Happy New Year and some thoughts on 2009

Happy New Year to my two readers. You guys (you know who you are) are the best. Thanks for being there.

A quick look back on 2009 from my point of view.

Most memorable moment--waking up at Mike and Carol's house the night before we were supposed to drive to Key West and finding an ambulance with lights flashing outside, getting dressed and finding that it was Judy they were taking to the hospital and following that ambulance with two of our best friends in it, another of our best friends behind us and the last of the six of us holding down the fort at the house. A truly scary moment but I am sure much scarier for Bob and Judy. That was one of those moments you don't forget.

Of course there have been many other (almost) unforgettable moments this year but right now, I can remember any of them. Actually I can. That trip to Florida was super! Playing speed scrabble with Mike, Carol, Kathleen, Bonnie and Ray. It was beyond fun. Really stuck with me.

And lunch at Skippers on the way down to Key West. Finally felt like Florida. And just 15 short hours after taking Judy to the hospital. Holy God that was amazing. And lunch was pretty good too.

And meeting Bob and Judy in Acme, WA for lunch in one of the swankiest places we have ever been to after searching for (and finding just one) eagles in Concrete. Not to mention the bike races in Ladner in what I hope will become an annual tradition if they will have us. And (okay, last B & J mention I think) seeing Stewart McLean in Vancouver (another thing I wouldn't mind making an annual Christmas tradition).

Seeing Craig Ferguson live in Hollywood ranks right up there. And our Mercury cruise in October (four days of sunshine and 60 degree weather in the NW, it October--who would have thunk it?)

The worst? That's easy. The hellacious heat in July that brought more than 30 years of me running summer workshops to an end. Those three days of teaching computer classes in 100+ heat (inside the room I was teaching in), no voice, sweating like a pig, no sleep. Maybe the worst three days of my life. Only good part was Jenna and Joel being there to save me. Of all the things I will miss about the summer workshop, the biggest will being able to spend three days straight with my daughter and her great husband.

Even worse than that was losing my Uncle Jack in October. I miss him a bunch. But thankfully everyone else in the family is doing well. Even got my brother John to visit for my birthday.

Some favorites for this year:

Movies: We see a lot of movies. My faves for this year were Hurt Locker (hardest movie to watch with the best message), Up (has there ever been a bad Pixar film?), Invictus (Morgan Freeman portraying Nelson Mandella makes me proud to be human), The Blind Side (okay, I admit it, I am a sucker for sports films with happy endings), 500 Days of Summer (a joy, but I would have preferred a happier ending--or maybe there was one) and Star Trek (JJ Abrams is the god of entertainment.)

Returning to post after the movie I want to add this: And I am going to put Avatar in the 2010 movies for us because people, it was amazing. Wait, that word doesn't even begin to describe it. You (and you, one of my readers who lives in the land to the north) must go see this film in a theater. It is a must. It will not be anything close to what it is today when it comes out on DVD. It is truly a game-changer for movies and TV. It is astounding, stupendous and I can't think of any superlative that would do it justice. And I am so glad we saw it on an iMax screen. The 3D was off the charts. The movie is the most immersive thing I have seen since the first Matrix. When it's over almost three hours later (with previews) I went, "What? It just started! It can't be over."

TV: Nothing like Fringe. Hands down! It rocks. But the best new series has to be White Collar (or was it Royal Pains)? And Castle, and of course Burn Notice. I enjoyed them all so much! We watch way too much TV because I have even more that I love, like The Closer, True Blood, Dexter (okay, I am disturbed), Rescue Me, Lost, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Psych, Lie to Me, Saving Grace and a bunch more I can't think of right now because I have to go get ready to go see Avatar. More later.

Let me just say this about this. Blogger (and Google who owns it) SUCK! It just locked me out when I tried to post this and when it finally let me back in about half of it was gone. UP YOURS BLOGGER!