February 9, 2010- End of 2009

As promised, thoughts on the year that was...

I started 2009 fresh out of school and in search of a job. What I found instead was a sense of restlessness to see and to do something important. While I didn't get a full-time job, I took advantage of what I was doing to heighten my sense of adventure and maybe, just maybe, get to see a bit of the world. What transpired was the most interesting year of my life.

January- added a family member (Liam Patrick Doyle), watched President Obama get sworn in, went to first NBA game.
February- Visited Miami, first Heat game, first trip to an art museum, made first visit to west coast in LA and San Diego.
March- Marched in St. Patrick's Day parade in NYC, listened to 31 new albums.
April- First game at the new Yankee Stadium, visited Chicago, first game at Wrigley Field, first game at Fenway Park, visited Boston.
May- Visited Charlotte, NC, saw Charlie finish law school, saw Erik finish school at Dutchess.
June- Went to a horse track, saw the Daily Show live, kissed Cherry good-bye, toured New York Harbor, went to NY beer garden.
July- Watched fireworks over the Hudson, saw Coldplay in concert, saw Blink-182 and Weezer in concert, was Assistant Director of DAC.
August- Bought a new car, moved Erik into school, visited the Outerbanks, NC, visited CitiField.
September- Visited Colorado, saw Broncos game, saw Rockies game, saw Kings of Leon in concert, saw U2 in concert twice (and Muse), celebrated one year anniversary of trivia hosting, tried rocky mountain oysters, bombed my first job interview.
October- Got replacement job...in Chile, visited new continent, saw Harlem Globetrotters, swam in Pacific Ocean, tried Pisco.
November- Missed first Thanksgiving, introduced Chileans to NY.
December- Lost Uncle Tom, said good-bye to Chile, spent NYE in NYC.

It's a lot to take in and to absorb and consider, but my thoughts on all of this are as follows:

I took in a lot. I saw a lot more than I would have thought possible over the course of one year. At this point in my life, getting all of that in makes the experience of a lack of full-time employment well worthwhile. I loved almost everything about this year. It's driven me to make long-term goals. What people don't necessarily understand is that all of the above came relatively unexpectedly. Oh, I knew I'd go to Yankee Stadium. The rest of it? No idea. I had no idea what was in store for me, and if I hadn't had the predisposition to be open-minded about life in general, this would not have been possible. Thank goodness for open minds!

There's a lot to see out there, and this blog turned into just as much an opportunity to chronicle those things that I've seen/done as it was being true to the original plan of the blog itself. As you all know, I've been bit by the travel bug. However, the degree to which I got bit has only intensified over the course of the last year. I decided to say "fuck it" to a lot of restrictions, and take the steps to get out and experience as much as I can before I settle down and :gulp: get a job. What will come this year will be hopefully a lot of the same.

A goal I have for each month this year is to visit somewhere new each month. January, I went to Niagara Falls (and, by association, Canada). February, I've been to Northern Ireland already. As for giving something up, I think while I've been lax on that, it will pick back up, so that I can hopefully get back on track with documenting those struggles/opportunities. I learned a lot and have been very busy. There's more to come, I assure you, and I hope that you stick around for what's in store.

That's all for now. Talk to each other...