Retrospective

This blog was my 2010 New Year’s Resolution: To write every day. I’m proud to say that it is the only New Year’s Resolution I’ve ever completely followed through on.

It has been a year since I started this blog and a lot has changed. For instance, I posted my goals for this blog to help me keep focused on household projects, but that was back when I thought we had a chance of keeping the house. While yes, some of those projects did get completed, such as the Half Bath Renovation, many of them found themselves in the land of Who-Gives-a-Shit. Eventually anything that needed fixed or replaced was rigged to just get us by.

But I have to say, this year has been an amazing self-exploration journey. I’ve discovered I’m handier than I thought, having been able to diagnose and repair both a television and water heater. I also found out that when I put my mind to something I really can accomplish it. My partner has also found that it is indeed possible to do our own repairs, such as when he worked on the roof and even when the furnace decided to act up rather than spend hundreds of dollars for a professional. Okay, so first he called the professional, researched the problem, fixed it in less than ten seconds, and then cancelled the appointment. Yes, this whole year has been one of discovery.

So what is up next for 2011? I can only ponder the possibilities. I’ve found a job that I absolutely love, working with amazing people in an environment where I don’t get so anxious I throw up just thinking about going in to work. Overshare? Sorry. You try being a telemarketer when you aren’t competitive and every day you go into work someone gets fired. It, sadly, reminds me of when I first started at The-Store-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named where I had an immediate connection with my coworkers. Then again, that was a big box store and this is a small veterinary clinic, so I doubt I will run up against the same bureaucratic pressures to ensure bonuses for people who’ve never even done my job. Bitter? Slightly. Perhaps I should make forgiveness my 2011 Resolution, as I am a fierce grudge holder. Seriously, my sister tore the legs off my He-Man action figure when she was one and I still haven’t forgiven her for it. She’s twenty-seven now.

Alas, this blog has been an incredible way for me to open up, share my ideas, and get some amazing feedback from people all over the world. I’m not sure why, but I’m huge in Australia. Seriously! I check my statistics every day and consistently almost a third of my daily readers are from there, a few scattered in various other countries, and the majority here in the United States. So I must thank you all for reading what I have to say, even though sometimes I can be quite pessimistic, sometimes inspirational, sometimes cocky, sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, sometimes insightful, and sometimes bat-shit crazy.

So where will this blog fit into the New Year? That I’m uncertain of. I know that at times it has been an incredible challenge to write something new every day, but at the same time, doing so has enlivened my creativity, my urge to finish working on various books I’ve started or completed and now need some painful editing, and my need to express myself since I am, undoubtedly, a horrible vocal communicator. I guess it is why I prefer texting versus talking on the phone because, well, at least then I can see what the person on the other end is saying. Well, most of the time. It still irks me to no end when people speak TXT. Seriously, my text messages look like sentences from a novel, complete and grammatically correct with properly placed capital letters and punctuation. Of course, that is probably from the fascination I have with language. Perhaps, just perhaps I will take advantage of the New Year and new possibilities and wherever our new living arrangements will be and reenroll in school. It is both terrifying and exciting all at the same time, especially since majoring in English will certainly limit potential employment opportunities. Okay, now I’m getting off-topic, something my tangent-prone mind does quite often.

I don’t know where the New Year will take us, but I know that this last year has been the most challenging I can recall, not just for me but it seems nearly every one of my family and friends. My hope is that in 2011 we will be able to take all the lessons we learned in 2010 and use them to further enhance our lives and improve ourselves. Like a Phoenix, we too can rise from the ashes reborn, yet retaining the knowledge of the past. May your New Year’s Eve celebration be joyous, and may good fortune be upon all of you in the coming year.