Well, I'm finally feeling conscious enough to update. A new month/year begins, with its requisite web site maintenance duties. Had a wonderfully increadible time with David for the past fortnight, and unfortunately managed to acquire an aawful bug yesterday afternoon.

But no matter how horrible I feel in the morning, I will have to go into work. The loss of the office help has landed me with the dubious role of managing an extensive legal and administrative clean-up job this week. This will include hiring new office help and dealing with odious city officials and non-paying customers... It won't be pretty, especially if I'm not feeling any better come tomorow.

But at least I managed to get my first good New Years smooch last night. With someone I respect and care about. Whilst watching the evil Dick Clark. Happy new year. Hopefully it treats me as well as the better pieces of 2001 treated me, if not better...

More than 48 hours later and my stomach still isn't feeling entirely normal. If this lasts more than another day or so, I'm going to Herr Doktor.

In other news, my day at work was surprisingly manageable thanks to two things: my dad wasn't around to drive everyone into a panic, and all the problems he spent last week bracing me for were a total overreaction. You gotta love parents. And they used to say I made mountains out of mole hills.

I'm taking a bit of an email sabbatical whilst I try to figure out what went wrong with my old email service, so don't feel bad if I'm not getting back to you. Hopefully I can eventually get the thing working efficiently enough to manage the increasingly large volume coming to me the last few weeks...

Now to drown myself in more Pepto. Then it's bank, bills, Von's, and coffee with Amy... Though I might be going with just the soda water tonight.

The ailment continues with no end in site. Somehow I managed to get absolutely nothing done yesterday, as well. Not like I have meals getting in the way or anything. I wish I could actually manage some solid food right now...

Anyway, I'm getting mildly annoyed by the frequencey of porn and sex searches on this site, but not annoyed enough to actually think of doing anything about it...

Still waiting for the ForMac Studio machine to arrive...

I filed my state taxes today. The Feds won't take my return until the 10th, so not only did I not get Dubya's $300 extortion refund, I have to wait those additional excrutiating days to find out how much my real extortion refund will be.

Anyway, Sacramento was kind to me, and I may actually be able to afford that iPod before the month is over... And the printer too... The Xmas disappointment may be made up after I hear from Uncle Sam.

The stomach still feels like a pressurized tin can at 40,000 feet, and I'm starting to think that it could all be the fact that I haven't had a good Fresno Mexican meal in almost 2 weeks. I usually manage to fit about 2 in each week, considering Fresno's got some of the best authentic Mexican food around. I think I may just go grab some take-out tomorrow and polish it all off, and hope that I don't have to immediately bolt to the toilet afterwards. But it may actually cure me...

On the plus side of my health issues, the coffee shop last night convinced me that my original goal of giving up cigarettes after I ran out isn't soon enough. I threw away the last of my cigs today, and don't plan on lighting again. Not even cloves or cigars, which were usually my vice-of-last-resort during my 'quitting' phases. With the stomach ailment still going, any thought of smoking just makes me nauseated right now.

So I go to watch Family Guy and they managed to remove it again. Bloody hell.

Vote to rebuild. Very refreshing, after dwelling on Giuliani's spew. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way...

The following is an excerpt from Jonah Goldberg. I'm not a regular reader or fan of his, but I thought this was good, nonetheless:

"To be honest, I never liked the World Trade Center. I always thought it knocked the New York City skyline out of whack. The city looked more elegant when the Empire State Building was New York's (and the world's) tallest structure. Before the towers, the Big Apple looked like it fit perfectly in one of those shake-'em-up souvenir snowballs. The World Trade Center destroyed that bell-curve symmetry.

"But, now that the barbarians have stolen the World Trade Center (and the lives of thousands of people in the process) one thing is certain to me: I want it back. More important, we need it back.

"We can't bring back the dead, but we can rebuild the broken. In fact (to borrow a phrase from the Six Million Dollar Man) we can rebuild it better, faster, and stronger.

"That would be infinitely preferable to another monument.

"For more than a decade, America has been increasingly obsessed with wallowing in remorse. After various school shootings, the Oklahoma City bombing, Princess Di's untimely death, and a dozen other tragedies large and small, America (or more specifically American media and politicians) have fetishized grief. The television networks have devoted hundreds if not thousands of hours to asking victims or their families, "How do you feel?" Sometimes, you could almost hear the news producers high-five each other when interviewees wept openly. Sometimes I think the "B" in MSNBC stands for "Bathos."

