2009 Recap – The Year of Personal Growth

- After 20 years I reconnected with an old friend named Kelly, who became one of my best friends this year!
- Mexico!
- I spent my (35th) first birthday with my birthmother.
- I started training in January for my first half marathon, I ran 5 days a week for 3 months – in April I beat my goal by running my first half marathon in under 2 hours! After I crossed the finish line I started crying.
- After eleven years with my company I became a victim of the economy and found myself unemployed for the first time since I was 14 years old! (I can now say thank you)
- What else do you do when you lose your job - one that had provided you a company car? I went out and bought a car I always wanted – a BMW – with a stick! Thanks Obama!
- I completed my first triathlon. It was a sprint, but it gave me a taste!
- Enjoying my unemployment freedom I decided to do something I had been previously unable to do and will probably not be able to do again until I retire. I spent the summer on my boat! I was rocked to sleep every night and it was truly amazing. I even named it “The Summer of Tony” – and it was.
- I ran a 24 minute 5k – a personal best!
- I loved and I lost.
- I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon – 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run!
- I had the most incredible new career handed to me. It was literally laid in my lap.
- A dear friend Lisa challenged me to a race: The Lewis and Clark Half Marathon. I barely beat her, but was more excited that I beat my previous personal best time!
- I did my first Xterra triathlon.
- I ran a 6:40 mile – another personal best!
- After 19 years of not speaking to each other I reconnected with my oldest childhood friend, Aaron.
- I was a great father to an incredible daughter. I was able to watch her grow right before my eyes. There are so many wonderful memories I will never forget!

Blogging

Dear Mr. 1/8 Full,

You have done a horrible job of blogging this year. While I understand your year was full of surprises, setbacks, and summers of… I would like to point out that it was you yourself who wanted this blog. It was also you who told yourself how much you enjoyed writing – which is odd, because I would have thought you could have come up with something blog worthy over, oh, say, the last six months! True, there was that one deleted post (sorry ~A), but nothing else? Really? I mean, I know you had all the intentions in the world a few times. I even remember you sitting down in front of the computer, but nothing came. I’ll stop being so critical if you promise to at least try again. Okay? Deal?

Signed,

The Voices Inside My Head