Missing Link

As 2010 fast approaches I’ve been looking back upon 2009 and all that has happened.  While doing that, I realized that 2009 has been – by far – the best year I’ve had in a long time – probably even this entire decade.

This year has seen the following events in my life (in no particular order):  I got married, I changed jobs to my current job (which I love), spent a week in las vegas,  drove a tow truck for the first time, spent a week in florida,  got an xbox 360, and bought a new car.

Now – that’s just the things I can think of off the top of my head.   I’m sure there are other things that have happened (such as me catching perhaps the best shot of my photographic career),  and plenty of other things that have made this a great year.

By far the biggest and best thing (as mentioned above) is that I got married and now get to spend my life with my best friend  - it doesn’t get more awesome than that.    A close second was snagging a new job at one of the best email and 1:1 marketing companies in the world.   I was able to move out of a position that was in a toxic environment for a variety of reasons,(which I won’t post here), and into a position in an environment that allows me to thrive.

I was able to spend two weeks in places I love – Florida and Las Vegas.    Florida was for my honeymoon, and was everything I hoped it would be (which had a lot to do with the person I was with).    Las Vegas was a work trip to install firewalls in a data center.   As you can imagine, experiencing Vegas through a cold noisy data center isn’t exactly the best experience.  We did manage to have some fun while out there, though, and I love that part of the country.

I also was finally able to ditch the 13 year old honda civic that I’ve had for years.   My upgrade?   I went the sensible route and got a Toyota Camry (2010 model) – and I love it.

Thanks to my brother-in-law Steve, I got to drive a flat-bed tow truck while up visiting Ann’s family this summer.  I only stalled it twice (once while IN traffic) – which is better than I expected.

And – as you hopefully read on my previous post – I finally broke down and got an Xbox 360.   While I do enjoy it,  I’m honestly not sure we really have time for it.   Ann does now because she’s on break from school,  but I generally don’t have too much time to spend playing games (which is why my World of Warcraft characters are languishing).   I’ll see how it shakes out, but I’m not sure I’ll get as much use out of it as I should.

While 2009 was a good year in many ways – it wasn’t without it’s downside.    The biggest downside was the passing of my Uncle, Marty Whelan, who was a very big part of our family.  Marty will be missed – but never forgotten.