Saturday, January 2, 2010

The obligatory end-of-the-year ramble

 So, we're a day into 2010 and, of course, one needs to take stock at the year that was. Two-thousand-and-nine has come and gone, and the general conscencous is that is was a major bummer. Both the average Facebook friend and regularly read blogger is glad to see the back end of it.

 Me, I don't know one way or another. For the longest time, one year has been pretty much like the other to me. Some up, some down, I just try to plug on through one day after the next. New Year's Eve wasn't that big a deal, either. I worked until 1 a.m., and by the point the rest of New Orleans was too drunk for my blood. Then again, I've never been one to ring in the new year in any special way. We never did it growing up, and the last time I recall doing anything special was when 1999 turned into 2000 and I caught The Drive-By Truckers play the last show at the High Hat in Athens. Matter of fact, if you own Alabama Ass-Whuppin' you can hear me talking to Patterson during "The Avon Lady". But that's neither here nor there.

 Anyhow, 2009. Things changed, people left and the world turns on. I don't make New Year's Resolutions because, frankly, I don't believe the universe really gives that much a shit about the calender and, furthermore, since we all end up in the same place no matter what we do, life should be a never-ending journey of self-improvement in some form or fashion, no matter how minor. Even if it's just learning a new skill or learning something you didn't know previously, it's worth the effort.

 This time last year, I decided to shake myself out of the funk and rut I was in, continuing the efforts from the previous year. Then, I'd decided to give up my monastic existence and get something going romantically for the first time in four or five years. That, of course, failed miserably. Seeing how that wasn't working and, in fact, making me more unhappy than I'd ever been in my life, I figured something not quite as impossible was in order. The question of what exactly was still hovering in the air, and I briefly considered going back to school for a Master's of Library Science degree. I didn't really want to, mind, and still don't, but I needed something.

 Then in May, I went to New Orleans with Jaybee. She and I had kicked around the idea of visiting the Big Easy for as long as we'd known each other but had never been able to pull it together. I'd always loved the town but had never been able to spend more than a day or two there. After the visit, I knew I had found out the next path. I had something to do.

 So, here I am. First day into 2010 in New Orleans, and I have a place to live and a job I think is going to work out. I'm still surly and restless and prone to brood and can't figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do with my life, but at least I'm doing it in different surroundings. I've also decided what is the next path I want to take in my life. I'm going to learn how to dance. It's about time, I think.

 One final thought concerning this brave new year. We're now ten years into the 21st century. Where in sam hell are our flying cars and lunar colonies? Seriously. I sometimes wonder if we're not sucking up all our scientific fuel on making sure middle-aged men feel good about themselves.

2 comments:

  1. Seriously- where's that food pill we were promised? The Jetsons lied to us!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Heh, would you really want to share the skies with the jerks you currently have toshare the road with?

    Good luck in the new job!

    Word verification- mooffili Not a bit like a muffuletta.

    ReplyDelete

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