Goodbye 2004

Here we are.. another New Year's Eve. It doesn't feel like too long ago that I was reflecting on 2003. I have gotten to that point in my life where years are no longer a long, interminable series of seasons. In fact, they are now going by so quickly that they're running together. What happened this year?

We rang in the year with friends at our house and plentiful champagne. Neil learned how to do "the butt" that night under the expert tutelage of Topher and Chris. (O.K. that does seem like a long time ago.)

We visited Dustin in Chico and played lots of disc golf. We threw a party for my mom's 50th birthday. We adopted our dogs. Barbie got lost and found. Rachel and Brian got married. Jenn and Bill got married. Neil and I both turned 26. We went to Portland. Howard Dean screamed. I went to D.C. twice and Neil traveled to both political conventions. I won some awards at work. I got a laptop and an iPod. :) Dustin went to Italy. My family fell apart and began to be rebuilt.

I'm sure there's more...Janet Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction, the Red Sox won the World Series, people rioted at a Piston's and Pacer's game, Bush won the White House, Martha went to prison, Scott Peterson was convicted...More than 150,000 people died in the tsunamis.

Overall, I liked 2004. It was a year of great personal growth and some hardship, but -- as usual -- I am better for it.

In 2005, I hope to be stronger in all ways. I hope to be less prone to procrastination and less likely to give in to temptation.

Tonight we're headed out with Chris and Sarah for the 2nd annual Thai food dinner. Later, we're going to a wine bar with our new friends Brian and Kelly. And tomorrow, the slate will be blank again and the world will have another chance for a fresh start. I will definitely be taking advantage of that chance.

Happy 2005!