It’s New Year’s Eve, and that, good friends, is a time for reflection over the past 12 months. For me, 2009 has been a hallmark year. Sure, it’s had its trials and tribulation; but overall, it’s been a great year. Moreover, I honestly believe I will look back on 2009 as a major turning point in my life. That’s mainly because of two people who’ve become partners in my life, in two very different but important ways.

The Other Half

For those of you who aren’t aware, I have an important engagement. Specifically an engagement to be wed. This engagement was arranged mid-way through this past year and we both knew it was a longtime coming. But, as much as I expected things would carry on as they had, that wasn’t the case. Things changed. In most cases for the better, in some cases for the worse, but overall it’s been an exciting change that has started to steer my life away from much of the… well, immaturity that’s plagued my mid-twenties.

Anita has been at the heart of my life for almost 6 years now, and I can’t imagine what things would be like without her. Whether it be tempering my nerdy impulses (“Do you really need to own a replica He-Man sword?”), or encouraging my more responsible nature (“Yes, you should go to be now if you need to wake up at 3 in the morning.”), Anita’s been nothing but a positive influence on me. She’s been changing me, yes, but for the better.

Plus, we bought a house together – imagine, me, Scott C Bourgeois, home owner. Yeah, that’s pretty wild. I’ve also been living with Anita for a full year now, and surprisingly we’ve not killed each other. Now, I can’t speak for her, but for me, living with Anita hasn’t been a chore. It’s been a treat. I relish every minute of it, and I look forward to every day.

Anita has been a huge influence on my life in the past few years – but this last year was the year we decided to make things official. She’s been forcing me to grow up and actually be an adult – at least for the most part – and for that, my partnership with her has been a hugely important part of the past year.

Love you honey!

The Unknown Studio

If Anita is the first important partnership that influenced my year, then it goes without saying that Adam is the second. A random re-acquaintance that has turned into a valuable business partnership… and an equally valuable friendship.

I really didn’t expect that I would end up hooking back up Adam, whom I honestly didn’t know that well prior to this year. We’d very rarely spoken when he was EiC at The Gateway, and I wouldn’t have exactly called him my friend. Imagine my surprise when we hit it off at a #yeg tweetup, and began working on a project together.

I cannot overstate the impact that Adam and The Unknown Studio have had on my life these past few months. It’s given me the chance to hone my craft, to meet new people and to get involved again. Suddenly, new opportunities were opening up for me… and more importantly I was motivated to grasp at them.

Would I have had the motivation to start blogging again without Adam? Probably not. Would I have put together a podcast on my own, one half as successful as this one? No, can’t say I would have. Would I have met all of the interesting people that I have because of the podcast? Definitely not.

This is entirely the doing of Adam Rozenhart, and I can’t thank him enough for providing me with that inspiration – and, more importantly, for sharing his friendship with me.

In Conclusion of a Decade

So here’s to 2009 – the year of Anita and Adam. May our fortunes continue to be intertwined, and may we continue to share our successes!

That’s it for me for the year, folks. Happy New Year, and see you all in 2010.

2009, adam is awesome, Anita, new year