Why 2005 rocked, an ordered list

2005 has been, overall, a fantastic year. I'm happy to be alive right now, and here are some reasons why. Oh, and may anyone who reads this make 2006 into whatever you want it to be. At the end of the day, or year, it really comes down to how hard one is willing to work for something. Now for that list, in no particular order:

Things I'm thankful and happy about that transpired in 2005

1. I'm finally a home owner in California. This is a lifelong dream fulfilled.
   
2. My parents finally came to Chico to visit. They know where and how I'm living.
   
3. I have a killer design job at Yahoo!
   
4. Claire and I are happily creeping up on three years together. Every day with her blows the top off of my happy-o-meter
   
5. I discovered the geological and cultural beauty of Chico, California
   
6. I made friends with a Zahnd who lives in Switzerland. And I've never met him face to face.
   
7. I learned quite a lot about how to care for Black Angus cattle. When the bird flu hits, this might come in handy! (ha!)
   
8. I ran, cycled, flyfished, mountain biked, swam, snowshoed, hiked, and camped out!
   
9. I became a lot closer with my inlaws, who happen to rock
   
10. I maintained friendships all over the country due to the ever-fascinating beast that is the internet. Here's my shout out to my homies, roughly by geography: Dave in Seattle, Todd in Portland, Shawn, Damien, Jim, Justin in San Francisco, Jason in the O.C., Daniel in Tucson, Packman in Boulder, Ryan in Denver, Ben, Kelsey, and Cooper in New England, Caroll in D.C., Jay, Dave, Higgins, Kevin, Damien in the ATL! Thanks for keeping in touch ya'll. Every one of you brings something unique to my life.
    

Anyone who has known me for any amount of time knows that I don't make resolutions. My philosophy is that I try to live my life in such a way that I don't need to resolve anything. Besides, people don't keep resolutions. As far as 2006 goes (and the rest of my life for that matter), I do have some goals. I've been doing these things already, but I want to do them more.

1. Ride my bike. Ride and complete the Chico Wildflower Century. I've done a marathon and tons of triathlon - there's no reason not to have a century under my belt too.
   
2. Reduce my signal-to-noise ratio with regards to blog reading and general internet usage. There's too much junk out there, and it's clouding my vision.
   
3. Play more music! I've been writing and recording again, so stay tuned.
   
4. Make sure that the Yahoo! gig stays good and fresh. I work with some great people, and I really appreciate that fact.
   
5. Relearn how to speak German. I studied it for two years in college, and never used it after that. I now have a great German neighbor, German colleagues, and a friend in Switzerland. It seems like a good time to pick it up again.
   

Here's to a killer new year! Glückliches Neujahr!