Best of 2009 – Challenge

Q. Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

A. Every year brings new challenges in life, that's no news to anyone I'm sure. 2009 has been a big year for me. I moved out on my own, experienced single life in a bustling city {where everyone knows everyone else it seems} & eventually I fell in love with the man of my dreams. It's no secret that relationships are a challenge all on their own. But have you ever began dating someone, only to have them immediately be put on house arrest & move in with you? Well I have.

Now, don't freak out, Glenn is not a serial killer or drug lord or anything. He was arrested & charged with felony...graffiti. Yep. The county he was charged in wanted to make an example out of him and while yes, he did technically vandalize {some like to call it art} a few properties, it is my personal opinion that 5 months of house arrest for a first-time offense was a bit severe. But I digress. So once he finds out he will have to be indoors for 180 days with only 6 hours a week of fresh air, we start talking options. He then lived in Roseville yet his job at his design firm was here in downtown Sacramento where I lived in a tiny studio, alone. We had only been together two months, yet I offered for him to move in so that he could be closer to his job while serving his time. After lengthy discussions about it all he agreed and on November 12th 2009 {his birthday, of all days} he got a pretty little ankle bracelet and began house arrest. At first, it didn't seem so bad. I spent a lot of nights in with him, cooking dinner, watching movies together & reveling in the newness of living with your favorite person. A couple of months pass. Things start to get more & more routine. I would sometimes go out with some girl friends on Friday night for a drink & feel guilty about it. His design job suddenly goes under thanks to the recession, and he starts to freak.the fuck.out. Honestly, imagine sitting in what is virtually a box for 24 hours a day with only a computer & T.V. to entertain you? Some may think this sounds like the best vacation ever but to do this for days upon days, even the laziest of sloths would start go go stir-crazy. We needed to think of something to pass the time, fast.

Enter, Sixty Days. One evening, after a particularly rough day for the both of us I'm cooking dinner and glance over at him moping. My heart is breaking because nobody wants to see someone they love in a depressed state. The water starts to boil for our eleventy billionth pasta dinner in a row & suddenly a light bulb goes off--what if Glenn blogged daily about what it's like to be stuck on house arrest? He could record it and talk about his experiences with it. Not only would it be an outlet for him to keep him busy but it would also be a resource for others out there as a deterrent from doing something stupid that could land you in similar shoes. By this time, only 2 months of his sentence remained and thus the project was called sixty days. To our surprise it attracted a lot of attention. We were getting thousands of plays a day plus an outpouring of love & support from not only our family and friends, but strangers as well. Bicycle teams in Germany wrote in to tell us they made FREE GLENN spoke cards for a scalleycat race, Sacramento News & Review wrote an article on us and on his first day of freedom Glenn was invited to appear on air for NPR. Crazy stuff.

Below is the most popular|viewed day from the series. {sidenote: if you're easily grossed out I wouldn't recommend watching past the 3:35 minute-mark, as massive puking is in full effect}.

Sixty Days – Day 14 from Glenn Weatherson on Vimeo.

In the end, everything turned out just fine. He was set free in April and I got to keep my boyfriend & sanity, so I'd call that a WIN. We realized going in that this was going to be a make or break situation yet we survived. I think that's beautiful, that we were able to take a shitty situation and come out on top with minor injuries. So thank you, corrupted judicial system for giving me the opportunity to overcome this challenge. In your face.

What the hell is all this you ask? Click here to learn more about the Best of ‘09 Challenge.