As I leave 2008...

366 days gone by (well...almost)! Time for Top 10 events, Top 10 movies, Top 10 sporting events, even Top 10 turkeys...

Personally, the year has been nothing short of eventful.
- Had to curse myself for being dead right in my predictions (about things I wouldn't talk here...would take too long to read).
- Took up (and sustained) photography and birdwatching as my hobbies.
- Traveled a ton. From the US to Europe, from India's east coast to the west, from hill stations to beaches, from business to tourism to family gatherings.
- Social networking a revelation, though I am still grappling with maintaining the momentum. Catch me on Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, Twitter and Flickr.

Events outside my influence which left an imprint (in no particular order):
- The "stormy" evening of 11/26. The saga left me wondering about the definitions of independence, security, safety and life.
- A recession that was long in the coming. Lehmann Brothers RIP...Jobs lost in the hundreds of thousands...At least, we now get gas cheaper.
- Corporate blunders, again anticipated, from Detroit. Another anticipated one, though closer to home and heart. Satyam planning to acquire Maytas for a ridiculous amount to strengthen its infrastructure vertical. Enough said!
- A resurgent India, in sports at least. While we must be proud of MSD and his boys and Abhinav Bindra among a host of other players, 2 questions come to my mind. Firstly, is our national passion benefiting from degrading standards in other cricketing teams? Secondly, when will Michael Phelps become a source of inspiration for our sporting committees?
- Where's the good news? Chandrayaan. Truly inspiring, given the image we have of Government organizations in India. I hope we'd not forgotten this so quickly and had made this a flagship story to improve our country.
- Barrack Obama.

And, of course, jargon that went out of fashion (Palinisms anyone) and those that would be used on us indiscriminately for sometime to come (non-state actors for one).