First, an update on my Redneck Cinderella Story: I got my coat back just in time for the big snow and ice storms we had last week! Yay!
It turns out that even though the guy who ended up with my coat (and I with his) dips Skoal, he's not a redneck at all. Actually, he's a pretty cool guy who works at a radio station in town (small world) and he's not bad looking. (But of course, he's married. Like they say, all the good ones are either married or...) The inside of our coats are IDENTICAL, with the same lining and the same inside pocket. What a great story though - go to a party and get to know more cool people a week later you didn't meet AT the party you both attended, simply by switching coats! Who knew?
After a very rough day yesterday (and a nasty LARGE bump on my head) I've decided that before moving on to 2011, it's time to close out the year a day early and spend some time simply reveling in the fact that I've survived it all somehow.
This was quite a year for me. I turned 41, which puts me firmly into my 40's. My federal supervised release ended in February, giving me the freedom to live my life without fear of imprisonment for getting online and blogging about issues important to all freedom-loving folk. (I was forbidden to use a computer or get online for the three years of my supervised release. Kevin Mitnick would be proud!) While struggling to get on my feet and earn a living, I somehow managed to have a social life and reconnect with quite a few people I hadn't seen in decades.
I made two trips to Massachussetts. One was to see my 87-year-old grandfather remarried to a long-time friend of the family in August. (She's just a baby at 78 - grandpa likes to rock the cradle!) The other was to visit my Uncles Greg and Jim for Thanksgiving.
I also visited my mother several times and reconnected with friends I hadn't seen in decades, leaving me feeling as though I've simply been asleep for the past 25 years and have awakened to find people looking not all that much older than the last time I saw them, yet all of us are clearly living in a different world than existed in the 80's.
And then there's Booger. I got Booger in late February of this year, and he certainly changed my life. He keeps me on my feet, for sure, but he also fills the house with his innocence and playful puppy-ness! At 11 months old, he weighs in at around 80 pounds. He. Is. Solid. He chews on rocks when he's bored, that's how solid he is. He can devour a foot-long rawhide tightly-twisted chewy bone in under an hour. (Thanks, Grandma Max!) His adorable floppy ears make me want to just bite them! Ever see something so cute it makes you grit your teeth? That's Booger. He's big, but he's sweet, and he rarely barks, unless he thinks something is amiss, or unless he has something stuck under the couch he can't get to or you tell him "No". He's gone from shredding my flesh with his razor-sharp puppy teeth while playing and trying to chew on me (when he was younger) to putting my entire hand and arm in his mouth and not making a mark at all because he's learned to be gentle when playing, for the most part (and he's got his less-sharp, though no less powerful, adult teeth). He takes treats from my hand ever-so-daintily so as to make sure he doesn't hurt me, then gallops onto the couch and crushes me as he puts his full weight on my lap as though he is still a tiny puppy. Gotta love him! (Now he even supervises me as I blog.)
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| This Blog Is Booger-Approved! |
I've had more than my share of time-wasting frustrations this year. From losing a database I'd worked on for a client all year (and much income as a result) to recently spending several weeks getting AT&T to correct a series of errors on their end that put my bank account in the red by almost $400, to issues with Apple and the iPhone server and a plethora of other business-related customer service issues, these have been the things that have drained my energy, yet they are issues that cannot be ignored.
I've taken a project from local media and moved it to the internet for more potential reach and look forward to seeing growth there in the coming year, and have been propelled forward each day by the encouragement from those who will not let me rest until I make good on my promise to share important information for the benefit of Americans living in a world full of social engineering the likes of which could put Kevin Mitnick to shame.
Most recently, a friend of mine has an ex-wife and mother-in-law who were both hit by a car about three weeks ago (they survived but are very sore), after which the car sped off. Luckily, someone chased the car down, but because it happened in a parking lot, and because nobody was killed, apparently no charges are being filed. (Yeah, that's what I said. WTF?)
Not quite TWO weeks ago, my grandfather and his new bride were in a car accident caused by another driver going much too fast on the icy roads, running them into the side-rail and totaling my grandfather's car. My grandfather is VERY sad about his car. I think it represented the last vestiges of his old life and leaves him feeling as though one more thing has fallen away. Hopefully he will embrace the replacement vehicle and find happiness with what is new.
Speaking of what is new, I've learned not to make any big plans for the new year, as that only seems to invite disaster. Instead, I plan to take advantage of whatever opportunities come my way and move forward with speaking and writing gigs that have been on the back-burner for far too long. Sizzle sizzle!
I closed out the year by starting a new web site at http://www.AngieLeaks.com (a bit of a spoof on the Assange situation and Wikileaks). Can you imagine if everyone had minions of hackers that shut down every business for a full day who pissed them off? Why, that would be 80% of every business in America for me! (Not to mention the entire federal government's so-called "justice" system.) Thanks to Mr. Moon, I had a full evening of fun on Twitter while hopefully providing some food for thought.
I'm grateful for new friends and not-so-new friends. I've definitely discovered the difference between a true friend and a hanger-on, and I tend to find my friends in the most unlikely of places, as is the case with most of life's treasures. I wish for all of you a wonderful and safe new year, with as few time-wasting customer service issues as possible. :-)
See you on the flip side!
A.
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