And here we go! (finally!)
December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?
The best place I think I’ve been all year is Shoal Bay in Anguilla. The beach there is like nothing I’ve seen before (and I’ve been to a lot of beaches) but it felt so peaceful that I could have stayed there forever. No annoying american tourists, no people trying to sell me something, only white sand and beautiful coral reef. The bonus? Hardly anyone on this massive beach. I felt like we had it all to ourselves.
December 12 New food. You’re now in love with Lebanese food and you didn’t even know what it was in January of this year.
Ok so this is probably something that is going to sound silly, but Alex and I finally REALLY discovered Thai food – specifically the curries (and for me, Pumpkin Curry to be exact.) From then on, we were addicted and constantly looking for new Thai places. The fried banana w/coconut ice cream desert that most of them offer didn’t hurt either! If you know a Thai place that we MUST try, please comment it’s location!
December 13 What’s the best change you made to the place you live?
The best change? getting rid of all the boxes – like today. That’s right, we moved over a month ago but I never had the chance to totally unpack and get rid of the boxes until this holiday week!
December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?
I actually probably got this TWICE… once during Re:Frame Austin, and the other during Re:Frame San Francisco. Wedding Videography is often perceived as cheesy and cheap (well – those two do go together actually) but our goal w/Re:Frame is to educate not only our peers but also the world that Wedding Videography is actually FILMMAKING at it’s best, and I was so proud to be involved with something that is changing those perceptions!!
December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?
Quite honestly nothing stands out to me as much as our future packaging (I can’t wait to share it!!!) but I did love our Christmas gift from Victor Sizemore that came in box crate w/loads of custom labels. The time and energy that went into that is amazing!
December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What’s yours?
Ok, Gwen is really into tea (hence the question). Um… I like tea, but don’t know what kind i really like (and I’m married to a Brit! Shame on me!!) so my favorite tea right now, is any ‘ol tea :)
December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. “2009 was _____.”
TIRING (but in a good way). This year Elysium & Luvbug Films shot over 170 weddings. That’s over 20% above what we did in 2008. so that tiring feeling is a good one (especially in a recession) and makes me happy how many people value what we create.
December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?
What mad money??? LOL!! Of course any money always goes back into the business but any spare dollars were spent on traveling… it’s what we love to do!
December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?
Well I have to be cliche and say that my best car ride was in Hawaii on the “road to Hana” w/Alex. Ok, so we saw like 100 convertible mustangs (loads of tourists) but we also spent the day reconnecting and taking in the gorgeous scenery. Plus – I was driving so my fingernails didn’t lodged into the dashboard.
December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?
Hmm… I met so many people!! I really can’t chose just one. Sorry for the lame answer!
December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?
I like how this prompt says “start” without implying finishing something LOL! I would have to say the project of creating a new online jukebox for our clients. Yep – it’s started but nowhere near done! However, the projects I’m proud of that I DID finish, are our new website and the development of www.thefusionpost.com.
December 22 Startup. What’s a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?
Well this isn’t a startup, but is probably the only business I found this year that I fell in love with: Virgin America Airlines!! The fact that you feel like you’re riding in a hip club is cool in itself, but the fact that you can be online at 35,000 feet is another! Not to mention all the movies, games, etc. I am fully entertained on a VA flight!!
December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn’t live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.
Um nothing… what am I missing? Please suggest!! I did just sign up for Google Wave which seems really cool.
December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?
I’ve learned to follow my gut even more than ever before. My gut is usually right. Oh and I also learned that tapeless workflow is not necessarily less expensive than buying tapes. Oh well.
December 25 Gift. What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?
My coffee maker. One can never drink too much coffee :)
December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?
Oh this one’s easy! It’s the moment I realized that I have waaaaayyyyy too much on my plate. I never want to be one of those people who has no life and who gets sick of doing what they love. So in 2010, one of my resolutions is to choose to work less. By less I mean slightly more than a normal 9-5 job. I plan to have a more balanced life!
December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?
Yes both!! I’ve reconnected w/so many highschool/college friends on facebook and am loving Twitter!! Follow me… some good things to come via twitter in 2010! @julie_hill!
