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