2008: Year In Review
2008 has been... well, a year. Certainly not my favorite year. I'm sure, like Dubya, that my disapproval of it will fade somewhat over time.
I posted fewer entries this year than any year since I entered the LJ world almost six years ago. Six years... really? I may not have a lot to say anymore, but over the years, I've made a heck of a lot of real in-person friends on here and that's pretty awesome. Love you guys!
Twitter and blogging
Instead of making momentous LJ posts, I've been posting most of my "updates" on Twitter this year. I'm almost up to 1,500 tweets. I don't see that going down in 2009 but I think there is room for LJ activity to go up. I've already given serious thought to creating a blog for my tech exploits. Coding projects I'm working on, solutions I've come up with, etc. I haven't made a decision yet on this.
Here are some of the big things that happened this year:
Life, Fun and Frolic
I turned 30. OMG! Yes, I'm an old man now. Never mind that my bald spot has been around for a few years already, and I've had grey hair since high school. One of my bffs, Mark kybearfuzz , put together a delightful birthday surprise that kept me grinning all day.
We had a crazy blizzard. And a crazy windstorm that knocked out power for a week. And a day of 70-degree weather in December. WTF indeed?
I had three benign cysts removed from my head.
I competed in the Great Urban Race with John johnskreet. Sadly the event is not returning to Cincinnati in 2009.
I vacationed in New York City (for fun), Miami, Florida (for GALA conference), and Chicago for Market Days.
I bought an iPhone. OMGOMGOMG. Love it.
I saw the Jonas Brothers and Avril Lavigne in concert.
I went to my first presidential candidate rally. Some guy named Barack Obama won some election and is going to be the next President of the United States of America.
I gained back about 20 pounds of the 30 that I lost last year. Ew indeed.
Workstuff, Chorusstuff, Churchystuff
I planned and implemented a half-a-million-dollar system rollout. I'm only now getting to rest up from it. And that's getting in the way of tons of things that require my attention.
I continue as president of the Cincinnati Men's Chorus board of directors. This year we found a new rehearsal home and a new performance home. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we can keep them for another year.
I continue singing in the St. Paul worship band every Sunday morning. I've been invited to serve on one of their music committees beginning next month.
Boystuff
I broke up with my boyfriend after 11 months (a personal record). I don't see him as much as I'd like, but I'm super-glad he doesn't hate me and that we have been able to stay friends. He is seeing someone else now and I'm really glad he's found someone that makes him happy.
I then had my heart broken in a pretty serious way. I made a few private posts about it but didn't want to violate his privacy by putting anything up for public consumption. Basically he was a newish friend that I found myself wanting more with, and thought he did too, but he didn't, and it took me a while to recover from that. There are lots of other things that got in the way of my recovery... my inexperience, turning 30, feeling betrayed by some of my friends, blah blah whine whine. I don't think we'll ever end up with the friendship we could have had, which is sad, but I've sure learned a lot from the experience.
I went on actual dates with 24 boys this year. Can you believe that? I sure can't. I'm making a separate (private) post naming each of them and describing each situation for my own benefit. I often give serious thought to blogging about every date I go on so people can see why I make the choices I make, instead of condemning me for being "too picky" or whatever. But who would seriously want to read that? And would I seriously want to share that? I might come off sounding like Chandler. (I promise I'm not!). Out of the 24, only six progressed to second dates. I'm still seeing one of them, I ended three of them, and two of them ended it with me. Of the other 18, two live far away, five opted not to continue seeing me, I opted not to continue seeing nine of them and two were mutual. Of the 24, I still converse regularly with 10.
Familystuffs
My parents are getting a divorce. I don't know when, because mom has filed but dad keeps dragging his feet. But it's coming. He has a "girlfriend" and she's keeping her eyes open for houses near her parents (they're from the west side, you know, that's what they do ;))
In conclusion: Despite a lot of fun things this year, I'm really looking forward to 2009 a lot. My life and my outlook need change just like this country needs change. I think I can handle it.