Executive summary of my 2008, a bit late. Off the top of my head and somewhat random. Representative photos below of my brother and me swimming in the Amazon and of me signing books in San Antonio.
I traveled to Quito and the Ecuadorean Amazon jungle, Zurich, Prague, all over Costa Rica, Alaska, and rural Tennessee. Re-visited and spent time in Washington D.C, New York, and Colorado. Gave a dozen paid speeches in various U.S. locales. Read 60 books. Signed hundreds of copies of my own book. Wrote a hundred thousand words on my blog. Completed two semesters of college. Turned 20. Won an essay contest. Made new friends. Tried to become closer still to old friends. Cried a few times. Laughed a lot. Dined with famous people but enjoyed the no-name dinners more. Got somewhat messily dumped by a girl I had dated for 13 months and was fond of. Lost 5-10 pounds. Lost money in the stock market. Started playing basketball again. Voted Bob Barr and No on 8 in the election. Ziplined through a forest canopy. Fished for halibut off a boat. Hiked around an active volcano. Met one-on-one with David Foster Wallace and then mourned his death. Thousands of minutes on treadmill and thousands of push-ups. Took in a few sunsets. Played 30 games of chess and too few games of ping-pong. Recorded a few commentaries for NPR. Philosophized. Watched too many Seinfeld episodes. Ate peanut-butter Clif bars. Worked on my tan. Plotted world domination.
No mention of “blogged some nuanced thoughts and stunned the world”…
You sure did. Go claim it too.
You voted for Bob Barr, too? I claim fame by proximity.
I did — but if California mattered I would have voted Obama.
“Hiked around an active volcano.”
That was an adventure! All-in-all a good year. I was glad for my part in it, and glad for your part in mine.
Swimming in the Amazon!? Haven’t you ever seen the movie Piranha?
No, but even if I had, I still would have done it anyway. Balls of steel,
etc. 🙂
Started playing basketball again? I thought you never stopped. Why the hiatus?
Took a couple years off due to burn-out….but I’m back!
Hi Ben,
Just stumbled upon your blog. You seem to have wanderlust as much as I do. What an exciting year you’ve had! I’m subscribing, don’t let me know. 😉
you worked on your tan??? It sure as hell doesn’t show.
🙂