Happy New Year

Everyone who knows me well knows how much of a love-hate relationship I have with the dawning of a new year. I generally recycle the same resolution every year: "I'll just wing it and see what happens". But over the past couple years I have written a blog entry talking about what I was doing at the start of the year, and I am actually finding it very interesting to go back and read where I was before. This is where I was two years ago, and this is where I was one year ago.

I did not manage to keep the resolution of staying man free. It worked for about 6 months, then I started dating someone for about 4 months. But in the end my instincts told me to let him go, so I did. I'm still not sure if I am ready to have someone in my life right now, but perhaps it is because I am more comfortable in staying single than I am with being in a relationship.

So this year I am keeping with reusing the same resolution of just winging it and seeing what happens, but I have added an addendum to it. I have decided that as long as I feel I am better off now than I was a year ago, I can declare the year a success.

I can definitely declare last year a success. I made it through probation at my job, and I have settled in quite nicely there. I have amassed a lot of knowledge on the systems and processes, and I continue to learn new things every day. It is a very challenging job, but I look forward to going to work every day and at the end of the day I leave knowing that I accomplished something. I have built a great network of contacts, and made a few friends.

My last birthday in my 30's was fantastic! I gathered a group of great friends together to see Evil Dead the Musical and had an absolute blast! I hope the musical comes back to town again someday soon so that I can see it a third time.

The trip to China was probably one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. So much so, that I really want to go back to see more of the country. In fact, you could spend your life touring China and never ever see everything there is to see. But I guess the same could be said of Canada, too.

I did say in last year's blog that anything after China would be anti-climatic. I did not know that it would be drama ridden. My doctor sent me to a specialist for a biopsy in September. The high point was finding out that the biopsy came back negative and I don't have cancer, but I have to be more careful now. I have taken the doctor's words to heart and have tried to eat better and sleep better. I have cut back on how much I go out, and have more strict rules about going out on week nights. I am cooking more and using ingredients from scratch. I still have a tendency to fall asleep on the couch instead of going to bed at a decent hour.

My friends continue to be a large part of my life. I seem to velcro myself to Paul's couch on a regular basis, whether he likes it or not. Lisa still gets me to go to soca fetes when there is something good, and we get together for lunches on an irregular basis.

There were also a lot of get togethers with my other friends. December 19 was the most recent gathering of the crew for a bit of Holiday Cheer. It was a blast to hang out with Trish, Paul, John, Jeremy, Greg, Chris, and Kevin. Although the sketchiness of my recollection of the night's events coincides directly with Kevin's purchase of a couple of rounds of tequila shots. Many thanks to John for convincing me to crash at his place for the night. You were right, it was the better option.

Now as I finish off this entry, here are a few of the things I have to look forward to for 2009:
1. Running my first 5K (ok, the resolution run did not happen, more on that kerfuffle later).
2. My first birthday in my 40's.
3. Making it through my next biopsy and hoping the results come back favourable.
4. Running the Terry Fox Run.
5. Redoing my upstairs bathroom.
6. Going to a country I have not been to before. I'm thinking along the lines of a cruise in the Baltic Sea, but nothing is etched in stone yet.

So I guess in summary, my focus this year will be on my health since I don't have a lot of choice in the matter. I am very optimistic about the year to come, and certainly hope that I end this year better off than I started it. But even if it turns out the same, it will be a pretty good year.