2004 wasn’t exactly what I’d call a tumultuous year, but it was certainly marked with some pretty big events for me, not the least of which was meeting Alex. If there was a number one in the list, she would be it. 2005 is already looking to be an interesting year, since there are a lot of things that will be happening for me. It’s not going to be an easy year, but if we always had easy years, we’d never feel a sense of accomplishment.
And on with my little Year in Review…
- Tried my first hand at blackjack … didn’t do too well
- Watched in awe as Luke paid over $1,000,000 (in funny money) to buy a coffee maker
- Saw David Bowie at Calgary (Pengrowth) Saddledome from the eighth row
- “Discovered” The Polyphonic Spree, and realized that, yes, Macy Gray is a bit of a freak job
- Team built with the Mercedes-Benz USA marketing team in a frigid cold downtown Calgary, and got cheated out of a well-deserved win! (No, I’m not bitter about it, but I can’t resist noting that fact!)
- Was saddened by the departure of my friend and physical health mentor, Arthur, from Critical Mass (and Calgary)
- Got very, very drunk at his going away party
- Started taking yoga
- Realized that changes to my dental plan were downright ugly, and that I was quite literally paying through the mouth for it
- Flew to Montreal to visit Therese and Stuart
- Remembered French I had thought long since forgotten
- Went to Oakville twice
- Went to Waterloo
- Went to Stettler
- Went to Drumheller
- Went to Banff (Bamf!) several times
- Went to Japan for the second time in a year
- Went to Yotsukaido
- Went to Tokyo
- Went to Toyohashi
- Went to Irako
- Went to Hiroshima
- Went to Miyajima
- Went to Kyoto
- Went to Osaka
- Went to Chiba
- Went to Kamakura
- Went to Kelowna
- Went to Canmore
- Went to Edmonton
- Went to Fairmont Hot Springs
- Went to Radium Hot Springs
- Went to Invermere
- Went to Cranbrook
- Went to (or rather, though) Golden
- Went to Ruskin (outskirts of Maple Ridge)
- Went to Three Valley Gap
- Went to Takkakaw Falls
- Went to San Jose (California)
- Went to Denver … sorta
- Went to San Francisco … Airport
- Took Montreal’s AMT commuter train for the first time
- Visited Gare Windsor
- Visited what was the Montreal Forum (home of Les Habitants!)
- Roamed around Montreal’s underground malls
- Ate at Schwartz’s Deli … I can still taste the corned beef (*droooool*)
- Saw more of Montreal than I had seen in several previous visits
- Took a VIA train from Montreal to Toronto
- Saw VIA #6403 (the CBC locomotive)
- Saw my friend Kathryn for the first time since Cathy’s wedding
- Saw my friends (and old roommates) Ed and Brian (Ed, a year and a half; Brian, about four years)
- Fixed my mother’s and sister’s computers more than a few times
- Saw my friend Kim
- Realized that the old Terminal 1 no longer exists at Pearson International Airport
- Was happy to see that Peter Jackson got appropriate recognition for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy
- Took Jen out to Japanese restaurants to get her ready for eating in Japan (hey, it’s a good reason to try sushi)
- Found getting into Japan a lot less stressful than last year (‘course, I was ready for it this time)
- Took several shinkansen while in Japan
- Met Chris’ friend Tony
- Re-met Chris’ friend Shinichiro
- Stayed at a hotel overlooking a beautiful bay on coastal Japan
- Played in a Japanese bowling alley
- Walked down a beach near the hotel
- Went to Chris and Kaz’s wedding (I cried)
- Went to five wedding parties for Chris and Kaz (four in Japan, one in Canada)
- Saw Chris’ parents
- Met Chris’ uncle Garth
- Ate a lot of strange things for breakfast
- Ate an unbelievable amount of food at Chris’ family reception (the first of the five)
- Went to a restaurant barely four hours later for another large meal (reception number two)
- Went to an izakaya for the third reception (all of these in a single day!)
- Saw the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb dome (and surrounding museums and monuments)
- Received blessings for happiness from an elderly woman
- Traveled to Miyajima, and found what I can only describe as a slice of heaven on Earth
- Caught a cab in Kyoto and worried for a moment that we would forever be lost inside the city
- Took the Temple Lane in Kyoto, visiting Teapot Alley
- Took several trains to get to Mt. Hiei
- Visited Enryaku-ji temple
- Visited the Osaka Aquarium
- Broke an air hockey table at an adjacent arcade (oops!)
- Visited Osaka Castle
- Went up Kyoto Tower to take pictures
- Went to the Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds, but couldn’t get into the palace itself (it was a Saturday)
- Got to stay at Chris and Kaz’s new apartment in Yotsukaido
- Helped move Chris out of his old apartment into the new one
- Tried okonomiyaki for the first time
- Saw “Zatoichi: The Blind Master”
- Experienced my first earthquake that actually moved something
- Went to the fourth reception party in Chiba
- Did a load of laundry in Japan … a decidedly different experience
- Took Jen around to some of the hot spots of Tokyo
- Went to Tsukiji Market (twice, once to see the actual fish auctions)
- Wandered through Ginza, seeing both Sony’s headquarters and the infamous Apple Store
- Saw the Great Buddha of Kamakura
- Marvelled at all the sakura (cherry blossoms)
- Flew from Tokyo to Vancouver to Calgary to Kelowna … never doing that again
- Saw David Bowie (again!) at Prospera Place
- Went curling for the first time