2009: Literally The Best of Times And Worst Of Times

The year started off with something I hadn't had in a few years, a full time girlfriend that I dubbed The Date. After a few more months I decided that it was high time that I moved her and The Things in with me and see if that was going to go as well as dating had gone. It obviously did:)

I developed closer relationships with my friends Court, Bobo, Skate, Teehee, and The Invader while maintaining my older friendships and rekindling at least one friendship that could have died on the vine had it not been harvested again.

Last Christmas I finally got my brother and dad to talk again after a couple of years of fighting. I had prayed for that daily. Their reconciliation was long enough.

The first six months of 2009 went very well even though we were facing an economic downturn of Carteresque proportions. The election of the first black President, to start with, brought a new tone to the country. A better tone or worse tone, well we just don't know yet. Suffice it to say we could have been out of this financial disaster long before unemployment reached the double digits it now sits at.

As May and June rolled around things started taking a turn for the worse. In May my cat of almost nine years died. Her brother remained my loyal and loving lap kitty. June and my company and union could not agree on a contract so I walked off of a job I had held for seventeen years with no guarantee of returning.

I was unemployed for the first time in almost two decades. I got a job delivering food from a delivery restaurant. Honestly the one time I felt any kind of peace in that span was when I was alone in the back of that place washing dishes. It felt honest and peaceful. No labor disputes, no anger, nothing else to do. The job helped me pay the bills as I got to keep the tip money which was instant help.

During this time my dad also took a turn for the worse. I was able to spend some time with him and make sure he made his doctor appointments. Then he called and said he had fallen and needed help. I loaded up and drove to his place, my mom was already there and had called 911. He was talking to her and then just kind of passed out. They drove him to the hospital and the next day he died.

If the strike were ever a blessing, I began to see this as the reason. I was able to take care of everything and literally not have to worry about work interfering. My Northern Brother came down to help me get through those very tough days, I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't. The Date stood by my side every step of the way as well, never wavering in her love for me. I'll never be able to thank them enough for the support they gave me, nor my friends who came to my side. That was literally the worst two weeks of my life, no exceptions. That was rock bottom of the ocean and couldn't go any deeper.

I worked three shows total this past year, Broadway Bound, Into The Woods, and Christmas Carol. Thing 2 endeared herself to any director who worked with her as a painter. She just went crazy painting sets and whatever else they wanted. Zip joined our family over the Summer. A little wired haired doggie who has fit right in.

October came and things started to take an upturn. By the end of the month I had decided to ask The Date to marry me. November came around and we married at the Theatre. My other cat, Patch's brother was killed in a dog attack. Scrat and Butterscotch joined our family shortly after.

I'm nearly recovered now from the financial mess that the strike caused. I had part time work and it still messed with my finances for months on end. Now as a new year dawns I've got two brand new opportunities! One I can't talk about yet and the other is a documentary I'm able to shoot!

2009 was without a doubt the most difficult year I've ever had and the best year I've ever had. There were no medium as it contained drastic turns up or down. On the very cusp of 2010 I look for the good to continue, my other project to manifest and become successful as I continue to film the documentary with the help of Beersnob, Jamal, and Mozart. Jamal, Thing 2, and I had a nice talk over coffee last night and talked about protecting our respective projects. Starting out on the same page and just making sure everything and everyone is covered and protected. We were in total agreement and really enjoyed the hour or so of talking!

2010 is going to be so much better in terms of stability, growth, and hopefully many projects becoming fulfilled! I wish you, dear reader a better 2010 than I plan on having and I plan on having a great year!