Here it is, the penultimate day of the penultimate year [...]]]> I do believe that 2009 may very well be destined to go down in history as the year that sucked donkey. In many ways, it was worse than the Hell of 2002 although that was primarily an internal ordeal whereas this year just sucked in general.

Here it is, the penultimate day of the penultimate year of the first decade of the twenty-first century. I can only hope the last year of the decade will be better.

The year didn’t get off to a great start and kind of went downhill from there. January’s big events were getting my penis fixed (again), the accident, and the “layoff.” Well, the last was really a dismissal shrouded in the cloak of a layoff. While the economic reasons may have been valid, I believe the real reasons were bogus. But when we work, we work at the whim of our employer.

Most of the year was spent looking for work and either there’s little or no work for a desktop technician in Dayton or there’s something more sinister going on. I found a short-term position working on a project for a regional healthcare system but after about eight weeks, someone in management decided that their own overworked staff was capable of completing the project without assistance.

It wasn’t all gloom and doom. After rolling my 401k into an IRA, I took some of that money and replaced the engine in the truck which had been sitting in the driveway nearly 10 months. There have been a few additional repairs which haven’t helped the finances. The little SUV we got to replace the van has been running well. Hopefully, it will be a few years before we need to replace either vehicle.

I began teaching myself more about Linux, XHTML, and CSS. In the process I redesigned all of my web sites. I moved one blog from Blogger to my hosted site and another one from my home server (failed upgrade) to the hosted site. Later in the year, I create a new blog on my home server which is working beautifully.

Somehow I managed to help the kids move into a new home, providing more that just my labor and my truck. I’m holding them to their promise to repay me. I desperately need the money.

Sometime in the second half of the year, I noticed some trends regarding my weight, blood pressure, and blood glucose. While my blood pressure and blood glucose levels weren’t bad, they didn’t seem to be under control. I also noticed that my weight had started to climb very gradually. The weight is slowly going down again.

In an effort to improve my health, I tried yoga, first following along with a DVD and a couple of TV shows then tentatively taking a few classes. Once I started taking some beginner’s classes, I started getting hooked, not just on the physical part of it but the mental and spiritual aspects as well. Now I’m going to several classes a week and transitioning to intermediate level classes which are quite challenging. It will get easier. I’m even considering taking Hot Yoga. That should be interesting.

Perhaps my greatest yoga challenge is establishing a home practice. When I do practice at home, it’s not nearly at the same level as a class. I also want to incorporate more meditation and study into my practice.

One thing I noticed shortly after becoming unemployed was that my stress levels had diminished dramatically. There was still stress, but the anger and frustration that had been part of my job was gone. The stress of being unemployed and trying to find work is much more manageable. I’m looking to yoga to help me manage stress and develop focus.

Then there’s the bankruptcy. My unemployment has affected it and soon I’ll have a better idea of how it will work out. I’m looking forward to October when that five-year sentence will be over. Hopefully, we will have learned something from the experience. I know I have but have we?

Hopefully, 2010 won’t suck as much as 2009. Finding employment will be my biggest priority in the new year. Taking care of my health will also be high on my list and yoga practice will play a larger role in that. My goal (once again) is to get my weight down to 12 stone by my birthday and to get my blood pressure and blood glucose under control and maintained at healthy levels.

Then there’s the bankruptcy. My unemployment has affected it and soon I’ll have a better idea of how it will work out. I’m looking forward to October when that five-year sentence will be over. Hopefully, we will have learned something from the experience. I know I have but have we?

I’d like 2010 to be the year that things start coming together. Some positive things have already been set in motion and I’d like to see them gain momentum. There are also a lot of negatives that need to be overcome. The final year of the first decade of the 21st Century will be challenging, there’s no doubt about that. We’ll get through it.

Today’s Quote: “Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. The nude is condemned to never being naked. Nudity is a form of dress.” — John Berger, art critic, novelist, painter, and author

Today’s Quote: “What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” — Bob Dylan I guess two out of three ain’t bad.

“Yeah, and if a frog had wings it wouldn’t bump its ass when it hopped.” — Cassandra (Tia Carrera), Wayne’s World.