New Years 2011

So I usually take time on New Year's Day to talk about the past year, marking the highs and lows. Then dictating what I hope to accomplish in the coming year.

And while I am all for listing your hopes/goals on paper, I am not going to do that.

Instead, I am gonna be honest. You may have seen my previous post about how I love snow and the holidays...In short, I love what they represent: family, friendship and fun.

With that in mind, I always find New Year's Day a bit depressing. It's definitely bittersweet, as it marks the culmination (read: end) of my absolute favorite time of year.

While there will be parties and dinners with family and friends throughout the year, they just doesn't have the same emotional heft that sitting around the table at Thanksgiving carries with it. There is just a lil something in the air, where even perfect strangers will buy a coffee for the person behind them, “Just Because.”

And yes, I know people do good deeds year round, but I think folks are more attuned/open to doing such things during the holidays. I love the refocus on 'what's really important' that the holidays bring as the year draws to a close. But even as exhibited in New Years Resolutions, the move away from others and family, starts on January 1st as people begin looking at themselves and what they want for themselves.

I think that as the world continues to become more (seemingly) connected, folks are finding themselves more and more isolated. The holidays encourage actual face-to-face interaction. Hugs and laughter seem to happen ad nausem. Think about the good-byes after Christmas dinner versus those at a 4th of July Family Reunion and you'll get my point.

But I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I love the optimism that the New Year brings. I love the 2nd Chance that it encourages. But I just miss the warmth that the passing season inspires.

So I'll just say to all of you. Remember who and what is important as you are lazing away an afternoon at the beach in August. Remember the smiles shared and the stories told around the holiday dinner table.

As for me, I definitely have some resolutions:

- Travel somewhere that isn't on the West Coast.

- Hit the gym a few times a week.

- Step forward in my career.

- Write a little more and read a few books.

- But most importantly, I want to put my words into actions and make more of an effort to actually see those who are important to me. And if nothing else, let those I can't see, know where they stand.

So I thank all of you for reading this and wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous 2011.

Depression 2009

As I sit here, sipping my 50-cent coffee, watching folks hard at work cleaning-up after the 2nd Snowpocalypse, it dawns on me.

There is no Christmas music playing. And those workers aren’t simply pressure washing the excess sand, but removing Christmas lights.

The holiday season is over.

Let the depression begin.

While Christmas shopping tends to bring-out the worst in people, the season on-the-whole seems to bring out the humanity in folks. Families get-together, friends have parties, employers give out yearly bonuses and even in these tough economic times charities see an influx of donations.

It’s freaking beautiful.

I am a Christmas freak. I love the music, I love the food, I love the parties. Simply put, I love the love.

And now it’s over. (A tear.)

I always get pretty bummed-out around this time of year. *And not just because I got to spend Christmas Even and New Year’s Eve all-by-my-lonesome, as I did this year.

It’s a lot like a 5 year-old who binges on a ton of candy, I love the high and hate the inevitable crash.

So nearly a week into the New Year, I am in a sour mood.

This is the week when folks really begin to see what resolutions are going to stick and which aren’t. I am failing miserably on mine. This is where the hope raised in a drunken stupor begins to come back down to reality.

Reality sucks.

I think that is the beauty of the Holidays and New Years, you get to suspend reality for a bit. Kids dream of the perfect present and adults look to the New Year hoping for a change after a year that may not have progressed as they liked.

But sadly, the excesses that are excused by “Oh, it’s the holidays,” reasoning must be reigned-in as folks buckle-down for the coming year.

Maybe we are all just that gluttonous 5 year-old at heart. I know I am.

Guess the trick is to find that balance.

But with the New Year comes a reminder that change is coming and though it seems all but forgotten now, sunny weather is on the way.

Something tells me that the first time I hit a tennis ball over the net, I’ll have long-forgotten this sad sack-dom that befalls me annually.

But until then, I need some candy.

Thoughts on Christmas '08

As I sit at home today, alone on Christmas, a victim of the recent and on-going ‘snowpocalypse’ I still can’t be mad.

I freakin’ love snow!

It’s now been over a week since I was last behind the wheel of my car. Truthfully, I have been a bit stir-crazy.

However, the time alone has given me the chance to evaluate life and the holidays.

The isolation and simple work it takes to get out and about only makes the opportunities to spend time with people even sweeter.

See, my family never did a ‘Big Family Christmas” as all of our extended family is back east. So I was never privy to the aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins crowding around the dinner table that are a staple of the ‘traditional’ Christmas.

So my extended family has become close friends. And as I’ve come to appreciate this year, my extended family is pretty damn big.

I am one lucky SOB.

I could go about naming names, but being me, I am sure I’d mistakenly omit a name or two and the last thing I want is to slight anyone. So if you think you may be on my list…rest assured, you are.

In these dark economic times, it’s easy to focus on the glass being half-empty. (To be honest, it’s my nature to view things in such a way.)

But I think Christmas is there to allow us to see the glass as being half-full.

Very few holidays being people together like Christmas. What better time to realize what you have going for you?

Family, friends, health…all of which are taken for granted most of the time.

Just do me a favor while sitting down to dinner tonight, as you fill your wine glass or open your beer, take a mental snapshot of the thoughts running through your head. I bet there’s nothing about mortgages, job security, etc.

They most likely will be thoughts of family, friends and fun.

These are the things that matter. Remember that.

And while I am a lil too broke to give any gifts this year, I can offer something I’ve found to be of much greater value when given to me, friendship.

Merry Christmas to you.

Insert “I am Thankful” quote here…

As a man who has been out of work for 5 months now, I could either be Thankful or Depressed as this holiday season approaches.

But as I sit back and ponder this mid-mid-life crisis that unemployment has foisted upon me, I have to say. I am pretty darn thankful.

And hopeful.

Where some folks in my situation would step back, examine their world and proceed to freak-out…I examine my situation and come away optimistic.

My life could be much worse, as I've had a couple close friends have bouts with cancer recently. That definitely helped to keep things in perspective for me.

I am not only thankful that my friends pulled through their illnesses, but thankful for the strength they exhibited in dealing with the illness.

They showed me that there is more to life than money, jobs and prestige. They showed me that life is something to be enjoyed while you have the opportunity.

I am also thankful for the support that many of my friends have offered during my "time of transition." Not once have I heard anyone doubt that I would do anything other than succeed. And to all of you, that has meant a lot to me.

I am also thankful for the time-off that unemployment has offered me. It has allowed me valuable time to reflect, re-evaluate and determine who and what I am and want to be.

Would I have preferred a less (financially) stressful opportunity to do this? Most definitely. But I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Overall, I am just thankful for being here, being healthy and being able to call my own shots.

I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving.

I also hope you are able to take a moment in this busy holiday season for yourself to relax and ponder what you are truly Thankful for.

It's far too easy during the holiday season to focus on what you want, instead of what you have. I think if you take the time to recount what you have going for you, you'll find this holiday season far more enjoyable.