2011: the highlights

Wow, it had been 7 months since my last post. I would make a promise to write more, but that would be a lie. Let's just say that if I feel passionate enough about something and feel I can add even a minimal amount of value by writing about it, it will likely end up here.

That said, I recently got to thinking about the past year, and figured I could share some highlights (inspired by a Nintendorks Chatter topic named "2011 - the Highlights"):

• Visited my dad's side of the family in Lebanon! I had gotten pretty out of touch with the arab culture, so after 13 years it was really nice to visit and meet my 2-year old niece, and re-meet my cousins and other family members. Visited some really cool natural landmarks (especially the Je'ita grottos), and had so much great food, yum. I still hate arabic music. And the drivers there - it's chaos on the streets.
• Visited Paris! This being the more touristy of our two-part summer trip, my brother and I roamed the streets and tried to soak in as much of the main city as we could in 3 days. Getting incredibly bad diarrhea on Day 3 did not diminish the awesomeness of this trip, which aside from the regular touristy stuff included singing Sweet Child 'O Mine karaoke in a small Parisian bar on Pigalle street (the hooker district). I was also really proud of my 'Dany points at Parisian Lampposts' photo album idea, where I'm pointing at a post but there's some famous landmark in the background.
• Finished my MBA and got a pretty great job! In hindsight, I paid way too much for my education and despite much valuable learning, from an ROI perspective, I wish I had gone to a different school. Moreover, my job is definitely on the lower end of the payscale compared to my fellow graduates', but at least I like what I do and the company I work for does great things worldwide, so it's pretty fulfilling knowing the impact of my work.
• Got to play board games on a regular basis! A new coffee shop opened last year in Toronto called Snakes and Lattes (it's really popular, if anyone's looking for a business idea), and with its location and ginormous selection, it has become easier and ever to get together with enough friends to enjoy a good strategy board game or two. Awesome times.
• It's been a good year for our improv group, The 404s! We've had some new blood join, we started a monthly gig at a Toronto bar, and more geek conventions want to book us as guests than we can handle given our lives with full-time jobs. We're very minor celebrities in a super niche community, but it's still pretty awesome to receive that treatment and to have 'fans'.
• Went to a Foo Fighters concert! Best concert I've been to this year, and second best concert I'd ever been to. Dave Grohl is the man when it comes to putting on a good show. I was blown away and wish I could be even a tenth of the rockstar he is.

Having said all of that, August/September was an incredibly sad time with two deaths in the family. And I haven't had a good woman in my life for far too long. I also feel like aside from my MBA classes and stuff for my job, I haven't learned much this year, which is a bit of a bummer.

But I'm optimistic for 2012! Started Aikido classes in the last month and really enjoying so far, planning to stick with it for a while so it might be a good topic for next year's review! I also plan to move to Toronto by mid-next year, but that hinges on me securing financial stability, which I'm also pretty optimistic about. Drastically reducing my commute time and living independently again is going to be a nice fresh kick in the pants for my life. I can't wait.

As for the women...well, what are you waiting for, ladies? I'm here for the taking.