2008 Recap and Favs Lists!!!

Wow, 2008 was a hell of a year.  So much happened!  Here we go:

Notable happenings from 2008:

1. Got married to Kim Woll!  We’d been together since 2003 and tied the knot Sept. 27.  We planned the wedding for over a year and it was stressful.  But the Wedding went smoothly and was very memorable.  Great photography by Z Media helps us remember.  View my pics to see how they turned out.
2. Honeymoon and first cruise!  Kim and I cruised for 5 days in the Caribbean.  We visited Key West, Cozumel, and Belize and also spent some time in Ft. Lauderdale where we basically were forced to stay in our hotel due to the rain.
3. New Go Media HQ!  We found the building in 2007 and all the hard work and preparation came to fruition in 2008 when we finally moved our office and staff to the new warehouse on 4507 Lorain Ave, Cleveland, OH.  It was a big undertaking, buying the building (not renting), demolishing all 3 floors and renovating the top floor.  Pete Maric designed our interior space and my partner Bill Beachy basically had to make the rest happen.  Dealt with all the contactors and suffered all the headaches while the rest of us held down the fort and kept the money flowing into the Go Media.  Now we’re comfortably in the new space and working hard to make 2009 awesome.  View pics here.
4. Economy sucks.  We saw a big dip in our sales on both design services and Arsenal products.  We doubled our staff, but the work just isn’t there.  Fortunately, nobody got laid off and we still managed to earn a profit.  2009 is going to be better.  Our staff is 1 year smarter and hardier.  We will rock!
5. I’m an Uncle!  My new sister-in-law (Kim’s older sister Jen) got married and had a daughter named Addison.  I don’t really “feel” like an uncle, but I guess I am technically!  Hehe.
6. Went the Fest 7 – which was a blast.  Go Media was a happy sponsor again this year (we also sponsored in 2007.  I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to design an official t-shirt and poster.  T-shirts are all sold out but you can buy the poster here.
7. By Bread Alone finally played a show!  The band I started back in summer of 2007 (drums/some vocals) played our first show in November. We actually played in the first floor of the Go Media warehouse.  It went pretty good.  Go Media’s Katie Major and my wife Kim helped document the event with photos and video.  If you want, you can listen to a song or two.  Our goal in 2009 is to get a solid sounding demo – one that is listenable to other people besides us….
8. Paid off my car… That’s great, it gives me about $300 extra dollars every month.  However, Kim and I are going to buy a house in 2009, so there are already plans for that cash.

So that’s it, whew.  If you actually read all this, good for you. But hopefully, this will be useful to read in a few years.  It’s always cool going back to look at your old recaps.  I wish I did one last year!

Looking ahead:

2009 is shaping up to be a busy year already.  Here are some things already planned on the calendar:

1. Jeff Barton’s wedding (former college roommate and best man in my wedding)
2. Dan Haylett’s wedding (long time friend since grade school)
3. My sister’s wedding (going to Vegas)
4. Chris Wilson’s wedding (fellow partner at Go Media)
5. Hunting for a house and hopefully moving in
6. Improvements at Go Media
7. Demo for By Bread Alone
8. Demo for Adam Wagner (fellow Go Media colleague and singer/songwriter I play drums for).
9. Something else positive…
10. More positive things….

What’s your list?