1. New friends--both in the church and out.

2. Some great parties (at our house and at others).

3. Growth in my culinary skill (pizza and sushi in particular)

4. A great season for the Steelers.

5. A new, orange kitchen, with buffalo shelves and a dishwasher.

6. A trip to Boston and Maine with my beloved wife.

7. Good times with my family (even the funeral was an amazing celebration of a great guy who loved life but didn't fear death).

8. The beginning of my use of twitter, a fun and useful addiction, a good update of elmwoodjesus.org, and a fuller use of facebook.

9. Some great estrip discussions on my favorite topics (especially religion/faith)

10. It was my first full year in Buffalo, with Lafayette, and with e:strip!

. . . so Peyton Manning Doesn't.

I am typing while I wait for a CD to burn.

No, my car won't play an MP3 player. I am on slow technology.

It would be just as fast to just listen to the stuff before I leave.

Other notes:

My dog knows I am leaving, but he is happy to visit Patty.

The cats are clueless.

The party last night was fun.

The disc has been on 98% forever.

I will invite e:peeps over for a pizza making party soon.

I am also hoping, in 2009, to have more people over to watch movies, especially ones that deal with spiritual themes. Possibilities:

The Ordinary Radicals

Saved

For the Bible Tells me So

Doubt

I can't think of other ones right now, but if we do one a month, that will get us through Spring.

The series would be even better with a new TV.

OptIn is a good thing. I just became a fan on facebook. I used to give them money and feel like I should start again. I also would love it if they started lending to Buffalo.

The first disc is almost done.

e:MrMike gave me a Steelers helmet. It's pretty sweet. I think it is going to be placed in the family room, or maybe the kitchen. Until I get wealthy and build my "man cave" in the attic.

Yes, I know caves don't go in attics. It's not a literal cave.

I did miss e:janelle last night. It's fun to be single and live in your own filth, but only for a night, really.

I really do like the NYE ball that gets dropped.

I also liked talking about blackjack with e:vincent, but I shouldn't because it makes me want to play.

I was also almost convinced that I could become a Polish citizen. But Poland would have to be pretty hard up to take me. And I would have to learn to speak Polish, likely.

You know how I said the first disc was almost done? Well, it's still almost done.

The church is going to do something special for MLK day this year, which is also the week of the inauguration. If anybody has any great ideas for that, let me know.

Peace. Disc one is done. I'm not going to wait for disc two.

1. The mystery of how the yeast will work.

2. Using my new mixer.

3. Punching down dough.

4. Picking out toppings.

5. Cheese. (I love cheese)

6. The new pizza stone that e:janelle gave me for Christmas.

7. The new peel that e:janelle also gave me.

8. The blast of hot air from a super hot oven.

9. The art of sliding the pizza off the peel.

10. Eating it (duh)

Warning. Sappy-Religious youtube ahead. Click at your own risk.