"Best Of" list for 2004:
Best Day: This year it isn't even a day about me. Erica's signing with the University of Texas was pretty special because it was something she dreamed about for two years, and had almost stopped hoping for.
Best Surprise: Why, snow in Houston on Christmas Eve, of course!
Best Micro-Vacation: We didn't have many this year, with Erica here and golf tournaments taking precedence. But both of those things also meant that this year's winner is Colorado Springs, which was a great place to visit.
Best Party: Super Bowl weekend in Houston narrowly beats out the Halloween party we helped host in an old storefront this year. Preparing for the Halloween party was more fun, but we were blown away by what having a Super Bowl in your town means.
(Tentatively) Best Decision: Hopefully, it was leaving my position with NextiraOne and moving on to better things. It's too soon to tell, since it only happened yesterday.

Happy New Year, everybody! Today marks the fifth anniversary of my arrival in Houston. At first glance this year seemed to be fairly non-eventful and routine, but in retrospect it was a pivotal one. Erica came to live with us, and I am ending the year with a career change. I still would like to make next year stand out a little more, but again, nothing bad to report and that's good. We'll see.