It’s 2010.  I will remember 2010.

A good friend of mine recently got engaged.

Somewhere down the road, I will randomly discuss their marriage (hopefully in the present tense) with common associates and someone will inevitably query, "It hasn't really been that long, has it?"  With absolutely certainty, I'll retort: "Yep.  It's been that long."  Said associate might be impressed with my memory, but he/she will have been fooled.  I love this couple dearly and I'm sure the ceremony will be pleasantly memorable, if a bit booze-filled... but they will have little to do with my sharpness—not the radiance of the bride or how drunk the best man was (I have a feeling he, whoever it is, will be very, very drunk) or even for the fact that I helped introduce them.  Nope, nothing like that.

"They got married the year South Africa hosted.  And the year _______ won," I'll inform the curious party. I'll always remember because 2010 is a World Cup year.  2006 was not the year of my last year at Cal or my entrance into the workforce; 2006 was Germany... was bad schnapps, doner kebabs and the crown of a Frenchman's skull planted into an Italian chest.  Like anyone else rounding the turn for 30, I'd be struggling to come up with my grad year (it's inexplicable; we're young but all of my contemporaries have to think for a long second to come up with "2005... I think") were it not for the World Cup.  But I remember it vividly: it was fucking hot, I looked like a clown (my head was not designed with tight fitting caps in mind), my father wouldn't set the damned camera down, and, most importantly, I was going to leave for Germany in 13 days.  

That's just how things work for me, you see.  I live my life in four year cycles that culminate when 32 countries come together to drink beer, sing some songs and watch rich men kick a ball around.  The World Cup isn't just an event, it's my life's compass, the precipice from which I look out at the vast plains of my existence—everything will be spoken of in relation to it.  (I think this is how other people treat marriage or child birth: "Everything was different after we had little Pete," or "That was the year my whore ex-wife ruined my life by agreeing to marry me.")

You can be sure I'll remember _________ and _________'s wedding.  I'll remember it because of its close proximity to my life's quadrennial plateau.  Congrats guys!  You've picked a good year.  I will remember 2010.