"President Clinton wasn't responsible for this trend but he did exploit it, as did many politicians. Alas, his "I feel your pain" lip biting was apparently what a lot of Americans wanted. Indeed, at times, it seemed that all political debates were lost or won based upon who was labeled "mean-spirited" or who could best claim the mantle of victimhood.

"It looked to me that W. H. Auden's "For the Time Being," a prophetic poem from a half century-ago, had come true. Auden predicted that in the "New Age":

'Knowledge will degenerate into a riot of subjective visions & Justice will be replaced by Pity as the cardinal human virtue, and all fear of retribution will vanish & The New Aristocracy will consist exclusively of hermits, bums and permanent invalids. The Rough Diamond, the Consumptive Whore, the bandit who is good to his mother, the epileptic girl who has a way with animals will be the heroes and heroines of the New Age, when the general, the statesman, and the philosopher have become the butt of every farce and satire.'

"Well, I for one want to go back to the Old Age, where Justice prevails over pity. President Bush had it right when he declared that this is a battle between Good and Evil. This isn't a conflict between those with low self-esteem and the victims of poor childhoods. Indeed, I think America's maudlin preoccupation was probably taken as a sign of weakness by those who attacked us...

"...if we must have a shrine or monument for our remorse, let's put it on the 200th floor, right next to the antiaircraft guns."

I decided to convalesce alone this weekend. Which would be best, I suppose, considering my recent gastrointestinal status. Strangely, however, I awoke today feeling intriguingly normal. The test will be when I take a break from my all-too-comfortable lethargy to grab a Torta Carnitas from SuperTaco. It's been over a month since I've had one. If Mr. Tummy can handle it, I'll declare my illness officially over. But I'm not holdiing my breath.

I finally updated my Amazon.com wish list, after almost 4 months of slow drain on the number of items left. It's just chock full, now, which should occupy you gift-givers for at least the next year or so...

Too bad there's no birthday or holidays around the corner now...

OK, Lauren, I'll do it, too (with modifications...):

age i am - 24
age i lost my virginity - Depending on how you draw the line: 17.
times i've thought i was in love - 5
times i've really been in love - 3
times i have had my heart broken - 2
hearts i have broken - 2
longest time i've been single - 5 years
longest time i went without sex - 5 years
continents i have visited - One, if you include the one I live on
age when i first flew all alone - still never been on a plane...
number of boys i have kissed in my life - couple dozen or so... number of girls i have kissed - 3
number of boys i have slept with - 16
number of girls i have slept with - 1, if you mean sex
drugs i am addicted to right now - 0 (I quit smoking this week!)
number of piercings - 0
number of tattoos - 0
number of times my name has appeared in print - about half a dozen or so (if letters to the editor count...)

Spent most of last night e-window-shopping, except for a few choice purchases. Including two new domains. No immediate plans to put them to use, but I at least wanted to grab 'em up. I'll prolly be doing little more today.

I'm actually quite proud that I avoided doing anything even marginally social last night. I like being anti-social. Anti-social behavior is good for Hyaena's health...

I'm going to try to put up a new trip journal, before the trip itself gets too old to be report-worthy. No promises, though. I miss David. Luckily the stomach problems are officially over.

Well, I have another Road Trip travelogue posted, this time my early-November jaunt to western Fresno County. That means I'm almost current with my road trips page. All that's left is to document my first visit to David in San Francisco, but I figure that has played out a bit in this journal, and I didn't really have many photos to show for it, anyway. But even that will find itself up hopefully in the next week or so, augmented with additional photos from subsequent visits, most likely.

This one's rich: apparently several Central Valley counties (Fresno included) are likely to be stripped of federal highway funds because of our air quality. I have a big issue with this whole drama.

You see, regardless of any laws that are passed or any funds that are withdrawn, it won't make all that much difference. First of all, the Central Valley has no major improved highways to speak of. There is a clutch of urban freeways in Fresno itself, but it's the only place between the delta and the grapevine that possesses such a thing. There's the two ribbons of I-5 and Hwy 99, one of which won't lose it's funds because it's an Interstate and another which the Feds haven't given a fuck about since they stripped it of its US status years ago. In other words, "Go ahead and withdraw your money - it's not like we ever counted on it anyway."

