2010, The Year in Review.

As seen through highlights from my Facebook status updates.

I know. This is pathetic. But you've got to admit, some of them really are so clever that they deserved to be preserved for posterity, right? No, I guess you don't have to admit that. Well could you at least admit that they deserve deserve something more than the ephemerality of a Facebook status? (Yeah, it really is a word.)

- Jan. 5: Wow, this is probably as close to fame as I'll ever get. I just got mentioned in the NY Times!

- Jan. 12: A friend of mine is a wholesale supplier of cigarette lighters here in Makedonija. He buys them by the container from China. He goes through a container, which contains over a million cigarette lighters, every couple of months. This is a country with a population of barely 2 million.

- Feb. 3: Went ice skating with Lydia. I skate like Frakenstein. What can I say? I'm a Louisiana boy.

- Feb. 5: Taking a break from my latest move in a battle of wits with our dog Cody, aka "Houdini". So far I'm losing.

- Feb. 7: This is the day I've been waiting for all my life! WHO DAT!

- Feb. 8: I had this really bizarre dream last night. I dreamed -- ok, I know this is really silly -- I dreamed that the Saints won the Super Bowl. Crazy dream, huh?

- Feb. 13: Just when I think I can't stand another day of winter, God gives us a gorgeous one like today. Ended up hiking up to the ruins of an old monastery above Matka Canyon.

- Feb. 21: Wednesday's the big anniversary. You'd think after 20 years we'd have it figured out.

- Feb. 23: Budapest has got to be one of the most romantic cities in the world. I'm so glad that it worked out for us to be here for our 20th.

- Feb. 24: Had escargot last night. They were ok, but give me a half dozen raw erstas on the half shell anytime!

- February 27: Pondering what it means to be an emotional pygmy.

- Mar. 1: Took Luke out in the schoolyard to toss the (American) football yesterday. Lots of neighborhood kids (Albanian, Macedonian and otherwise) gathered round so I ended up teaching them to play and organizing a game. They begged us to play again today, so we did. They're asked me if I could come back tomorrow. Lots of fun!

- Mar. 5: I'm gonna walk from Matka Canyon to the summit of Vodno then down into town tomorrow. It's supposed to snow tonight so it should be pretty. Anybody wanna come?

- Mar. 9: YES! IT'S THE REAL DEAL. I JUST SOLD TWO PHOTOS TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER!

- Mar. 10: Here and here are the links to the photos chosen by National Geographic Traveler:

- Mar. 11: Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come.

- Mar. 12: My sweet girl Lydia made me a tiramisu for my b'day! No dad was ever more blessed.

- Mar. 13: I got an invitation to join a group to fight to keep God in America. I appreciate the thought, but actually I'm fighting to let Him out.

- Mar. 18: Tirana next week, Brussels the week after.

- Apr. 11: L&L and I are having fun reading through the books of Kings. We're making a chart and assigning each king a letter grade A through F.

- Apr. 22: Luke didn't have to be dragged out of bed to get ready for school this morning. He was up before 5 a.m. -- without an alarm clock -- to find out what was happening with the NFL draft.

- Apr. 25: More village visits to measure and photograph wheelchair candidates today.

- Apr. 30: How strange it was to hear the sweet sounds of Plaquemines Parish accents on BBC radio this morning. How sad it is that once again my home state is in the news as the site of an epic tragedy!

- May 2: Had an amazing, unforgettable daddy-daughter time in the mountains with Lydia this weekend.

- May 4: Doing the wheelchair distribution today.

- May 5: That's what I deserve for my vanity. I googled my name and came across the following quote: "What Mark Orfila says is complete BS." Apparently it's referring to another Mark Orfila, but perhaps we've got more in common than our name.

- May 8: Traveling to Spain next week. Looking forward to churros and chocolate for b'fast.

- May 14: Isn't Spain supposed to be sunny and warm?

- May 24: Almost 50 denar to the dollar. Happy days are here again!

