In Scrum, the team conducts a retrospective at the end of every sprint in which they look back at the work accomplished in the last iteration and discuss what went well, and what didn’t go so well and requires improvement. Based on that notion, here’s my own retrospective for 2008:

Things that went well

1. •We were able to sell the condo and still make some money of it.
   

2. •Lil’ Luke’s life began.
   

3. •I became a US citizen.
   

4. •I was able to vote for the 1st time and participated in a historic election.
   

5. •I got promoted to manager.
   

6. •Susan got a mid-year raise.
   

7. •We’re still employed - yay!
   

8. •We have not gained weight.
   

9. •We were able to travel to Thailand and Hawaii (scuba !!!)
   

10. •The big screen TV and all related gadgets.
    

11. •The iPhone (this is when I realized, it was going to change everything).
    

12. •My parents got a MacBook and can now video-conference with me.
    

Things that didn’t go well and need improvement

1. •The financial crisis.
   

2. •Our portfolio took a significant hit - we may need more bond exposure.
   

3. •I ended up in the hospital with heart arrhythmia.
   

4. •I fought with hip problems which impacted my workout regiment.
   

5. •What happened to my Salsa dancing?
   

6. •Susan chose not participate in a class-action lawsuit against her former employer as an individual plaintiff and will lose out on $7k-$9k.
   

Everything considered, it looks like 2008 was a pretty good year. Let’s hope 2009 will be equally positive. May the Force be with us and yes, we can!