Additionally, no matter what new draconian laws or regulations are passed to make this area stop belching fumes, it won't change the fact that the MAJORITY (that's right - the majority) of our existing pollution (in the form of ozone, which is what they measure) is blown in from the Bay Area. Anyone ever notice how the Bay Area (which has tons of freeways, factories and dirty refineries) is always crystal clear, including those industrial workhorses in the East Bay? It's because the onshore air flow pushes all their dirty air into this bowl of a valley.

So, the Valley would still be mucky with Bay Area soot even if it was vacant. Look specifically at Visalia, which has the worst air quality in the Valley: Visalia is pretty inert in terms of producing pollution. It's mostly a bedroom/shopping community, with relatively little industry compared to Fresno, Bakersfield or Stockton. That's mainly because it's in an ancient lakebed, where all the onshore air settles. What is Visalia supposed to do? Ban cooking, barbecuing or heating? And are we really all that likely to tackle what is the primary air quality reducer in the Valley: agriculture?

Most of the pollution which is produced in the Valley is produced by our high-tech industrialized agriculture. Not only do the farms kick up dust and belch diesel fumes with their equipment, they ferment grapes and cook grain, all of which either produces ozone or helps trap it close to the surface, where measurements are taken. I have yet to hear of a law banning winemakers from harvesting their crops. But they sure are quick to insist that paint shops either "clean up or close down".

Where else in a rational world would a supposedly benevolent state agency come in, set up an intimidating and nearly-impossible set of rules, threaten imprisonment or bankrupcy to those who fail to comply, and then leave with the attitude of "it's your job to figure out how to comply."

How can those who are being blamed for a problem of dubious importance honestly comply with irrational laws when compliance will eliminate their livlihoods, and will not accomplish the ends for which the laws were drawn. Is the whole foundation of logic and reason lost to those bored state officials? Have they even once thought of the geography, history, or economics of this situation?

And, most importantly, why are we letting them run our lives when they've never even lived here? They started their Green political careers in the wasteland of southern California and will return there when their tenure in Sacramento (anthother malevolent contributor to our Valley Smog) is at an end. I say they stay out of our business and just say "thank you" for all the wine and table grapes and cheap Mexican winter labor we provide. Leave us to do our job, or kill us with your irrational authoritarianism.

Given the course of history, I predict the latter...

Goodbye Dave Thomas, we'll miss you. I wonder who'll do the commercials now?

I knew getting a degree in Geography would help me. I was saying El Nino was coming several months ago, as Fresno was experiencing it's first real Indian summer since the last el Nino...

Not many updates lately, I know... Work's been a bit of hell. At least I got my Studio machine this week, and can accelerate the frequency of new content and updates on the Fresno section... After David's visit is over, that is.

I have, however, managed to write a new dirty story. It's not directly linked anywhere, but those of you who should know, probably know where it is, and even those who shouldn't know, probably won't have trouble finding it.

Now to clean, finish watching the mega-2-hour-block Family Guy marathon, and stock up on lube for the weekend.

Happy birthday Amy. It's foggy and chilly and I'm in good health. A rare combination, and I'm in a good mood today. All in all, I think this will be an exceedingly pleasant weekend...

I'm spending entirely too much time on the 2000 Census site today, which surely isn't helping me lighten the load of work since I took over the job of two people last week. Luckily, we should be hiring a new phone and typing person next week, which will honestly reduce my workload by about 40%. I'm amazed at how much time I waste answering phones and typing insignificant piddly shit. If that's off my back, I can actually devote my time to stuff that matters, like making sure the company isn't going broke.

It will also mean that I can get around to scheduling my vacation for this coming spring. My goal is to actually come through on my revolving promise to visit Andrea and Cho (among others) in Seattle, and schedule stops in Portland and Vancouver/Victoria at the same time... I have a scary feeling that I might decide on relocating to the northwest once I've visited it...

Anyway, David is coming today. This is such a good thing, I won't even say how much I'm anticipating it. Maybe more Fresno updates next week.

From my search report, it looks like some of you have forgotten where I hid my dirty stories. If you really want to see them, I might reveal their location to you if you ask nicely.

I was glad to have something to replace the defunct Goth.Code. Enter The Blogger Code. Not quite so all-encompassing, but still manages to tell quite a bit about someone. So here I go:

B2 d+ t++ k- s u-- f i o+ x+ e+ l+ c-

Enjoy.

