Reflecting on 2008

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

That's one of those quotes that's oddly applicable most years given the highs and lows of life, but it definitely hits the nail on the head this year. In some respects, 2008 has been the best year of my life and in others, the worst.

I never thought I'd end the year without a job in the middle of the worst recession this country has seen since the Great Depression! I never thought in a million years I would ever be fired from a job. It doesn't matter that it was for completely arbitrary reasons having very little to do with me. Even if you loathe your boss and the company you work for, it's still a kick in the gut to be told that. And now I have the joy of figuring out how to explain being fired in future interviews without completely bashing my old company because as we all know that's a big interview no-no. But as I remind myself every morning, if that's the worst the year had for me, then I'm a pretty lucky gal!

Enough with the bad! On to the good! I started out the year with all of my friends moving away and in search of a church. I'm ending the year as a member of the most awesome church in all of LA where I have made the most awesome friends in all of LA. They have become my LA family and as a single gal in a big city far away from your own family, I can't stress how important that is. Given my ample time off, I got to spend a month back home visiting friends and family and made my way across the ocean to visit the crew in Germany. Then my parents finally got to come visit me for Thanksgiving. And for all of this, I feel truly blessed.

I thought I'd just end with a quick little list of some of my favorites of 2008.

Favorite Movies
Iron Man
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

Favorite TV Shows
Battlestar Galactica
Pushing Daisies
30 Rock
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Lost

Favorite Music - I'm not a big music aficionado like I am with movies and TV, but here are some things I liked
Beyonce, Single Ladies (the one song I can't get out of my head)
Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue
Alicia Keys, As I Am
Katy Perry, One of the Boys
Britney Spears, Circus (because I'm still a teeny-bopper at heart!)
Rihanna, Good Girls Gone Bad

I hope everyone had a great year and if not, here's to a better year ahead! I'll leave you with my favorite picture from my favorite event of 2008 - finally getting to go to Paris like I've always dreamed about...made even better because I got to go with my sister!!


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!