now, i can already see some people reading this list and saying, ‘wow, ryan is such a shallow and lame person. these things are ridiculous.’ look people, this list is meant to be humorous and satirize the frivolity of these things. BUT, i couldn’t give a list of just ridiculous things. so, i decided to mix it up. i’ll let you be the judge of which are legit and which are just retarded 2008 landmarks (although all are truthful). here we go:

10. a return to running: believe it or not, i used to work out like there was no tomorrow. in high school, it was weightlifting, in college, it was running. somewhere around my junior year or so, i just completely quit at the track. so, 2008 (during the summer) was the year that i decided to say goodbye to those flappy things under my arms and bid farewell to at least two of my chins. well, apparently, my inner lazy slob prevailed and i spent approximately one month at the track until i was back to bags of doritos and riding the couch… there’s always 2009, right?

9. tonsillectomy: in may, i decided to hand over my lifelong relationship with my tonsils to a doctor here in town. yes, i had a tonsillectomy and yes, it was a b. to say that it sucked would be to wallow in the most colossal understatement in history. so, christen got to listen to me whine for about 2 weeks, but she also got to have a husband who was instantaneously 20 pounds lighter.  good times.

8. tivo: just after receiving our tivo and getting it set up, i blogged about it, saying that it was teh devil’s iv. well, a few months later, i can vouch for the iv aspect, now being thoroughly addicted to and spoiled by tivo. how else can i assure that i can never miss classy gems like the pickup artist or real chance at love?? i heart tivo.

7. my first real western shirt: that’s right people, this was truly a monumental day in 2008. on my birthday (september 22), i walked into crossroads western wear in north little rock a faux western shirt wearer and i walked out the proud owner of something that had the word wrangler emblazoned upon it. in the words of my life mentor, the notorious b.i.g., i went from ashy to classy in a matter of moments.

6. twitter: as of just a few weeks ago, my life is now continuously documented in streams of 140 characters or less. i held out for a long, long time, but i finally gave in and haven’t looked back. i honestly find value in it, beyond just being another goofy social media distractor. today, someone said twitter was the new form of social media narcissism, but i see some legitimate value that makes it worth it to me (and millions others).

5. friendly mutton chops: in the early part of june, i had a moment when i looked in the mirror at my thick and luscious (yet slightly amish-looking) full beard and i thought to myself, “self, i think it’s time for a change. let’s suppose, self, that i just shave my chin and everything below my jaw line and leave everything else. it would be sort of like mutton chops…yet…friendly…” and thus was born my friendly mutton chops. 7 months and counting…these puppies are sticking around for awhile.

4. blog: to say that my blog hasn’t been an extremely significant addition to my life in 2008 would be a gross oversight. i began during the recovery time of my aforementioned tonsillectomy. i was stuck in bed, i had wanted to do it for awhile, so it seemed like the perfect time. for me, blogging has been fun, it’s been connective, it’s created a dialogue with friends (and others), it’s been cathartic, it’s been controversial at times, it’s been a little bit of everything. hopefully, in the next few days, i’m going to do a blog retrospective and offer some of the insights.

3. iphone: yes, people, the procurement of an iphone is #3 on my list! #3! that’s how much of a tech/apple nerd that i am. look, i realize that there’s a lot of douchebags out there who own an iphone and love to flash it around, but a few rotten apples don’t ruin the bunch. seriously, the iphone is the best invention of the last 10 years. it has revolutionized the cell phone industry (look at the hordes of copy cats) and it has changed the way we interact with mobile technology (the internet/email/twitter/google/etc at your finger tips).

2. obama: how much more can i say about this? on my blog, i spent many months being very vocally supportive of obama. so while i don’t really have to go into great detail, this, needless to say, was a huge event personally for me. it transcended politics. obama’s campaign and eventual victory represented so much more than just a political race or a some democratic process. it was almost like this generation’s “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” i really don’t want to over-dramatize the scenario and add to the clichés, but it was that big of a deal.

1. olive: here’s the no-brainer of all no-brainers. beyond my marriage to christen, nothing will trump the birth of my children. nothing. christen and i’s 2008 was chiefly characterized by her pregnancy (especially for her) and the subsequent birth of olive. while, emotionally, it was very different than the expectancy and birth of lucy, it was no less special. i deeply love olive and she is eternally connected to me in a unique and unexplainable way. olive is the ultimate gift and experience of 2008 for both me and christen.

so, there ya go. there’s the list. from tonsils to twitter and obama to olive, 2008 was a great and memorable year. i can safely predict that 2009 is going to be even better. i have some HUGE plans that will certainly make 2009 a roller coaster of a year. i can’t wait to share those plans with you all (which i will do very, very shortly…).

so, happy new year! (and thanks for being a faithful blog reader in 2008!)