David is gone, and I'm contemplating how to change the way calendars funtion so that I can spend more than 2 nights at a time with him... O well, impractical thoughts, I'm sure. Besides, the immense amount of sex is becoming somewhat detrimental to my senitive winter skin...

At least I managed to make it to Tower Records, where I dropped a small chunk of my forthcoming Federal tax refund for a stack of CDs. I feel I must repeat this next week, when David hopefully will be taking me to Fry's for printer shopping and to Berkeley for record shopping.

Now I'm busily absorbing a nice long Simpson-a-thon on KMPH. Not sure whether or not I'll have time to do the updates I was planning tonight. But I can assure you I'll have the Fresno and trips pages updated sometime this week.

And I'm finally getting the hang of my new toy. Music videos for local bands shouldn't be too far away...

Still not completely getting the hang of the machine... But it's at least helping me with my forthcoming updates...

I think it may even be worth it, if it just turns out to be an expensive type of digital camera.

Nothing much to update today. I skipped Open Mic. Interviews tomorrow for the new receptionist. I'm already waiting for Friday.

I managed to install my San Francisco Pictoral in the trips section, and make some updates to the Fresno Bands page, including Superfluid Helium 3's new music download site at IUMA. It looks like I'm actually gonna have to brave the Gravity Bar in north Fresno in order to catch those guys next month... Pity.

In other news, the first day of interviews landed me who I think will be our next hire. I don't want to write off tomorrow's interviewees, but I really doubt anyone will be able to match the person we saw today. Finally, my application for friendship with a certain Becky lady has been graciously accepted. I'm blushing.

Here's to a stress-free payday.

I've been having this recurring dream where I'm just walking around the old Thrifty in Clovis, reading comics, eating ice cream, rummaging through the toy aisle, etc. For some reason, they're really detailed dreams and yet nothing much happens in them. I think it has something to do with the fact that this particular Thrifty was closed down before the Rite Aid takeover, and thus it never got converted. It just sat there empty for years. Then yesterday whilst I was getting my lunch, I passed by the shopping center where it was, which has recently been remodeled. The Save Mart which was in the only occupied anchor tenant space had expanded to occupy the old Thrifty pad as well, and the remaining half of the center was being demolished. I guess I just missed occasionally passing by that center and seeing the sun-bleached fascia which still showed the ghost of the Thrifty sign on it. The last reminder of that good old Thrifty logo now gone forever...

I may have to explore the town for any others... I doubt there are any this far down the line, now, though.

I'm also about to take that leap into the world of high-speed internet, I think, considering that SBC is offering an intro promotion that I just can't pass up... Yeah, I know, the promotions usually tend to get better as time goes on, and a year down the line there'll probably be an even better deal. I also know I'll probably get a bunch of anti-SBC hate mail now... But honestly, they currently have the best deal in this area.

Speaking of this area, the frost is killing me. I've had my heater on for about 3 days straight now, and my apartment is still constantly chilly (I also don't want to hear anything about how I'm exacerbating the "power emergency" with my love for warmth). I think it got down to about 28 last night (and I don't want to hear anything fom you north Plains or Midwest people about how I don't know what real cold is...).

How's that for being a little preemptively reactive today?

I officially need it to be Friday. Friday night, preferably.

In case you haven't noticed, I made my search utility a little artier and less obvious, since its use wasn't exactly optimal anyway. Most people were using it to search for my dirty stories, not realizing that pages which aren't linked within the site aren't crawled by the search engine... So anyway, if you want to search now, just type it in the field in the navigation column and hit enter. Nothin' special... And for some reason it still isn't very efficient. I'll have to look for a new provider soon if this keeps up.

Luckily, I'm pretty at home with my email now. Goodbye FadeToBlack/ EveryoneNet. Hello Yahoo! free email. Hey, Sometimes the best things are also the cheap and easy things.

And you may go ahead with the SBC attack, as I called to check into getting my DSL today, only to find that they have yet to install it in two neighborhoods in Fresno, mine being one of those two...

Not sure if there'll be any news until Monday. I'm off to the City to spend another weekend snogging with David, and pretty much being far happier than I have been this week. Which is saying a lot, considering that this week hasn't been all that bad.

Some people are really difficult when it comes to deciding how to politely shuffle them out of your life. I have never really been a fan of the hard-to-read or high-maintenance person, and thus I've decided that I need to distance myself fom a certain someone who is really becoming too much of a burden for me. Unfortunately, I have certain fears that they may become sui-/homi-cidal or something. Anyway, we'll see...

