After winning the Boise Weekly's Fiction 101 contest in early January of 2008, I boldly proclaimed 2008 as the year of Luke. How could it be anything else? Momentum was on my side; I was free from a bad marriage, I had just won the most prestigious literary contest in the state (just follow me here), and I had a whole new year in front of me. The world, as they say, was my oyster. I would be famous, I was sure, in just 12 months. I would meet the woman of my dreams, publish the great American novel, and settle into my vacation home in Maui to drink virgin margaritas for the rest of my stress-free days. Well, one of these things worked out for me, and I have yet to try a margarita.

In the year 2008, here is what I actually accomplished:

1. Finalized my divorce.
2. Re-met and proposed to my first love.
3. Moved back to Boise.
4. Got much better at Pictionary.
5. Met two, count em', two new friends.
6. Started a writing blog that is sparsely populated and infrequently visited by anyone.

An array of accomplishments, sure, but hardly enough to justify the renaming of an entire year.

However, this morning, while sulking in my own gloom, I came across a reassuring sign:



I was mistaken! 2009 is the year of Luke! NOT 2008! How could I have been more wrong?!

So this year, it is officially my new year's resolution to get published in a major literary outlet. This means Tin House. It means Ploughshares. It means Zoetrope. It does NOT mean the Boise Weekly. I know, I know, watch your step, you don't want to slip and fall in all that overflowing ambition.

Non-literarily, but just as (and probably more) importantly, these are my goals for 2009:

1. Meet my goal weight (yeah, right, me and the rest of the country).
2. Become a better father to two amazing toddlers.
3. Plan and execute the most beautiful and unique wedding the world has ever seen.
4. Learn to be an amazing husband and provider to my new wife, Dani.
5. Write a more entertaining end of year blog post for 2010.

Happy New Year, readers!

I will try to encourage Dani to write one of these annual recaps for you as well.