Bye, 2008. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Disabled

This year . . . has not been what I would call great.

I recognize that it could have been so very much worse. To pick just one example out of the cornucopia of possibilities: sure, kniedzw lost his job, but he got a new one quite rapidly, and it pays better and has one-eighth the commute. I am very well aware that the stresses I suffered this year were mostly low- to mid-grade; they were, to use adjective degree as the yardstick, bad and occasionally worse, but never worst.

Having said that? This year had a lot of stress, just kind of grinding along near-constantly, and man, I am so ready for it to be done. Of course, just because a line of braniacs from Pope Gregory XIII on back decided that the calendar should flip over around now doesn’t mean that anything is going to change — and yet, the symbol is a powerful one. People are going to wake up on January 1st with a subconscious sense that the world has been reset, that something has ended, and it’s time for something new to begin. I am very ready to hit that reset button.

It didn’t all suck. The class I taught this spring was an enormous challenge, but it was also the single most rewarding semester of my teaching career. Once I’ve had a little more time to get over my screaming NO I DON’T WANNA reaction to grading, I would be very glad to teach creative writing again, especially spec fic. And my honeymoon was pure delight: two of the most relaxing weeks of my life, and certainly the blue-ribbon winners for this year. I’m happy to be in San Mateo, even if I do miss my B-town friends, and I could list for you many smaller bright points.

But 2008 has managed to simultaneously vanish into thin air and overstay its welcome. Roll on, 2009, and may you be better than your predecessor.

0 Responses to “Bye, 2008. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

  1. wishwords

    I completely agree.

  2. daydreammuse

    It seems that 2008 went relatively mild for you. Let’s hope that 2009 remains as mild or even milder. My 2008 was bitchier I am afraid, so I just can’t wait for the reset button.

  3. kmousie

    Roll on, 2009, and may you be better than your predecessor.

    Amen. And you know what my 2008 was like. So yeah, very ready to be done with it. What I wish for all of us is that, this time next year, we’ll be saying, “Wow, 2009 was great! I’m really sorry it’s over.” *sigh*

  4. mojave_wolf

    Roll on, 2009, and may you be better than your predecessor.

    By all powers that be, have been, might be, will be and could be, seconded many times over.

  5. gollumgollum

    But 2008 has managed to simultaneously vanish into thin air and overstay its welcome.

    I know, right? Amazing.

  6. d_c_m

    Dear friend: Oh yeah, you had major stress in 2008. And heck even though getting married is joyful it is very stressful. And moving and school and changing jobs?!?! OMG!! Be proud of yourself for not wearing a straightjacket!!

    Or at least not out in public. 😉

    Just lent “Midnight Never Come” to a friend. It is so good.

    Love to you and K and be well.

  7. strangerian

    So much of 2008 has been bad to so many people, that you’re probably not going to get many dissenting opinions here. Still, was it during 2008 that you decided to devote your writing to paying fiction, instead of going for the doctorate? That seems to me like a major, enlightened, and well-informed decision — for you, with some good sold books already out there, and more cooking in your head — and something of an achievement for whatever year it occured in. Getting a degree is something, but taking stock of yourself and knowing you don’t need one is nearly as hard, in academia.

  8. Anonymous

    Calendar

    “Of course, just because a line of braniacs from Pope Gregory XIII on back decided that the calendar should flip over around now doesn’t mean that anything is going to change…”

    I’ve long been of the opinion that our calendar years should begin either on the vernal equinox or the winter solstice; the latter would fit us best, I think–it’s still in winter, but is a non-arbitrary point: it ends the cycle of shortening days and starts the cycle of lengthening days, which continues until the summer solstice. And our months should be brought into line with lunar phases: January should begin on the first day of the waxing crescent closest to the winter solstice and end on the last day of the new moon; this would necessitate the addition of some extra days that don’t belong to any given month throughout the year (as in the Islamic calendar), but it would prevent our months from being arbitrary abstractions. Plus, if you wanted to know the specific day of the month, you’d just have to look at the moon; that’d be so cool.

    -jeff burke

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