Saturday, December 27, 2008

Year in Review (2008)

'Tis the season for my annual look back at the previous year, a way for me to keep you informed on what I've been doing whether you asked for it or not. A lot happened in 2008 so let's get right to it (in some cases I have written a blog about the events mentioned below and will direct you to the link rather than force you to re-live it all over again here. I'm thoughtful like that).
2008 – YEAR IN REVIEW

A Timeline by Ed Placencia

JANUARY
As the year began Sarah and I were living in downtown Lancaster, PA. I had been working at WJTL since June of 2007 where I was working as the station's production guy. My main task is shooting and editing video for the station's ever-expanding YouTube page. Sarah was working part-time at the local YMCA.

  • January 1 We ring in the new year celebrating at a gathering at Linford & Trish Burkholder's. The evening is spent playing games, and I introduce the Susquehannah Valley to the wonder of the card game, "The Great Dalmuti."


FEBRUARY

  • February 24 Sarah and I attend the annual Oscar Party at John & Lisa Blowers's house. Dressing as a character from a movie is mandatory. Sarah comes dressed as Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean and I attend as Kevin Kline from A Fish Called Wanda.


MARCH

  • March 14 I interview American Idol finalist Chris Sligh. The video is posted on the station's website. After the interview he informs me he is in talks with writer/director/producer Judd Apatow to appear in a movie poking fun at "World of Warcraft." I find myself jealous of a guy who looks like Hurley from "Lost."

  • March 22 Sarah and I respond to a Craig's List posting for a free cat. Mai (pronounced "my") is a long-haired calico who comes home with us and promptly begins shedding everywhere.


APRIL

  • April 4-6 Sarah and I join a group of friends for a weekend in a cabin deep in the Pennsylvania woodlands. Not only do we learn how to play golf hockey (or something like that), we also learn "The Johnny Appleseed Prayer Song."

  • April 25 I decide to film a movie in the middle of the night and I wake up Sarah to be part. She plays along and The Shadow Man is a mega-hit.


MAY


  • May 1-3 Sarah's best friend from back in Indiana, Hillary, stays with us for a few days.

  • May 5 I attend the awards banquet for the Pennsylvania Assosiation of Broadcasters. I win for "Best Radio Station Website" for our video content. Not only that, Sarah and I also get a free meal at the banquet, which is really what the day is all about.

  • May 17 I perform 30 minutes of stand-up comedy at the Sertoma Chicken Barbecue, AKA The World's Largest Chicken Barbecue. Four people are highly entertained.

  • May 22 Sarah and I cut out of work in the middle of the afternoon to watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Turns out monkeys aren't always cool in movies.

  • May 29-June 2 Sarah and I leave for San Diego to attend Will and Courtney's wedding. Sarah falls in love with the West Coast and finally understands why I love it so much.


JUNE


  • June 7 Sarah and I travel to Atlantic City for the weekend. Sarah spends her time in class getting her certification to be a personal trainer. I spend my time making fun of the casino-goers.


JULY


  • July 6 Our friends John & Lisa Blowers invite us to the lake for a day of tubing, eating, more tubing, and more eating.

  • July 12 Sarah and I attend a Phillies game with a group of friends from church. Sarah and I make it onto the "Kiss Cam" on the JumboTron screen and I inappropriately jump Sarah, much to the delight of the cheering stadium.

  • July 17-20 We travel back home to Indiana for a few days to attend family reunions and catch up with friends.


AUGUST


  • August 22 Sarah and I attend a performance by comedian Brian Regan at the Hershey Theatre. We laugh our silly heads off.


SEPTEMBER


  • September 21 Sarah and I become members of the Willow Street Mennonite Church and Sarah is baptized in a pool with a waterfall in it. That's just how we roll.



OCTOBER


  • October 4 A gang of us from WJTL attends the "Art Music Justice" concert at Messiah College. It feels good to be at a concert and not have to work.

  • October 11 We attend Brian & Kate's wedding with the WJTL gang. A bunch of people from the local Top 40 radio station are also in attendance. Unfortunately there is no knife-fight.

  • October 17 My short film "The Blanket" debuts.

  • October 24-November 1 Sarah's dad sends us to Jamaica as a wedding/anniversary gift. We are spoiled for the week and Sarah is crowned the Limbo Queen of Jamaica.



NOVEMBER


  • November 27 Sarah and I spend Thanksgiving with our friends Chris & Melody Strayer and Stacey Gagne.



DECEMBER


  • December 2 We attend the annual WJTL Christmas Banquet. In the white elephant gift portion of the evening we walk away with a wooden nutcracker and a How To Bellydance Kit. Insert joke here.

  • December 7 Sarah and I release our annual Christmas video. People around the globe are highly entertained.

  • December 8 I ate 2 pounds of soup in one sitting. I'm not proud of it.

  • December 12 The band Reilly comes in to the station to play live on the air. I am blown the heck away.  As it turns out, not only can they pull off an amazing acoustic set, they're also really cool people.

  • December 25 Sarah and I celebrate a quiet Christmas together. It's the best Christmas ever.

  • December 26 While playing Wii with friends Ashlea, Alyssa, and Ryan, a 3.3 earthquake hits Lancaster. After looking out the front window to make sure nothing is on fire, we resume playing.

  • December 27 Sarah's sister Stacy and her husband Nathan bring their kids to Lancaster for a holiday visit. Game playing commences.


I can't lie. 2008 was a good year and I've been blessed way beyond what I deserve. I'm looking forward to 2009. I have a feeling a lot of good things are coming up…one of them being a trip to Ireland in March. If you don't want to wait until next year to find out how things are going, stop by my blog or even my YouTube page. Pictures are posted on a regular basis on my Facebook page and, really, if you don't have Facebook yet, then turn off your 8-track player and put away your Gitano jeans and get with it.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing from you to find out how you're doing.

Keep in touch!

Ed

1 comment:

Looking Back at 38 « The Blog of Ed said...

[...] I’d share some of those highlights here. At first glance, this may seem like just another Year in Review blog, but trust me, it’s different. These are in no particular order, except in the order [...]