Of course, there’s more firsts for this year, but I wanted to keep the list limited to 31 (and to not-so-personal topics).

1. Checked out Rose Parade floats at the end of the parade route
2. Passed my qualifying exam
3. Wrote a haiku for someone and sent it via text message
4. Craved coffee
5. Went to a country music concert (this was at the Houston Rodeo)
6. Visited Austin and had beer in a movie theater
7. Met some of my favorite bloggers and attended monthly informal meetings with other Latino bloggers in LA
8. Hailed a cab in NY
9. Was recognized by a blog reader
10. Watched Lost with someone who likes the show much more than me
11. Partied on Tijuana’s Avenida Revolución
12. Enjoyed Chican@ (or post-Chican@?) art at LACMA
13. Served on a jury
14. Watched Yo Gabba Gabba! (my life has not been the same)
15. Played Wii
16. Won two free ticket giveaways for the same concert
17. Made a movie using iMovie
18. Had veggie soy tacos, and really liked them
19. Went on a blog-strike
20. Fell for someone outside my age range
21. Talked about blogging as part of a panel at two different academic/professional conferences (NACCS and UNITY)
22. Ran around barefoot in the Crown Fountains at Millennium Park in Chicago (bonus: really enjoyed Chicago)
23. Took pictures in an old-school photobooth
24. Used a dishwasher
25. Raced go-karts at Speedzone
26. Participated in a presidential campaign
27. Told off at a stranger at a Dodger game because he said something racist
28. Was in an art show (not as an artist, but as a subject in a portrait)
29. Celebrated on election night
30. Got caught in hail (in San Francisco)
31. Felt an airbag deploy in a car accident

First for 2009? How about I really make headway on earning my PhD.