Goodnight 2008

Lola in the first big snow, originally uploaded by showlola1980.

What a spectacular and wonderful and odd year this has been. I know its strange to write here after so much time away, but it seems so sad just to let this blog die, even if its outgrown its original usefulness. I think that I'm fulfilling most of my social networking needs now with Twitter, and Goodreads, and even (gasp!) Facebook, and I'm still writing at my professional blog over at Genre X. Still, there's something nice about having a personal blog to update every once in awhile - even if its just to chronicle the kinds of personal milestones that seem worth devoting more than 140 characters to.

So in short, yes, I am caving to pressure from Dan and Anne and my other friends who continue to blog after all this time. I can't say I'll update this super frequently, but I do think there is a place for Madame Librarian in my already too-full online life.

In 2008:

I met a lot of professional goals I had for myself, including getting a promotion and feeling more like I understood my role in the organization. I feel like we've come a long way since March 2007, and I'm eager to continue to help us to grow.

Our dog Lola returned to us in February after an extended stay with my Mom in Michigan. Our first Chicago apartment didn't allow dogs at first, so she stayed with Mom until we could convince our landlords to let us bring her along. I'm so grateful to family for keeping her for those months, and I'm even more delighted to have her here with us again. Anybody that's met Lola knows she's a challenging dog, but I honestly feel like those challenges often make her more special to me - she has enough personality for 10 dogs. And there is not another dog on this planet with more love to give than her.

We moved to a bigger apartment, bought a couch, and attempted to get a little more put together. Little by little, Brad and I are starting to carve out the life that we want to have for ourselves. I feel so lucky that our jobs and this city have turned out so well for us. brad's also been fortunate, getting a promotion in January that offered him the switch to become a corporate employee and create an unexpected new career in property management.

We've had lots of time to spend with friends, old and new, and we've come to really accept Chicago - and Oak Park - as home. There are so many opportunities here that we've never had and the people that we continue to meet are incredible. We miss our family and MI friends, but every month living here just becomes more natural. Its hard to imagine ever going back.

I finished 80 books in 2008, and kept track of all of them using GoodReads. Goodreads (along with Flickr) is one of the only social networking tools I'm currently using that I would be more than willing to pay for. And they keep making it better. Seriously LibraryThing and Shelfari users, consider making the switch. Its that good of a service and community.

Genre X (or 20s and 30s bookclub) took off in 2008, with blog readership, attendance, and participation way, way up this year. This is honestly one of the most fun social club that I currently participate in and Its part of my job.

Brad and I spent a lot of time this year going back and forth to visit family. His sister had a little girl in October, and its been fun being there for showers and visits. Avery is an incredibly cool baby, and spending time with her and the rest of our family reminds us just how important it is to keep our bonds with family strong.

This coming year I'm planning to keep my goals simple and hopefully attainable. So in 2009 I'm planning to quit soda, floss more and take better care of my skin, and I'd like to read 100 books, including at least 12 from the 1001 books to read before you die list.

Happy New Year Internets.