- June 1: Mary made a run to Thessaloniki yesterday and brought us back bougatsa. Yum!

- June 1: Lydia tasting my gumbo: "Wow, dad, you hit the nail on the nose!"

- June 22: Jesus loves me this I know/ For the Bible tells me so

- July 1: Climbed to the top of the clock tower next to the old Sultan Murat Mosque yesterday. I love having guests from abroad because I get to be a tourist along with them.

- July 4: A question for all my British friends: Aren't you glad to be rid of us?

- July 10: Got dumped in the lake and embedded a fish hook in my finger past the barb. But a bad day fishing is still better than a good day doing anything else.

- July 26: Anybody love me enough to do my quarterly financial report for me?

- July 29: Off to Seattle tomorrow for a month of counseling and pastoral care.

- July 29: We're about to set out for the land of Pop-tarts.

- August 1: Sleepless in Seattle.

- August 3: Over jet lag in Seattle.

- Aug. 8: Loved watching the Sounders beat Hoston Dynamo 2-0. Till New Orleans gets a MLS team, I think I'm going to be a Sounders fan. Thanks to Craig Mathison for tickets.

- Aug. 19: I start ADD meds tomorrow. Wonder what the new me will be like.

- Aug. 26: I'm thinking that if you've gotta be stuck in some strange place in the States, you could do worse than Seattle.

- Aug. 29: Nervous about the kids starting school tomorrow. Luke is 10 and has never gone to US school.

- Sept. 16: Aren't those new mint Oreos amazing? I'm eager to get back to the Balkans, but you've gotta admit: America does have its charms!

- Sept. 17: Thanks to Criag Mathison for directing us toward this great little Eastern European grocery store. We bought some Croatian ajvar, and it turned out to be the best store-bought ajvar I've ever had. But nothing can replace being there this time of year to enjoy the smell when they're making it.

- Sept. 22: Learning to love.

- Oct. 10: Sold some more pictures without even trying -- this time to Bradt Travel Guides (to Kosova).

- Oct. 10: IT'S WORSE THAN I THOUGHT! So I ordered this book on Emotional Intelligence because that's one of the things I'm working on these days, and it came with an online "EQ" test, and I came out like in the bottom 15th percentile! I really am an emotional pygmy. Thanks to all of you who've put up with me all these years.

- Oct. 12: So I thought that after last year's Super Bowl, the Saints had commenced their millennial reign. Looks like I'll have to revise my eschatology.

- Oct. 19: Newsweek ranked the high school Lydia is attending 14th in the USA! Of course I think she deserves better.

- Nov. 10: A picture of mine was featured on an article that came out today noting 5 billion photos uploaded to flickr. Just think: Out of 5 billion photos, mine was one of 16 chosen to illustrate the article! (Mine is the 12th picture as you scroll down the page.)

- Dec. 10: So I often hear everybody talking about all the idiots on the road. I don't really notice very much. I wonder if that means I'm one of the idiots?

- Dec. 15: Thinking of a Sara Groves lyric today: "It's been a while since I felt this/
but it feels like it might be hope"

- Dec. 15: Amazing how such a dull picture could generate such heated comments. I never dreamed that taxonomy could inspire such passion.

- Dec. 20: Pondering this from Lewis' The Four Loves: "For many of us, all experience merely defines... the shape of that gap where our love of God ought to be. It is not enough. It is something. If we cannot 'practice the presence of God,' it is something to practice the absence of God, to become increasingly aware of our unawareness..."

- Dec. 23: Ok, I know I've already squeezed more than my 15 minutes out of fame out of this, but what can I do? This woman just keeps on saying nice things about me all over the place!

- Dec. 28: The kids and I have this great idea for a reality tv show: Behind the scenes at the county library. All we need is an investor to help us make it happen. Any takers?

- Dec. 30: Look for Luke & me on tv at the Seahawks-Rams game Sunday night. We should be easy to spot. We'll be the only ones at Qwest Field wearing Saints colors. It'll be Luke's 1st time at an NFL game.