No journal would be copmlete without a little retrospective, right? So here is my look back at 2002, and a look forward at 2003.
The year started out with me unemployed, and it sucked. It wasn't that huge of a financial crisis, now that I see light at the end of the debt tunnel, but emotionally it really sucked. My self-esteem was beat down pretty bad, because I felt that there was little value in what I had to offer the world. Of course, I'd say the economy had more to do with that, but whatever.
I had an OK volleyball season all spring. That helped keep me sane to some degree. I think I got some good relationships out of that. I don't doubt I'll talk to some of my girls for a long time to come.
Summer brought me a lot of time at Cedar Point. Seeing as how we really didn't have any real vacations this summer, that was nice. In particular, I loved ending the season with Dan and Maria, and the Armbrusters. They're great people and good friends, and I'm really glad to know them.
In November Stephanie and I got to spend a week in Orlando, and that was really nice. I was excited to share some of the parks with her, and finally get her away from school. While amusement park vacations aren't exactly her thing, we did get to go somewhere that required a plane and a rental convertible.
Meanwhile, over the course of the year, I wrote software in .Net, and realized that I'm an actual programmer now. You don't realize that the scripting nonsense on the Web really isn't programming the way that the object-oriented stuff is. My forums barely sell anymore because of all the free stuff out there, and I've been slowly rewriting my content management stuff. Hopefully I can sell something there.
Writing my own software is of course related to the idea that it would be really nice to work for myself, but I just can't get a good plan in my head to do it. I spend far too much time with my head up my ass over that issue.
I continued to run CoasterBuzz and Guide to The Point this year, though they were really a lower priority. The club's first year was outstanding, and I think next year will be even better. I could, however, do without the notoriety of running the sites. Everybody knows who I am, and people constantly wanna fuck with me.
Stephanie has very nearly completed classes for her PhD, which leaves research. She even beat the stupid biochemistry with a B+ that had been giving her shit for a long time. It's amazing how much she knows. It's kinda neat that I can ask her most things about nature and she has an answer.
I realized this year that I wasn't happy with my weight. I thank God I'm not outright fat, but damn do I need to lose this spare tire. I've been losing weight now for a little while, thanks in part to Dance Dance Revolution and more common sense eating.
Overall, 2002 was a very average year. Not a great year, or a bad year, it was just kind of there. That's still an improvement, because 2001 outright sucked. What a terrible year that was. A real change from 2000, which was one of the best ever.
So looking forward to 2003, I already see one great positive: We're going back to Kauai. After three years, we'll return to the place on Earth that I have been most relaxed and one with myself. We're saving money, we'll be there for Thanksgiving.
The rest is up in the air. Generally speaking I think I want the same thing everyone wants. To be a little better of a person, keep things balanced a little more, be healthier and overall enjoy the parts of life we're often too busy to notice. Indeed, I think we can only go up from here.
No comments yet.