It's The End Of The Year As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Yes indeedy, another year gone by in the blink of an eye. Amazing how that happens. 2012 was a great year though, probably the best year since, oh, maybe 1997.

For me personally, that is.

On the first of January of 2012 I was put in a position where I had to make a decision that would, for the most part, determine the tenor of the entire year.

It wasn't a life-or-death decision or anything like that, but it was a game-changing decision.

So I made the decision, and here I sit one year later, far happier than I had ever imagined I would be for it.

See, I'm a slow learner. Incredibly slow. I am learning stuff in my late '40's that most people, most men, learn in their '20's. Seriously.

Or maybe it's that now, I'm able to pay attention, really pay attention. To what I really should be paying attention to. 

Whatever the case, throughout the course of 2012 my decision making has been top notch for the most part, and even better than that, my decisiveness has been first rate.

He wrote in all modesty.

Of course, that actually just means that I'm now mentally entering my late '20's, at least as far as emotional maturity goes.

Oh well, better late than never.

It has been a long, long time since I have been this satisfied with how well life has been treating me. Not only am I far more comfortable in my own skin than I have been in over a decade, I'm far more comfortable with the world itself.

That probably reads as pretty damn Pollyanna-ish, especially in light of the 24/7 boatload-of-crap that the news media shovels down our collective throats. So what. I make no apologies for my optimism.

But I digress. 2012, while not a banner year in terms of accomplishments, was a year in which I got things done. I replaced the siding on the house, installed new windows, and painted the house empire yellow.

Yep. Empire yellow. take a look.

                                                I want my house to be seen from space.

I did a lot with the interior of the house as well, painting the living room and the hall closet. Tom and Brad painted the lower level and replaced the door leading out to the garage (with an actual, up-to-code fire door, too).

The house is shaping up rather well, finally. Considering my not-so-secret superpower is procrastination, I'm thinking a parade is in order.

Or maybe not. Maybe have to settle for the satisfaction of a job well done. Yeah, probably that.

There are big plans for 2013, big plans. With all that has been done on the house it may well be time to get over to Europe for vacation again. Or, dare I think it? Possibly Australia. Yeah...Australia.

Favorite things from 2012:

Book: The Orphan Master's Son - Adam Johnson

Song: Somebody That I Used To Know - Goyte (yeah, it was played to death, but that's what happens to catchy tunes).

Video: Somebody That I Used To Know, directed by Natasha Pinkus

Movie: The Dark Knight Rises

Television Show: Mad Men

Concert: The Hollyfelds at Rock*A*Billies, June 29th 

Sporting Event: The whole 2012 baseball season - I cannot recall a better season in my lifetime. A man older than me (Jamie Moyer) was the winning pitcher in a baseball game, Phil Humber, Matt Cain, and Felix Hernandez all pitched perfect games, 7 no-hitters were pitched (tied with '90 & '91 for most in an MLB season), Josh Hamilton hit four 2 run homers in one game, R.A. Dickey had a monster year pitching for the Mets, Aaron Hill hit for the cycle twice in a two-week stretch (becoming the first MLBer to hit for the cycle twice in a season in 81 years), The NL shut out the AL in the All Star game 8-0, brothers Justin and BJ Upton both hit their 100th career home runs on the same day (playing for different teams - they're the 6th brother combo to have each hit 100 or more taters in MLB history), Miguel Cabrera won the first triple crown since 1967, The Giants swept the Tigers 4-0 in the World Series, and last but certainly not least, Samuel F.B. Morse High School graduate Adam Jones lead the Baltimore Orioles to a magical 93-69 season, their first winning season since 1997 - and he finished the season with 32 taters, most by any Morse grad ever (he had hit 25 in 2011, which incidentally enough, eclipsed the previous record for a Morse High grad playing MLB held by Sam Horn, who hit 23 while also playing for the Orioles, in 1991).

Restaurant: Casa Vasca on Elm Street in Newark, New Jersey. Two thumbs waaaay up!

Drink: Breckenridge Bourbon (super smooth, Fred & Teri got me this for Christmas - it is my new favorite Bourbon).

Favorite New Quote: "You're 18. You don't know what you want. And you won't know what you want until you're 45, and even if you get it, you'll be too old to use it." - Walter Stratford, from the movie Ten Things I Hate About You. Yeah, the movie was made 13 years ago, but I just saw it this year - it's a charming, funny bit of fluff.

That's all I got. Here's to even bigger and better things in 2013!!