2006, Year in Review

The year 2006 was an absolutely amazing year. So much has changed in my life that it's hard to believe there were only 365 days in the year. I began the year as a Unix Systems Admin for Basin Electric Power Cooperative and ended it as a seminarian studying 1,000 miles from home.

Early in the year I visited Italy and saw Rome, Assisi, and Florence. Upon my return, I applied to the Catholic seminary and was accepted. Then the craziness ensued as I sold my house, took an amazing vacation to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas (don't worry, I behaved). After that I flew to Guatemala to work with the God's Child Project to build homes for the poor in Antigua. Once back in North Dakota, near the end of summer, I toured North Dakota on my motorcycle one last time before starting school in Saint Louis, MO, for the fall semester. Whew!

Some family/friend news of note from 2006, in random order:

• Grandpa Bill Hoffman passed away during a snowmobile trip in the mountains, doing what he loved with the people he loved.
• Vaughn and Shauna had a baby, cute little Kaelyn.
• Back around September, Grandpa Brunelle had serious heart surgery to replace a failing valve and is thankfully doing very well.
• My friend Dawn Mull was confirmed in the Catholic Church.
• Grandma Signalness' cat, Kitty, was put down in September.
• My cousin's dog, Bailey, was also put down.
• Good friends Jesse and Cheryl moved to Las Vegas . . . and back to North Dakota. They seem happy to be back.

Some world/national news of note from 2006:

• Feb: In February, Muslims violently protested cartoons depicting Muhammed as a terrorist. As if to prove the cartoonist's point, they killed and rioted in protest.
• May: In May, Immigrants marched and protested U.S. immigration policy. New policy allowing many illegals to eventually become citizens is passed, as is a plan for upgraded security and a border fence at Mexico. Also, a 6.3 magnitude quake killed more than 5800 people in Indonesia.
• Jul: Starting in July, Israel and Lebanon went to war after two Israeli soldiers were abducted. Violent crime in the U.S. was on the increase for the first time in four years, up by 2.5%. St. Louis was later named the most dangerous U.S. City.
• Aug: In August, a plot to blow up planes with liquid explosives on flights from Britain to the U.S. was averted. Strict rules were put in place limiting liquids and gels on flights.
• Sep: Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed by a sting ray. Pope Benedict XVI made remarks that outraged some Muslims, who for the second time this year rioted, murdered, and terrorized for all the wrong reasons. There was also a military coup in Thailand.
• Oct: In October, North Korea conducted a nuclear test. Also, five girls were killed by a disturbed gunman in the Amish community in Nickel Mines, Penn.
• Nov: Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down in November, urging a change in tactics with Iraq. Also in November, Democrats took control of the House and Senate and Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-KGB spy, was murdered in London by exposure to Polonium 210.
• Dec: President Gerald Ford died on December 26th. On December 30th, Saddam Hussein was executed.

Last year was full of drama, adventure, stress, and excitement. I can't imagine 2007 will compare. But time will tell. Happy New Year.