2000 – 2009: My Decade in Review

Here in Iowa, it’s a bit strange to see so many 2010 signs and party favours in the store since as a Vancouverite, I feel a sort of ownership over those numbers. For the last seven years we’ve been talking about “2010” an how it will change the City. Now that it’s here (and the Olympic Winter Games are mere weeks away) it’s a mystery as to what will truly happen in 2010 after Vancouver 2010.

However, what 2010 really means is that the “2000s” are over (even though that’s not as fancy a name for a decade as the “80s” or “90s”). Here’s what happened in my life over the last ten years…

2000
I became an auntie to the beautiful Alexis and at 20 years old, I started working for a streaming audio company – my first professional gig in the internet technology realm.

2001
I came into work at 6:00am and watched the big screens in the boardroom in shock as the two towers fell.

I worked hard, got a promotion and began building up a company that I had no idea would lead me across the continent and into a decade-long career in new media. The company also took a big trip to Vegas to celebrate the growth.

2002
I became an auntie again to the charmingly sweet Ethan. I also moved to Boston with my company, shutting down the Vancouver office and starting up production with a new team in Watertown, MA.

I went to New York for a weekend and never knew I’d be back seven years later… again for only a weekend. I only hopped over to London during American Thanksgiving to visit my friend Michelle who was living there and working for the BBC.

2003
My company became the world’s largest webcaster of financial audio. I listened to Canucks games online from my house (and then my loft) in Cambridge, MA and went to plenty of Bruins games. I also started using the handle “Miss604” as my email alias. Went to Vegas again with Jenny who also visited me a few times in Boston and took my mom to Salem when she visited me too.

2004
Home from Boston, I became an auntie again as we welcomed baby Cameron on Independence Day. I bought a fancy new car and took a two week road trip to Napa Valley. I also visited my friend Anne in Toronto and started a little thing called a “blog” in the fall.

2005

I met a boy but he lived in Iowa. After several visits back and forth the pain of being apart was too much to bear so he joined me up in Vancouver. I then took him to his first NHL game.

2006

That boy from Iowa became my husband. A few weeks before we were married we went to our first Podcaster Meetup where we met folks like Tod Maffin, David Drucker, James Sherrett and Monique Trottier. A few months after that we attended BarCamp where I did my first liveblogging. We also started something called The Crazy Canucks podcast with some of our friends. I began writing Year in Review blog posts.

2007

We met Duane Storey at the Northern Voice conference and I began hanging out with a wonderful girl named Keira-Anne. Sean and Booth were welcomed into our family and thus I became an auntie again. I also started blogging for a cause (raising $800 for local charities that year) and I wrote a Year in Review blog post.

2008

I became an auntie for the fourth time to “Tornado” Jakob, started my own company, and ended the year in Iowa with family. I was blogging so much that I wrote two Year in Review posts (1, 2).

2009
I lost my baby Kitty cat (who died at age 19), I helped my mom start a blog for her Sherlock Holmes club, I traveled from the Swiss Alps to the tropics and already covered most of the year in this Year in Review blog post.

I don’t think I’ll be becoming an auntie again in this coming decade but I’m looking forward to seeing Alexis, Ethan, Cameron, Jakob and Booth grow into fine young adults. I’ll raise a glass to my sister tonight as I’m sure this coming decade will be just as busy for her as the last.

I am thankful to be able to start a new decade of my life with John and even though I’m missing my family back home, they’ll be getting a phone call from me at 10:00pm (since it will be midnight here). I’ll also see them soon enough as we have some cake for a certain annual celebration in my honor that is rounding the corner.

We’re thrilled to be here in Iowa once again to start the year off with loved ones and as the margaritas start flowing, here’s hoping that in 2010 we’ll be able to see them more often — before the year expires once again.