pantone801

2008 – A Review

// December 31st, 2008 // Uncategorized

I must say that i am not really a believer in luck, but I do like the number 8. This is one of the reasons my blog is called Pantone801 (also because I like the colour).

The Chinese believe 8 is a very lucky number because it sounds like the word “prosper” or “wealth”. And 2008 has brought Mark and I much Prosperity and Wealth.

For this reason the Beijing Summer Olympics were held on the 08/08/08 at began at 8:08 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8). Paul and Sue-Ann also had their wedding on this date, but sadly Mark and I could not make it back to Brisbane for the wedding.

2008 is the year I turned 28, and here are some highlights:

• 2008 has brought change. Mark and I moved 3000km across the continent. It was a painless move, we found a great place in Perth easily, the dog and two cats settled in quickly. We both also changed jobs in 2008. We have already had my Mum and Yvonne visit, and are looking forward to more visitors who want to try out our cute spare room.
• 2008 had a lot of travel. I visited to Northern Hemisphere 3 times this year. There was two 4 week long business trips to China, and a 2 week holiday in Chicago, San Francisco and Brisbane. This is quite impressive for me because I have not really traveled in the N. Hemisphere. I spent Australia Day in Sydney, we spent Easter in NZ sailing in the Bay of Islands with my Mum and two Brothers, we were in Sydney for Mardi Gras, and recently spent 2 weeks hopping between Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.
• I mentioned the Olympics before, I was in China days before the Olympics started, I scored tickets to a warm-up soccer match between China and NZ (the team was staying in my hotel). I also saw the controversial Olympic Torch, and also shared a hotel with it.
• We went to 3 great weddings, my cousin Keri married the lovely Bob in Chicago, and Gav’s married Gillian in Brisbane, and Mikey and Ian got married in Canberra.
• I saw three shows in 2008 (2 within days of each other)- Scotty shouted us tickets to Priscilla in Sydney (thanks mate!) and we also saw Rocky Horror in Sydney with Mikey and Ian, and saw Wicked in Melbourne with Scotty. The Andy Warhol exhibition in Brisbane also deserves a special mention.
• Unfortunately I have not seen much live music this year, and I think that Shapeshifter in Perth was the only gig that I attended. We also saw Olivia Newton John at Mardi Gras (a real highlight for Mark) Hopefully in 2009 I will see more gigs.
• In 2008 I did not see enough movies, but I think my favourite was Peresepolis.
• I have also not read enough books, but have read many travel books on the destinations I visited, and I think my favourite book was also Peresepolis.
• Music in 2008 has been great, and my annual Triple J Hottest 100 blog post will be ready in a few days, but I will make an early call and give the top song to The Presets. 2008 saw me listening to the Hottest 100 at a friend of a friends place in Sydney while I was down there catching up with Kirsten and Alicia.
• I took some great photos in 2008, and now that I have a new fancy camera, there should be many more sweet photos coming up [see my flickr]

So the year of 08 has been fantastic, and I am really looking forward to 09! Some of my new years resolutions are to read more books, see more movies, swim more, and travel more (Chicago for Christmas 09).