January 1, 2009 11:14 AM

January 1st? Damn...must be time to buy a new calendar....

Ah, January 1st...which roughly corresponds to the time every year when those of us with an introspective streak reflect on the past year and look forward to the new year with (depending on the circumstances) excitement, trepidation, or bowel-loosening fear. In my case, there's no fear, but I'd have to characterize my feelings as equal parts excitement and trepidation. Especially on a rainy, windy day here in Puddletown- a day really only fit only for mad dogs and Oregonians- it's easy for me to slip into some serious self-reflection.

The past year has been one of tremendous, emotional, gut-wrenching change for me. To be honest, I wouldn't repeat the past 12-15 months for any amount of money. Relocation and divorce were only part of the package, but getting through it all showed me that I'm stronger and more resourceful than I'd previously given myself credit for. I'll take that as a good thing.

While my personal life is nowhere near what I'd like it to be, it's not the train wreck it was last year at this time. Barely able to function, I don't even want to think about how close I came to losing my job because I was almost completely emotionally destroyed. A year later- and hopefully a year wiser- things look much better. I can function, life looks good again, and I can think about the future with some degree of anticipation and optimism. Trust me; optimism is a VERY good thing...especially when you can look back and remember a time when you've dragged your sorry @$$ along through months without it.

On a different subject, I'm blessed in this economy to have a job that, on the surface at least, appears to be relatively recession-proof. Being single again, this stability has contributed significantly to my increased peace of mind. I would never, of course, assume that the worst couldn't happen, but in this economy anything resembling job stability can only be a good thing. I don't know that I'm necessarily where I want to be (how many of us ever really are?), but I can feed the bulldog and keep the lights on. It's all good, right?

After having spent the better part of two months back in Texas dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, I returned home to Portland with a greater appreciation for having an intact roof over my head. But for the grace of [insert name of preferred deity here] and a few months, I could have been one of the thousands upon thousands without power or a dry home. The storm went directly up the west side of Galveston Bay, directly over Seabrook, which not so very long ago I called home. No one should have to return to a place they care about and see the things I did. I will never, ever forget what my former home town looked like...and if I live to be 105 without seeing it's like again, I will die a very happy man.

On this New Year's Day, I do want to take a moment to wish my readers, a safe and joyous Nova Godina!! I have no idea how many of y'all are still out there, but after more than seven years this is still fun for me. After shutting down The People's Republic of Seabrook earlier this year, I have a feeling that my readership here at WWJD is WAY down from it was at TPRS. Even so, it's amazing thing to realize that my (sometimes barely lucid) rants are read by people from all over the world. Man, I LOVE da Interweb!

Wherever you may be, I hope this finds you safe, happy, and relatively hangover-free. Now...step slowly aware from the keyboard and go find someone to hug, willya?

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 1, 2009 11:14 AM.

14: 56...14:57...14:58...the Internet is waiting for you was the previous entry in this blog.

Let's hope that he can leave the place better than he's finding it is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12