12/21 (Year in Review) Quickie

It's that time of year. Looking back at the most indelibly interesting things for me from 2011....

1. I launched Quickish. I have been working in Quickish since early 2010, but it didn't launch publicly until January. Since the day it went live, I have given over most of my life to keeping up with helping fans keep up. It has been the hardest (yet most satisfying) year of my career. More reflections on Quickish in a few weeks when we get closer to the 1-year anniversary of launching.

(The pace and intensity of Quickish has made it very difficult to focus on a single story or stories or moments that I felt were the biggest or most interesting of the year. Trying to think of the right combination of impact and interest, if I had to pick one -- with the obligatory "aside from Penn State..." -- it would be that last night of the MLB regular season.)

2. Gabe became a huge sports fan. Some time around Selection Sunday, it clicked, and since then, my 5-year-old has become a massive sports fan. He filled out a bracket, followed the NBA Playoffs, picked favorite teams, adopted my fantasy team and -- in large part thanks to Scott Hanson and NFL Red Zone Channel -- became a massive NFL fan. It's been fun for him -- even more fun for me. More about that later, too.

(Lots of moments to pick from, but the most thrilling by far was when Red Zone host Scott Hanson gave Gabe an on-air shout-out during Week 14 for Gabe's malaprop for Red Zone's weekly "Touchdown Montage" as the "Touchdown Massage.")

3. We relocated from Brooklyn to Bethesda. From the city to the suburbs. From an apartment to a house. It is very very different -- less the difference between NYC and DC (although they are substantial) than urban life and suburban life. That is what has taken the most time to get used to. I'm already a "soccer parent." We have been to Friday night football games at the local high school. I spend an inordinate amount of time in the car. We will inevitably get a minivan or other suburban ride. Then again, I never have to worry about parking, and we have a washer-dryer in the house. It's the little things.

Looking ahead to 2012: You might think it would be tough to top a year that included launching a start-up media company and, to a lesser extent, relocating my life. It's not: We're expecting kid No. 3, just in time for March Madness -- a girl to set the pace for her two older brothers. In a year of personal thrills, that is the biggest.

-- D.S.