Greg's 2013 Top 10

Greg's 2013 Top 10 List

Every year it seems like the media is littered with year-end top 10 lists. From the top movies, to the top news and sports stories, the focus on seems like the only content during the week between Christmas and New Year's.

I decided that I shouldn’t be looking forward making New Year’s resolutions, but instead I should be looking backward to write my year.

Some people like to write an open letter that accompanies a holiday card. While these are highly entertaining it's typically only for their braggadocio. I wanted to focus on the things that really made a difference in my life this year.

Here’s my personal top 10 list for 2013.

10) I got a new filling in a tooth in early March. It made a big difference in my life. It caught lots of food and I used to spend too much time picking my teeth, but the new filling is real smooth, doesn’t catch any food and I’ve successfully redeployed all that wasted tooth picking time.

9) I can go about five months before I drop my sunglasses and invariably scratch the lens. There is nothing that is more distracting that scratched lenses. My Ray Bans cost over $100 to replace which is a ridiculous amount to pay for what must cost about $10 to make. But this year I found that I can buy “knock off” replacement lenses for my genuine frames. I’m now much less distracted when I drive.

8) I bought my first smart phone this year. Yeah, yeah, I know I waited a long time. It’s been great for my overall organization and I’ve really improved my ability to ignore my wife, but the new phone hasn’t been all good news. I can no longer sport my super-nerd image by wearing the phone clipped to my belt.

7) After visiting Paris this summer (that’s all for the bragging), I was inspired to make crepes. While most experienced cooks think that cooking crepes is easy, it took every ounce of effort I could muster to turn this easy lesson into a hard one, but I did it. After weeks of exhaustive practice I have now mastered the skill. I could probably write a top 10 list on different kinds of crepes but I’ll jump right to number 1: Nutella and banana!

6) I learned how to set my DVR remotely from my office or my phone. This saved at least half a dozen beat downs from various family members who observed that providing a steady diet of recorded television was not my number one priority.

5) I discovered a new group called Maroon 5. They play music. Have you heard of them? Ok so they’ve been around for 20 years or so but I have a learning disorder when it comes to modern music. Please don’t judge.

4) I bought a lifetime supply of ibuprofen from Costco. The twin gazillion plastic bottles are now a regular part of my diet and have seeming cured me from aging.

3) I did a lot of reading in 2013 and learned many important life lessons. I learned about being a Mormon, about being a slave, about forging artwork and having sex on the moon.

2) I resisted the trend toward black athletic socks. White socks and white tennis shoes were the cool choice back in 1979 and everything else still looks uncool to my discerning eye. For that matter I continue to preserve the "tucked in shirt" look for future generations.

1) The number one biggest personal news story was supposed to be the combination of a Warriors, Sharks, Giants and 49ers championship, but that didn’t quite work out as planned. Instead, my number one personal story for 2013 was that I celebrated my 20^th year in a row having failed to get any return on my life insurance policy.

December 28, 2013