... I can never stop learning. A year ago after I wrapped all my Christmas presents in three hours I immediately came up with the idea of having a wrapping party. Have friends come over and just wrap gifts – my gifts – under the guise of a party.
Well, I will say that I had to do something for people to come over so I made dinner. I’ll tell you, there is nothing like opening up a taco bar in your apartment.
Actually, one of my friends used my idea and brought two gifts to wrap. He, however, didn’t have as many as me.
So it took me and my friends about an hour to wrap everything. Most of the time was spent just trying to figure out the best way to wrap something. It was done in an assembly line fashion with everyone having a job to do.
Couple the 90 minutes it took me to shop this year – new personal record there – and it took two and a half hours. Compare that to the 5 hours it took last year to do everything and it is clear to see this idea, along with smart shopping, was a huge benefit.
This was probably one of the best ideas I’ve ever come up with. If you wrap as many Christmas gifts as I do, you’ll appreciate the help. Plus, it’s always nice to spend time with friends and talk about what is going on.
… So being that I write a blog every two weeks, this will be my last one for 2008. I doubt anything exciting will happen to me between now and the New Year so it’s pretty safe for me to recall what happened this year.
Bear with me.
I made my first New Year’s Resolution and stuck with it all year. I got in better shape. After years of just letting myself go, I made two goals: 1) be able to run without getting winded in a minute and 2) lose weight to get down to 210 pounds. Well I accomplished both. What do I want to do next here? Well maybe I can lose another 10 pounds and get it down to an even 200. I did lose about 20 pounds to get down to 210, so doing half that may not be farfetched. I just need to start eating better. All this running has made wonder if I can run, and I do mean run, a marathon. I may need another year for that.
I left the country for the first time in my life by going to Tokyo in November. A part of me now regrets not finding a major that pays better than working at a newspaper (more on this later) and being able to see the world. I look forward to go somewhere far and different than what I’m used to in the future.
My family is still my family. I can’t ask for a better group of siblings and parents. My father, with the chemotherapy, was able to defeat cancer. I’m blessed that I have them and they are all doing well.
Work is a worry. For the fourth time in my career I’m at a new newspaper. Technically I’m stilling working for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, but the location is different. Leaving the Press-Telegram offices was incredibly sad being that we were a close knit group. I like where I work, which is a big change from the uncertainty I once had when I stared in Torrance. At the same time I still know that the economy is down and the industry I work in is dying. It gives me something to think about next year.
I still believe that Diana Ross’ mother was right and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” I’ve gotten my feet wet with dating and am still trying to get used to it. It’s been so long that I really am starting over for the most part because I don’t know what to do. I don’t know the rules of dating. I guess I’m going to have to pick them up as I go along.
The most difficult part of this past year was saying goodbye to a remarkable person. My friend James died and it’s still hard to believe that he’s gone. I can still hear and see him laughing. There is so much I want to share with him and that is where I miss him the most. Something will happen or I’ll find a wrestling video online and he is still the first person I think about when I want to share it. I know he is there with me watching what I am watching, laughing alongside me. I know I’m not alone wishing he was still here. You are still a great friend James.
… What about next year? I can hear the two people that regularly read this asking. Well I’ll worry about that. I’ll be writing that in two weeks.
See you next year.
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