Well, 2010 is officially here and I’ve resolved to write a new top ten list every Tuesday throughout the year. Some will be simple quick hits while others will be in-depth. Any bets as to when I’ll miss a week? Only time will tell.

For my first entry I figured that I’ll just do a quick recap of my top ten favorite moments of 2009. Don’t laugh…yes, bowling did provide the majority of my personal highlights of the year.

10. Eli Porter
Simply put, discovering Eli Porter made me laugh more than anything in the entire year. He’s the best, mayne. He deed it.

9. The 300*
Having bowled since I was a child, I’ve chased a perfect game forever. The closest I’ve ever come was my ill-fated 299 back in ‘06 where I rolled a nine after 11 consecutive strikes. On the final night of our bowling league, we participate each season in what is called 9-pin tap. Basically, it’s a type of bonus game that allows people to earn a strike even if they only knock down nine pins on their first roll. On the very last game of the night I finally bowled a 300…even though it wasn’t legitimate.

8. Kneeling before Zod
After having waited years for someone to build a Terrence Stamp-looking Zod action figure, the guys at Matty Collector came out with one. Needless to say, Santa delivered at Christmas.

7. Getting back into Puzzle Pirates
Over the past couple of years I’ve enjoyed an MMORG called Puzzle Pirates. Simply put, I sucked at the various puzzles for the first year of playing but after taking a good six months from the game I came back better than ever. Melissa discovered the online community associated with the game that enjoy various creative events and won one of the larger contests, netting herself one of the biggest prizes in the game. I came in 4th in the same event and received “a shabby table.” No comment. All in all, I truly love this game.

6. Watching Melissa become a designer
Without a doubt, no one can create and/or put together incredible looking crafts better than Melissa. She brought tears to the eyes of my niece Peej and my sister Teresa with her close-to-the-heart presents she hand made at Christmas. She turned a milk jug into a fully sculpted and painted pterodactyl for Alex’s birthday. Her creativity truly amazes me. For her, however, the last frontier not conquered in the realm of creating was in the digital world. That all changed when I presented her with an early Christmas present in early November — a Wacom tablet. Having less than two hours of Photoshop experience under her belt before the tablet, I watched her go from a novice to a talented designer over a weekend’s time. Amazing.

5. Breaking 700+…twice
If a bowler can land a 200+ game in our league, it brings a smile to one’s face. If a bowler can string three 200+ games in a row (or 1-2 really high ones) they’ll get a 600 series. Averaging 234 a game, though, and you crest the 700+ mark for series. Before this year the highest I’d ever rolled was a 693. Having it in my sights one week, I let my nerves get the best of me and ended with a 695. The following week, while facing one of the strongest teams in the league, I put on the bowling performance of my life shooting 238, 257 and 238 for a 733 series. I shot a 727 a few weeks later.

4. Together at last
Melissa and Allison moved in with me in November, marking the first time I’ve had a child living under my roof for the first time in nearly ten years. With Alex now a college sophomore and Gwen having a difficult year, I rarely get to spend that much quality time with my own children…so having the closeness of Melissa and Al made me appreciate being a part of a family once again.

3. Finding the house
While we still do not have it, Melissa and I have identified what will hopefully become the official Wilson family home here soon. For the record, if you are going to try to acquire a house through a short sale where the current owners have their mortgage through SunTrust…run. We’ve been waiting nearly six months for them to even do the damn appraisal.

2. Dad’s memorial
Finding out that a dream I’ve had since my father passed away would come true compliments of my two best friends (and a slew of helpers).

…and my favorite moment of 2009?

1. Rising to the challenge
Bowling the absolute best season of my entire life and earning the first place title in my workplace’s bowling league while on a mission. A former teammate lost his wife to colon cancer over the summer and couldn’t return to our team…so I made a promise to win the title for him and dedicate the season to her. My team shattered a slew of all-time records in the league en route to putting up the best record in the league’s ten year history. Handing over my winnings to donate to her memorial capped off my year.

I’ll probably never have a season like that again…but for it to come together when I had given myself that personal goal was almost like magic. Tuesdays (league night) were easily my favorite day of the week from when we began in August until it wrapped in mid-December. I’d wake up feeling “The Power” and knew I was going to have an incredible night on the lanes. Melissa (and sometimes Allison) would be there and all just seemed right with the world.

Without a doubt, these memories will stick with me for years to come.

So what were your favorite moments of 2009?