My 2011: A Recap

A recap of my year:

I worked a lot. Erica got a new job, and she works a lot there too. We moved at the end of April. Our new apartment is much nicer. We bought lots of furniture. We finally shaved the matted hair off of our cat, and he has been much happier ever since. We took a week-long cruise through the Caribbean in November. I started a home business, which should make a public debut early next year (2012).

Books read:
1. The 4-Hour Body, by Timothy Ferriss. Critics have been somewhat dismissive of it, but the stuff I have tried from it has generally worked pretty well. I recommend it.
2. Stages of Faith, by James W. Fowler. A bit slow at first, but an insightful treatise on religious experience across various faith perspectives. A good read for anyone who believes that his belief system is "the one true faith." This even includes atheists. (*Sidenote: most Mormons are stage 3 for life.)
3. Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, by Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery. Probably the best book on early Mormon history that I've read to date. I highly recommend it.
4. In-N-Out Burger, by Stacy Perman. A good overview of the origins and history of one of the best fast food chains on the planet. I have a profound respect for the company, not just because of its quality products, but also because of good business practices (it pays higher wages and still charges reasonable prices, yet demands quality work from its employees. Which they are eager to deliver.)
5. An Insider's View to Mormon Origins, by Grant Palmer. The most honest review that I can give is to say that I'm really glad I read this book. If you want to know more about it, feel free to ask.
6. The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. If you want to read one book that describes in detail what happened when the global economy nose-dived in 2008, this is it. This book is essentially a brilliant piece of journalism, and Lewis is now considered a go-to guy by members of Congress who want to know more about the latest recession. (He also wrote the book that the movie Moneyball was based on.) Read. This. Book.
7. Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. A timless classic, yet slightly different than what I had expected.

Movies watched:
1. The Green Hornet. 2.5 stars. Generic comic book movie, nothing special.
2. No Strings Attached. 2.5 stars. Not as bad as I expected, but also nothing special.
3. The Roommate. 2 stars. Essentially a remake of Single White Female. I hate giving Minka Kelly such a paltry rating, but the movie wasn't great.
4. Cedar Rapids. 3 stars. This stars Ed Helms (Andy from The Office), who is perfect in this role. I enjoyed the simple yet funny story.
5. The Adjustment Bureau. 3.5 stars. A rather unique sci-fi love story, but grippingly entertaining.
6. Take Me Home Tonight. 2.5 stars. A slacker has a coming-of-age evening. Set in the 80s. Kind of bland.
7. Battle: Los Angeles. 2.5 stars. Lots of mindless sci-fi action, and one of the most accurate portrayals of Marine Corps fighting that you will see outside of actual war footage. But still--a pretty ridiculous story and premise.
8. Red Riding Hood. 1.5 stars. As lousy and Rotten Tomatoes said it would be.
9. Limitless. 3 stars. A drug makes a guys supersmart, and he metaphorically sets out to conquer the world. Interesting and entertaining, but I didn't care for the ending.
10. Sucker Punch. 2.5 stars. Super cool action sequences and CGI sets. Weird storyline and ending.
11. Source Code. 3.5 stars. Probably the best original sci-fi film since Inception.
12. Hanna. 2.5 stars. Weird, a bit disturbing, but not bad.
13. Thor. 3 stars. A solid comic book adaptation, with good action sequences.
14. Bridesmaids. 4 stars. Hilarious! If you only saw one comedy this year, I hope this was it.
15. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. 2 stars. I expected much more from this franchise. Each movie in this series has slipped a little from the previous one. At least the first one was really good.
16. The Tree of Life. 3 stars. An extremely artsy film, but one I think most religious people can appreciate. It causes you to rethink your conception of God, in a good way.
17. X-Men First Class. 3.5 stars. A very well-done and entertaining prequel to the other X-Men films.
18. Super 8. 3.5 stars. A great original sci-fi film, with solid acting performances from its youthful cast.
19. Green Lantern. 2 stars. Very generic. Nothing exciting. Ryan Reynolds does better with comedy.
20. Transformers: Dark of the Moon. 3 stars. I think the Transformers movies get a bad rap. They are actually enjoyable if you are in the mood for mindless action and special effects.
21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: (Part 2). 4 stars. Excellent finale to an excellent series of films/books. Everything I hoped it would be.
22. Captain America. 3 stars. Another solid comic book adaptation.
23. Cowboys & Aliens. 2.5 stars. Mainly hype and special effects, but not much substance.
24. Attack the Block. 3.5 stars. A very clever film about an alien invasion in a London slum.
25. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 3.5 stars. My only complain about this excellent film is that I felt like during the first half of the movie nobody was treating these aggressive animals with the proper care that they warranted.
26. Fright Night. 3 stars. A rare remake that I'm actually glad I watched, with solid acting.
27. The Debt. 3 stars. A gripping Cold War tale of a Mossad operation gone awry. Enjoyable.
28. Contagion. 3.5 stars. I think this movie affected me more than most, mainly because I am aware of the role that pandemics have played in world history, and that we are well overdue for another one, based on current ratios of population to resources.
29. Moneyball. 3.5 stars. A well-told story that's bigger than just baseball. Reminiscent of last year's The Social Network.
30. Red State. 3.5 stars. A compellingly freaky movie that explores the thin line between religious zealotry and deadly cult fanaticism. Kevin Smith at his finest.
31. 50/50. 4 stars. Probably my favorite film of the year. Asks the question "What would it be like to have a 50% chance of survival at a young age?" Great cast, with great performances.
32. A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. 3.5 stars. I'm a sucker for this series of films. A delightfully raunchy buddy flick.
33. The Descendants. 4 stars. A very close runner-up for my favorite film of the year. Deeply moving performances, with a very honest feel. Yet just light-hearted enough to keep you from crying.
34. The Muppets. 3.5 stars. I wasn't expecting much, but was blown away by how clever and entertaining this film was. It made the Muppets relevant again. Catchy musical numbers too.
35. Hugo. 3 stars. A solid film, with captivating visuals. My only complaint is that it dragged a little, but that's common with Scorsese films.
36. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. 3.5 stars. Gritty and raw, yet captivating. Not for the faint of heart. Closely followed the format of the Swedish film adaptation.
37. The Help. 4 stars. A gripping exploration of racial issues in the 1950/60s, that still manages to convey a relevant message for today.

TV Shows I watch(ed):
1. Pan Am
2. Attack of the Show
3. One Tree Hill
4. Modern Family
*I had very little time to watch television this year. At least I saw a lot of movies!

Places I visited:
1. Minneapolis
2. Southern California
3. New Orleans
4. Jamaica
5. Grand Caymen
6. Cozumel, Mexico

Major furniture items purchased:
1. Set of couches
2. Rustic dining room table
3. New dresser
4. Bookshelves
5. Coffee table
6. End table
7. Sealy posturepedic mattress and bed frame

My personal weight differential:
I hit a low of 160 lbs back in early April. I hit a high of 186 lbs. just before Christmas. There were ups and downs in between. But a 26 lbs. shift for a 5'8" individual is pretty significant.

Goals for 2012:
1. Attain a net worth of $1 million. (Hey, why not aim big?)
2. Lose 30 lbs. (Just to see what happens if I do.)
3. Run my first ever marathon (The Marine Corps Marathon in Oct) with a Boston-qualifying time. (This is why I'm dropping 30 lbs.)

Here's to a healthy, happy, and successful 2012!