Year In Review

Well, i managed to drag myself out of bed this morning, climb over the complete dissarray that was our apartement full of all the things we brought from home over the holidays, and stumble into the office... where i was greeted with a cuddly little leg hug from the newest addition to the bartel family.... buddy. Or, as i like to call her.. budward. she's a cat. she was a christmas present from kris and rob. My initial hesitation has been progressively melted away by the sheer floppyness of this little varmint. Seems it's the type that can sleep anywhere, and in any position. Yes, i like her quite a bit. Granted... she hasn't crapped on my keyboard yet.

The holidays were a welcome break, and I'm back at work recharged and energized. I'll spend the rest of the week getting life back on track here in Waterloo, and I'll try to get to some music-related work sometime between now and Sunday night.

By way of a year-in-review... I managed to escape 2007 relatively unscathed. A few big events had their way of shaping the surrounding months, and the fill-time between was generally as productive as I might have hoped:

- kar and I were engaged and married after dating since before birth.

- we found a church to call home (meeting house) and friends to look for on sunday mornings

- I managed to experience some incredible performances... Alison Krauss and Union Station, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Switchfoot, Relientk, Jimmy Eat World

- We bought our first car

- Moved to Waterloo (my first non-rectangular above-ground living space since home in high school)

- I moved from part-time work in audio-post at CTV to part-time work as a production assistant with Discovery Channel, and then to full-time work as a Post Coordinator with Discovery Channel, and then back to full-time work as a production assistant with Discovery Channel, which jumped to full-time work as Archivist for Discovery Channel.

I've learned more than I could have imagined, and I've had a lot of fun. I've experienced a lot of frustration as well, but I think, through that, I've had that many more opportunities to learn.

The first half of this past year was defined by my pursuit of gainful employment in this industry. There were a lot of extremely frustrating experiences (ex.. working at future shop, working the graveyard shift at CTV on 1 hour's call, etc.) that served to push me forward in search of something more stable and exciting.

The middle to second-half of the year was about kar and I, the wedding, and getting in gear for life together. The time surrounding our wedding, including the night itself, was unforgettable. We were blessed beyond measure by friends and family, and it was something we'll always take with us as one of our more incredible nights.

The past few months have also been about finding my feet again. My new job at Discovery came on like a ton of bricks, and I found myself busy to the point of high-stress leading up to the wedding. This has since calmed down, and I'm learning to push myself and better position myself for future opportunities. This new lifestyle, which is commute-based, and finds me spending more time than I'd prefer away from Karen and our home, has been incredibly beneficial in its own ways... The increased road-time allows for a much greater degree of introspection and purposeful thought.

And the wheel keeps turning.

All signs point to another good year, another big adventure, and a few surprises along the way.

pip pip, and here's to many more!

(pics from a guitar session at Swamp Songs, London, ON - Boombatty's studio)