2015 was strange only because everything in it felt ‘normal’. There many highs and not many lows. I traveled, I helped my family, I changed
jobs, I grew in my job… but none of that had the newness that 2013 and 2014
did. This year was just normal. If this is my new normal and I can hold this
type of good times close, I can live out the next 20 years or so a happy
man. And after 30+ years of NOT being a
happy man, I think it’s a prize well earned.
I even got the surprise of having Caitlyn come back into my
life. She’s completely re-arranged my
free time, but it’s good free time with her so I won’t complain.
Taveling wise, I took a cold blistery trip to Chicago, drove
down to Dallas once and flew down for a second trip. I had meant to fly out to San Francisco and
had intended on another Chicago trip but those are things I can still plan on
for 2016.
I’ve made plenty of big and small purchases. I can’t really talk about spending money
without mentioning the new Ride.
Ginger. I adore having a big
sedan that gets 40+ mpg. But what
really struck me this year is how making purchases has changed. I still research things, but the time scale
has shifted. I used to research things
because I only had one shot to get it right.
If I messed up and spent a couple hundred bucks on a bad thing, it wasn’t
something that I could correct. Now I do
the research because I honestly enjoy learning about things and making the
right choise…. But if I make the wrong one it’s no big deal. I can always correct it later. For instance, my most recent ‘thing’ has been
a media streaming box. Specifically a
Roku 3. I wanted to not only watch
Netflix which my bluray player let me do, but wanted to add Hulu, Amazon Video,
and other streaming services. I wanted
to do them quickly which the bluray was just horrible at. At less than $200 for every option, I could
afford to ‘try’ one, but I still did my due dilligance to figure out all the
differences, all the benefits and all the detriments or each option. I compared Apple TV, Android TV (the nVidia
Shield and Google Nexus Player), the Amazon Fire, and the Roku 3 and 4. It took me about a day of on and off again
research, but I made the right choice… the Roku 3 is everything I could have
hoped for!
That’s the way all of my ‘small’ purchases have been. My watch for work, my new smart watch, my new
mouse, my new phone, my new speakers… even the big purchase of the car.
Family wise, my clan has been moving ahead with very little
steps backward. Yes, mom fell down and
it was bad. But she didn’t have any
extended stays in the hospital. Yes, her
heart and stamina continue to decline, but they never reached urgent or
emergent status. My younger brother is
planning to send his little girl off to college, while my older brother is
having his own renaissance with his current job.
So with that brief recap, lets’ get on with the questions
and answers.
1.What did you do in 2015 that
you'd never done before?
I bought my very first Brand New Car. That’s something that can be scratched off
the bucket list!
2.Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you
make more for next year?
Same answer as last year…. No. I more or less made the resolution to get a
gym membership and start exercising on a regular basis. Beyond thinking about it, I never even got
close.
3.Did anyone you know give birth?
Several colleagues at work and several facebook friends, but
no one I would call a real friend.
4.Did anyone you know die?
No. Several patients,
but no friends or family.
5.What countries did you visit?
None. That will
change next year!
6.What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
Mom getting better instead of the long slow decline that she’s
been on for years.
7.What date from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory,
and why?
November 9th, 2015. The first day of my new job.
8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting my Diabetes more or less under control. Getting a new job.
9.What was your biggest failure?
Not going out to visit my good friend in San Francisco. I owe him a visit and should have visited him
rather than taking a second trip to visit another friend.
10.Were you seriously ill during 2014?
Not seriously ill, no.
My headaches have improved in that I get less of them, but when I DO get
them they are far more intense. I also
get ‘sick’ more and more often. I think
its from working around all these sick people.
11.What was the best thing you bought?
This is tough… Ginger has to be near the top of the
list. Yeah… Ginger.
12.Whose behavior merited celebration?
My friend in Dallas.
His wife had an amazing job opportunity down there so they uprooted
their family, sold the house they loved, and re-established their family in a
state they hate in a town they dislike.
When she got fired earlier this year he would have been more than
justified in going to town on her (he’d never physically harm her, but he has a
sharp tongue and mind that can hurt more than fists). Instead he held her, told her it was going to
be all right, started working 16 hour days to make up for the lost income and
supported her in finding a new job.
Moving back never entered the discussion. Telling her he was right never exited his
mouth.
There’s a reason he’s a good friend, and this is just one of
many examples.
13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Several of my new co-workers who complained to a supervisor
that I’m cold and mean. This after a
month of working with me. I’m not cold,
nor am I mean… I’m shy and take a long time to warm up to people. Just ask the co-workers whom I HAVE warmed
up to… including the supervisor they complained to.
14.Where did most of your money
go?
My car payment is now higher than my college loan
payment. BUT I pay extra to the college
loans because I also pay interest on that.
So I still paid more of my money on my education than anything else.
15.What did you get excited about?
Two things got me equally excited. First was taking a real honest to God road
trip. Driving from Michigan to Dallas
isn’t the longest trip I’ve ever taken, but it’s the first time I’ve driven
that far on my own for recreation. Doing
it my way and at my speed was exhilarating!
Second was figuring out just how much I’ve made since
getting my first job as a nurse. About
$20,000 a year. No, that's not a typo. I do make quite a bit more than that, but
that’s the annual INCREASE in income that I’ve gained since getting that job in
2013. I highly doubt that I’ll see
increased like that over the next few years but it blows me away thinking that
my INCREASE in pay on an annual basis is nearly the most money I’ve made in
previous years! Seriously… I’ve only
made over $20,000 a year in one job outside of nursing!
