Top Ten: Year in Review

I have to say that 2010 was a pretty good year for me.  I traveled more, made some new friends and started taking better care of myself.  I like to do lists and this will not be the last one.

1. My brother Jerry got married to Holly R. in Aberdeen, SD.  Holly is a wonderful person and I consider her to be a close friend.  Jerry asked me to be a groomsman, and I was honored to be one.  A week before the wedding the Best Man, Tom, threw an excellent bachelor party at the horse track followed by many drinks and swimming at his parent's house.  Had a few too many, and my first cigar at that party.  The wedding was memorable.  There was hail the size of softballs, an open bar, and a live band.  I had a few too many again, and made a fool of myself on the dance floor.

2. I bought season tickets to Target Field.  This was the first time I have ever had season tickets to any professional sports team.  I only saw about 5 or 6 games out of the 20 I had, but it was still worth it.  I have to say the coolest thing I saw at the new field was Jim Thome's home run off the top of the flag pole on Labor Day.  I renewed for the 2011 season, so I hope we have a little bit more success in the postseason.

3. Played softball during the summer with Jerry, Holly, and some of their friends.  This was the first time since I was 14 years old that I played in any sort of group sport.  It was D League coed softball, so there wasn't really any pressure to perform well.  I was happy about that, as I am not the greatest in the field or with a bat.  The play of the year was made by Jerry.  There were 2 outs with a runner on second, a line drive was hit at Jerry at first base.  He leaped up and caught it, only to drop the ball as he went to the ground.  The runner had stopped after he saw Jerry make the catch, and then started running when he realized the ball had popped out of Jerry's glove.  Jerry grabbed the ball, then proceeded to crawl on all fours to beat the runner at first base by a step.  I wish I had that on video, because it was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen.

4. My friends Tom and Holly continued our tradition of Friday Night Tier 1's.  Every Friday, we usually get together for a drink or two of our favorite Lite Beers.  Many MGD 64's, Miller Lites and Grain Belt Premiums were consumed by us.  It's nice to have something to look forward to every week.  There's no reason for this to stop in 2011, so come on out to Sally's or Joe Senser's for some nachos, a few laughs, and some beer that you can see through.

5. My brother Tony and his wife Janelle made me the godfather of both their children, Logan and Mackenzie.  I've known ever since they were born that I was going to be their godfather, along with Janelle's close friend Lisa as their godmother, but it was made official this year.  I've lived with Tony and Janelle for the last 5 years, and I've gotten to be there for all of Logan and Mackenzie's lives.  It's been great to watch them grow up and not have to change any of their diapers.  I'll leave that to their parents.

6. I went on my first road trip in 8 years.  My friend Joe and I drove to Kansas City in late September to see the Minnesota Twins play the Kansas City Royals.  The drive down there was easy, but the hungover drive back was almost unbearable.  I'll try to remember to drink in moderation the night before a 7 hour car ride.  (Who thought that Kum & Go was a good name for a gas station?)

7. Tom and Holly invited me, Jerry, and Holly to Holly's parent's cabin last winter for some snowshoeing.  Another first for me, I had never been to Alexandria before and had never snowshoed before.  We only went snowshoeing for a short time, but it pretty much wiped me out.  It was the only time that I fell asleep before 10 o'clock all year I think.

8. I joined Anytime Fitness and started dieting.  I started the year weighing 260 pounds and ended the year weighing 220 pounds.  Not an amazing amount to lose but it's a start.  I've tried many times over the years to try to lose weight and have usually failed.  I'm hoping that I can continue this trend of losing weight and exercising into 2011.  If I don't, it will be a waste of about $40 a month for the gym membership.

9. I left the continental United States for the first time in my life.  Tom, Holly, Jerry, Holly, and I went to Vieques, Puerto Rico in August.  We went to many beaches, had some Medallas(local tier 1 beer), and ate some authentic Puerto Rican food(and some pizza, too, of course.)  The highlight of the trip was swimming in a bioluminescent bay at night.  It was amazing to watch the water light up around you as you swam around.

10. Last one doesn't involve me directly, but is still important to me.  As I'm sure most people reading this know, my brother Tony had a stroke last year in October.  Tony finished his rehab this year, and is back to almost full health.  There are some residual effects from the stroke that he'll have to deal with, but shouldn't have too many lingering effects.

That's it.  All in all, I think I had a pretty good year.  I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends.

May the Force be with you,
CHUD

PS - This list was in no particular order.  I just went with whatever came to mind first.