2008: The Blaug Entries That Should Have Been...

2008 was a monumental year for The Tauz.



(That's right. I started 2009 with a fucking pun. Off to a great start, eh?)

Anyways... '08 started out with me thinking I had the dedication to do one of those Take a Picture a Day things. Guess how long that lasted...



Yup.

I had a Wii, and the ladies showed up in droves to try it out...



(Even though it was to celebrate the holidays that happened in 2007...) 2008 was the year that Joe Fourhman, after a long and proud hiatus, shamefully broke his Non-Attendance Streak by showing up at the Station Holiday Party. It's also worth noting that this only happened because he was forced into making an appearance in order to get an award. He celebrated his win by leaving the party as soon as possible. Good for him.



My nephew Mason celebrated his first birthday by being adorable and awesome. He then utterly devoured his cupcake in under two minutes. Astounding. He's hardcore cute. Also, Oh-Eight was the first time I missed being at Kylie's birthday party. She continues to be a delightful firecracker dynamo full of talkiness and marvelousness. Those kids are the best. (I have photographic proof of all of this, but Big Bro Mark and Sis-in-law Laura don't dig me postin' pic's of the little ones up here. Take my word for it, though... they rule.)

Next up in the cuteness department, this year saw the arrival of a little puppy into Caleb and Autumn's (and subsequently, my) home. Ratchet is cute and loud and hyper and not fixed. He gets boners a lot and it is creepy. But we still love him because he is adorable. He has replaced Caleb as the mascot of the household. Yay, Rattie!



My old Jansport bookbag finally bit the dust this year when its zipper finally gave way permanently. It had been in service since about 6th grade... so for over 17 years. So after being bagless for a few sad months, I finally replaced it with a blue Timbuktu bag which now proudly sports a Green Lantern patch on the flap. It has done its predecessor proud so far. If you squint, you can pretend to see it on me in the pic below.



On the first Saturday in May 2008, I went down to DC with my family. We met up with my grandfather (and Uncle Roland) as he toured the landmarks with a huge group of his fellow WWII vets. It was really cool to get to walk around with him and talk to him about his part in history. And the neice and nephew had a grand ol' time experiencing one of their first Family Day Trips. After reveling in the coziness of quality family time, I rushed home and stopped in at my comic shop to scrape the bottom of the barrel of what had been Free Comic Book Day. (It's an addiction...what can I say?) But, honestly the highlight of the day was chillin' with Pawpaw. I have to give him credit for being the The Original Tauz. His buddies used to call him Tauz, but, being Cajun French, they pronounced it like "toes". Sometimes my dad will still call him Tauz when they talk on the phone. I think that's pretty cool. That's my roots, y'all...



2008 is the year when Mom and Dad went lo-flow. They re-hardwared the bathrooms with dual-flush toilets and everything. Push the button with one bump for #1, the one with two bumps for a #2. Pretty sweet; pretty green.



Heh. Poop was still funny in 2008, also.



And while I'm talking about awkward personal body function moments of the year, '08 saw me buy a Neti Pot. I immediately grossed everyone out by YouTubing myself using it. I'll spare you a second dose, but damn I thought that shit was fuckin' hilarious.



David Cook robbed Archuleta of being the official Idol. Damn his horrible, horrible legions of... um... "more mature" fans.



Big Bro Mark got his Master's Degree!! FUCK YEAH!! I was on-hand with other loved ones to make an embarrassing amount of supportive noise when they announced his name while he crossed the stage. We're all so proud of him!



In 2008, we sent a Tauzin to Africa! Terry (Big Bro Jeff's wife) took off for Ghana for a month to learn a shitload about African music and dance. She came back with so many amazing pictures, memories, and stories, as well as a new passion: Ethno-Musicology. Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Tucson, AZ, Big Bro Jeff took up Kung-Fu, which is totally excellent.



Autumn (Caleb's wife) got to know my family a tad better after she took a job as Mark and Laura's Interior Designer/Decorator. She's the reason I got to paint with my neice's feet.



