You know those really fun “what in the hell happened this year” update letters that you get from dutiful friends and loved ones you rarely talk to but still care very much about?  You know the kind – they’re fun and comprehensive and they make you feel like a slug for a) not sending out holiday cards and b) not updating anyone outside of your immediate circle on what you’re actually doing with your life?  Yeah, those.  Well, I (Travis) decided that I’d take all of Alisha’s guilt-ridden facebook messages about not updating our blog at least once a month (who does that?!) and sum up 2009 like one of those holiday update letters.  That oughta last us a solid month – maybe through mid-February, right?  Okay, maybe not, but here it goes anyway.  “My summation of 2009” by Travis Gates.

So as it turns out, 2009 was a pretty big year.  I’m not really one to brag, but if you’re even remotely interested in what we’re up to, there’s some seriously news-worthy stuff that happened in 2009.

Let’s see then – what actually did happen in 2009?

Oh! Kristen got her Master of Art in Urban Planning after two years of very hard work at UCLA.  Woot woot!  Talk about your big achievements.  The woman boggles my mind.  And my mom (Nancy) retired from her teaching career at Perrysburg High School.  Woot woot for Momma Gates, too!  A very deserved and hard-earned retirement to say the least.  So score one big one for both of those lovely ladies in 2009!

Then, of course there was the proposal on March 5.  That’s significant for obvious reasons.  There’s also the fact that she actually said yes.  So score one for me in 2009.  (I’m shooting for a repeat “yes/I do” in 2010 at the wedding, by the way, so I’ll keep you posted on that one.) And that rather large “yes” sparked quite the chain reaction of wedding planning, of which I’ve done very little other than offer up my opinion and watch Kristen make that little cartoon dust tornado around herself like the Tazmanian Devil as she has literally nailed down every loose end with a solid six months to spare.

In addition to our wedding planning, we also had the pleasure of being a part of several other weddings.  Between the two of us, Kristen and I returned home to Ohio for four different weddings in 2009.  Congratulations are owed to the new Mike & Libby Stark, Ryan & Lauren Dorff, CJ & Tara Szlag and Kristin & Mike Boland!  May 2009 be the first year of a lifetime together!

Weddings and planning stuff aside, what else happened in 2009?

Oh – there’s work!  How could I forget about work?  Kristen made great progress at her job with the Hollywood Community Studio, including the grand opening of her office on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.  And as she helped make the world a better place, I worked in the entertainment industry and tried to undo everything she worked so hard on.  I kid.  But sometimes it feels that way when you live with someone that does truly meaningful work.  Again, I’m digressing.  I was very fortunate to land a gig on a great show and worked the entire year on Dinosaur Train (currently airing on PBS Kids – please check it out).

Okay, so that buttoned up work.

There were a few “firsts” in 2009 for each of us as well (besides the whole engagement thing, of course). Kristen got her first taste at shooting a gun.  And since that’s an experience she is in absolutely no rush to replicate, I guess I’ll be enjoying that hobby solo.  But we both got into yoga a bit more, so that’s something we’ve been enjoying together.  I also tried acupuncture for the first time and have been enjoying “qi highs” as of late (yes it’s legal).  And while Kristen has been practicing on her new digital piano quite a bit, she gave me guitar lessons for my birthday.  So I’ve been torturing the neighbors with that off and on since March.  We’ve also gotten into camping more with a trip to the dessert a few months back and more in the works for 2010.  Hikes around the LA area have also been part of our regular weekend routines as we’ve found some really great trails just minutes from our place.  I also started doing “Crossfit” this year, which has been a wake-up call to every muscle I thought had disappeared in the last decade.  All in all, it appears that we’ve taken some steps to be more active in the last year.  So score another one there, right?!  Let’s see … anything else that’s noteworthy?

I could completely digress into my “best and worst of” film critiques from 2009. Or I could provide you my running commentary on the decline of personal driving ability in the LA area.  Book reviews?  Music?  Hm.  I think I’ll avoid those endless pits of my opinion and end with this:

2009 was a great year.  One for the books and blogs alike.  Looking back, it was probably one of the greatest years I’ve enjoyed as my journey continues.  But there are always things left undone and unseen and so, with that, we have another year ahead.  Another decade, in fact.  So here’s to making the most of 2010 having learned and experienced so much in 2009!  Happy journeying everyone!

