The Year 2008 According To Chris Brewer

Time flies way too quickly, and wouldn’t you believe it? — the year 2008 will pass away in 25 hours. 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, one year…gone, just like that. But oh, what an eventful time it was!

I just realized that 2008 marked only the second calendar year of my entire life in which I did not step foot in my home states of Oregon and Washington, something that WILL change in March 2009. The other year that occurred was 2005.

Anyhoo, in the same vein of my 2007 recap, I present to you the major events that shaped my year. Enjoy!

January 7 – The year started off with a mighty rushing wind — multiple tornadoes touched down around the area, killing two people and damaging numerous homes and businesses. One even touched down near downtown. The scary part was that one of them touched down mere blocks from my parents’ place in Republic.

January 30 – January was a very boring month, but at the end things spiced up a bit when I took a job with AT&T as an account rep and left Crimson House Ministries to search for a different church. I ended up attending James River Assembly for a time.

February 11 – DFA fell from the sky in the form of freezing rain. We had nearly an inch of ice accumulation at the house. Power stayed on the entire time for the duration of this one, though.

February 18 – Mom bought a dog…a two-month old chocolate lab puppy named Cocoa. Poor little dude squealed the entire way home and I had to hold him down. His little heart was racing and he didn’t pee all day. My how times have changed, he’s huge these days.

February 29 – The Blogaronis were held at Panera Bread. I was nominated, but Jason’s blog dominated the competition, winning six awards.

March 7 – I received word that a high school friend of mine, Gabe Triplett, went missing. His body was found April 7, a horribly sad ending a tragic tale that began when he was behind the wheel of a vehicle when it crashed, killing his sister, injuring his brother severely and causing him massive brain damage.

March 13 – I roiled the local Emergent church community with my views on questioning faith…and it brought forth an interesting discussion in the comments.

March 29 – Cris Birch, a good friend of mine, married Rachael Baysinger in a ceremony at New Horizons Church in Washougal, WA. Hard to believe the dude’s four years younger than me and has already…well, you know.

April 8 – I joined the choir at James River Assembly. Bad move.

April 16 – My Chrysler Cirrus, the car that sustained me for nearly four years, drew its last breath. With that, my dad found a 1997 Acura TL to replace it…and I flew to Vegas to pick it up and drive it back to Springfield. What an upgrade!

April 21 – After nine months of not working for any television or video production station, I was offered a job as a multimedia reporter for the Springfield News-Leader, a job which I accepted and still hold today.

May 3 – I huffed and puffed my way to an inauspicious finish in the Republic May Day 5K.

May 5 – I started my job at the N-L.

May 23 – It was really neat to attend a dinner for the local chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Group — I was there to shoot a video story on them, because there were only three members still remaining. The stories they had to tell were nothing short of amazing.

June 10 – My first public request for prayer and moral support for my younger brother Jason, whom the Army continues to try to screw over to this day.

June 13 – I saw firsthand how torrential rains can cripple our city. Springfield wilted under three inches of rain in three hours, and the flood was massive. People kept driving into water…it was nuts.

June 18 – Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was in town for an energy forum and I had the opportunity to shoot a one-on-one interview with him and our political reporter Chad Livengood.

July 2 – Seattle loses the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City, thusly throwing my fan support toward my #2 favorite basketball team solely toward my #1, the Portland Trail Blazers.

July 4 – I sang in the JRA Choir at I Love America 2008. Again, bad move.

July 5 – I moved out of my parents’ house in Republic to my own apartment on the north side of town.

July 5 – KY3 bit off a story I had shot three weeks prior for the N-L for Flag Day, using it as a recycled piece for Independence Day. It took every bit of the Christian in me to refrain from one-finger-saluting them.

July 20 – I turned 24. I’m getting old.

July 26 – Growing increasingly disenchanted with the concept of modern church as a whole, I wondered in writing why on earth people raise their hands during worship services and worship the most when the music reaches a crescendo. Emotional fervor???

July 31 Barack Obama comes to Springfield and once again I videotape a one-on-one interview between him and Chad, thus ensuring that having covered both McCain and Obama, “I shot whoever would be the next president.”

