2009 In Review
Dec. 31st, 2009 08:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hkellickIt's been quite a year, both personally and across the world.
I've been doing these "Year in Review" posts for years. And this year is no different. So.. for mostly myself (and anyone else who cares)
January
- The Year starts out bad as I end up going to the emergency room in excruciating pain and having my Gall Bladder taken out.
- A flight out of LaGuardia, U.S. Airways 1549, hits a large flock of birds soon after takeoff. However, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger manages to safely land the plane in the Hudson, saving all.
- The month ended on a higher note, though. We ended watching the Inauguration at Amy's house (first time there, but hardly the last) and spent the rest of the evening playing video games
- K and I also start learning Tango, which may be one of my all time favorite dances
- In world news, the pope lifted the excommunication of a holocaust-denying bishop, angering the Jewish community greatly
- President Obama pushes through the confirmation of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secreary, despite the fact that Mr. Geithner owes federal taxes, a mistake he said was due to his use of TurboTax.
- Rod Blagojevich is unanimous impeached after a long and lengthy Senate hearing regarding his abuses of power
February
- I quit Calorie Count. I was burned out as a moderator and angry at the system and leaving seemed the only thing to do.
- Congress passes the stimulus bill hoping that it will stimulate the economy.
- One by one, the american motor companies teeter towards bankruptcy, as much due to the economy as due to their bad image for poor quality. The government ends up bailing out GM and, in the process, owning the majority of the company.
- Continental Flight 3407 crashes outside of Clarence (suburb of Buffalo.) My brother loses his semi-kinda-girlfriend.
- K and I sign up for a CSA
March
- K and I see Fleetwood Mac live. It wasn't a bad show and I enjoyed it.. but I enjoyed BnL live SO much more.
- American turns against Obama when it turns out that Obama and his adminstration wee aware that AIG was giving bonuses to themselves. Obama sorta kinda yells at Wall Street in return and threatens to tax them but not much happens.
- The head of GM is pressured to resign due to pressure from the Obama White House.
- Also in the news, Obama reaches out to the Muslim world to try to make inroads to peace, a move which most likely won him the Nobel Peace Prize
- Bernie Madoff is convicted of stealing money from millions with his Ponzi scheme.
- I decide to start Beta Testing Dreamwidth. A move spurned on by all sorts of LJ drama and garbage including a friend of mine being fired out of nowhere.
April
- K and I do freestyles (and do pretty well at it, if I may!) Both of our parents come down to watch. Good weekend as a whole!
- We head in to Buffalo for Easter and Passover. Have an OK time getting along with K's family. My family.. not so much...
- Arlen Specter switches parties, from Republican to Democrat.
- K and I check out of Bronze I
- K and my brother get into a big fight on facebook. Brother says some extremely nasty things. In response, I stop talking to him.
- An American Ship Captain is dramatically rescued from Somali pirates, suddenly making the Somali pirates seem to be an actual threat instead of a nuisance.
May
- K and I can haz seed accounts!
- K and I also meetzorkian and janinedog (and letter ![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png)
denise) during open beta weekend!
- The RNC in their infinite cache of craziness take a vote to decide whether or not to rename the Democratic National Party the Democratic Socialist Party. The vote fails.
- K and I visit Las Vegas forzorkian's and janinedog's wedding. We see Hoover dam with kareila and alierak and go see "Love" together. Oh, and we hit the strip and I go to my very first Hard Rock Cafe. Good times!
- President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Supreme Court Justice.
- On May 31, Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion wacko who believes that murdering abortion doctors is OK, murders George Tiller in the middle of services.
June
- We find out that K is pregnant. Conception happened somewhere around our wedding anniversary (Some present!)
- June 10, no more than 2 weeks after Scott Roder, James W. Von Brunn busts in the Holocaust Museum in DC and starts shooting, killing a guard.
- In Iran, protests begin over what appears to have been a rigged election. Despite violence from the government and the death of many (including the much-televised death of "Neda"), the protests continued. Continue still. This story is not over.
- I get sent up to Philadelphia for Project Management Training. Interesting, if not yet useful...
- Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina, goes missing. No one knows where he is, but his staff think he's hiking the Appalachian Trail. Turns out he's in Argentina with a mistress. About a week earlier, John Ensign also admits he had a scandal but not much is said about that.
- The Minnesota State Supreme Court finally ends all the shenanigans with the Coleman/Franken election from last year and declares Franken the new Congressman from Minnesota. Across the webaverse, liberals cheer thinking they have the magic 60 votes to finally have their way. Ha!
