2015 Was a Successful Year

Today is December 21st, 2015, meaning there are ten days after today in 2015, or today is the 355th day of the year. That also means the year is almost over, and in just a few days, American life will stop for the Christmas Holiday, and essentially stay there through the New Year. Most business is just about done, and it's time to take stock of the year that was.

I had a good number of highlights. For the purpose of this post, I will stick with the things that went well. Here are some of my personal highlights this year:

• In 2015, I went to 40 professional baseball games, all either MLB or AAA games. I'm way more proud of this than I should be.
• I got elected to public office as a member of the Palmer Township Board of Auditors. I got 1,657 votes in the general election and 19 write-in votes in the primary to win the nomination.
• I went to Pittsburgh for the first time since 2008- on consecutive weekends. I will be back in 2016.
• For the first time since 2001, I saw the Rolling Stones again. It was the fourth time I've seen them. They were the first concert I ever went to also.
• I saw a Pope for the first time in my life. I was maybe ten yards from Pope Francis during his visit in Philadelphia. 
• I went to PNC Park and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh both for the first time since they opened. They are really beautiful stadiums. 
• I went to the Liacouras Center at Temple University and saw a basketball game for the first time. It was also my first NIT tournament game, a quarterfinal win over Louisiana Tech.
• I went to just one college football game this year too, a Temple win over Tulane.
• I finished my first FULL year as a member of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. I started my elected term in mid-2014.
• I finally went up in the Liberty One skyscraper in Philadelphia, to work no less, this year. I was up there working for Lynne Abraham's campaign for Mayor.
• I did the Monument Park tour at Yankee Stadium for the first time ever this season. On a completely separate day, I sat in the left-field bleachers for the first time too.
• I saw my first concert at Citi Field. It was the Foo Fighters. It's hard to beat that.
• I started my own consulting business late this year. It's very different, but i'm enjoying it, so far.
• I made my first visit to the Palestra, to see Harvard and Yale play for the Ivy League Men's Basketball title, no less.
• I went to my first Moravian Alumni Board meeting. I mean, i'm around ten years out now, so I guess i'm not "too young" for that anymore.
• I made my first visit to Gettysburg. I love that town.
• I got my first foul ball at a baseball game in over ten years. For perspective, I may have got over 200 in the 1990s. Then there was a decade of none. Then I got two this year.

That's most of what I can remember. I have a Facebook picture album about this year. View it here.