2014, the year of life, the universe, and everything

Right. Turned on the light so I can see the keys better. 80s music blasting in my headphones because that's what you do at 4am when you're about to write your first official post of 2014 (the 2013: My Year in Media recap launched before I got around to this one, but that's mostly cut and paste, so doesn't count!).

Normally, I schedule my Year of... posts for January 1st, but the end of 2013 was a bit hectic and anxiety filled and I just couldn't quite get it done. Actually, 2013 in general could be considered a bit hectic and anxiety filled, and there was no Year of... post at all, just a bunch of shirts and random comic stuff.

2012 wasn't all that hot, either. July of that year saw my previous job evaporate in one fell swoop of corporate consolidation/third party service provider. I got a decent severance, and there were no hard feelings, but it was a state that lasted over 15 months. Truthfully, I was kind of glad it happened, as I was burned out on that job and rather unhappy. Sometimes you just get stuck, and slowly, slowly sink into the mire.

I'm gainfully employed now, so this year is starting off better than before. It's not my dream job, but being paid for naps isn't really a thing, so I got this instead. What is this? Working for the government. Not a spy or anything, just a desk jockey/phone monkey helping my fellow Americans out in small ways. That's about all I'll say on that here.

What does this year hold? Lots of adventure, potentially. No resolutions, though. Except maybe to sleep better. Not sure if that counts.

Otherwise, I have a list of 18 points of improvement/learning/excitement to work on. Within that bulleted catalog of wonder and amazement are some of the usual lot:

• Write more better
• Blog more better
• Finance more better
• Etc more better

You see where I'm going. I've added a few things I've been wanting to do for a while, learning to sew and code among them. The really big thing I'm doing this year. though, is something scarier than I've ever tackled before: Lap-band surgery.

I topped out at 405 lbs last year, the highest I've ever noted. It has affected my health--diabetes and sleep apnea being the most serious, but general aches and pains are a daily occurrence--and caused me to not completely live my life the way I would like to.

That's why this is the year of life, the universe, and everything (that, and I turn 42 next month). Many changes coming, hopefully affecting my world for the better. Reports to follow. Others things of note, too.

Farewell from the Junction, for now.

2012, the year of follow through...

There's color in the world again. Spring has safely arrived, though here in the State of Empire we have had a bizarrely mild winter (not complaining, mind you, after the winter of 2011 with some three plus feet of snow here on many parts of Long Island).

In the past, the title you see on this post would've been used on January 1st of whatever year we are entering, but so far this year I haven't written much, and in fact have been exploring other matters of life. Now, however, the above noted winter has departed (I said it was mild, didn't say it was less depressing for it, the older I get, the less I like winter), and I'm ready to speak to the world again.

Oh, by the way, welcome to my new blog.

It's been about two years since I last did this on a somewhat regular basis, and I have a renewed energy for it. So much so that I actually am working on two other blogs/projects with friends (you can read about them on my projects page). This time out I plan on doing stuff I haven't before, such as reviews, and perhaps tracking progress on my own endeavors. Although the latter may take a somewhat ambiguous form until I'm ready to reveal the nature of whatever I'm working on. I am a believer in the more you say about something publicly, the less likely it is to happen. Derek Sivers taught me that, and I have proven it to myself on more than one occasion.

I will share some things in progress, mostly in the learning to live parts of my life. On the left-hand side bar you'll see one of the gadgets is dedicated to those subjects I'm currently learning. As of this writing it's beekeeping and sewing. Why those two? Well, the sewing has both artistic and practical purposes. Some future projects I am considering on the artistic side will benefit from the addition of textiles, while knowing how to sew in general may keep me in my clothes longer, or save whatever my current favorite blanket is.

The beekeeping stuff, well, that's a whole bunch of influences tied together. Some of it is reading the blogs of people I admire who do keep bees, or have had experience with it. Other parts are a fascination with how honey bees are tied to the world, and just how important they are. I'll write more when I know more, on this and other subjects.

I put the description of my last blog as "Learning to Live." I think this one may best be described as following through.

Things here are still in progress, I've a few things yet to add before I can truly call this one home, but I hope you like it anyway.