I ate this NON-Gluten-Free burger at Hershey Park. Booooo.



On at least one occasion in 2008, I didn't know when to say when.



Gretch and Gruppy were there for a majority of those occasions...heart them!



And thank goodness I have friends like Caleb to encourage me to have another, but then be sober enough to drive me home when such gaps in judgment occur...



Retreat 08: the year I got pranked by some brilliant Second-years. Here I am, next to The Tauz Scarecrow (TM) made out of my own clothes and a balloon while I was out playin' some Ultimate. They made me so proud! *single tear*



I took on two editing projects in one summer: The Slideshow (which my young padawan Brett stepped up and showed awesome skills with)...



...and Stoner's Parents' 50th Anniversary DVD. Both turned out to be things I am proud of. (And for the record, below is Eep's finger flicking us off, not Stoner's finger flicking you off.)



Gas prices soared to record highs this year, which sucked. I did, however, find the silver lining, somehow.



I saw so many of my friends get married this year... and they ALL made sure I had Gluten-Free meals at their receptions. I love them all, and I'm so happy for you guys...

Kit and Tim got married. At the reception, Big Bro Mark and I did "The Catholic Dance" and they made Gluten-Free cookies for me.



Melfa and Brian got married and now join to form MELFANZARITE!! (Props to Dana for the name.) The reception was chock fulla friends and fun. And long-lost fun friends like Gretchen L.!!



Oh... and my friends' moms were there, too, which is always fun. Dancing with Miss Jo is always a hoot...



...and I totally surprised Ruthy (a.k.a. Big Sexy) with this outta-nowhere snipe-shot of us! Score!



Liz and Greg got married.



I danced like a fiend with Sarah and Joe, et. al.



They had Gluten-Free cookies for me at the reception.



Maureen and Saleem got married. "Twice." I was there. Twice.



So were Annie and Steve! And according to my thank you note from the newlyweds, I may or may not have saved the reception from a wild monkey attack...



Kristin and Bob got married. We partied at a restaurant next door to our hotel rooms. That waitress chick was crazy... I forgot my camera that day and I'm sad about that. It was tons of fun, though. Here's a pic of the happy newlyweds chatting with Meghan and Ed at the next wedding I went to, tho!!



G and Tuna got married. Much fun was had with friends from high school AND college. So much fun. And seeing Joe W. reminded me how much fun he is to goof around with... Here he and his lady-love are posing with the Couple of Honor and their Maid of Honor, Dana.



I danced like I was on a bender on Philly St. in Indiana, even though I was stone-cold sober. Eventually, the bartender asked if I wanted to take a pitcher of water with me to my table. I took him up on the offer. He gave me so much more time to make an ass out of myself. What a saint.



Loban and I moved out of our place together so that he and Angela could start being grown-ups. I went the other way and got another place with Molyneaux. Again, he and I reunited just off of Queen St. Our place, with thanks to his rockin' lady, Catie, is surprisingly classy (in spots) and sometimes even clean. They are both so good to me that I had to post the best picture of them that I have.



I bade farewell to The Comfy Chair. I find myself regretting it sometimes. Other times, not so much.



In 2008 Joe Fourhman found Jesus.



...on his Pop-Tart. He was not happy about it. I found it hilarious enough to document.

I cut 7 inches of hair off of my head.



I saw Rush one night, and Linkin Park the next. I do not recommend this to anyone who wants to continue respecting any band they go to see immediately after having seen 3 living rock gods continue to do their thing after 30 years. Rush are amazing.



2008 is the year that Linkin Park fell a notch or two in my list of favorites. Sorry, chums, but your live shows are not as amazing as all the teens want us to believe. Don't get me wrong... they're talented guys. I just want them to stay in the studio and out of politics. All that aside, I definitely had a great time with my 'Burgh Boyz while we were waiting to see LP.



I both attended and hosted Game Nights. At one, we played a MASSIVE game of Zombies. So massive, in fact, that we had to play on the floor.



I witnessed Rock Band get played for about 6 hours straight during the Youth Ministry Lock-in.