16.What songs will always remind you of 2015?
Two songs this year, for the flip sides of happiness I have
felt all year long:
Shut Up and Dance by Walk The Moon – This is just a big pure
syrupy bit of pop happiness. It’s fun
and gives me a goofy smile everytime I hear it.
I’m embarrassed to enjoy a song like this so much…. But I REALLY do like
it.
Howling At Nothing by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night
Sweats – If Shut Up and Dance is about moving and dancing and being goofy
happy, this song is about chilling, and laying back, and being calm sweet
happy. Yeah… this year was moving
between stages of happiness!
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
Sadder/Happier? Happier!
Thinner/Fatter? The
Same (frustratingly so!)
Richer/Poorer? Richer
at the moment. The new job will ensure I’m
poorer next year.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Traveled.
19.What do you wish you'd done less of?
Waited. Between May
and November I was waiting on the new job and therefore didn’t travel or even
contemplate traveling. I now have over
100 hours of annual leave to burn thorugh!
20.How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent Christmas Eve with my mother, brothers,
sister-in-law, niece and nephews. It was
glorious. Christmas Day was spent with
my mother, my brother, my aunt, her boyfriend, and my cousin. It was just as glorious.
21.What is the one thing you would have gone back and done
differently this year?
I keep coming back to going out to San Francisco. I know there are good reasons I didn’t do
it.. waiting to see how the job would shake out, hoping that my friend out
there would get the job he wants to have… but I should have just bit the bullet
and did it. Now it’ll be spring at the
earliest as I’ve made other big traveling plans for winter.
22.Did you fall in love in 2015?
No. I’ve accepted that
I probably just won’t fall in love.
Caitlyn did. And that’s scary as
all hell.
23.Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time
last year?
No. I could almost say
my co-workers… but hate is to strong of a word.
Pity. I pity them.
24.What was your favorite TV program?
Walking Dead was still amazing, Person of Interest was
good. This Old House was just as
entertaining if not a little frustrating.
But if I had to have one stand above the rest… Jessica Jones on
Netflix. I DID just finish that, so it
might still be a bit early to call it my favorite of the year. But it WAS good!
25.What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. They may only have provided me with two
songs, but both are AMAZING songs and it’s a style of music that I found quite
by accident. And not by television or
movies or commercials.
26.What was the best book you read?
I re-read a lot of Stephen King this year, but I have to say
the best book I read was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. That was an emotional rollercoaster and well
worth the time.
27.Are you happy with your lot?
Yes.
28.What did you want and get?
A return of Caitlyn.
I didn’t think it would happen so I never directly ‘wanted’ it…. but
yea, I got it!
29.What did you want and NOT get?
A way to make my mother happier.
30.What was your favourite film of this year?
Not a great year for movies.
Nothing springs to mind for ‘new’ movies. I did recently watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s for
the first time and was pleasantly surprised by it.
31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Probably worked. I
turned 41 in 2015.
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably
more satisfying?
If not romance, then having a close friend close by. My two closest friends are in Dallas and San
Francisco, so I visit them but not often.
My nearest ‘Friend’ is cool… but If my other friends were closer, I don’t
think I’d spend as much time with him.
33.How would you describe your personal fashion concept in
2015?
Nothing changed here.
Patterned button up shirts.
Jeans. Loafers.
34.What kept you sane?
Knowing that not only are my physical needs being met, but
almost all of my physical wants are being met.
It lets me explore deeper inside of myself to find out what ‘want’ and ‘need’
really mean.
35.Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jim Harbaugh. The
football coach at the University of Michigan.
No, he didn’t win the Big Ten, and no he didn’t beat either of Michigan’s
Rivals… but he made the Michigan team look like a Michigan team. And that hasn’t been done since 2006!
36.What political issue stirred you the most?
Racial tensions.
Come on… it’s the twenty fucking first century…. And we can’t even agree
that there IS a problem let alone what the problem is. I can’t stand people that think “Hey, don’t
break the law” is a good enough answer.
37.Who did you miss?
It’s only been since November, but all my colleagues and
co-workers from my previous facility.
They were family and I miss them dearly.
38.Who were the best new people you met/got to know?
Sadly, no one really comes to mind. Yeah… that’s Sad.
39.Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014:
I’m still surprised by last year’s lesson… that happiness
doesn’t fade.
40.Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Here comes my happiness again
Right back to where it should have been
'Cause now she's gone and I am free
And she can't do a thing to me
I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light
And if you should see her
Please let her know that I'm well
As you can tell
And if she should tell you
That she wants me back
Tell her no
I gotta go
Yeah... that sums up my year.
I ended this last year with a fear. I was scared to know what’s next. I mean how could I top the success of
2014!? Well… it turns out I couldn’t. I could simply sustain it. And that is no small feat. Sure, there are ways to make my life
better. Better success for my family,
better health for my mother, romance for me… but there are more ways that this
happiness can fade. This new job doesn’t
look like it will be as satisfying as my last job even if the advantages still outweigh
the disadvantages. I got Caitlyn back,
but I could just as easily lose her. It
wouldn’t take much financial change to make my success into a nighmare…
But I still sustained that happiness. I still fought off all the thing that could
make a year bad. Now it’s not a matter
of if I can gain happiness. Now it’s not
a matter of if I can sustain happiness.
Now it’s a matter of just how long I can sustain happiness. How long can I go without ‘bad’.
Let’s try and find out!!!!!!!
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