The Year That Was: 2008

Let’s face it: 2008 wasn’t a great year. Between the record economic downturn, the mortage crisis, the shrinking job market, and a financial stimulus package that didn’t seem to help anybody who actually needed it, this year won’t enter many people’s memories as one to remember. But even though 2008 wasn’t great, and even though the outlook for 2009 isn’t necessarily better (yet), Victoria and I were lucky to not encounter any real hardship during the last 12 months. So with New Year’s Eve is approaching, I decided to look back at the good times that we had last year. Here’s a few things that were decidely cool about 2008:

A Race Season at Sears Point

2008 marked the first year that I received a hard card for Infineon Raceway, and it made for a great racing season. We had easy access and parking to all events; I stood right next to the track as thundering race cars were shooting down the esses at 100+ mph; I filmed some great footage like the NASCAR time lapses; and I got Victoria and her dad backstage access to the prerace festivities of the IndyCar race. I also filmed many of the driver appearances and tests at the track, and in using that footage I gained a lot of experience as a movie editor. The 40 Year documentary was quite a big accomplishment, and the mini promos for the NASCAR and NHRA events were fun. I’m still not doing anything earth-shattering with my movies, but it’s very decent film-making for the web. And it’s a great hobby to balance all the game development stuff that I normally do!

Barrack Obama

I don’t look to Barrack Obama to magically fix all the problems that are plaguing America right now. Only Americans themselves can fix these problems; by eliminating credit card debt, becoming more attentive to the bigger picture, scaling back on their expectations and doing the hard work that will be necessary to repair America’s economy and standing with the world. But Barrack Obama looks to be a president who can motivate and inspire Americans to do what needs to be done in these tough times. After eight years of fiscal irresponsibility, passing-the-buckleadership and “Aw chucks!” politics it’s good to see a president (and the first black president on top of that!) with the potential of instilling renewed hope in the competence and integrity of Washington. And it’s good to see that the old cheap tricks from the Republican playbook did not work at all during this presidential election.

Maui

When our Maui vacation started this November, Victoria and I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. The economic crisis was already in full swing and the future looked more uncertain than for a long time. Going to Maui felt somewhat decadent to us. But hey, we had booked the trip much earlier in the year and we hadn’t gone on a yearly vacation yet! So we went for it, and I’m glad that we did it. We had a lot of fun in Maui, and managed to get some much-needed rest and relaxation. The next vacation looks to be way off in the future – but the promise of booking another trip to Hawaii (maybe to the big island this time?) is one of the many things that make me work long and hard right now.

Webpage

Let’s not forget the reason you’re reading this post in the first place! The summer of 2008 saw me (finally!) taking the plunge into WordPress and a databse-driven webpage, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Readers can finally subscribe to my blog via RSS feed; updating the blog is easy as pie (even allowing me to write entire posts at the pool in Maui, by way of the iPhone application); creating galleries and video posts is fully automated and fun; and I learned a ton about PHP and CSS in the process of massaging the WordPress codebase and Revolution theme to my needs. I’m even happy with the current design… well, kind of. I already have plans for a facelift for the near future

Luckily, those weren’t the only good things that happened in 2008. Please return in a couple of days for the 2nd part of my list.