One of the coolest parts of LA that many Angelinos conveniently tend to forget is that just outside of our city limits lies the total antithesis of LA.  Clear air.  Small towns (really small).  Cows.  Clear air.

We had the pleasure of joining our friends, Eric and Katie, and their friends, Ryan and Erin, on a camping trip in Anza-Borrego State Park this past weekend.  Anza-Borrego is actually the largest state park in California (no small feat) and is home to more rocks than I could even fathom existed in the desert.  Big rocks.  Granite rocks.  And aside from the rather jagged one that was lodged under my sleeping bag, we enjoyed every one of them.

Originally, I deemed the trip “Chuckwalla Hunt ‘09” because Chuckwalla are quite possibly the coolest-named desert creature ever.  Check ‘em out – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuckwalla.  I secretly wanted to find one and raise him (or her) as our own.  We could even name it Charlie the Chuckwalla.  Cool, right?  But seeing as Kristen only sort of shared my enthusiasm for searching out lizards, I resolved to let it be a desert camping trip with friends.  And that it was.  Perfect solitude in clear, non-city air where the biggest challenge aside from rock hopping was which flavor of Dorito we were going to munch on.  (Cool Ranch it is!)

Hopefully you’ve all had the chance to just “be” and enjoy some serenity of your own.  If not, come on out to Anza-Borrego!

Last weekend, during a visit by our good friend, Alisha, it was brought to our attention that our last post, “New Beginnings,” had been up for far too long.  Without insulting our laziness, Alisha made us aware that there are a few folks out there who still read this thing.  So with you – the few – in mind, here’s the latest from life on the Left coAst.

Our second summer in LA has been awesome.  We unofficially consider 2008 our rookie season.  While mostly enjoyed, frankly, there were some rough spots.  We actually paid for parking.  Even gave a few bad directions to friends.  (hint to non-locals: lifeguard stations have numbers … they’re even set up sequentially!)  So this, our sophomore season at the beach, has proven more successful.  Fewer sunburns.  Free parking.  And a frisbee that doesn’t blow away in a stiff wind.  Maybe next year will even bring fewer scrapes on the skimboard.  Here’s to hoping.

With our fellow Ohio friends, Robb and Andrea, we have casually created our very own “Ohio Beach Days”.  Basically it consists of a few Ohio natives laying on the beach.  (I know, it’s an original idea.)  And last weekend it grew a bit when some fellow beach-goers started a game on the nearby Volleyball court.  Turns out they were all mostly from Ohio. Some were on vacation.  Some were at least semi-permanently transplanted from Ohio.  Regardless, it was one of the many good days we’ve spent in the sand this summer.

We’ve also been busying ourselves (okay, mostly Kristen has) with planning our wedding.  Looks like July of ‘10 will spark yet another rookie season -as NEWLY WEDS!  There’s still lots to plan, but the bigger basics are covered: We’re having the ceremony at the Browning Amphitheater on the campus of THE Ohio State University.  Following that will be the reception at The Columbus Athenaeum (which Travis just spelled correctly for the first time today) in the Olympian Ballroom.  We’re looking forward to a fun year of planning what we hope to be a great milestone in our future as a couple.

And we’ve also been visited by some really special people this summer.  Abbey, Kristen’s best friend/maid of honor, was out just a few weeks ago for the first time.  Alisha (no more giving us crap, Alisha – this is shout-out numero dos! ) was here on Saturday.  And Jeff (aka ‘Team Maynard’) has been out several times visiting our new friend, Lauren.  Lauren was even nice enough to share her family’s beach side get-away in Oceanside last month.  That was one of the highlights of our sophomore season as beach-goers for sure.

If you’re thinking to yourself, “well, is the beach all you did this summer?” – you’re sort of correct.  We’ve both been working.  We’ve even gotten in a few hikes.  But – as our distinguished friend DeKoven pointed out last Sunday – if you live in Southern California, shouldn’t you spend as much time on or near the beach as possible?!  So true, DeKoven.  So true.

That’s about all we know for now.  Cheers from life on the Left coAst!

-K & T-