Feeling Better

Still not 100%, but I am definitely a lot better than I was the past couple days. I did not hurl, though I had occasion once and maybe a second time. I am not back to sleeping normally, and I tire more easily than I would expect—though I suppose most of my protein these days has come from chocolate milk (yum).

So tomorrow I think I will take the plunge and get myself a Nikon D40; it represents a small chunk of change, but I have thought about this for a long time, and I think it will serve me well. Ken Rockwell really likes his, so that's good enough for me.

I sent my old Sony CD Mavica-200 home with sis, who will enjoy it. It's an excellent camera and has served me very well over the years I've had it. All sorts of technologies have outmoded it since then, but I think it's a very underrated camera.


So, I suppose I can talk about the year in review, now that my head is somewhat more clear.

I guess my years have usually revolved from September to September because of school; though I'm out now, it's only really been a year. So, let's see. I started the year in Florida, sometimes affectionately known by off-color names. I had moved there in October 2005 to take a position with a company for whom Ericka's aunt is the Veep (no, no nepotism there; they really did like me, and I really was qualified).

I officially got my MS in CS in January, though I gradded in December; the actual diploma didn't arrive until the new year started, so I guess I'll include it in the year's start.


Nothing very fun happened until May, when Ericka and I hit up Disney en route to me moving back to my more beloved home up north. Layoffs were had in FL due to Hurricaine Katrina, which sapped funding away from our defense unit. I circulated my resume to several companies in the wake of the axings and had a job three days later seven minutes from my parents home. In rush hour.

In the end, this did everyone quite a bit of good. Ericka had planned on moving to Florida, and I believe we're all happier that didn't happen.


I arrived home in time to get in reasonable enough shape for my third dan testing. Karate is a consistent passion for me, but I have spent more of my time away from the gym than actually at it. So, while I'm not in the best of shape anymore, it was sufficient to pass.

The days are coming when I will be highly unable to do any of the cool things I can do now, so I revel in the fact that I can pull off a triple-front.


Ericka and I broke up in July. That mostly sucked.


We went to Broadway shortly thereafter, which was a lot of fun. We saw Wicked, which had been considerably edited to make it family-friendly. I did not mind this in the least, as I find vulgarity generally quite useless (unless I have smashed my hand with a hammer; best to have earplugs nearby). It was a lot of fun, and it worked out that we did not have seats next to each other. The train ride was cool, and there were a couple cute kids that sat in front of us that smiled and eased a lot of tension.

We also found a new church to attend, which has been a boon. It feels like cheating somehow, because I have been accustomed to church being a fairly significant time-sink, but the teaching is generally decent, and he admirably does not pick a topic and then force a passage into it. This is all too common and generally makes me very angry. (So that, I guess, is the second time when I find vulgarity can be useful. This is why I am a lay person, and not in the clergy.)

In this way, we see each other fairly often in a better environment, I think. I can't really speak for her, but I have not adjusted particularly well to our new relationship. Time will help.


I got a discount in August on car insurance. I would say this is because I am awesome, but it's mostly because I got older.


I was recently promoted to third dan—promotions are usually a few months after the testing—which is kind of cool. Another four years and I'll get a different belt. I celebrated my tenth year of the martial arts (or ninth; I can't really count very well) in December, which is something of a milestone for me.


Most recently I have started giving some private karate lessons to a singer friend I had fallen out of touch with several years ago. She believes it will be a boon when she finally gets set up in a hot gig, maybe in NYC.


Work has been occasionally vexing and interesting, but above all, quite flexible and good for padding my bank account. I have been well cared-for in all aspects of life this year, and I certainly cannot complain about anything. And while the year has been up-and-down, I think in the end it has been a growing year and has ended mostly good.

I am glad it is over, and glad to start the new one. Teaching is a joy, and I am doing it five days a week now. I get three squares, generally, and sometimes four (my metabolism is high!), and I sleep under a nice roof in a comfortable bed. I am not often ill, and when I am, it passes in a couple days. I spend a lot of time with friends and family, and they usually like me. I have several hobbies to keep my interest, and a Dremel tool that I still need to learn how to use. I even have a spider plant growing in my room that I can take care of when nothing else seems to want to work properly.

So things are looking up, if a little chilly at night.