2008 - Year in Review

So here I am...it's 2:32 in the morning, only two hours into 2009 and I have some pretty wicked nasty sinus pain. I've been using a netti pot (a supposedly ancient technique for clearing out the sinuses) several times a day and it has done little to relieve the mounting pressure in my sinuses. Every time I use it, I can breathe for a few minutes. I've tried everything...even the ancient pagan ritual of beating my head into the floor. Right now I have a humidifier next to me blowing hot steam into my face. I read online that this would help. I still can't breathe through either nostril and my skull feels like it'll pop at any moment. So appreciate this blog because I am writing this in great pain.

2008 started much like this year. My family met Hannah for the first time as we partook in my families ancient ritual (it pre-dates the roman era) of eating out at a Chinese Restaurant on New Years Eve. After dinner, Hannah and I went home and watched Braveheart and Donnie Darko as we waited for the new year to approach. This was a new experience for me as this was the first year of my life that I was actually in a relationship over New Years. I'm realizing just how geeky that sounds. It was nice to actually kiss someone as that giant ball in Time Square fell to welcome the new year.

I decided to take 18 credits that Spring because well, lets face it...I've been going to school too too long now. I just wanted to get through with it. So I moved back home, quit my job, and focused on school. Even though Hannah and I had only been dating for a couple months at this point, I had a feeling that things would get serious...serious serious. So going to school full-time was an easy choice for me. Hannah deserves a guy with an education.

That spring consisted of going to school, doing homework, dating Hannah, and getting to know Cameron, Sterling, and Tavia. I didn't meet the kids until late January. I remember meeting the each one at a time because I wanted to make sure they all had 100% of my attention. I remember how exciting it was to meet these little monkeys. From the moment I met each one of them, I felt like I'd known them their entire lives. A skeptic might say its because Hannah talked about them a lot but I'm betting that wasn't the case. They each have such distinct personalities, even on those first days when all they knew of me was that I was Hannah's friend. Back then I shaved my head and I wore beanies a lot. Sterling commented on my appearance as we drove from the Training Table to Chuck E' Cheese. He said "You look like a robber guy, but you're nice." I'll never live that down as the kids love to remind me that I look like a robber guy.

In May, I turned 27 and I also took Hannah down to San Diego to show her where I grew up. I proposed to her at a small cove just north of Scripps Beach. I wrote a song, that I recorded and put on my Ipod. I then proceeded to lead Hannah to this cove. It was about a half mile/mile hike from La Jolla Beach where we spent the day. When we got to the cove, I took out my Ipod, which I had hidden in my pocket, and had Hannah put the ear buds in as we sat on the beach and watched the waves break on the rocks. She said yes, we cried, we took a billion pictures to capture the moment, and then we hiked back.

The summer was spent thinking about the wedding, going to school, and dreaming about Ireland. As my Christmas present from the previous Christmas, my Dad gave me frequent flier miles to go to Ireland. We went Ireland for a week. It was everything I hoped it would be. That trip did nothing to damper my ambition to pursue an Irish Studies Masters degree.

In August, Fall semester began and I started my job as a work-study student in the English Department at UVU. It's awesome. I basically get paid to do my homework. Despite the sweet job, the semester was stressful. Planning a wedding, taking 15 credits while your fiance is also going to school full-time is not something I'd recommend. However, the wedding was amazing. It was everything I hoped it would be. It had kilts, Irish music, Irish traditions, Irish step-dancing, family, friends, the best cake I've ever tasted, and my beautifully gorgeous wife.

Getting married and becoming a step-father are to the two greatest achievements that I could ever have hoped for. Before I met Hannah I had given up on getting married. I seriously didn't think I'd ever meet anyone awesome enough for me *pops collar and smirks* but I did. I never imagined that I'd be a step-father. I also never imagined just how awesome it would be. The most common response I'd get when I told people I was marrying a girl with three kids was something akin to telling someone I had just contracted a terminal disease. They'd get all wide-eyed and say something awkward like "Wow, how's that?" Really though, it's so amazing.

So that was my year...pretty much about as awesome as it could possibly get.

The humidifier is failing me...goodnight.