August 8 – The Mystery of the Flat Tire. Who on earth would shove an X-Acto knife blade into my back tire while I am on a shoot? Still, God only knows.

August 20 – I discovered that Bank of America had sent checks that I ordered and confirmed to be delivered to my home address here in Missouri, were actually sent to my ex-girlfriend’s parents’ address (where I lived for four months after moving from Virginia). Not a good thing considering her dad probably still wants me dead at the time of this writing.

August 25 – The best sunset I’ve ever seen. Had to throw this one in there.

August 26 – Michael Guglielmucci, the Australian pastor who wrote “Healer,” admitted he lied to friends and family about being stricken with terminal cancer. I wrote about how Guglielmucci needs to be held accountable because his ministry staff and congregation obviously didn’t hold him accountable as a leader before, and thus I drew the ire of many. (I am still startled as to the number of happy-go-lucky Christians who are willing to give the man a free pass.)

September 9 – I finally came to my senses and left Six Flags Over Jesus.

September 15 – Crimson House?!?!?! AGAIN!?!?!?!

September 27-30 – I visited my friend Mark in Houston, TX to help him and his friends recover from Hurricane Ike. They got walloped pretty hard and while it was good to see Mark, being down there during a time in which people needed help in the worst way possible was an eye-opener.

October 2 – Ten people gathered at Smith Park in Springfield for the first-ever SOFA football gathering. It was originally launched as a community-oriented ministry for Crimson House, but since there’s only one person from church who goes anymore I’ve changed it to just a fun social networking event. The first game ended in a 49-39 Red victory.

October 6 – Louise Kell, the matriarch of the Kelso COGOP (the church I attended in my later teenage years), passed away — ending an era at my former church home.

October 8 – I came to the sad realization that people at Six Flags Over Jesus, for the most part, don’t really keep in touch unless you’re there in person — or worse yet, part of their Church Social Club.

October 14 – Teams bearing my middle and last name made the Major League Baseball playoffs. The Tampa Bay RAYs and the Milwaukee BREWERs both succumbed to the same team, though.

October 17 – Wichita, KS called my name, so I went and visited the place for an NPPA convention in which I had my news stories critiqued to the bitter end. Sigh.

October 21 – It was the three-year anniversary of my deployment to the kitty litter box of the world.

October 28 – All hell broke loose as Gannett, the parent company of the newspaper I work for, announced a 10% staff reduction. All in all, over 2200 employees were laid off and the newspaper industry officially became a killing field.

November 3 – Cocoa came home after Mom had given him up to a good family, but wanted him back. So here he is.

November 4 – The Washington Elite win again as a major-party candidate takes the White House. Sigh.

November 8 – Springfield held its annual Veterans Parade to honor those who have served and currently serve our country. It was bitter cold outside, but just the same I was saddened that no one really showed up…I only counted a couple hundred people along the entire twelve-block parade route.

November 12 – Jason turned 21, ensuring both the Brewer Brothers are legal adults that can now do anything they want to, together. Mom and Dad need not worry though!

November 22 – I had to write about my friend Michael Perozzo dressing up as “Darth Blazer” during Portland Trail Blazer home games at the Rose Garden. What a guy.

November 29 – I finally found myself in the movie Untraceable. I was an extra and I appear for only 1.3 seconds in the film. WIN.

November 30 – Oregon won the Civil War football game over Oregon State. Dejected Oregon State players sulked by cleaning out their team bus, which just happened to be a horse trailer that only need be hosed down twice a month.

December 6 – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones played in Springfield, and I WASN’T THERE.

December 7 – The amateurs beat the pros 35-31 in a heated flag football matchup. We’re better than we originally thought!

December 16 – After expecting a huge snow, we were all let down when Springfield weathermen failed us yet again. The only time we really need them to be right, though, is when tornadoes are about to hit.

December 25 – Christmas wasn’t really Christmas this year. Jason didn’t get to come home and Dad only arrived on Christmas Eve. Bah humbug. I slept off most of the day.

RATE THE YEAR: 6 out of 10. Here’s to a more exciting 2009!