ah yes, that end of year retrospective

Ah yes, it's that end of the year retrospective that one might feel obligated to write when December comes around...

The highlights? Two trips to Korea, moving twice (once from Moorpark to Long Beach, the next to a different location in Long Beach), my first season ticket purchase (go Galaxy!), good things happening in my career, attending a national conference and a minor league baseball game in Charlotte, The Dodgers' season, attending a good friend's wedding (in Las Vegas), watching family and friends' families grow, making a lot of new friends, good health, happiness, etc, etc.

The lowlights? Very thankfully, there were no real lowlights this year. Some friends and family had very difficult parts of the year but, when all is said and done, we all seemed to come out of it all okay.

Those visits to Korea were my favorite highlights. I gained so much from being there: added knowledge and education of culture and history, forging many new friendships, and seeing some of the most beautiful landscapes I could imagine. I think that, most importantly, they helped point me in the direction towards inner peace.

There are no deep revelations, no brilliant flashes of, well... brilliance. There's just another year that has passed. And, as I look forward to 2014, I am only left with one feeling: gratitude.