8 things that made 2008 great

As we prepare to consign 2008 to the history books, I look back on this year with mostly fond memories. Despite the awful happenings around the world (continued terrorist activity in the world, natural calamities and a huge economic crisis caused by pure greed and hubris), there were some reasons why my 2008 was great.

In alphabetical order:

A (mostly) kept New Year Resolution: I had one resolution last year—don’t complain. About anything. That was it. And it was a tough one to keep…at times. What I discovered was that once I got going with not complaining, it became easier not to do so as time went on. There are too many petty things that we allow to get in the way of enjoying life, things that can be taken care of quietly, without having to make a fuss. True, there were one or two things that caused major annoyance (well, just one, really), but the resolution was only fractured most of the time and broken just once (most of the whining was internal, except that once, and that was by e-mail, but feel free to contradict me if you thought otherwise). It’s amazing how the capacity to be patient increased over the year.
Blogging: It was about a year ago that I serendipitously discovered a stranger’s blog that I really enjoyed reading (thank you—you know who you are), and, over the past year, I’ve discovered and re-discovered blogs from old friends with whom I’d lost contact for the most part. It’s been great getting back in touch with all of you, even if it is mainly by leaving comments on your blogs. Which reminds: when you drop by to visit, please do say hello by leaving a comment.
Friends, old, new and forgotten: Travelling, blogging and Facebook have yielded some memorable new friendships this year (CMP, B&R G, G&V G, JH, LNS, SH to implicate just a few), rekindled a plethora (C&B I, CF, DH, H&J D, I&A R, KH, M&Y K, TS, T&J T, to give a few examples) and helped me get back in touch with people lost in mists of time (HS, KLH, SCB and TC had all been consigned, regretfully, to the nostalgia shelf until Facebook lent a hand). And, of course, I'm grateful for those whose friendships maintain their consistent nature over the years (ALM, ANM, AMW, ELM, MAO, NP, RGW, S&S R, et al.: thanks for continuing to put up with me). It’s not too much of an exaggeration to state that, at present, I have Grade I friends on every continent of the world (now that P&F DW have moved back to their native South Africa), and possibly most time zones of the world, too. Thank you all for contributing so positively to my 2008.
Indian sport: Undoubtedly, 2008 was the greatest year for Indian sport in my lifetime. Normally we are more chumps than champs, but this year produced plenty of winners for a change. Abhinav Bindra won our first Olympic individual gold medal, while Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar (not related to one another) added a couple of bronzes; Vishwanathan Anand was crowned World Chess champion; Pankaj Advani won the World Billiards Championship; Jeev Milkha Singh won golf's Asian Tour Order of Merit and attained a top-10 finish at the PGA Championships; Mary Kom won a fourth successive gold medal in the womens World Boxing Championships; Saina Nehwal won the women's singles at the World Junior Badminton Title; and the Indian cricket team has hopefully started a trend by socking it to the hitherto unbeatable Australians (even the South Africans, notorious for their emotional fragility against the Aussies, are hammering them in style right now).
Olympus E-510: At the end of 2007, I bought myself a long sought-after digital SLR. And while I am nowhere near as proficient with it as I would like to be, I’ve managed to take a few decent photos with it so far this year. Parasailing: I’m not usually one to do adventure sports like para-sailing, but I was in a strangely devil-may-care mood during my trip to Goa in October. What a great idea! That was F-U-N! What’s next?!
President-elect Barack Obama: I have no idea what kind of President Barack Obama will be. He may be viewed with the same historical significance and affection as the previous President from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Or, he may be deemed as disastrously incompetent as the last guy. I very much doubt, however, that he will be irrelevant, as he will face the biggest economic crisis in 75 years. Whatever he does, or does not do, in office, though, ought not to take anything away from the fact that he will be taking office at all. His was a masterful campaign, a triumph of optimism and brilliant organisation. (Bonus: the way Steve's daughter Sariah says "Bwack Obama" is beyond cute. It happens about 7-9 minutes into the video. Enjoy the rest of the cuteness, too.)
Twerp that I am: In the gloom that was Chennai during the rain of Cyclone Nisha and the horror of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, there was time for serious reflection. It first helped me realise what a twerp I’d been not too long ago. And then it yielded a startlingly clear picture of what I want to achieve in 2009. December had more purpose than the previous eleven months combined.

So, what made ’08 great for you? For those of you with blogs, consider yourselves well and truly TAGGED. For those of you without blogs, leave comments.