Just like news organizations I thought it would be fun to post a year in review, for those interested.

Overall 2008 was a great year, I got to travel a bunch, worked on some amazing projects and even had a book published. Sounds interesting? Then read on.

The year started out with me wrapping up my first book, the Flash and PHP Bible with Wiley, which actually began in 2007, but it still counts. Once the book was completed I had the opportunity to travel to Japan with my family, which I absolutely loved. You can read more about that here. I traveled to Florida 4 times for various events and vacations, always bringing my camera and shooting a TON of photos, which I am still cataloging and archiving.

June was the start of a part-time freelance gig with Inverted Creative, a creative studio in Chicago which has given me the opportunity to work with some pretty awesome clients and produce solutions for the music and movie industries.

In all, 2008 was a great year. I did work a lot more than I had originally thought, but that hard work paid off in so many ways.

Not exactly sure what 2009 holds. I do plan to travel a bit more, spend time with family, continue to work on exciting and challenging projects and most of all enjoy it all. One thing I do intend to complete is my list of “free time” projects. Those including a new version of Scriptplayground, Design a Playing Card and AIRPlayground will be launched too.

A big Happy Holidays to my readers. No matter what you do/don’t celebrate these weeks are a time to spend with friends and family. A time to give gifts and receive them from others. A time to reflect on what you accomplished/lived this past year… and of course, a time to look to next year.

I am thankful for the opporuntunities I have experienced this past year and the people I have met throughout the adventure. Heres to 2009, which is only a few days away!

Just returning from a real vacation in almost 6 months I figured I would write about it. Beware, there is only a bit of tech geekery within this posting! This trip had two parts, and in fact it all started at the Apple store.. go figure.

Before I took off last Thursday (Dec. 11th) I headed to the Apple store to pick up a new MacBook Pro, and so far I am very pleased with it.. more on that in another post.

I jetted (via JetBlue) to Orlando on Friday Dec. 12th to spend a few days with my mom. Seeing as this was Disney country we needed to see at least one park, which this trip was Hollywood studios. Overall I liked the park, the Lights, Motors, Action show and Aerosmith ride were cool for sure. However, for the holiday season, the Osborne holiday light spectacular was the highlight here.

Once the weekend was over I headed to Port Charlotte ( a real hopping town ) where the focus of the week was photography. My cousin had requested I set up a photo shoot for her as an early 20th birthday present, so thats what we did. After realizing how much Muslin (fabric) cost locally we opted for a remote photo shoot in Sarasota and Venice, which I will post in a few days, probably after the holidays.

We did end up shooting a few other places for fun as well (since we seem to both share a hobby of photography). However, one of the most interesting mini-trips was to Anna Maria Island. Ever see those movies of small towns where everyone knows each other and loves the community aspect of it all? No? Well go to Anna Maria Island, its happening still.

Once we arrived on the island via an hour car ride, Teisha, my cousin took me on a memories trip to her old houses and other various places. We grabbed lunch at this cafe on the beach where I had one of the best white fish sandwiches I have ever encountered. We ended the day trip at a little local ice cream shop where my cousin used to go, so it was interesting to go back. I actually met a gentleman who knew my childhood friend Andrew and even attended his memorial bike run, which was very cool to me (small world).

On the last weekend I went to dinner with the family at a Japanese restaurant and had a great bunch of sushi and hibachi goodness. So much so that we had to take it back home, but it was sooo good (almost as good as the real thing).

On Saturday (the last full day) I got the chance once again to attend church with my cousin, where I actually went to school when I was much younger.. and people still know me. After church there was this beach gathering with food, friends and water.. and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

On Sunday (travel day) I got stuck at Ft. Myers airport due to Boston weather conditions, but ended up arriving at about 2:30. It is great to be back home for the holidays and I am sure I will be going back to Florida soon enough, its where the other half of my family is!