So. Top Eight list. In no particular order (I know your monkey brain wants to put it in order, but there is no particular conscious order, so feel free to psycho-analyze away...)
1. NFL Red Zone
For many years, I have played fantasy football. And for several years, I had DirecTV and paid to get the NFL Sunday Ticket (which shows all the NFL games every Sunday). In my new life, though (see "Being Single" elsewhere on this list), I switched to Comast... which does not carry the Sunday Ticket.
So for a few years I was stuck watching whatever games Fox and CBS showed me--which was the Seahawks and other stuff. I would be glued to my computer, watching the stats accumulate but not really watching a lot of football very intently.
The Red Zone channel changed that. It flips between games to where scoring is imminent, and it shows all the scores (with a short delay, if it's unexpected like a defensive touchdown or a kickoff return). It is fantastic. Comcast took it to HD halfway through the season and it got even better. It's definite 2009 Top Eight material.
2. Employment is Good
I had a job to open 2008, but about three-quarters of the way through I left. I had been there six years and there were great people, but I needed a change. I goofed around for several months and then started looking for work.
And kept looking. And looking.
As things tend to do, all my looking resulted in a couple of job offers at once, and I took the one that I thought would be most challenging and fulfilling.
Of course, I started working about four months later than I'd planned/intended, and I had got to the point where I was considering doomsday options of moving under a bridge and/or in with my parents. It was stressful, but it makes the job I have now all the sweeter.
Employment is good.
3. Exercise
Between 1992 and 2007, I rarely ate lunch and I almost never ate breakfast. I was on a "one meal a day" plan that allowed me to not become obese while almost never exercising.
In 2008 I made the mistake of signing up for a gym membership, and the membership included some personal training time. I met with the trainer and she encouraged me to eat lunch and balance it out with exercise.
Foolishly, I followed her advice. Well, foolish insofar as I followed half of her advice.
The half I followed was not the kind where one gets nosebleeds and looks weird because they are so thin and muscular. The half I followed led to me standing on a scale in ...'s bathroom, marveling at how much I weighed.
Logically, if one starts eating more without doing more to burn those calories, one is going to gain weight. But it still shocked me.
So fast forward to now. I had extra time on my hands (see "Employment is Good" elsewhere on this list) and I decided to go to the gym. I didn't hit it terrifically hard, but I did it enough to start feeling better about how I look.
I also manage to feel sore a remarkable high percentage of the time and, due to emotional equilibrium, have reestablished my expectations for how I should look, so I'm not entirely happy. But exercise was good to and for me in 2009, so it makes the list.
4. Las Vegas
2008 saw me take a lot of trips. TM2000, Flowers and I went to Vancouver, BC, in January and I went up a couple of other times later in the year. Two of the trips were particularly good. I also went to Mexico in April and Hawaii in the summer.
Lots of traveling with mixed results (Mexico was sort of a bust, Hawaii was great, etc.)
In 2009 I did less traveling (see "Employment is Good" elsewhere on this list) but I did manage, thanks to the support of TM2000 and others, to go to Vegas in April. We went as a large group to see the Killers and you can read my blog accounts of (most of) the highlights here and here and here.
5. Nephews
I'm older than my two siblings and, for a while, it appeared I was well ahead of them in the quest to give our parents grandchildren. It didn't work out that way (see "Being Single" elsewhere on this list) and that's just fine.
I have a nephew who is about 15 months old and another one that is about a month. I met them for the first time in 2009 and I already am amazed at how quickly they change and learn and grow. They are little man-made (and woman-made, I suppose) miracles who are very lucky to have the family that they do (and the middle name that they share).
6. Being Single
I was single in 2008. And 2007. And for the majority of 2006. 2008, though, started out rough on the dating front and was odd. "Odd" is normally good, but it had more angst and difficulties than 2007 did, and while it certainly had its high points, it was not easy.
No offense to everyone/anyone I spent time with in 2008, but 2009 was better: smoother and more varied.
I think I'm gonna move onto the next one before I dig myself a hole here...
7. New Funny Stuff
New in absolute terms? Hardly. New to me? Yes. And I am all that matters. It's my list. And my world... you just live here. Mainly my list, though.
Lonely Island: Cum in my Pants. I'm on a Boat. Hot Rod. I'd seen Lazy Sunday, but I hadn't experienced the joy of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Shaffer until 2009. Better late than never.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Yes, it's in season five right now. Yes, I probably watched some of it in 2008. But 2009 was when I fell in love.
8. Technology
Google Chrome is simple and fast and a huge upgrade in my browsing experience from IE and Firefox. I made the swap from MySpace to Facebook on a full-time basis. I bought a DSLR to play with.
2008 saw no shortage of new technologies that I appreciated, and 2010 promises to be even better (Lala.com, the Droid, etc.) but I liked what happened in 2009.
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So. There's the list. Hopefully 2010 builds on 2009's momentum... happy new year to everyone.
1 comment:
I'm expecting a best of the Oughts (or is it Aughts?) as your next blog. And you can't include anything you've ever blogged about previously! How's that for a constraint?
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