2008: What A Year

There is an old Chinese blessing (same say it is a curse) that says "May you live in interesting times." That sure held up for 2008 and I bet it continues for 2009. With a historic Presidential election and an unprecedented global economic crisis, times have been interesting to say the least. 2008 was a fantastic year for me - I had experiences I wouldn't dare dream of as the year began.
There were plenty of traditional highlights. Great, fun movies (Iron Man, Dark Knight, Cloverfield, Tropic Thunder) , concerts (Bruce Springsteen, Crue Fest, AC/DC), television (LOST, 30 Rock, The Office) and sports (Patriots came sooo close to NFL perfection at the beginning of the year then had a thrilling Tom Brady-less season, plus the Celtics reclaimed their championship glory). Fantastic new music by some of my all-time favorite bands came out this year; including my choice for Album of the Year - Metallica's Death Magnetic. There were also great new releases from Motley Crue, AC/DC, Tesla... the world also finally got to hear Guns n Roses' Chinese Democracy. I haven't played that since the week it came out so I guess that is my best review of it.
This was also the year I got hooked on Funny or Die (especially Jon Lajoie) and hopped on the Wii bandwagon, becoming a Guitar Hero addict in the process. What still blows me away is that I went from a beginning acting class to SAG member in a matter of months! I was part of three feature films this past summer and expect that number to rise for 2009. I took more screenwriting classes, had some very promising calls with producers and know good things are coming regarding that career.
Lori and I visited Six Flags New Jersey and New England, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and London - twice!
Then there were the many things I tried having no idea what to expect - travelling to Seattle for a Big Mind weekend in May with Zen Master, Genpo Roshi and to Missouri for the Centerpointe Retreat in October. Truly life changing events.
Wow, this was a really a phenomenal year

2009 already has some killer plans, starting with METALLICA on January 18th in Boston and 31st in Newark NJ. I've got one script to polish and sell, two new ideas to work on plus a book I've started. In March, Lori and I will be attending James Ray's Harmonic Wealth Weekend in NYC. Looks like two international trips are on the horizon for '09, plus more acting, writing, learning.... It's all good.