Great things about 2005

  1. I got a job. This is actually numbers 1 – 5, because through that job I got to bring a really cool set of products to market, liveblog the Gartner IT conference, and visit our German subsidiary. But more importantly I got a chance to confirm my value as a marketer and product manager and enabled us to have the financial capital to do a ton of stuff on the house. Which leads me to…
  2. We fixed our house. Or a lot of things with it, including: air conditioning, heat, got rid of the oil burning boiler, media wiring, new windows and front door, insulation, rejuvenated bathrooms, improved storage, closed up walls, fixed the back lawn… Also found my way into a community of like minded individuals from whom I’ve learned a lot about home improvement projects.
  3. Before I started the job, I learned a lot about myself through teaching SAT prep. I didn’t write about this experience too much at the time, but I think getting in front of people—especially high school kids—two or three times a week was just the kick in the pants I needed to get my self confidence back to secure a job.
  4. I got to listen to some really good music—and review a lot of it, thanks to my association with Blogcritics.
  5. Speaking of music, Sony BMG’s DRM mess wasn’t a great thing about the year, but the way the blogosphere, the public, the press, and the legal establishment responded to it, including the response to my Boycott Sony blog, was. I’m very grateful to all my readers on that blog for their contributions to the story.
  6. And speaking about music again, I’ve had a chance to sing with two great musical groups, the choir at Old South Church and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Between the sublime moments like singing Mahler’s 8th at Tanglewood opening night and the semi-ridiculous ones like the Pops Christmas shows, it’s been a lot of fun.
  7. I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with family, including one big road trip to my parents and a wonderful holiday (my inlaws were here through a few days after Christmas, my parents arrived on the 26th and left on Saturday, Esta took off this morning). And I’ve had the pleasure of another year with my loving and wonderful wife and our dogs, which is the best thing of all.
  8. Lastly, I’m grateful to you, my readers. I am always surprised and humbled to realize how many people read this thing, and am frequently astonished when old friends contact me because they found the blog on Google. Here’s hoping that next year will be just as great as this one was.