On the up side, I am back from a (way too brief) visit with David, who helped me relieve myself of large quantities of money (though I now realize that I spent alarmingly little for his personal benefit... O well...). I arrived home late last night with my first printer (a cute mini-porta-printer which will fit snugly into my laptop case), a stack of records, cds, and dvds, and even a couple new books. And here you thought I was forgetting how to read actual paper media.

I have yet to really get down and dirty with any of my new finds, but I promise to soon have some new features up on my personal section relating to my favorite flicks and books. They'll probably resemble my desert discs page, just less systematic. I also plan to get to work on the Fresno section this week. I promise.

The only thing I regret about my visit to David was that once again my health left me somewhat incapacitated for a portion of my visit. This time, however, it was self-induced incapacitation. My previous health problem on New Years forbade me from celebrating with the traditional champagne toast, and my two-weeks delayed celebration got a little out of hand. I didn't go so far as to be vomiting or anything, but I will confirm that champagne hangovers are the worst. I don't plan to experience another.

I have been trying very hard to compose a Martin Luther King Jr. piece for Open Mic night, but after struggling with a tactful speech, I realized that the crowd at Fred's is not of the caliber nor the demographic that I want my stuff heard by. I think the people who browse my essays in this site (though new essays have been slow in coming lately) are more appropriate consumers of my work. At least I know they're viewing it voluntary; and because they're reading it rather than having it recited to them, I think they are more likely to react rationally (even when they don't agree with me).

Thus I'm back-burnering what I had written thus far, which included some of the following: Affirmative Action and Multiculturalism are the modern, politically-correct version of racism. Jesse Jackson will never even come close to Martin Luther King Jr., whether in terms of influence, intellect or respectability. Dr. King would have found the 90s yuppified "diversity" lobby a joke. America should stop having country-quotas for immigration - the only reason people are generally against open borders is because of the way immigrants tax the resources of a welfare state; if you get rid of the welfare state, there's no reason to prohibit anyone from coming to America; the ability of people to succeed and get rich regardless of their history is why Amrica is so powerful, not because of how kind, gentle or socially responsible the country is(n't). People who are obsessed with rediscovering or preserving their "roots" are the most racist of all. Where you come from means nothing - where you're going, and how you plan to get there means everything. The only visible reminder of the greatness of the Civil Rights Movement today is the emasculating habit of revisionist history. It is a sad reminder of lost greatness, indeed.

So, there you have it. Pity that Dr. King has become trivialized to the same profoundly disrespectful extent that we have trivialized Lincoln and Washington: I'll never quite understand how anyone could feel gratified just to know that the bankers, lawyers and bureaucrats are sleeping in late in their honour.

Whilst roaming around Fresno taking some pictures for some new site features, I dicovered that one of my old standby bars is open again. It used to be The Cave, now it's called The Den. I have yet to step foot back inside since the reopen/change of name... Maybe eventually.

I've got some really irritated skin going on, and it's not making me happy. I've stocked up on the over-the-counter remedies... If they don't solve the problem by early next month, I'll be visiting the dermatologist (much to the detriment of my budgeted splurges).

And Steve: if you're still reading this regularly (like your bookmark at your old workstation suggested you were), I've got your Letter of Reccommendation ready. My dad even signed it (and one for Erik). Hope the new job is going well...

Andrea mentioned the recent Kmart demise, and it made me reflect on all the hoopla about Enron lately.

Most people are parading Enron's affect on the economy as proof that capitalism is bad. I beg to differ. Everyone who lost money in the Enron case deserves what they got. Including the pensioners, investors, speculators and governments. If you invest in something without properly understanding the viability of your returns, you get what you deserve. If you're accepting the lies of dubious figures and even more dubious executives, you are merely paying for your lack of reserach or gullability. Capitalism promises the best way for smart people to get filthy rich. It also promises the best way for scoundrels and dunces to lose their shirts. Capitalism is thus synonymous with justice.

Then there's Kmart, which has now burnt the company I work for, yet is still being allowed to stay in business. They call it "debt reoganization", when in fact it's involuntary debt forgivance. I think Ch11 bankrupcy should be illegal. If you can't afford to pay your lenders or if you cook your books in order to trick the market, you shouldn't stay in business *at all*.