- K gives her father a father's day card that says "Happy Father's Day, Grandpa." He blinks back tears. Meanwhile, upon calling my own dad and giving the same line he doesn't get it at first (thinks I'm just commenting on his age!)
- In DC, a red line line train smashes into another train in front of it. The resulting investigation shows that it's due to faulty sensors on the track. Finger pointing and bitching about lack of funding ensues.
- Michael Jackson passes and the world goes into a frenzy something like the frenzy after Princess Di's death.
- The Supreme Court rules that the firefighers of New Haven were reverse discriminated against when none of them got a promotion because not enough of those who passed the promotion exam were minorities. I think the fallout from this ruling will be clearer in the future.
July
- Spent July 4th at Amy's with what I've come to think of as Amy's Crew ;) (Roberta, Nick. Kevin, myself, Lynne, Adam, etc.) and had a great time!
- Bailin' Palin: Sarah Palin quits as governor of Alaska citing how hard it is to govern as a lame duck governor who's constantly under attack by the liberal media she has no problem using to get her message across
- K's family offers some financial assistance so we can buy our own place. Unfortunately, as we go through the process, we hit a snag, an old financial debt that SHOULD have been taken off my credit report and wasn't.
- I end up coming back to CC, trying to remind myself that I was welcome there. I didn't stay long, though... cause there was a reason I left.
- The year of moves commences. First office move. They're redoing the fifth floor so we're all put down on the fourth floor. I share an office with the other team lead.
- Sgt. James Crowley arrests Harvard scholar Louis Gates for disorderly conduct. A debate starts on racial profiling which gets derailed the moment the president stupidly opens his mouth and states the police department acted stupidly.. before getting all the facts. Once Obama opens his mouth, the rest of the story comes out that it wasn't as clear as all that. Obama decided to try to end the controversy by having Crowley and Gates over to the White House for a beer and a conversation.
- K and I head to Chautauqua, NY for a week for a family vacation with her family. We swim, we read, we play ping pong and lawn golf (one of my new favorite games. And now I have a lawn golf set so I can play it at home!). it was relaxing and good... except for...
- On vacation, K lets out a huge blood clot. We all freak out and end up at the Jamestown ER trying to find out what's going on. No answers yet, but the baby's OK...
August
- K's issues continue on. After another scare at home, K is put on pelvic rest for a few weeks and told she can do limited activity. She can walk, but she can't dance or exercise.
- Bill Clinton goes to North Korea and procures the safe release of two female journalists.
- I start playing Guild Wars with friends from CC, two of whom I've been playing semi-regularly with since!
- At work, I get word about the new contract and how it will work and my place in it. I will continue to do the same work but under a new supervisor.
- I try a couple of dance lessons alone, but that gets awkward later. Especially once we get the news that our instructor Michael and his wife Grace were leaving Arthur Murray.
- In Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai (taking lessons from the recent Iran election, no doubt) "wins" the presidential election. Across the world, it is felt that the election was also rigged.
- I get a call from my family that.. middle brother has been drinking heavily and has become a danger to himself and those around him...
September
- We get the bad news that my financial records are showing a defaulted loan. A bajillion calls later and it's HOPEFULLY fixed since the error was never mine. This kills our attempts to buy a house.
- Instead, we start looking to rent a townhouse. And we start packing. I hate packing.
- K and I head in to Buffalo for Labor Day. While there, my brothers and I have a long and much needed conversation about the past that doesn't fix everything but maybe at least helps some.
- Obama gives a speech to congress regarding the health care reform after months of brutal town meetings and misinformation from the critics (Death Panels? Really?). In the middle of the speech, Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina yells out "YOU LIE!!".
- Jimmy Carter gets on national TV and publicly states that he believes quite a bit of the nonsense from the republican party (birthers, deathers, "YOU LIE!") is nothing but racism. A huge storm ensues. Interestingly, this is the beginning of the end for my time on CC too.
- K and I go see "Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular" which made my inner five year old REALLY happy, even if it was a little hokey at times.
October
- After some drama which was partially my fault and a huge argument with a moderator which was then backed up by all the other moderators, I'm reminded of all the problems with CC and the way it's run and I once again leave, this time making sure my character is deleted, lest I ever get the idea I belong there again. I don't.
- Barack Obama heads off to Copenhagen to try to convince the Olympics committee to host the 2016 summer games in Chicago. The Olympic Committee decide otherwise, deciding on Rio De Janiero. Across the blogaverse, conservatives yammer happily because President Obama lost.
- Barack Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- We finally close on the current place. Good: it's gorgeous and we love it. Bad: we have to move again in a year!
- Since Brian is still here and since they're looking to move Lei out of doing LOMRs, I'm asked to step down as a team lead. It wasn't a good experience, but I'd try again.. with a different team.
