Greetings for the New Year, everyone.
And for once, perhaps the systematic pieces are finally being put together as we dawn in a new year. It appears nothing has happened in my life since about February 20th. However, that's only because I dropped this blog like a bad habit for almost eleven months. While I do not promise that updates will be regular, I can promise at least a bit more effort.
With that, here's a rundown on 2008:
* The year began with a second hospital trip on January 7. Remember I had been in for a partially collapsed lung Christmas Day. Now I somehow had a recurrence, but was fortunately out of the ER after about seven hours.
* The George situation went downhill FAST toward the beginning of February. Apparently he spent too much company money buying parts, and the owner didn't like it. Neither did his previous boss at his previous location, and on down the line. He finally moved out in March, so it became me and Steve again, where it remains to now.
* February came and went without the promise of Mike getting married. For years now, he's been hounding Steve for $150. "It will help with the wedding," he'd say. But that's all he'd say... not "how are ya", or anything.
* I made the prediction the Tigers would finish in last place. Bingo.
* I became more active on YouTube posting videos, including a one-minute series of topical videos.
* I made the resolution, once again, to finish the garden project. And this time I did it! It ended up looking great, although not like I originally wanted it to.
* Our phone number changed three times this year.
* In the span of two hours in July, I went from driving cab #23, to having it demolished, to becoming a dispatcher the next night, to not being a dispatcher the next night, to being shifted to cab #21, which was a firetrap in its own right.
* The house became "adopt a cat" over the summer months.
* I finally replaced my 11-year old computer with a more modern one (actually, Steve gave me his.)
* My green thumb burned - in the span of a week, the lawn mower blew up, and the weed whacker burst into flames with me holding it like a torch. Then, someone pilfered my trimmers a week later. I had to have the neighbor do the yard the rest of the year.
* We finally had the carpeting replaced in September - hello neutral colors!
* Two houses foreclosed on my block - sign of the times.
* I finally became a dispatcher in November, as they wanted to take a new direction. It's been a challenge, but only in dealing with driver egos, not business increases. Business is not increasing.
* The car made it through the year, but I ended up compiling a list of seventeen different things wrong with it. Why I am keeping it is up for question.
* I made a serious resolve to resume drawing my comic strip after an absence of four years. Results pending.
* And, on December 26th, I became involved in another relationship. This one, with Laura! I'd secretly been hoping to ask her out for six years. I didn't, so she did! Bar NONE, this is who I should have been with for that length of time. We've been there for each other for so long and through so much, it's only natural for the selection to happen. And like I always say, it happened when least expected.
So there's more of a smile on my face.
And as always, I resolve for this year to go a bit more smoothly than last year. All I can say is: Enjoy the ride, however bumpy it may be.
