Share your action-packed highlights of the year here. Finish a master’s degree? Start a second career in the big city? Witness Obama in person? See yet another side of Africa? Take an awesome showshoe trip? Get married? Love to hear about it in the comments section.
Personally, I had an awesome year, and I could never rank events in my life. Among my highlights, Jamie and I made a quick tour of Argentina, from Buenos Aires all the way down to Tierra del Fuego with Patagonia in between. If I haven’t subjected you to the slideshow, here it is again.
After Peace Corps, it was a little refreshing, a little odd and a little revolting to be abroad as nothing more than a tourist. We bought art, went to tourist markets, rode — cringe — tourist buses and snapped photos every step of the way. Before we left, our elderly neighbor jokingly asked us to bring him some, “bolos.” Just yesterday we wrapped up some boleadoras and listened as he told us how he’d been fascinated by them since third grade when he saw gauchos use them in a school film.
Had another cool moment this summer when I got to stand track side, 20 feet from the finish line at Hayward Field, on a warm night, as three Eugene runners took the 800 meter final the Olympic Trials. They didn’t do much at the Olympics, but fans and athletes will always have Eugene on this night.
I’d love to hear your highlights in the comments section. Happy New Year! –Zack
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Zack Barnett 
2008? Whoa. It’s been an infamous year. I (temporarily, lord willing) suspended a journalism career by taking a buy-out from the newspaper where I worked and eventually accepted a job teaching English in northwest China — a job for which the wonderful Zack Barnett wrote me a reference. So that was a highlight.
Hi, I found your blog ’cause you’ve mentioned a tour. Exactly I’m argentinian, well these days everybody think about highlights, and I can’t grumble, ’cause I feel that this was ‘my year’ it was really good, and I’m on the road yet.
The challenge is coming on, and I want to be optimist, always together with my family and friends.
Have you been to Puerto Madryn? I love Patagonia, and thanks for share your tour.
Regards,
Daniel
Santa Fe Argentina
Z-Barn! Stumbled upon your website through a linkedin update. I never realized just how striking a figure you cut until I saw your mug prominently placed on the web against a backdrop of snowy coastal mountains. Anyway – haven’t talked in a while and thought I’d touch base. As for highlights, I took my first archery elk in September and finally got out of a dead end relationship after almost two years. 2009 will be a great year, with new challenges and high expectations!
2008 highlights:
1.) turning 21
2.) getting one of my authentic student-produced videos (complete with a spelling error) on local news : )
1. Taking my son to Disneyland with my mom, dad and sister.
2. Another successful Homecoming trip to Missoula!!!
3. Reconnecting with A LOT of work, college and high school friends (yay Facebook!).
4. Writing a good obituary and eulogy for my grandmother.
5. Volunteering as a poll worker during a record turnout election.
6. Getting a new puppy.
Oh, and visiting New York City for the first time.
You Barnetts are going to be the death of me. I was up to 4:30 a.m. New Year’s Eve with Papa Larry. At one point I had a glass of dinner wine, a can of Tecate, a large glass of Presdiente brandy and Coke and a shot of Black Velvet in front of me.
After that night, each day of 2009 can only get better and better.
Great web site. Feel bad it took me so long to visit.