- We move to Reston
November
- McDonnell becomes governor of Virginia. This is basically Deeds' fault as he ran such a lousy campaign. Politicians need to remember that no one likes negative political campaigns.
- I start suffering from Migraines. Why they've started now is beyond me, but they suck.
- I actually FINISH a game! I finish Guild Wars: Nightfall and begin immediately working on finishing other campaigns!
- The Health Care Bill, one of the things Barack Obama wanted to get done in his first year, passes the House (with a rider stating that no federal funding can go to fund abortions.) On to the Senate it goes.
- K and I spend Thanksgiving making a quiet meal at home (turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and fresh rolls)
December
- We get the word that we're moving to a new office in DC in early January
- DC gets hit with a huge winter storm, over a foot and a half of snow in our yard
- My friend Kim who had been diagnosed with cancer maybe a year ago passes on.
- On Christmas Even, the Senate votes and accepts the Health Bill. With no public option and no extended Medicaire. The actual bill should be on the president's desk by early January.
- We spend Christmas in Buffalo with K's family. Generally good time, less some drama.
Video Games of 2009
- Guild Wars (OK, so I got it in 2008, but it got so much more play in 2009)
- Beatles: Rock Band (wish I owned this!)
- The Sims 3
Music of 2009
Self - Ana Ng
LeeDM1010 - Jerk Me Around (The Caesars vs. Ben E. King vs. Loletta Holloway)
Wayne Brady - Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
MIT Logarhythms - Part-Time Lover
Bloodhound Gang - Screwing You On the Beach at Night
Sims 3 - Trhe Sims 3 Theme
Disturbed - Land of Confusion
moosebutter - Star Wars
Flo Rida - Right Round (don't typically listen to rap, but I like this song. heard it at dance practice.)
The Beatles - Lady Madonna ("Love" Mix)
Lily Allen - Not Fair
Weird Al Yankovic - Skipper Dan
Owl City - Fireflies
Meese - Next In Line
Mighty Mike - Human in St. Petersburgh (The Killers vs. ?)
The Beatles - Fixing a Hole (Never heard this. Got it when I got Sgt. Pepper.)
Beatallica - Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
The Guild - (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar
West Side Story - Gee, Officer Krupke (I may have heard this a looong time ago, but it was so long ago I didn't recognize it. Now I do.)
I've been doing these "Year in Review" posts for years. And this year is no different. So.. for mostly myself (and anyone else who cares)
January
- The Year starts out bad as I end up going to the emergency room in excruciating pain and having my Gall Bladder taken out.
- A flight out of LaGuardia, U.S. Airways 1549, hits a large flock of birds soon after takeoff. However, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger manages to safely land the plane in the Hudson, saving all.
- The month ended on a higher note, though. We ended watching the Inauguration at Amy's house (first time there, but hardly the last) and spent the rest of the evening playing video games
- K and I also start learning Tango, which may be one of my all time favorite dances
- In world news, the pope lifted the excommunication of a holocaust-denying bishop, angering the Jewish community greatly
- President Obama pushes through the confirmation of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secreary, despite the fact that Mr. Geithner owes federal taxes, a mistake he said was due to his use of TurboTax.
- Rod Blagojevich is unanimous impeached after a long and lengthy Senate hearing regarding his abuses of power
February
- I quit Calorie Count. I was burned out as a moderator and angry at the system and leaving seemed the only thing to do.
- Congress passes the stimulus bill hoping that it will stimulate the economy.
- One by one, the american motor companies teeter towards bankruptcy, as much due to the economy as due to their bad image for poor quality. The government ends up bailing out GM and, in the process, owning the majority of the company.
- Continental Flight 3407 crashes outside of Clarence (suburb of Buffalo.) My brother loses his semi-kinda-girlfriend.
- K and I sign up for a CSA
March
- K and I see Fleetwood Mac live. It wasn't a bad show and I enjoyed it.. but I enjoyed BnL live SO much more.
- American turns against Obama when it turns out that Obama and his adminstration wee aware that AIG was giving bonuses to themselves. Obama sorta kinda yells at Wall Street in return and threatens to tax them but not much happens.
- The head of GM is pressured to resign due to pressure from the Obama White House.
- Also in the news, Obama reaches out to the Muslim world to try to make inroads to peace, a move which most likely won him the Nobel Peace Prize
- Bernie Madoff is convicted of stealing money from millions with his Ponzi scheme.
- I decide to start Beta Testing Dreamwidth. A move spurned on by all sorts of LJ drama and garbage including a friend of mine being fired out of nowhere.
