In Retrospect...

Best movie of 2010: The classic mistake is to give the most credit to the most recent awesome thing one has seen, but I will brave that mistake by saying that True Grit, while ultimately a straightforward and forgettable movie, had some of the most engaging performances I’ve seen all year.

Worst movie of 2010: Robo-Geisha, hands down. This is a movie that can only be enjoyed alongside good liquor and better friends.



Best video game of 2010: I’m going with Amnesia: The Dark Descent. This is a game that literally made me want to stop playing because I was getting scared. Whether that makes it “good” is a matter of opinion, but either way some artistic credit is due.

Worst video game of 2010: Dante’s Inferno. This game is about a former Templar running through hell fighting physical manifestations of various sins he committed during what he believed was a righteous crusade. The developers managed to make that into a boring, mundane experience.

Best personal accomplishment of 2010: This is, happily, a difficult decision. I lost 30 lbs in the span of 4 months. I finished my Master’s degree. I passed my REG exam. I’m going to write off the degree, because most of the work for that was done in the previous year. I’m also going to write off the lost weight, because in the end I didn’t expend a lot of effort on it- turns out all I really had to do was stop horking down every edible object I laid eyes on. That leaves, once again, the most recent awesome thing of the year, which would be my passing of the REG exam

Worst personal failing of 2010: In the weeks following my return from Europe, I let myself slip into a bit of an apathetic slump. I wouldn’t call it a profound depression so much as a period during which I just wasn’t very aggressive in achieving my personal goals. If I had put the same effort into my life during July and August that I did in the last quarter of the year, it’s quite possible I’d be halfway to my CPA exam.

Best day of 2010: Bodrum. Beaches. Fruity drinks. Sun. For an entire day, I didn’t desire a single thing that wasn’t all around me.

Worst day of 2010: The day I took my REG exam. I took the exam on the last day of the year that it was being offered, and if I had missed it, I would have had to start studying all over again for the 2011 version, which would have contained an entirely different set of tax rules; naturally, things went wrong and when I got to the center they didn’t have me properly scheduled. I actually did miss my scheduled exam, but after the most frantic hour of the year I managed to suss things out with the good folks at NASBA, and they penciled me in for later during that same day. On top of the horrific nervousness that naturally accompanies an endeavor like this, I can easily say that this was the most nerve-wracking day of the year. It still didn’t stop me from passing.