2011, Feel Free To Take Your Leave Early

Preface - this post was back dated one day (to Dec. 21) in order to not screw up the Mayan apocalypse that we're so looking forward to one year from today.

Do you know of a lot of people who have had a good 2011? I don’t. I had to think really hard to think of any at all (I came up with two). I came up with many more who have had less than a stellar year.

As I write this, my heart is breaking for my ex-girlfriend/still close friend Amy. Amy has been living abroad in Sweden since September, after leaving her job at U.Va. this summer. This past week, her parents went to visit her in Stockholm. Two days ago, her parents were on a dogsledding adventure in Northern Sweden, and their sled was hit by a car. Amy’s father; the man she loved more than any other person in her life (and a wonderful man I had the privilege of knowing), died en-route to the hospital. Her mother is in critical condition and may not survive. These are the darkest hours of Amy’s life and I share her pain.

Me & Amy | Bermuda 2010

Work has absolutely sucked this year. It has been by far the worst year in my 11-year tenure.

The end of another beginning.

And the end of another beginning. The false starts refuse to abate.

As I write this, I have reason to believe one of my pets may be terminally ill. He has basically stopped eating this past week. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow. I fear bad news.

Aside from all of the above, earlier in the year, I had a real — albeit unfounded — feeling of optimism. Just some cosmic vibe that good things are happening; I just don’t know what they are yet. Maybe I was subconsciously putting too much stock in that every-seven-years-your-life-changes rule (I’ve been divorced seven years now).

In an attempt not to sound like a complete Andy Rooney-esque old sad sack curmudgeon, some good things have happened this year. I took two wonderful, enlightening, incident-free trips. I reconnected in the flesh with some old friends. Despite my employment grievances, I still have a job that supports me very well, and most importantly, I still live life pain/illness free. And I have my animals that I love so much.

A few weeks ago, I saw a PBS bio on Woody Allen. The show ended with this quote:

"When I look back on my life, I've been very lucky that I've lived out all these childhood dreams. There was nothing in my life that I aspired toward that hasn't come through for me. But despite all these lucky breaks, why do I still feel that I got screwed somehow?"

: ) Classic Woody.

Whatever good we may enjoy, I think there's a universal feeling that somehow we're still getting screwed. With exactly one more year until the end of humankind, I hope 2012 unleashes every favor, every blessing, every break it’s been withholding... and doesn't wait til fucking December 22nd to do it.