I saw a door in Promotions disappear and change into a time capsule full of Inside-Jokes...



...and plenty of Dick Jokes.



Soon after that, I saw The Tony disappear... (strictly from the office setting) ...but not before:

1) He became my temporary roommate and we made the Manliest Meal Ever.

2) We posed for this horribly hilarious and (at least) slightly offensive picture...

(It's offensive because I'm wearing something that promotes 'Til Death, a terrible FOX sitcom.)

I joined the Venture Bros. T-Shirt Club. I got a new shirt designed by the creators of the show for 13 weeks in a row. I now own many unique, limited-run t-shirts. And they are all great. Even the ones I don't like as much. Here I am sporting my Guild of Calamitous Intent threads. (Ignore the giant black thing dangling from my chin, please.)



I spent the summer watching almost exclusively superhero and stupid comedy movies:

Iron Man
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Don't Mess with the Zohan
WALL*E
Hancock
Hellboy 2
The Dark Knight
Step-Brothers

Only once was I mistakenly given the student discount without proof of ID.

I expanded the number of comic books that I subscribe to into the teens, and I bought my first longbox. (That's the kind of box you store your bagged and boarded comic books in, for those of you uneducated "cool" people out there.)



I beat Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers (in Subspace Emissary Mode) and No More Heroes on the Wii.



I went to TWO comic book conventions (WizardWorld: Philadelphia and Baltimore). Below is a pic of Robert Kirkman (left) and Brian Michael Bendis (right) "battling it out" on a panel at the Baltimore Con.



I went to a Video Game Expo in Philly. I, along with nearly 30 other people (among whom were Tony and Joe) played a giant multi-player round of Dance, Dance Revolution. I did not do well, but at least I can say I did it. Joe, Tony and I had a grand old time nerdin' it up around the convention center and a small part of Philadelphia.



So, to recap: Weekly Cartoon Show T-shirt Club. (Mostly) Nerdy movies enthusiastically viewed. More comic books. More video games. Two comic conventions. One video game expo. Totally sweet.

On an unrelated note, I somehow remain single.

...Ladies...



2008: The year I changed my own flat tire on the Saturn.



And speaking of the Saturn, even though that hunk of plastic served me well for the last eight years, I kicked my '97 Saturn to the curb in 2008...



...and, in the midst of Hurricane Hannah, I introduced the world to The Tauzda. Do I like it? Seven. Speaker. BOSE. System.



I rode a motorcycle for the first time. Sure, it was as a passenger, but it was still pretty kickass. Thanks, Eep. (If you look closely, you can see me pondering how much I might want one of these for myself, some day...)



Speaking of exhilarating experiences, 2008 was the year I actually got a bit emotional about my role in this nation's politics. I voted for Barack Obama. And he won. Now make with the change, dude.

I revived my Twitter account from its year-long hibernation. I now use it to update the Facebook account I created, because this was the year I got over myself and became a Facebookist. MySpace is so last year.

I discovered Kingdom Drum: a praise and worship drum circle group. How fucking amazing is that?!? Now I drum for God once a month. (Photo credit = Brett)



I attended and survived my 10-Year High School Reunion.

I traveled with my parents to Tucson, AZ to celebrate Christmas in the desert with Big Bro Jeff and Sis-in-Law Terry and their puppy-doo, Shaida.



For the first time ever, I went into a Circle K. I did so even though nothing strange was afoot.



I have worn the same sneakers all year long. (Not always with argyles, though.)



I posted a meager, paltry 25 entries here on The Tauz Blaug. I apologized about 25 times for not posting enough. I made empty promises. And yet you still come back to read.

It's because you can't get enough (and I can't give enough) of The Tauz Blaug.

Here's to hoping against all hope that I can be Better at Blauggin' in '09...

If, for some reason, you think I overlooked an event or something you feel was significant, let me know in comments! And I implore you to not feel slighted if you didn't show up in this post! You know I love all of my Tauz Blaug Faithfuls, irregardless of how many pictures of you I have and/or post here. Forgive me!!