Fortunately, it looks like Enron won't be so lucky. I've actually been reading up quite a bit on the Enron debacle. In that case, credit raters, brokers, shareholders, customers, contractors and lenders all conspired to deny reality and ignore the law of identity, just so they felt secure about all the money they were pouring into a house-of-cards company. And then everyone gets surprised when they lose money over it. Verifies my position that in any situation, reality is the final arbiter.

One thing which always made me laugh about the "new" economy (when it was still a buzzword) was that the only thing all the new firms which were making up that new economy had in common was their ability to convince markets that they were viable even though they never turned a profit, and survived by geometrically increasing their debts.

I have discovered the miracles of Gold Bond. I'll leave that alone from there, though.

A new band is up on my local bands page - Rains In Velvet, a project among Vince and Eric from SleepyD, Marcos from Superfluid and a British boy named Simon, who knows how to wear jeans. I also changed the SleepyD pic on the page...

Family guy is on, so I should be paying attention to it. Not sure whether to have a beer tonight or just pass out early. I'll decide after Family Guy.

It goes to show - fraud and lying are just another way people escape reality. And if you try to cheat reality to the extent that the head honchos at Enron have, reality will have its revenge.

I decided against the beer last night, since the last thing my skin needed was a dehydrating agent. Instead I decided to drop a Unisom and get an extra hour of beauty sleep. It worked rather well. I still can't wait until it stops being so fuckin' cold, though.

Glider is playing at Club Fred tonight. Hopefully the show is over early so that I can be off to see David early Saturday. Work hasn't been too unpleasant lately, but my skin ailments combined with a generally foul mood make me really crave curling up with someone more benevolent than I've encountered so far this week...

New secretary starts Monday. Hope she works out. I'll keep you posted...

New secretary started today. I'd be far less stressed if my dad weren't so skeptical about her. I admit I was as well, at first, but after she pretty much had her whole job down by mid-day, I figured she was the right choice. Unfortunately, I have yet another mild bug today. I'm sure it has something to do with the cold cold walk I took from SOMA to Mission and back with David yesterday, combined with waking up to snow in Fresno this morning. The first time in about 3 years. And it's definately cold enough to recur tonight... If the clouds stick around.

Not so sure if those updates will happen this week after all... At the very least, I should have a couple small features ready after I take a cruise down the Belmont strip later this week. But no promises.

I ordered an iPod today. I'm just cooler than shit now.

No more snow. Thank bloody gawd. But it's still way too fucking cold. I want to move to Palm Springs...

I have avoided the State of the Union like the plague. I think the thing is a joke these days. It was meant to be the President's personal annual address to Congress, not an all-purpose televised pep talk, as it's become. I'm peppy enough, don't you think?

In a related rant, I've become more and more angry at all the idiots who put those flags on their cars back in September, and still have the same flags flying, only there's little left of them but shreds of fabric. I can't see how these jerks can possibly think they're fooling anyone. Truely patriotic individuals should at least understand customary flag protocol. I guess it proves that the whole outbreak of patriotism on 11 September was pretty shallow indeed. But what can I expect?

I've been pretty patriotic most of my life, but I think that draws more from a deep, rational, abiding respect for the ideas upon which this country and its constitution were founded, and less from sentimental emotional things like flags or presidents or catch phrases...

Please, if you want to fly a flag, use a proper flag pole, and have a stationary object to affix it to, and destroy the flag as soon as it begins to show wear or fading. Don't turn the symbol of America's greatness into yet another meaningless bumper sticker.

Another month comes to an end. Intriguingly, even though I put in 110% at work for a month, it turned out to be rather enjoyable converting the whole office over to my "system". It's good to be in charge, and be able to have things my way. Me? A control freak?

Now that the new secretary is lending a hand, I'm only putting in about 90%, which I figure is OK for the next month or so. I've got to balance things out, y'know...

But I came out of the deal very well: I'm making a ton more money, I'm getting to push people around and make things happen, and I'm feeling needed and secure with my job.

Combine that with the indubidubly pleasant developments in my personal life (particularly revolving around one specific person), and the relatively benevolent state of things around me, and I think this year promises to be better than the last few.

Now if only the weather wasn't so dreadfully cold and if only my skin would stop being so dreadfully dry. I guess I can't have it all...

Here's to an optimistic Groundhog Day (since it's unlikely that I'll update before then).