- Kelly: This year marked our 5 year anniversary and I am more sure of the choices we made back then and more thankful than ever for my place in this world. It is a fact of life that I get more of this stuff wrong than I get right, but living side-by-side my best friend was one I got right and has only gotten better as the years have flown by.
- The Internet: I completely agree with Time magazine. The Internet became an indispensable part of life this year. YouTube, Wikipedia, Google, Gmail, Google Maps, LinkedIn, Del.icio.us, Skype, Amazon, blogging and countless other sites and technologies have completely changed the way we live our lives.
- Apple: Purchased my first Mac laptop this year. I honestly don't ever see myself going back to a PC (i.e. Microsoft).
- Music: Didn't really listen to much new music this year, but I did think these albums were outstanding and spent a lot of time listening to all three:
- Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
- Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions
- West Valley Highway, Marysville
- Gas Prices: A year with $3/gallon gas in the US actually made a difference. "Green" is all the rage and is the latest meme to ripple through American culture. It remains to be seen what kind of impact this shift will have, but paying realistic prices at the pump started the train rolling.
- ab's new work: I am a huge fan. Awesome to see ab really make painting his own.
- my brother Milo: Witnessing a complete turn-around in a person's life is an indescribable experience.
- Caffè Mela: Darren and Emily's coffee shop is already a Wenatchee legend. They've created a space that is warm and comfortable and where you are guaranteed to get one of the best cups of coffee in the state.
- George W. Bush: Worst US President ever. 2006 marks the year that the majority of Americans woke up to the secretive, corrupt, and completely un-American ways of our President and his administration. Unbelievably, W. is so out of touch that he continues on his path of destroying America's world-wide credibility and our own domestic freedoms despite the very clear mandate delivered by the American people in November for the government to change its ways - his words from 2000, "if this were a dictatorship it would be a heckuva lot easier", ring hauntingly in our ears...
I think I would have to sum up 2006 as the Year of Work. Not something that I am proud of. This past year was the first time I've thought of Kelly and myself as falling into the "young professionals" category. Without a doubt I was successful at work and the rewards were sufficient. The problem is that a year filled with work doesn't end up being very memorable. Not that I don't have good memories of this year, but the best memories from this year are all from experiences that came outside of work. Our summer road trip to the east coast, our trip to South Bend, and our winter vacation to Vail are what I remember the most fondly. I enjoy working at Amazon.com and I am good at my job; however for me, work is a means to an end - and for that reason I'd like to make sure that 2007 is a better reflection of my priorities.
