1) Qualified for a $5000 NAPT poker tournament in Vegas. Tried to unregister and pocket the $5000. Unable to do so, enjoyed a few days at the Venetian.

2) Met Orel Hershiser at said tournament.

3) Was eliminated by Orel Hershiser at said tournament. (QQ vs. KK)

4) Suffered an awful defeat by the hands of my previous employer. Cost my boss his job.

5) Was genuinely amused by the prospect of a gag BYOND blogger named "jamckell." Was even more amused when finding out it was not a gag.

6) Traveled around Nanjing Road (南京路) and the Yu Garden(豫園) in Shanghai. Found that you can buy multi-hundred year old ginseng for $50,000 and ornately carved elephant tusks for $300,000.

7) Had five out of six consecutive flights where my seatmate was either a) grossly overweight, or b) smelled like an overcologned/undershowered duffel bag.

8) Drove a Mercedes at 180km/hour on the highway without realizing it. Then it dawns on me that I'm in Germany on the Autobahn. Total buzzkill later to see a car engulfed in flames near an ausfahrt/exit.

9) Had a good harvest in pears this year. Made nine jars of pear butter. Had an even better harvest of apples. Made a good amount of pies, strudel, and applesauce, but about 100 pounds of unused apples are fermenting in my garage as I type this.

10) Was able to inspire Bootykid1 to read the Harry Potter series of books. Simple really: three books = iPod, five books = iPad, all seven = iPod + iPad.