2010: My Year In Review

As I had promised in my previous post, I had been compiling a list of good and bad things that happened to me in 2010 and since I will pretty much be busy all day tomorrow, I thought I’d entertain you with that list right now.

First, let’s get the bad stuff out of the way (links included if applicable):

– Food Stamp/EDD Payback. Back when things were getting down to the wire, Ann and I decided to take advantage of the state’s Food Stamp program and after much red tape, we were approved. And it was fine and well until we got a letter in the mail stating that we were under investigation for fraud. After all of the paperwork was completed, it was determined that we were never eligible and we had to pay all of the funds back—$4,000. In addition, I was apparently overpaid $200 from EDD so I have to now pay them back. That’s the first time I’ve mentioned that on the blog so yeah, the year has been even suckier than you previously thought!

– Coaching T-Ball Team. One would think that coaching your own son’s sports team would be a dream come true, right? That wasn’t the case with me when I was sort of coerced into coaching Anthony’s t-ball team as I would have rather have been Fan Dad and not Coach Dad for his first season of any sport. In short, my heart wasn’t into it and it was like wrangling a group of cats with ADHD. Also, Anthony lost interest about halfway into the season and has since turned his attention to golf—and I could not be happier.

– Putting Cindy to Sleep. I can still hear Anthony crying her name as I walked out the door with her in the cat carrier. I can’t say much more than I already have here. I still miss the old girl.

– Pneumonia. Both Ann and Anthony battled bouts of pneumonia this year which, whether you’re an adult or child, is just horrible. I thank [insert appropriate deity here] that I never came down with it and that I haven’t been sick in at least a few years.

– Alleged Dog Poisoning. What would the end-of-year wrap-up be without mentioning my jack-wagon neighbors?

Now, the good stuff:

– My First 5k. I never thought it would happen but it really did, and I was beyond happy with my results and the fact that I stuck to my guns and finished—and ran the entire route.

– Background Acting. In my quest to try something different and make my mark in Hollywood, I tried my hand at background acting. Scroll to the bottom of this page for the shows I did and related posts.

– Bike Tour. In yet another of those I’m-gonna-do-it moments, I rode my bike in the 26.2-mile Long Beach Marathon Bike Tour in October and never felt better. It was my first and definitely not my last.

– Won an iPod nano. Yes, I actually won something this year! Read all about it here.

– Monte. Losing a pet is never easy but the healing process often involves starting over with a brand new one. That’s when Monte came into our lives.

– Anthony Loses First Tooth. We were waiting for the moment to arrive and when it did, boy, was it memorable.

– Won a Flip UltraHD Camera. Wait, winning two things in one year? Yeah, it happened and it’s briefly mentioned in this post.

I’m sure there are plenty more things but those are the ones that stand out the most. 2010 has definitely bought its share of joy and pain, and I get the feeling 2011 will have some of the same garbage but will be the year things start to turn around for everybody.

One can only hope…