Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Year in Review

It's Wednesday, the middle of the week between Christmas and New Year, and not much urgent stuff to do. There's plenty of things that I could be doing that would be worthwhile, but it's kind of a lazy day, and I'm enjoying sitting in the living room with my feet up (instead of my office surrounded by clutter), looking at the Christmas tree lights and enjoying the quiet. Kit is watching something on Netflix, I think, the dog is curled up with her, and we have nothing scheduled for the rest of the day. It's a nice day to catch up on some retrospection. I'd like to do a little "Year in Review", Chris Guillebeau-style, by answering the following questions:

Washing dishes

When I'm upset, agitated, or worried, I invariably find myself in the kitchen, clearing the table and washing dishes. It's kind of weird, because the state of the kitchen usually has nothing to do with why I feel upset, agitated, or worried, but it still makes me feel better. Why? Because it's one of the few areas of my life where I can assert absolute control, e.g. "So what if one of my favorite clients just had a nervous breakdown and blamed me for it? There's nothing I can do about it right now anyway, so why don't I do something that will improve my immediate well-being and take my mind off the problem?"

Monday, December 26, 2011

The road to hell is paved with good intentions...

Several months ago I was on an overnight train, traveling cross country on a week-long trip. I'd brought several things with me to help me pass the time: my Kindle, an iPod, and my Bible. At some point early in the evening, I got out my Kindle and the Bible, intending to read a novel for a while, then read a few chapters from the New Testament, then try to get some sleep. I never got around to the scriptures.

The next morning we packed up our stuff and went straight to our hotel, where I began unpacking for the night. A few hours passed before I realized I hadn't seen the Bible in the suitcase. I didn't even have to think about it; I immediately knew what had happened--I'd left it on the train. I even knew exactly where and how. Suddenly I was sick to my stomach, and I had an awful feeling that I'd done something terribly wrong.

Friday, December 23, 2011

In anticipation of the new year...

So I realize it's not 2012 yet, but I've already decided what my new year's resolutions are, and there's no reason to wait. In fact, there's every reason to get started now. "If not now, then when?" as someone pithily said on the internet somewhere. And besides, getting started now gives me some time to think things through before the new year starts, and I can hit the ground running.

A bit about me. I turn thirty in February 2012, a nice, big, round number. I'm at a strange position in my life. Last year I sold most of my possessions and moved myself with my best friend to Eastern Europe. Partially because I've been wanted to move back for a long time, partially because she needed to go, and I wanted to go with her, and partially because I needed some distance from the life I had built in the States. My best friend (who we shall call Kit) and I started a business a few years back offering certain services to other businesses. Things were going well, we hired a couple employees, moved out of our living room, and started working with some business consultants. And to cut a long story short, this year we made a lot of really expensive mistakes. We are still digging ourselves out. In fact, at the moment, our business checking account is in the red over a thousand dollars, although that is not entirely our fault.