I saw a year-end survey on some other blog and decided to do one, too. The one I saw was okay, but I wanted to do a different one. Well, it seems near impossible in 2004... a lot of blogs are completing the same year-end survey. Bummer. So, here it is. My "Year in Review," if you will.

BTW, since that biggest of big events occured this year (my wedding), a lot of answers will probably involve the aforementioned event. My apologies for the frequency of "the wedding" in my answers, but that's the way it is.

Take a look, and maybe even fill one out for yourself (and don't forget to email it to me).

I hope you all had a wonderful, prosperous, and happy 2004. I wish you all nothing but the best in 2005. Please come back this way next year and experience my year with me.

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
I went to Jamaica, went SCUBA-diving (in Jamaica), and got married (before going to Jamaica).

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any New Year's resolutions last year, so I guess I kept them. But I do plan to have quite a few for next year, and I intend on keeping them all. Those resolutions, of course, will be posted here for all to see.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Mr. Brian had a baby! Well, actually, Mrs. Brian had a baby, but Mr. Brian's the proud pappy.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Curtis. Oh, and Rodney Dangerfield and the ODB cashed in, too, but I didn't know them personally.

5. What countries did you visit?
Jamaica! Pay attention!

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
An abundance of free time, a renewed dedication to fitness and nutrition, and a list of accomplishments.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 15, 2004: I went onto Xbox Live for the first time while playing Halo 2. -- Just kidding. The obvious answer is
October 23, 2004: One year before my first wedding anniversary.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting readers like you to visit this website!

9. What was your biggest failure?
I didn't get any work published, and my fitness and nutrition discipline waned.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few colds, a sunburn when I was stranded at sea in Jamaica, and I threw my back out a couple of times -- once at the gym and once hauling a few bags of laundry. Aging is terrible.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A second ReplayTV. It's very handy.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
All my "from-Miami" groomsmen for travelling so far and putting up with so much. Thanks, fellas!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled?
Dubya and Jessica Simpson -- the single-digit IQ club.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Two words: THE WEDDING.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Jamaica! A whole week of rest, relaxation, and sun. I can't wait for our next trip.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
Songs don't usually remind me of a year, but that's in part because I'm really bad with years. A cop-out answer would be U2's Unchained Melody, because it was the song Amber and I danced to at our wedding. Otherwise, songs do not equal years for me. ... Yeah, that's a crappy answer. Sorry.

17. Compared to this time last year, you are:
Married, poorer, older, and more inspired.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Written and worked out.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Watched TV and eaten.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
In my home, sunny Miami, FL, single for all intents and purposes (Amber was in Pittsburgh).

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
You could say that.

23. How many one-night stands?
Just one, but then I took her to Jamaica and it became more of a lifetime-night stand.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Scrubs for laughs, but I loved Carnivale because Amber never missed it so I could always count on sitting down to watch that with her.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, my hate list hasn't expanded... but it also hasn't become any smaller.

26. What was the best book you read?
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Pure genius!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
More salsa, more merengue, more Li'l John!

28. What did you want and get?
A good year, overall, and I got it. That's very vague, but it's true.

29. What did you want and not get?
A house, but I didn't really expect one this year, anyway.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hmm... that's tough. I liked Napolean Dynamite, which I saw recently. I also really liked Shrek 2. I'd give the edge to Shrek 2, though.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I drove to Pittsburgh for my 25th birthday, so basically I spent it driving. Fun fun, zoom zoom.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
That's tough, because it really was a satisfying year. But here's the easy answer: money.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
It fits, it's cheap, and it doesn't make me cringe. Put it on!

34. What kept you sane?
XBox and Playstation 2... an escape from the world of wedding planning.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kiera Knightly comes to mind. There has to be more, but I just can't think of any right now.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Offshoring of jobs, the national debt, the invasion of Iraq (of course), and issues that sought to join church and state. In summary: Dubya pissed me off the most.

37. Who did you miss?
Bill Clinton. What other answer can you expect after asking a political question?

38. Who was the best new person/people you met?
Our fellow big-city-people-stuck-in-a-small-town-called-Poughkeepsie buddies, Eysha and Mike.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
I didn't really learn this, but it was reemphasized for me: Don't worry, everything works out in the end.