April
- K and I do freestyles (and do pretty well at it, if I may!) Both of our parents come down to watch. Good weekend as a whole!
- We head in to Buffalo for Easter and Passover. Have an OK time getting along with K's family. My family.. not so much...
- Arlen Specter switches parties, from Republican to Democrat.
- K and I check out of Bronze I
- K and my brother get into a big fight on facebook. Brother says some extremely nasty things. In response, I stop talking to him.
- An American Ship Captain is dramatically rescued from Somali pirates, suddenly making the Somali pirates seem to be an actual threat instead of a nuisance.
May
- K and I can haz seed accounts!
- K and I also meet
zorkian and janinedog (and letter denise) during open beta weekend!- The RNC in their infinite cache of craziness take a vote to decide whether or not to rename the Democratic National Party the Democratic Socialist Party. The vote fails.
- K and I visit Las Vegas for
zorkian's and janinedog's wedding. We see Hoover dam with kareila and alierak and go see "Love" together. Oh, and we hit the strip and I go to my very first Hard Rock Cafe. Good times!- President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Supreme Court Justice.
- On May 31, Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion wacko who believes that murdering abortion doctors is OK, murders George Tiller in the middle of services.
June
- We find out that K is pregnant. Conception happened somewhere around our wedding anniversary (Some present!)
- June 10, no more than 2 weeks after Scott Roder, James W. Von Brunn busts in the Holocaust Museum in DC and starts shooting, killing a guard.
- In Iran, protests begin over what appears to have been a rigged election. Despite violence from the government and the death of many (including the much-televised death of "Neda"), the protests continued. Continue still. This story is not over.
- I get sent up to Philadelphia for Project Management Training. Interesting, if not yet useful...
- Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina, goes missing. No one knows where he is, but his staff think he's hiking the Appalachian Trail. Turns out he's in Argentina with a mistress. About a week earlier, John Ensign also admits he had a scandal but not much is said about that.
- The Minnesota State Supreme Court finally ends all the shenanigans with the Coleman/Franken election from last year and declares Franken the new Congressman from Minnesota. Across the webaverse, liberals cheer thinking they have the magic 60 votes to finally have their way. Ha!
- K gives her father a father's day card that says "Happy Father's Day, Grandpa." He blinks back tears. Meanwhile, upon calling my own dad and giving the same line he doesn't get it at first (thinks I'm just commenting on his age!)
- In DC, a red line line train smashes into another train in front of it. The resulting investigation shows that it's due to faulty sensors on the track. Finger pointing and bitching about lack of funding ensues.
- Michael Jackson passes and the world goes into a frenzy something like the frenzy after Princess Di's death.
- The Supreme Court rules that the firefighers of New Haven were reverse discriminated against when none of them got a promotion because not enough of those who passed the promotion exam were minorities. I think the fallout from this ruling will be clearer in the future.
July
- Spent July 4th at Amy's with what I've come to think of as Amy's Crew ;) (Roberta, Nick. Kevin, myself, Lynne, Adam, etc.) and had a great time!
- Bailin' Palin: Sarah Palin quits as governor of Alaska citing how hard it is to govern as a lame duck governor who's constantly under attack by the liberal media she has no problem using to get her message across
- K's family offers some financial assistance so we can buy our own place. Unfortunately, as we go through the process, we hit a snag, an old financial debt that SHOULD have been taken off my credit report and wasn't.
- I end up coming back to CC, trying to remind myself that I was welcome there. I didn't stay long, though... cause there was a reason I left.
- The year of moves commences. First office move. They're redoing the fifth floor so we're all put down on the fourth floor. I share an office with the other team lead.
- Sgt. James Crowley arrests Harvard scholar Louis Gates for disorderly conduct. A debate starts on racial profiling which gets derailed the moment the president stupidly opens his mouth and states the police department acted stupidly.. before getting all the facts. Once Obama opens his mouth, the rest of the story comes out that it wasn't as clear as all that. Obama decided to try to end the controversy by having Crowley and Gates over to the White House for a beer and a conversation.
- K and I head to Chautauqua, NY for a week for a family vacation with her family. We swim, we read, we play ping pong and lawn golf (one of my new favorite games. And now I have a lawn golf set so I can play it at home!). it was relaxing and good... except for...
- On vacation, K lets out a huge blood clot. We all freak out and end up at the Jamestown ER trying to find out what's going on. No answers yet, but the baby's OK...
August
- K's issues continue on. After another scare at home, K is put on pelvic rest for a few weeks and told she can do limited activity. She can walk, but she can't dance or exercise.
- Bill Clinton goes to North Korea and procures the safe release of two female journalists.
