Looking back

December 31, 1999 - The big Y2K scare and I was at home, sick, in bed. I was working at Edgetater at the time and began a payroll. I had a cold. By 1 pm, I was in such horrible condition that I could barely lift my head off of my desk. It was year end and I had no coverage to help me finish the payroll, as well as run the reports and the W-2 tapes. I ran upstairs to see my doctor for something. I wanted pills but what I got instead was orders to go home and get in bed. My counterpart at our other location came over to do my payroll. I was in bed for the next two days. I managed to go in to work for a couple hours on 12/31 (I lived 2 blocks from work so the commute wasn't an issue) but that was just to take care of a couple clerical tasks. I had already been excused from being in the building that evening for the Y2K team. Besides, if they needed me I was just down the street. For the rest of the day I watched all of the turn of the century events occurring around the world. And as it turned out, the world did not implode, nobody lost power, VCRs continued to work and I was asleep by 12:15.

What a difference a decade makes.

Things that happened in the past 1o years:

I left a place of employment where I had worked for 18 years.
I came out to my friends and family (later to find out that many had figured it out...)
I earned the privilege of working on a website project for The Go-Go's, thus opening doors which allowed me to meet and befriend members of the band.
I was named "Employee of the Year."
I met a group of people who have become my core and my pilars of strength, my best friends.
I've traveled to some great places.
I've felt love and I've felt loss.
I've grown as a person.
I started this blog.

This year alone has been a busy one. There has been counless dinners with friends, birthday celebrations, martini Thursdays at Marty's with Steve, parties at Dan and Luis' house, street festivals, coffeee talk at Starbucks, a trip to Los Angeles, a trip to Madison, a trek or two to Indiana with Vahona, and a rebuilt hip for my mom, among other things.

It's been an interesting year. For every "bad" thing that happened, something good happened. Yet, I'm happy to say goodbye to 2009.

Tonight, the plan is to have dinner with Dan and Luis, then join them at a party, then we will join Denise, Tina and Polo and the six of us will ring in the new year together. A great way to begin a new decade.

I wish each of you a very Happy New Year. Here's to a new year and a new decade filled with love, happiness, laughter and prosperity.

Cheers!