Two Thousand Fifteen!

It has become my yearly tradition to look back on my year, and list a whole bunch of stuff that either was a first time, major accomplishment, check mark on the bucket list, or just something I feel like bragging about!  Since it's the first week of the new year, here goes my list!

Major Events

• Promoted to a new office.  I moved from Taylorsville down south to American Fork.
• Became a lead doctor of the office.  This was the first time I've worked independently without another dentist in the office.  It's been a challenge, but also a major growing experience.  Plus, my staff is amazing!
• Commuting.  I kept my townhouse in West Jordan, meaning I have a round trip commute of about 45 miles each work day.  I never thought I'd become a commuter, especially since I'm not a morning person.  Yet another growing experience.
• Apartment hunting.  In August I thought very seriously about moving southward.  After viewing several apartments ranging from The District to Traverse Mountain, and even putting down an application fee, I decided to stay put in West Jordan. 

The Physical Side

•  5ks! Despite my somewhat reduced dedication to daily running, I still got in six 5ks this year.
•  Potter virtual run, Star Wars run, Dirty Dash mud run, Gamer dash, Color Run, Doctor Who, and a random zombie walk.

• Weight change: 0.5 pounds give or take.  This may not seem like a lot, but because I lost 30 pounds last year, I'm thrilled to keep steady.  I had a personal trainer for a year and a half, and after my contract ended I managed to keep myself motivated.  This means the lifestyle changes I implemented two years ago have actually stuck!

Misadventures

• Rode home in a cop car after my car broke down on Bangeter Highway
• First time calling a tow truck
• First medical xrays (besides dental xrays)
• First major injury: a severely sprained wrist.
• Thanks to the timing of my job transfer, I was witness to the entire construction process of the I-15 around the point of the mountain.  Seriously, I started commuting in March, and they started work the week after.  I think they might almost be done?
• Exploded a Diet Coke can in the front seat of my car.

Travels

• Disney World and Universal Studios.  May I had the chance to go with my dear friend Rachel to Florida as a plus one chaperon for the DECA competition.
• Harry Potter land! I was far too excited about Potter land, and Butterbeer, and magic!  This was definitely a check on my bucket list. 

• Florida with QiQi.  Another dear friend got engaged, and married in Florida this past year.  I was lucky enough to be invited.
• Orlando Temple.  I got to go to a session, and a sealing with QiQi and her new family.  What an amazing experience.
• Universal Studios.  Since I was already there, I decided to go back to Potter land, and relive it all over again.
• Hiking.  So much hiking!  Thanks to my good friend Kyle, I really got into the sport.  Seriously, I now posses hiking sticks, special hiking boots, and an Osprey backpack!

• Disneyland / California.  What else is new?  This was an accomplishment mainly because I went from Florida to California within about three weeks.  I definitely got my Disney fill for the year!

Family Fun

•  Tubed down the Provo River.  Another bucket lister.  For some reason I had been wanting to do this for quite some time.  I convinced the fam to come participate over Independence day weekend.  It was freezing, and a total blast!

• Stadium of Fire.  I'd heard about this event in years past, and finally got to experience the awe-inspiring number of fiery explosions.
• Journey live in concert at the Stadium of Fire.  Amazing!!  I'm a complete classic rock junkie, and I'd include Journey in that genre.  This was the most fun I've ever had at a concert.
• Payson temple open house.  The first temple open house I really remember, and especially appreciate.  Not to mention the first one since I've been endowed. 
• Attended temple sealings for two of my cousins. 
• Mitchell came home from his mission in South Africa, and I was one of the first people to meet him off the plane!

Random Accomplishments

• Used an entire bottle of perfume.  Seriously, I own about fifteen bottles of perfume, and never actually accomplished this!

•  Utilized an entire spool of thread.  First, but certainly not the last time I'll be doing this.  Apparently I do a lot of sewing.

• Podcasting.  Thanks to the amount of time I typically spend in the car commuting, I've gotten really into podcasting to avoid road-raging.
• Favorites include Serial, Filmspotting, Radiolab, This American Life, and The Fandom Podcast.
• Became a regular at J Dawgs with a "usual" and everything.

Fun Activities

• Comic Con and FanX!  This was a whole pile of exciting fun, including cosplaying, panels, meeting a whole bunch of amazing people, and getting to meet a slew of celebrities.
• Matt Smith, Billie Piper, Dean O'Gorman, James and Oliver Phelps, Karen Gillen, Tom Felton, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Stephen Yeun, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Manu Bennett, Carrie Fischer, and Chris Evans.
• Guinness World Record.  I, and my fellow comic-book enthusiasts, became the largest gathering of people dressed as comic book characters.  We even got a commemorative pin for the occasion! 
• Cosplay.  Thanks to ComicCon and Halloween, I constructed several new outfits this year.  That included props, and elaborate hairstyles.
•  Link (Nintendo's Zelda), Galadriel (Lord of the Rings), Captain America, Bad Wolf Girl (Doctor Who) and Jedi Knight.

• Movie Marathons.  For some reason I'm way too proud of the fact I can hang out at the movie theater for hours at a time.
• Avengers.  26.5 hours straight in the theater.  This was in preparation for Age of Ultron.  It was excellent!
• Star Wars.  Midnight to 9:30 pm marathon event (21.5 hours).  Unlimited popcorn, Diet Coke, Twitter trivia wars, and prizes.
• STAR WARS.  This is an event all of its own, and basically took over my life for most of December, and probably for January too.  Between May the Fourth, Force Friday, trailer drops, Fandango crashing with pre-sales, joining the Rebel Legion, meeting Princess Leia herself (Carrie Fischer), and seeing the Force Awakens opening night (and three times more), it's been a constant source of entertainment.

 

• Joined the Rebel Legion
• The Rebel Legion is a charity cosplay group consisting of the good guys from Star Wars.  We dress up as movie accurate characters and attend charity events, or miscellaneous Star Wars events.  You have to go through a pretty strict approval process to join. 
• My approved character is a generic Jedi.  I custom designed and put together the entire outfit, including the extra props.

 

• Saw Kenny Chesney live in concert with some old friends. 
• Real soccer game with Kyle.
• Scottish Festival.  And yes, I wore a real Scottish kilt brought to me from Scotland!
• Crazy hairstyles.  My hair's getting a little long, especially with addition of extensions.  Thanks to Pintrest, I learned to fishtail braid, dutch braid, do victory rolls, and - my personal favorite - Mohawk braid!

Please forgive all the selfies... don't judge, I live alone!

• Movies at the Theater.  53.   

  

  Feast your eyes on an entire years worth of movie ticket stubs!  Apparently I like the theater...

   Happy 2016!  I'm excited to see what the new year brings.