Aught

At the risk of closing the barn door before the horses are back in, I am going to close off 2010. In many ways the year has been a wash and write-off. Things have been strange.

I started the year in the clutches of a wiry and lovely Asian girl named Swam somewhere in San Francisco. She resisted my urges and I was left looking for a cab to the afterparty. It was fun regardless.

Next was getting fired from my job and getting shut down by a girl I had been seeing. In the same day. Then paddling out and surfing some of the best waves of the winter. The same day.

I decided to go to business school and took the GMAT. I was sick for the week before the exam and studied in bed wrapped in blankets and sweatpants, high on Day Quil. I went to some job interviews and watched the Olympics for hours on end. My favorite athlete was the Canadian Curling Cougar.

Gi. Gi. Ty. Gooooo!

Baseball season began and I watched one game. School started in May and my class was really easy. I figured I would coast through b-school. I filed my first-ever small claims lawsuit.

Next came the World Cup. I got up early every morning and watched almost every game. The US was awesome, but not quite awesome enough. The French Open was on at the same time and Rafa won. He is so charmingly handsome with his pirata pants and goofy smile. Plays some exciting tennis too.

Spain won the Cup (I picked them and bet $0) and I was pumped. I booked a ticket to France for August. I was served a lawsuit. Sued for the first time, yay!

August came soon enough and I was straight into organizing some surf events. The whole time was a blast. I came close to staying to work on some other events around Europe. In retrospect, I probably should have done so.

I began my first full semester of b-school with the taste of baguette still on my tongue and sunk my teeth into some interesting material.

I needed to get back on a plane so I went to NYC to visit LeJay'De. I landed and went straight to a bar, then drank until 5am before eating a lamb sandwich and going to sleep. I repeated for the next 3 nights. Word is I missed the best East Coast swell of the year from Hurricane Igor, which was spewing perfect surf a PBR's throw from the apartment we stayed in. C'est la vie.

My brother moved to Northern California to go to school and play baseball. I flew up just after my birthday in October to visit him. Some fun times.

The last 2 months have flown by like a swift penguin. Maybe more of a crash, burn and blur. SB Beer Fest, World Series, Halloween, finals, a road trip to the Bay Area and then Christmas.

Randy Pausch said, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."

I suppose 2010 was a year of experience for me. I felt like I was in bed with a hot chick and couldn't get a chub. Some great times and near misses. I learned that things aren't always "fair." Maybe I should have learned that by age 25...

However when I count my blessings I need to take my shoes off - they are many. Compared to the things that have happened to those around me my life is going pretty smooth.

Wheels up. 2011 is on.