The Highs and Lows of 2014 - The Highs

Things went pretty well in 2014.  Some life changes, a little bit of travel, lots of family time, lots of music!  Before you read this post though, check out the one below it.  It's my "Lows" list. Makes the "Highs" list much better!  (as always, click 'em to big 'em!)

"The 10 High Points of 2014"(from less high to highest of the high)

10. St. Patrick's Day - Last year saw the close of O'Toole's, the only really Irish bar in town (as opposed to the other one which was more pub-like, and which had also closed).  This presented a the conundrum of where to grab the first green beer of the morning.  To their credit, another well-know drinking establishment nearby offered a free green beer if you came in with an O'Toole's shirt/sweatshirt/hat.  Of course, all of us did, and life was good.  At some point in the morning, a heavy wet snow came down, but by that time, we didn't really care...

9. Ray's Day - My brother-in-law died unexpectedly in 2010.  As the golf pro at the country club, he was well known regionally for his work with junior golf efforts.  As a fundraiser, the club had the first "Ray Day" tournament, which the entire family played in.  Just a fun time to get together and raise a little money for his scholarship program.  His oldest daughter (my niece) teed it up at the par-4 4th hole, hit the snot of the ball, and got her first hole-in-one!  We're fairly certain Ray had something to do with that...

8. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge - I had to thank all of my friends for NOT including my in the Ice Bucket Challenge!  I did, however, get to take the video of Moose completing hers while on our epic road trip to Fairbanks (see #2).  I may or may not have mucked up the first take, forcing her to walk out into the glacier lake for a second attempt...

7. Big Soul Band - It's a little sad that we only get together to perform only a couple of times a year, at the most.  But we make the best of it when we do!!  Our late-summer gig at the lake was all sorts of fun, bringing up memories of when the old band used to play out there fairly regularly.  What we had not experienced in the past, however, were the MASSIVE number of bugs that attacked us all night under the lights.  Not sure what sort of hatch was going on, but all of us swallowed our fair share of them that night.  And squished ten times as many in the pages of our music.  Drinking beers only added to the problem, for as many as a dozen would end up floating on top in between gulps!  Ah, good times...

6. State AA Basketball Championship Game - The high school I graduated from has won only two state basketball championships since it opened in 1973 (it's much more of a football school).  The first happened in 1983, and the cocky, hot-shot star of the team later became my brother-in-law.  The second time happened this past March, with the BIL as assistant coach, and his son (my nephew) as the not-near-as-cocky-but-better-shooting guard.  He fouled out (five fouls called against him in the span of less than 3 minutes???), but was instrumental in getting them to the point of winning.  It would be nice the next championship didn't take over thirty years again...

5. Griz/Cat Game - Ever since Gucci moved back to Montana, the idea of going to the Griz/Cat game together popped up.  It was even her idea!  But tickets to that game are impossible to get, but I managed to buy a couple!  Front row, south end zone, right at the end of the hash marks!  But her son got sick, then on the morning of the game her irrigation pipe froze and burst.  Needless to say, she didn't join me, but the Griz won in a HUGE way!  While we didn't have a bet like we did in the HNT days, I'm hoping that I can hold that over her for the coming year...

4. Making Donations - This is sort of related to #1 below, but I've found that I've had the chance to help out others in a financial way that I've really never had before.  I've always donated some money to Ashly for her Toys For Tots fundraiser, and did so again this year, but I also was able to help out some other friends out there.  Having a little extra cash is certainly a new and fun thing to experience...

3. Symphony Under the Stars - The 11th annual Symphony Under the Stars concert was, without a doubt, the best one yet.  It was a celebration of the Symphony's 60th year, Helena's 150th birthday, and also the 60th birthday of Disneyland!  We contacted Disney and were able to come up with a program of Disney music that would span all generations.  All written by hand by Mickey himself!  As a result, we had an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 people attend.  Possibly more!  It was a huge
success, though we could have used far more porta-potties.  As the producer, I know I couldn't have survived everything during the two days on-site without the capable work of my assistant, Libby.  She was so efficient that we actually sat down together about 6 hours before the concert, trying to figure out what major piece of the puzzle we had missed!  And the good news--she's coming back next year!

2. OsTour '14 - This year's OsTour wasn't so much a normal OsTour as it was a great road trip with my best friend.  The short back story--Moose needed to move family furniture and heirlooms, and a car, from South Dakota to Fairbanks.  She asked if I wanted to join her, and how could I say no??  I knew she wanted to meet up with Rachel on the way up, and my only request was to meet up with Kaneki in Calgary.  After that, it was all long days of driving a 14' U-haul towing a car, soaking in a brand of beauty that I didn't realize existed in the landscape,  and actually coming out of it all without killing each other!  I'd love to make the drive again, sans U-Haul, and take a lot more pictures...

 

1. New Symphony Gig! -

It's not often that some version of the OsTour doesn't make #1, but my new job with the Symphony runs laps around everything else.  The position of Director of Patron Services was almost handed to me, based on my decades of involvement with the organization.  It is one of only three full-time positions, yet it still allows me to continue with the other positions I was already doing.  In other words, I'm making money now!  For the first time since the early 90s, I'm not scraping by paycheck to paycheck.  I'm not getting rich, but I'm finally in a position where I don't have to worry about stretching my dollars.  It may seem materialistic, but it's also done wonders with my attitude and outlook on life.  And the stress is pretty much gone, and that's a really good thing...

And thus ends this year's list. My "Highs" for 2014.

Ha!  I checked what I wrote last year to end this, and other than the year, it applies again, word for word!  Happy New Year!

[Many of you are probably already at parties as I'm posting this. I'm staying home and watching "The Walking Dead" all night. I hope that everyone is having a safe but fun NYE! Looking forward to a great 2014!!]