The Naming of Things

I realize we're already a week into 2009, but I still feel the need to recap 2008. Besides, this is the time I usually write my yearly journal entry so it's fitting. And I'm sure you're all dying to read my journal anyway. ;)

One of my favorite things about New Year's is making lists of the things I've done in the past year and things I would like to do in the coming year. So here you have 2008 in list form. (Good thing I got a jump-start with my last post).

Places I visited:

-Boise, ID
-Rexburg, ID
-Park City, UT
-Nantuckett, MA
-Washington DC (duh)
-Baltimore, MD
-Harrisburg, PA
-Fredricksburg, VA
-Annapolis, MD
-Nashville, TN
-Murfreesburo, TN
-Miami, FL
-Salt Lake City, UT ;)

Favorite movies I saw in the theater:

-Across the Universe (I realize it came out in '07 but I saw it in '08 and it is easily one of my all-time favorites)
-Wall-E
-Penelope
-21
-Hmm, I can't come up with any other movies I really liked . . . then again, I didn't see too many movies in theater.

A few mportant lessons learned/interesting observations:
-I can do scary/hard things and survive.
-Utah drivers have earned their reputation (good thing I'm not one anymore :) )
-Always, always, always back up your files . . . especially the music!
-There is nothing as beautiful as Virginia during the fall.
-Zach Braff is a genuis.
-I am terrible with directions!
-I like sci-fi stuff . . .
-Making requests to your favorite musician can really pay off!
-I should have been going to Sundance for years.
-Heavenly Father always, always, always puts you where you need to be when you need to be there.

Concerts I went to:

-Miles To Go, Alex Boye, Peter Breinholt @ Springville High School
-Alexa Wilkinson, Ingrid Michaelson, Joshua Radin @ Club Sound
-Alexa Wilkinson, Ingrid Michaelson, Joshua Radin @ The Big Easy
-Buddy, A Fine Frenzy @ The Avalon
-Ingrid Michaelson @ Best Buy
-Hotel Cafe Tour (Meiko, Jim Bianco, Dan Wilson, Cary Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson) @ The Avalon
-Glen Hansard, Maketa Irglova, The Frames @ The Depot
-Cary Judd, Joshua James @ Agenda Clothing
-Emerson Hart @ Hard Rock Cafe
-Lexy Sayok, Shark Speed @ The Avalon
-Greg Laswell and Ingrid Michaelson @ The Avalon
-Erin McCarley, Joshua Radin @ In The Venue
-Joshua Radin, Missy Higgins @ The Underground
-Slow Runner, William Fitzsimmons @ Jammin' Java
-David Ford, Newton Faulkner, Ingrid Michaelson @ The Birchmere
-A couple open mic nights @ random locations

Favorite Albums of the year:

-Hideaway-The Weepies
-The Sparrow and the Crow-William Fitzsimmons
-Three Flights From Alto Nido-Greg Laswell
-Mermaids-Slow Runner
-Limbs and Branches-Jon Foreman (it's the best of his Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer EP's, two of which came out in '07)
-Simple Times-Joshua Radin
-Viva la Vida-Coldplay

Favorite music discoveries of the year:

-Greg Laswell
-Ingrid Michaelson
-Slow Runner
-Jon Foreman
-James Yorkston

And finally, the list I take most seriously my Top 25 Songs Listened to . . . (Really, it's quite ridiculous. I make sure I listen to songs in their entirety so they get counted, I add up times played on both i tunes and my i pod, and of course I reset play counts at the end of each year . . . I should probably see someone about my OCD . . .)

1-Sky by Joshua Radin featuring Ingrid Michaelson (apparently I spent 9.88 hours of my year listening to this song and that doesn't include the live perfomances)
2-Lovely Tonight by Joshua Radin
3-You Got Growing Up To Do by Joshua Radin
4-The Fear You Won't Fall by Joshua Radin (gee, that's funny, I just listed JR's Unclear Sky EP . . . It's like it came out the day after I bought my new computer and it was my first i tunes purchase or something)
5- The Chain by Ingrid Michaelson
6-One of Those Days by Joshua Radin
7-Sundrenched World by Joshua Radin
8-I'd Rather Be With You by Joshua Radin
9-Winter by Joshua Radin
10-Today by Joshua Radin
11-What a Day by Greg Laswell
12-Everything'll Be Alright by Joshua Radin
13-How the Day Sounds by Greg Laswell
14-Go to Hell by David Ford
15-Song for the Road by David Ford
16-We Feel Alone by William Fitzsimmons
17-Long Ride Home by Patty Griffin
18-Breakable by Ingrid Michaelson
19-We Are Okay by Joshua Radin
20-The One I Love by Greg Laswell
21-Can't Go Back Now by The Weepies
22-Glimmer by Aqualung
23-Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson
24-Free of Me by Joshua Radin
25-The Glass Parade by Cary Brothers

If I could track the number of times I listened to songs on youtube or myspace, I guarentee William Fitzsimmon's Passion Play would have made the list and The Chain by Ingrid Michaelson would have at least made the top 3. And I swear, the list gets much more diverse when you go beyond 25, I do listen to more than just Josh and friends.

Stay tuned for the pics . . . ;)