2009? Already?!?!

Yeah, it's one of THOSE posts.

You know, full of the usual "where does the time go?" and "here's the best/worst things that happened in '08" and "here's what I'm going to make happen in '09" and all that kind of crap.

When you blog, it's pretty much a requirement that you create a wrap-up post, so . . .here tiz.

In short: 2008 was a doozy. To keep it simple, I think I'm just going to list a few highlights. I'm too tired/uninterested to do much more, but I may elaborate more later.

National stuff:

Collapse of the US financial structure. Michael and I kept our jobs; many others didn't. We kept our home and cars. Again, others weren't so fortunate.

Presidential election: We were all relentlessly hammered with speeches, propaganda, surveys, debates, bigotry, doomsday soothsayers and SNL skits. Frankly, I was glad when it was all over, and by that time, I had very nearly lost interest in who won. Now that we are a month out, I have some flickers of optimism about what will come during this new president's first fledgling months in office.

Olympics: Uhh, I didn't watch it. My bad. I think Michael Phelps won the whole thing, according to the endorsement deals.

Gas crisis: That was a trip. Not that I leave the house all that much, but I was stranded here with NO GAS more than once. Hell, the whole city was. When you COULD find gas, you damn near couldn't afford it.


R.I.P:
George Carlin. I'll always remember the 7 words you can't say. Always.
Heath Ledger. Pointless death. I was surprised how angry I was.
Bernie Mac. Damn, that sucked.
Tim Russert. Huge surprise. He would have loved this election.
Isaac Hayes. Even though the whole Chef debacle was stupid, I still thought you were cool.
Paul Newman. One of the greats, and I'm glad he stayed out of the spotlight near the end.


Cool Stuff We Did This Year:

Disney: Man, I could talk all day about Disney. I generally do, but you know, just to myself.

Fall Ball: Once again, I enjoyed the heck out of Little League. Ian had the best coach yet - Coach Ron. Go Scrappers!

GVA: The Georgia Virtual Academy was one of the best things to happen. Miss Rachael and I started our first year of homeschool!

FaceBook: Addictive, but a conduit to deeper friendships with those that shared my past. It's been an amazing experience rediscovering all of the people there.

Concerts: TOOL, Van Halen reunion tour, Plant Krauss. All three worth every penny.


Stuff We Survived:

Hospitals: Between us, there were 3 hospital stays and 2 surgeries. 2008 was the Year of the Doctor Visit. I'm extremely hopeful that 09 will be a healthier one.

The Big Cut: My gastric bypass surgery has changed me, and in turn, the dynamic of our entire family. Hands down, the best decision of the year.