Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

Here we have the obligatory last post of 2008. The lists of things that changed this year could fill volumes. Waiting for the fireworks last year, in a house with no blinds on the windows, we were just getting started on the new adventure. Quite an adventure it has been too.

Starting a new Drupal consultancy at the beginning of the year. Getting more involved in the Drupal community and wrapping up the winter with a visit to Boston for my first Drupalcon. Even a few months in Drupalcon was a chance to renew friendships and make many new friends.

After a winter of travel and coming home to Idaho we came home and got down to work. Several projects cranked out and lots of Drupaling later it came time for a summer of travel. From Oregon to Maryland the trips were great. Once again it seemed everywhere I landed the topic of conversation was Drupal. One of the highlights was spending hours manning the Drupal booth at OSCON with Kieran, who would soon become a colleague at Acquia though that wasn't to come till a little later.

The week at OSCON happened to coincide with getting my first look at the Acquia Network. Sitting in the gazebo at the hotel on wireless and Skype I ran through the Acquia Network and definitely liked what I saw. What none of us knew at the time was a little over a month later I'd sign the offer letter joining the Acquia team. Joining a high functioning startup filled with bright folks is like jumping on a treadmill cranked up to full speed. From there the speed only increased.

One month in to the Acquia odyssey brought the launch of both Acquia Drupal and Acquia Network. With good feedback from the beta we were off to the races. And what a race it's been. The whole family has been back and forth across the country. I've continued to travel keeping up some earlier commitments, and low and behold talking about Drupal while hopping from time zone to time zone.

The next year promises more and more Drupal. Having barely touched the calendar sprints, Drupalcon and trips to the office have started to fill in the would-be blank spots. Even holding out some hope that there might be a trip to the warmer climes of San Deigo for Drupal Camp on the horizon.