A New Year - A New Blog

Welcome to my new blog! I was out of the saddle for some time, but wanted to get back into it as life has had a lot of ups and downs lately. I am a big proponent of top 10 lists, but in the interest of time, today’s will be a Top Five.

The 2008 Top Five (in no particular order)

1. The election of our first African-American President of the United States. I think his election goes way beyond race, though. The masses (of REAL people, NOT Wall Street people) have been clamoring for change for some time, and our voices have been finally heard. I think a huge message has been sent about how the everyday Joe feels unrepresented by his government. It is the proudest I have been of our country for a long time and I can’t wait until the Inauguration.

2. My engagement. Ok, not as big a deal as the presidency per se, but important to me. I love the Dingo and together we are very happy. My friend and I were talking about how there is the nerd and the free spirit in the relationship, and I determined that I am definitely the nerd. The Dingo has shown me what a truly loving, respected, and cherished relationship can be like, and that is something I simply have not had before.

3. Gato! So I got this cat, see, and he is me in feline form. He looks so innocent and sweet when he sleeps. And then he wakes up – God help us all! The creature has perfected the art of doorstop sproinging, human stomach landing and scalp biting and is a prolific waste producer also. If there were cat roller derby, he would be involved. Best of all, he is a world champion wrestler and biter of toes!

4. The Lakers. My grandfather is such a huge fan that when he was sick in the hospital, he would not take his morphine until the Lakers game was over. When they went into overtime, I thought he was going to faint, but he sent the nurse away until the game was done. This season I was able to take him to his first Lakers game ever at the Staples Center. Since he is in a wheelchair, we got better seats than the tickets were for, so that was awesome. While we were waiting in the Facilities area, they gave him a free t-shirt and magazine, too! He was like a little kid when the game started, yelling, banging his noisemakers together, and pointing that ridiculous foam finger. What a great time we had. He didn’t get out of bed for the next two days.

5. Going back to school. I like where I work, and I am happy that I have a good job, but I have come to the realization that I want to do something else. Last semester, I started studying Criminal Justice and am transferring to Rio Hondo for Spring semester to get my certificate in Forensic Science. It will probably take three semesters. When I started, I was worried about getting back into study mode, but discovered that it is much easier this time around than it was for my first degree. My life had become so stagnant, and halfway through the year I realized I had done none of the things that I wanted to, so here we are. Today I go to orientation and meet with a counselor since there is no way in hell I am taking English or Math 101 ever again. No, thank you!

On a more serious note, there were some bad things that happened, too, but that is for another day. I hope to focus more on positive things this year and try to learn from the negative. Although it has been really difficult and there were times when I felt my sanity slowly slipping into the abyss of madness, things are good today, so I am running with it. Actually I am kind of chubby, so I’m not running anywhere, but would you like to mosey with me?