December (he had a thing with squirrels this year, apparently).
10. Looking out over the Shenandoah valley from Mary’s Rock. Breathtaking.
11. Trip to Charlottesville, VA, to go ballooning for my first wedding anniversary and holding the mouth of the hot-air balloon open as we cold-packed it full of air, preparing to take off.
12. Sex in the tent within earshot of other campers the night before our anniversary hot-air balloon ride. Yes.
13. Sipping white russians in the hot tub at the cabin in West Virginia we rented with friends for New Years.
14. Sitting outside Wine & More in Sedalia with Brian Holland smoking cigars, drinking beers, and talking about life with him and his girl, Amy.
15. Losing 54lbs in 10 months and being able to shop in regular men’s stores for clothing.
16. Discovering Shiner Bock in Houston at Emily and Jeffrey’s after-party and “coming out of the closet” (literally).
17. Speaking of beer, having my first taste of dunkelweizen. Edifying, to say the least. Mm.
18. Dinner at the Ivory Grill in Sedalia with ragtime peeps courtesy of my Dad, who proceeded to embarrass me in the best possible way by telling old stories as only a father could.
19. Dinner at Lebanese Taverna in Pentagon City with Dan and Vicky. One of the great conversations of ‘09.
20. Singing “I Just Wanna Be King” from The Lion King with Jess at the skeevy karaoke bar in Foggy Bottom.
21. Looking out the window at the Starbucks in Atlantic City the weekend before Christmas and seeing the boardwalk and shore covered in inches upon inches of snow.
22. Touring the U.S. Capitol building with the tour guide who greeted everyone in their native tongue (like 7 languages in all).
23. Playing piano alone for an hour in the church in Pearland before anyone else arrived to rehearse for Emily and Jeffrey’s wedding.
24. Four words: Santa’s Little Helper outfit.
25. Taking my own fish off the line while fishing with Mark and Dad and feeling like I’d taken a major step forward in my life (I used to make Dad do it until I was… um… 27).
26. Wild midnight walk with Chris, Mat, and Mark along the Cacapon Golf Course cart path and feeling the whole time like I was going to get eaten by a wolf.
27. Debuting the Mary Poppins Medley in San Antonio.
28. Downing Vietnamese food and then Dairy Queen blizzards with Bryan Wright and Richard Dowling before heading back to the hotel for the Saturday evening concert in Indiana (and ending up with the flu for days… coincidence?)
29. Driving up to Chautauqua with Mat through blizzards, whiteouts, chest pains, and epically dangerous side-of-the-road pee breaks for Writer’s Weekend 2009.
30. Hearing my music played live on WAMU 88.5 FM for 22 minutes.
31. Taking my last dose of Coumadin, my amulet of protection, after more than a year on it.
32. Seeing Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” in 3D and feeling like a total kid again when Scrooge is being chased by the chariot at the end and then falling into the coffin… man I was so into that movie!
33. Finally meeting Preston after hearing about him for 10 years.
34. My hilarious collision with Dad while skiing at Seven Springs, caught on camera by my brother.
35. Watching the dancing embers of Ben and Tara’s Christmas tree as we burned it in the firepit while drinking hot cocoa and eating s’mores.
36. Almost winning the “whore-izontal” card at Gay Bingo at the church in Pittsburgh.
37. Scarfing down one of Pat’s Steaks sandwiches in Philly while there to see Dave and the “Chronicles of Narnia” exhibit at the museum.
38. Walking into the restaurant for Jeffrey’s bachelor party and seeing, like, seven children under five playing there. Party… on?
39. Renting a paddle boat at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor only to have Jessie’s pedals break as far away from the dock as we could get, so I had to paddle this ridiculously hideous boat back to the shore on my own.
40. Posting the “Cantina Band” video on YouTube and watching it count to over 70,000 hits in just a few months.
41. Trying to use the “bathroom” at Rockhill Furnace and realizing that it was just a shack so shady in nature that even spiders were afraid to live there.
42. Waving to Bill E. playing for no one as we rode off in the train. Had to admire the dedication.
43. The 20-minute impromptu concert I gave for my entire company on the cruise. The room was packed! President of the company’s first question after standing ovation: “Why are you working here?” Win.
