And about damn time, I might add, 2008 having been something of a Suckfest for all involved. That includes pretty much everyone I know, online or off-.
[run-on sentence]
In the early part of the year I came down with a severe case of bacterial pneumonia, then my father came down with pneumonia, then my mother lost the ability to walk as her Alzheimer's progressed slowly, steadily, inexorably onward, then my father died, then (unrelated) my low-grade depressive tendencies deepened, then someone I was just starting to get to know committed suicide, then my DVD player died (okay, that was merely an annoyance, but given the timing and the fact that movies are my life, I was upset), then I had a crisis of faith with (and within) my Super-Secret Support Group, then my job reached new and unexpected heights of suckiness, then I entered Recluse Mode...
[/run-on sentence]
That enough whining for ya?
Notable deaths in 2008 (from my perspective): Edmund ("Why Everest?" "Because it's there, ya twit.") Hillary, chess wacko (and Jewish anti-Semite--go figure) Bobby Fischer, Suzanne Pleshette, Roy ("We're gonna need a bigger boat!") Scheider, William F. Buckley, Jr. (the man I loved to hate), Gary ("Roll for damage") Gygax, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, Richard Widmark, Charlton ("Wait! I need to rip off my shirt for this scene!" "What, again? You're playing Moses, fer crissakes") Heston, Albert (Mr. LSD) Hoffman, Sydney Pollack, Bo Diddley, Mel Ferrer, special effects guy Stan Winston, George Carlin (who finally has a place to put all his stuff), Isaac ("Duke of New York") Hayes, David Foster Wallace (I guess this was yet another supposedly fun thing he'll never do again), Paul Newman, mystery writer Tony Hillerman, Michael Crichton, Forrest J (no period) Ackerman, Nina Foch (especially for her role in the Outer Limits episode "The Borderland"), pinup cutie Bettie Page, and Eartha "Catwoman" Kitt.
The year was not without its bright spots, though. When Dad died a lot of people, a lot, bent over backwards to express their sympathy and support, to reconnect, however briefly, and to help out whenever and wherever they could. That meant something, especially since Mom wasn't (and to some extent still isn't) aware of what happened and I had to go it alone for a while.
I read some good books, I saw some good movies, I ate some good food, I hung out with some cool people, sometimes IRL, sometimes online. I spent time with Sid-the-Near-Feral ("Is this the Year of Daily Tuna?") Cat. I rediscovered the simple, quiet joys of coin collecting, of all things, something I'd forgotten about since adolescence.
Still, I'm ready for a new year, so here's hoping it's a better one for everyone!
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8 comments:
Don't forget that we also lost Majel (Original #1, Nurse Chapel, etc.) Roddenberry last year too.
So very sorry to hear of your family and personal losses, etc. I hope that 2009 is a better year for you, as well. :-)
If you want to jaw some about the SSSG crisis of faith, I'm here for you, brother. Having had a few of those myself. Coffee sometime? I can even come to you (meet you at your work coffeewagon one day).
Sorry 2008 treated you so shabbily. Onward and upward in 2009!
BTW we saw you on New Year's Eve. You were leaving an establishment with someone else over our way. We were picking up Thai takeout because that's the kind of exciting New Year's fun we have.
Fairly common for people to get back into a hobby in such a fashion. I've seen quite a number of similar stories posted on our coin forum, you might enjoy reading some of them.
Here's hoping 2009 turns out better than 2008 in every way. And that by Christmas this year, Mifune will be tree-trained and I can trim the tree with my vintage glass ornaments again! (I smell a blog entry forming... must put that on my to-do list for today... or this week... or sometime soon.
@Coin Collector:
These days I spend a lot of time lurking on both Coin Talk and the Collectors Universe/PCGS forums. They make for great reading and an inexpensive education and, yeah, I came back to coin collecting the way many people do--I wound up with my father's coin collection, such as it was (including the Whitman albums we worked on when I was a kid), and in the process of compiling an inventory found my interest reawakening.
Thanks, Capcom!I appreciate your thoughts.
@anne:
Yeah, I met up with Big Gay Cliff and some of his Program friends at Mandarin Palace on Southside for a New Year's Eve dinner. I was home by 8:00 p. m. and watching Third Rock From the Sun reruns when the calendar turned, which tells you how exciting my life is.
I'd love a chance to babble about my current disenchantment with the SSSG with someone whose solution isn't "more service work" and "Let Go and Let Gawd." I let go, I let Gawd, I quit trying to make things happen and now it's just me and the cat, not that that's a bad thing.
Let me know what your schedule's like.
@Cath:
Hmmm...young samurai cat, decorated Christmas tree, training within a year...yeah, let me know how that works out for ya!
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