2008

2008 was an extreme year for me. Well, as extreme as it can get for a completely ordinary guy like me. It was the year in which I have worked hardest in my life. It was the year I was most stressed, aged most, got most gray hair, became unfit most, etc. It was the year I lost most (in terms of money). It was perhaps the year I learnt most as an adult. It was the most professionally satisfying year of my career. And, it was the year when the rewards of the hard toil of being a parent have started to show - spending time with my 2 year old son is such a delight, despite the frustrations and the hard work.

2008 was also an extreme year for me in decision making terms. For someone who freezes when trying to decide which pair of socks to wear, it was a monumental effort to decide to buy a house (strictly speaking, it was more like buying a mortgage, which came with a house), and then to decide which house to buy. And then to decide to do some upgrades and the million decisions associated with it. I think I made more decisions over the last few months than all the decisions I have ever made before.

There was at least one side-benefit to being too busy - I rode along in blissful ignorance the whole year when the financial markets and all my investments went into the toilet. I simply didn't have the energy to pay attention, leave alone take any evasive action. I am a lot poorer today than I was an year ago, but I sort of don't care. I certainly didn't experience any stress from that. (I like to think of it as following the strategy of "staying the course", as recommended by John Bogle ;)

2008 also ended the lives of two of my favorite authors - Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton. That really is bad.

2008 also saw my favorite sports team (Indian's cricket team) scale some new heights. These are exciting times if you are an Indian cricket fan.

2009 is certain to be challenging, both personally and economically. I guess I'd call it a good year, if I manage to do two things: contribute to the happiness of my loved ones and give my psyche some contentment.