44. Nearly sinking the pontoon boat into Lake Arthur after mooning my brother.
45. Max Morath telling me that my CD was a “stunning piece of work.”
46. Trying to get Mat to wear the argyle sweater.
47. Dave W. singing to his new bride at his wedding reception accompanied by the DoubleShot guys.
48. Speaking of shots, doing 6 shots of SoCo and lime with Steve while performing the music for Dave W’s wedding ceremony. In a Catholic church. And then sneaking the bottles out in my music bag. Classy.
49. My first bite into a burger from Ray’s Hellburger. YUM.
50. Having my DC dodgeball team say that I was the best player on the team (it’s all in the wrists).
51. Visiting Ground Zero and feeling very, very weird.
52. Family trip to Big Nick’s in New York after Mark’s successful role in “As You Like It.”
53. Getting thrown out of the “Rock It Grill” in Alexandria after Jess tackled me into a slutty patron, spilling her drink.
54. The six-week silence with T & J, ended only by the Bertucci Agreement.
55. Kayaking on the Potomac.
56. Hiking to the Maryland overlook of Great Falls, through the rare bedrock forest, and seeing a tree growing literally out of a rock.
57. Going to the inauguration of Barack Obama with 2 million other people and feeling like a part of history. Everyone was so excited and so positive. It was the most pleasant crowd I’ve ever been in.
58. Hiding out at Tooch’s office eating pretzels and other snacks because we couldn’t get the Metro out of DC for hours after the inauguration.
59. Getting lifted up by the Mexican man at bowling with Jess and her teacher friends.
60. Cigars on the rear deck of the cruise ship with co-workers, the moon bright in the sky.
61. Christening the “Man Cave” at work with its very own plaque.
62. Richard’s “Bethena” at the Wednesday night concert in Sedalia. Piece: Totally redeemed.
63. Giving the sketchy people in Sedalia nicknames with Bryan (i.e., “Mange”).
64. Hearing Bryan perform “Red Elephant Rag” for the first time on YouTube.
65. Getting a dodgeball to the back by D.W. at the Pittsburgh Airport.
66. Socializing with all my high school English teachers at Ben and Tara’s wedding and realizing that it really has been 10 years and, more importantly, that I like who I’ve become. The me of then would be proud of the me of now.
67. Having people driving by in their cars snap pictures of my baby costume at Halloween.
68. Seeing “Star Wars in Concert” at the Mellon Arena.
69. Losing to my nephew Justin at Ping Pong (he’s a stinking cheat)
70. Riding down the ice slide at “Ice!” at National Harbor and nearly breaking off my tailbone I got going so fast.
71. Feeding a wild stingray at Stingray City in Grand Cayman.
72. Surviving our private guided seven-mile bike ride in Grand Cayman and being offered turtle soup at the turtle preserve. What what?
73. Learning you can subdue a turtle by rubbing its neck.
74. Revamping this website into a blog.
75. Performing “Marty’s Blues” for my grandfather live at our Breakin’ Notes concert on March 28.
76. My Texas peeps surprising me in San Antonio and staying up late regaling me with the saga of Tintagel.
77. The car alarm going off all night and me not waking up until 5 AM only to have people standing by the car calling the police. Awesome.
78. Meeting (almost) all six of my HFTH deadlines and making massive progress on the movie.
79. Writing an orchestral score for the company Christmas card in two days and change.
80. Watching the Pens beat the Capitals in Game 7.
81. The “Puttin’ on the Ritz” number from “Young Frankensten: The Musical.” My God, the strobe lights, the tap dancing, the whole shebang… it was crazy.
82. Getting mani/pedis with the girls in Pearland.
83. Spitting vodka onto the fire at Jen and Bryan’s house.
84. Getting my first Christmas bonus.
85. Driving by my childhood home and realizing that it’s tiny and looks like it’s from the 70’s (which it is).
86. Cruising at 60mph in the Customs and Border Protection chase boat in the San Diego harbor.
87. Being given $500 by my wife to spend at Best Buy any which way I pleased (I ended up with an Xbox).
88. Getting Jessie’s handwritten children’s book about the pup and the kitten as a birthday gift.
89. Losing my wedding ring, and then finding it 7 months later.
90. Having Mr. C tell me “you are remarkable.”