Reflection on 2008

Often life seems dull, slow moving and sad. Reflecting on an entire year and the experiences which occurred make it tough to feel that way. Here are the highlights.


January:

New Years Day and a few after in Portland with David, Hannah, and the Marrs family. I also met Rachel, Brad's wife as of this past Saturday, for the first time. The second straight New Years Day spent in Portland.

Displayed and act of courage with a woman in a public place.


February:

A night spent in Vail with a friend and a couple of strangers which led to 2 fantastic days on the mountain.

March:

Two nights in Keystone with DJ. Two great days on the mountain.

See Explosions in the Sky by myself at the Ogden in Denver. Beautifully moving experience.

April:

Opening day at Coors Field. The defending National League Champs embarked on a title defending year. They lost. Foreshadowing?

Ran my first 5k. The Alpine Autism Center Autism Awareness 5k to be exact. I won. I won a gift certificate to Marigold's for a pizza which expires next month. Anybody want to go?

Ran the Ft. Collins 10k with Matt and Emily. To my surprise, I finished 4th out of 450 people with a time of 36:57, pace of 5:57 minute miles. My love for running increases dramatically.

May:

Ran the Boulder Boulder 10k with Rachel. Had a blast. My time was a bit humbling. I was a bit arrogant after the ft collins race.

Saw Wilco at the Pikes Peak Center with my brothers, roommate, and some other friends. Fantastic show.

July:

Took my first paid vacation week ever. Went to Portland for 10 days to witness my close friends David and Hannah wed. It was a week for the ages.

Bought my first road bicycle. My first triathlon will happen this year.

August:

LOLLAPALOOZA! John and I spent 3 nights in Chicago seeing the likes of Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, Explosions in the Sky, Iron and Wine, Broken Social Scene, and many others. Fantastic Weekend.

Bit my lip and wrote and email that was a long time coming.

Played in an all star baseball game at Sky Sox Stadium (the Rockies' triple A ballclub) complete with my picture and stats on the jumbo screen. Threw a guy out at third from right field and hit one out. Too bad it was 20 feet foul. It would have been the only home run of the game and the first home run I ever hit.

September:

Bronco game with Nate, complete with tailgating.

Sigur Ros at Red Rocks, complete with tailgaiting. Not a performance as much as an experience. Thanks fellas.

October:

Fun wedding reception with my family. Thank you Bradley family.

Bitterly cold camping adventure with Andrew. Thanks Pal

November:

A great reunion, evening, and conversation with an important person.

Being a part of something special on the evening of November 4th.

Another successful Gravy Bowl football game Thanksgiving morning. The most competitive one to date. Wait 'til next year.

December:

The Budweiser company Christmas party. Thanks Karen.

A great first season ski trip with Matt and Emily.

Observing my beautiful family handling a crisis on Christmas day.

Mike's bachelor party and ill-advised ski trip. Oodles of fun.

The coldest Bronco home game in history with Joe and Jeff.

A beautiful bike ride through Garden of the Gods. My ass still hurts Jason.

The most beautiful, heart wrenching, life affirming, poetic night of my young life.

Ending the year once again in Portland.



I look forward to 2009 with a restless yet optimistic perspective.