Year in Review

Well, the good thing about the blog being dormant in most of 2009 was that I didn't feel compelled to compile a "Best _________ of 2009/ Best __________ of the Decade" like everyone else seemed to do. Not that there's anything wrong with that, those of you who pumped out lists with grace and ease, but I have trouble remembering what I did last week (I was in Kansas), let alone last year. Inevitably I would leave some things off and go back later to find the list not really representative of what I thought/saw/felt/believed. It's things like this that allow me to understand my mission companion who would white out and re-edit his journal. Sometimes things are easier (if more fictitious) to capture in looking back on them than in the actual moment.

That said, I think 2009 will be the year that I finally embraced my inner nerd. I don't know if it was something about turning 30 (despite the fact that I've looked like a 40 year old for the better part of the last six years), but I think this was the year I stopped really caring too much what other people think.

Not you. I care about what you think. Don't worry.

But other people. So what if I like playing video games and reading comic books? Maybe it's the sign of a stunted inner child, but maybe it's just an enjoyable way to spend some time. Either way, if it makes someone think less of me, that's really their deal. I remain awesome, even if I can argue which comic book contains Brian Michael Bendis's best work (answer: Powers) or who all the contenders for the throne are in the Song of Ice and Fire series (answer: Joffrey, Robb, Balon, Stannis, Renly . . . and Daenerys across the ocean). I wish, like maybe most adults do, that I had been this comfortable in my skin when I was a teenager, or even in college. How much time did I waste trying to seem cooler than I actually am? Now I know how cool I am (answer: the exact right amount) and I'm ok if you know it too.

As for predictions for 2010? I could rattle off a list of goals (I have plenty of them) or hopes (here's to new opportunities), but mostly I just expect another year of enjoying my life, my wife, my job, and my home. That's a pretty good package, if you ask me.

Oh, and to finally write that book.

Or win the lottery.

Whichever comes first.