Another year well spent

There are noticably fewer entries in the journal this year. I guess that's good - less to worry about. I think I've lived up to my resolution pretty well.

I've been 7 new states - Kansas, Washington, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut - bringing the total up to 45! Only Alaska, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Oregon remain. I also added a new Canadian province, British Columbia. This was also the year that I first visited Vegas.

I visited 5 new countries this year: Denmark, China, Korea, Aruba, and Bonaire. I also saw some new parts of France [Alsace], Germany [former East Germany], and Switzerland [Zurich]

I believe this was the year I really began to appreciate cabernet sauvignon, and my relationship with my favoriate wine-drinking partner [Yenie] continues.

I got a new job, which always keeps me stimluated. This has been an interesting one so far.

I bought a house, which was a steep learning curve. I continue to be perplexed by taxes, legal intricacies, and maintenance issues. I think that also opened the door to another part of the city that I'd largely neglected - center city and Italian market, which I continue to enjoy exploring.

I made the best of Philly by going to live 8, learning about Salvador Dali at the art museum, seeing 3 films at the Philly film festival, and seeing The Body Worlds at the Franklin Institute, and enjoying countless restaurants. I explored lots of local music and made some new friends in the process.

Cyndi and company are probably the most notable new friends from this year. Anne Marie moved to Greenville and got married, so I need to continue backfilling local friends...

I also visited NYC a few times for things like ice skating in central park, seeing a play [Glengarry Glen Ross], eating at a great little cuban place, etc.

I saw Jimmy Buffet for the 10th time, this time for free thanks to Dow's free tickets - it was the first concert ever at Citizens Bank Park!

So I think once again I've done a good job. I also rememered my mini-resolution not to try to make new years a big deal. This year I plan on spending it with friends, having dinner, drinking some wine, and having a good time.

Next year:
-Learn as much in 2006 as in 2005
-Experience as much in 2006 as possible...it could be the last year I live in Philly