It’s almost a blogger’s obligation to do a “year in review” post as New Years approaches; a way to bookmark ourselves so we can have a single spot to look back on and say “so, that was my 2010″ without having to read through all the trivial nonsense we waste bandwidth on.
So as a man who understands obligation, here’s my 2010 recap:
I think 2010 will go down as one of the toughest years of my life.
It started with me losing my job at Amazon after nine years. Those of you who know me well know how much I hated working there; I’ve never in my professional life seen employees so seemingly hated by their company as much as I felt we were by Amazon. But all that said, I made a lot of connections there with some truly amazing folks so just abruptly not being there anymore was weird. (For the record; I was fired for not attending work during a state of emergency- 4+ feet of snow on the ground and public transportation closed down. Amazon’s attendance policy didn’t forgive the extenuating circumstances.)
I’m much happier not being there. My stress level has so radically changed that I’m almost a different person. I just wish it would have happened years ago so I wouldn’t have wasted as much of my life there as I did. Thanks, snow!
In July, my Mom. passed away. There’s not a lot I can say about this that I haven’t said 1000x, but I can sum it up by saying that it was life changing. My Mother was an amazing woman who proudly and at times defiantly loved Robert and I and her passing was excruciating for us. The month was made harder by tragedies befalling friends of the community; The same week that my Mother passed a friend of a friend lost her husband in a terrible car crash, other friends were injured in an equally serious car crash in Texas and my dear friend Sky had to see his Daughter pass. My heart goes out to all of them, still.
But the year also had some good things; taking Claire to Dallas for Suscon so she could not only meet a bunch of people who’ve been influential in my life (as well as making fun of a train wreck) was good times. She shot three days worth of video that we compressed down to twelve minutes (which can be viewed here. ) to earn her an A in her Body Art & Modification class. I spent my usual week in Vegas for the APP Conference. Again, great times. Being able to unwind and be surrounded for a week by so many friends is amazing. And doing it while under the effects of an anti-narcolepsy medication made it all the more stimulating. Sleep is for suckers.
Robert and Carmela surprised me with a trip to Chicago in May; to celebrate Robert’s birthday and to attend the 2010 International Mr. Leather event. It was the first trip he and I have taken together in probably 15 years. A good time to be not only brothers, but two dudes in a great city having a fun time.
Claire and I started officially living together after she graduated in May; our relationship went from long distance to living together overnight and with few exceptions has been as smooth as silk.
Erin and I continued 2009’s MOVIE NIGHT all through 2010; forcing ourselves to be social once a week has made both of us very dependent on seeing each other every Tuesday or Wednesday night. It’s such a great pressure release. Regardless of what movie we go to see we always have a good time. Just being able to talk/vent/rant/gossip goes a long way to keeping me sane.
People have come into and gone out of my life in 2010. So many changes and obstacles; but overall, it’s brought my closer to being the person who I want to be. It’s brought me closer to my family and my friends. And it’s shown me that sometimes life is hard, but it’s always worth keeping positive.
I look forward to what 2011 has to offer.
Until then,
Happy New Year
SP
