The year 2009 has been a good one overall. As the minutes tick away before 2010 I feel confident that the new year will be a wondrous one. May your new year be full of peace and prosperity.
December 2009
Highlights of 2009: Anniversaries
This year I celebrated two important milestones in my life: my 40th birthday and ten years of marriage to my wife, Kelly.
I’d not paid much attention to my birthdays since my 21st, really. My thinking was that they were just another day. Still, there’s something a little more compelling when one turns 40. Here I am with half of my life in the bag and half to go. There is no doubt that my thirties had been good to me but a lot of the time before them was spent figuring out who the heck I am. When seen in that light it becomes clear that the years I have ahead are certain to be more productive than the ones behind.
I was also recently pondering how the pathways available to me in life are narrowing as I get older. In my younger days I took some comfort in knowing that I had some time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve always had wide-ranging interests and I never wanted to say never. Well, now that 40 has come (and almost gone), “never” is being said for me. Those things I’m planning to do are now called “bucket list” items but the thought it the same: there are still lots of ways I can improve myself. I look forward to them, and to the life ahead.
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Highlights of 2009: Shows, shows, shows
This year saw us going to more concerts and shows than we ever have before. This was in spite of the global economic situation and wasn’t something I would ever have predicted. I stopped going to shows long ago because they either were way too expensive (ahem) or the club was so smoky I’d come home smelling like Liggett and Myers. Screw that! But something about this year drove us to plunk down good money to see bands play, and for the most part it was worth it!
We began our musical odyssey with a Jimmy Buffett show in April. It was probably the ninth time I’ve been to a Buffett show: honestly I’ve lost count. Jimmy hasn’t played Raleigh lately so I was less inclined to go. He’s still one of the few artists who can coax me into going to Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. It ain’t the smoke that makes always want to take a shower after returning from Walnut Creek!
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Highlights of 2009: Vacations
Every vacation is memorable, and we’re fortunate to be able to take occasional vacations. This year we were fortunate to have three significant trips.
In August we joined our friends the Chandler-Oakley’s in Boone to share their mountain cabin for a few days. It was great being in the mountains and the weather could not have been more perfect. We enjoyed our company and had a great time hiking around the various parks.
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Highlights of 2009: Network storage company job
One of the more serendipitous events of 2009 was that I started work at a local network storage company. It was about this time last year that I was on pins and needles waiting for a phone call that kept me waiting.
I started January 8th on a six-month contract, working as a system administrator supporting the company’s development lab. It’s a place with some very big toys – perfect for a geek like me. The team here is smart and funny and the boss is great, too. There’s Nerf dart wars almost every day and bagels and beer on Fridays. Plus I don’t wear a pager and I rarely have to take my work home with me.
It’s a pretty good life. If it ever turned into a full-time gig it might be perfect. For now my contract has been automatically renewing and looks to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.
Unemployment in North Carolina has topped 11%. I know many geek friends now looking for work. Having a job now, even if it’s just a contract, is a wonderful thing and something I feel very fortunate to have.
Avatar
We went to see Avatar tonight at the Manassas, Virginia Regal Theatres. There was a line to get in and then a line to get a seat in the theater room! I’d never seen anything quite like it.
The movie was spectacular. James Cameron is a genius. This movie really did raise the moviemaking bar. It was very easy to get lost in this other world, like the audience was controlling avatars in the film. It was definitely worth the money.
If you get a chance, you should see this movie at your local theater. And if you’re lucky enough to have it showing in 3D, pay the extra few bucks and see it that way. You won’t be disappointed.
Highlights of 2009: Becoming more media savvy
Operation Free
I spent some effort in 2009 to become more media savvy. The community organizing I’ve been doing with the East CAC had led to more media interviews. I’d done a few TV interviews in the past and didn’t like how they came out. I wanted to look my best, so I studied the interviews I’ve done to see how to improve.
I got a chance to try again when NBC 17 called me up out of the blue and needed to interview me right away. I hadn’t shaved that morning, had a few meetings to attend at work, and was wearing the wrong shirt for television, but I couldn’t find anyone else who could do the interview. I rushed home at lunchtime and quickly shaved and changed shirts, meeting the TV crew in the neighborhood right on time.
The interview went pretty well. The resulting clip turned out even better – making me appear coherent and authoritative. It was the best interview I’ve done so far.
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Highlights of 2009: Tornadic storm
The year 2009 was mostly unexceptional, weather wise. Temperatures stayed in the seasonal ranges for a change. We had a spring season that lasted longer than what always seems like two weeks; summer was warm but not broiling hot, with few 100+ degree days; we got plenty of rain, and no hurricanes hit this year. All that considered, there was one notable weather event I’d rather not repeat: a tornadic storm on May 5th.
I’d never been anywhere near a tornado before. I remember as a kid growing up outside Atlanta our parents would rouse us from our sleep and carry us to the hallway where we’d be plopped down in the middle of mattresses while a tornado passed somewhere outside. Then there was that time in 2005 when I heard the frightening sound of wind that seemed alive. That incident prompted me to get a weather radio so that our family would never be surprised again.
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Coming soon: Highlights of 2009
I spent some time this evening putting together my annual list of highlights from the year. What strikes me about 2009 is how … well, dull it’s been by comparison to other years. Sure, some good things have happened, but compared to the scale of things that happened in recent years past 2009 has been a yawner. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, obviously, but it will put my skills to the test when it comes to creating punchy, attention-grabbing writing in documenting it.
Where I’ve worked: W. Bell & Co.
W. Bell & Co. employee card
After my stint at Dart Drug I looked for a company that would value my trustworthiness. It was April 1987. A classmate of mine worked at a catalog showroom store and suggested I apply there. It sounded a bit more professional than what I’d just done, so I filled out an application and got an interview.
The store was W. Bell & Co.: a now-defunct Rockville, MD-based retail catalog showroom chain that once thrived in the D.C. area. My friend worked at the Tysons Corner store doing what I wanted to be doing: selling electronics. The store manager had different plans for me, however: he wanted me to sell jewelry. Jewelry was W. Bell’s mainstay. I gave it a shot and showed up the following Monday wearing slacks and a tie.
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