- I start playing Guild Wars with friends from CC, two of whom I've been playing semi-regularly with since!
- At work, I get word about the new contract and how it will work and my place in it. I will continue to do the same work but under a new supervisor.
- I try a couple of dance lessons alone, but that gets awkward later. Especially once we get the news that our instructor Michael and his wife Grace were leaving Arthur Murray.
- In Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai (taking lessons from the recent Iran election, no doubt) "wins" the presidential election. Across the world, it is felt that the election was also rigged.
- I get a call from my family that.. middle brother has been drinking heavily and has become a danger to himself and those around him...
September
- We get the bad news that my financial records are showing a defaulted loan. A bajillion calls later and it's HOPEFULLY fixed since the error was never mine. This kills our attempts to buy a house.
- Instead, we start looking to rent a townhouse. And we start packing. I hate packing.
- K and I head in to Buffalo for Labor Day. While there, my brothers and I have a long and much needed conversation about the past that doesn't fix everything but maybe at least helps some.
- Obama gives a speech to congress regarding the health care reform after months of brutal town meetings and misinformation from the critics (Death Panels? Really?). In the middle of the speech, Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina yells out "YOU LIE!!".
- Jimmy Carter gets on national TV and publicly states that he believes quite a bit of the nonsense from the republican party (birthers, deathers, "YOU LIE!") is nothing but racism. A huge storm ensues. Interestingly, this is the beginning of the end for my time on CC too.
- K and I go see "Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular" which made my inner five year old REALLY happy, even if it was a little hokey at times.
October
- After some drama which was partially my fault and a huge argument with a moderator which was then backed up by all the other moderators, I'm reminded of all the problems with CC and the way it's run and I once again leave, this time making sure my character is deleted, lest I ever get the idea I belong there again. I don't.
- Barack Obama heads off to Copenhagen to try to convince the Olympics committee to host the 2016 summer games in Chicago. The Olympic Committee decide otherwise, deciding on Rio De Janiero. Across the blogaverse, conservatives yammer happily because President Obama lost.
- Barack Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- We finally close on the current place. Good: it's gorgeous and we love it. Bad: we have to move again in a year!
- Since Brian is still here and since they're looking to move Lei out of doing LOMRs, I'm asked to step down as a team lead. It wasn't a good experience, but I'd try again.. with a different team.
- We move to Reston
November
- McDonnell becomes governor of Virginia. This is basically Deeds' fault as he ran such a lousy campaign. Politicians need to remember that no one likes negative political campaigns.
- I start suffering from Migraines. Why they've started now is beyond me, but they suck.
- I actually FINISH a game! I finish Guild Wars: Nightfall and begin immediately working on finishing other campaigns!
- The Health Care Bill, one of the things Barack Obama wanted to get done in his first year, passes the House (with a rider stating that no federal funding can go to fund abortions.) On to the Senate it goes.
- K and I spend Thanksgiving making a quiet meal at home (turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and fresh rolls)
December
- We get the word that we're moving to a new office in DC in early January
- DC gets hit with a huge winter storm, over a foot and a half of snow in our yard
- My friend Kim who had been diagnosed with cancer maybe a year ago passes on.
- On Christmas Even, the Senate votes and accepts the Health Bill. With no public option and no extended Medicaire. The actual bill should be on the president's desk by early January.
- We spend Christmas in Buffalo with K's family. Generally good time, less some drama.
Video Games of 2009
- Guild Wars (OK, so I got it in 2008, but it got so much more play in 2009)
- Beatles: Rock Band (wish I owned this!)
- The Sims 3
Music of 2009
Self - Ana Ng
LeeDM1010 - Jerk Me Around (The Caesars vs. Ben E. King vs. Loletta Holloway)
Wayne Brady - Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
MIT Logarhythms - Part-Time Lover
Bloodhound Gang - Screwing You On the Beach at Night
Sims 3 - Trhe Sims 3 Theme
Disturbed - Land of Confusion
moosebutter - Star Wars
Flo Rida - Right Round (don't typically listen to rap, but I like this song. heard it at dance practice.)
The Beatles - Lady Madonna ("Love" Mix)
Lily Allen - Not Fair
Weird Al Yankovic - Skipper Dan
Owl City - Fireflies
Meese - Next In Line
Mighty Mike - Human in St. Petersburgh (The Killers vs. ?)
The Beatles - Fixing a Hole (Never heard this. Got it when I got Sgt. Pepper.)
Beatallica - Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
The Guild - (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar
West Side Story - Gee, Officer Krupke (I may have heard this a looong time ago, but it was so long ago I didn't recognize it. Now I do.)
