Normally I find the Super Bowl at least mildly entertaining, but this year I really couldn’t care less.  The Saints and the Colts seem like nice enough teams and therein lies the problem.  I really only enjoy the game when there is a team to root against.  I need a bad guy.

The five of the last six years of bowls have included the Steelers and the Patriots, teams hailing from cities I despise.  Boston and Pittsburg have some super obnoxious fans.  Most of my enjoyment derives from yelling at these evil empires, much in the same way I enjoy yelling at the Yankees or Red Sox.

Ciao,

This weekend looks to be another bore fest.  I’ll be locked indoors for 48 hours at the Gateway Medical facility in St. Charles.  It’s a fairly easy way to make some money in my off time.  Over the years I’ve employed many different methods to obtain money on the sly.  Seems like a great topic for a Friday 5.

Top 5 Quick Money Schemes

1.  Medical Testing Subject

I’ve been using pharmaceutical testing as a means of supplemental income for most of the last decade, and it looks to be a part of my plan again this year.  Whenever I tell someone that I’m getting paid for drug testing, the inevitable reaction is “Be careful, man.”  It seems as though the average person has based their opinion solely on the movie Senseless¹.

Pharmaceutical testing sounds kind of scary and dangerous, but in reality it’s just boring.  The company that pays me is Gateway Medical.  Gateway tests generic forms of brand name pharmaceuticals already on the market to see how long they stay in the blood stream.  It’s the same routine every time.  I usually check in on a Friday nite, sleep in a bunk bed on an army type sleeping barracks, take one pill on Saturday morning and then have a tiny amount of blood drawn about 20+ times in the next 36 hours.

The hardest thing about it is fighting the crippling boredom.  Since I’m not allowed to leave the building area I’m stuck trying to entertain myself for 48 hours in a strange place.  Mostly I just watch movies on my laptop, surf the web, or play videogames if I feel like dragging a TV and my PS3 to the study.  And for my two weekends worth of boredom I’m getting paid $800.  It’s basically just a really strange part time job.

2.  Nude Modeling

Speaking of strange part time jobs, the strangest one of all was probably nude modeling for art classes druing my freshman year of college.  Back then I was a typical broke college kid with no need for a real job but always looking for some extra cash.  I noticed on the campus job board an ad for nude models that paid $12/hour.  In 1996 that was a lot of money for a guy like me.  By the next week I was in art classes wearing nothing but a smile.  I quickly learned the only role of nude modeling:  bring a robe. 

I was a little nervous at first, but I felt at ease once I realized that the students were mostly focusing on the curve of my shoulder.  As it turns out, no one likes drawing the male anatomy.  In 99% of the drawings the artist just shaded in my crotch.  After the first few times it ceased being embarrassing and became really dull.  Remaining perfectly still for up to an hour is real boring.  Still, I kept it up for about a semester but I eventually quit when I noticed pictures of me kept appearing on walls in the art annex.  Even though it was mostly vague pencil drawings, I was pretty easy to identify since I was the only person on campus spotting the mid-nineties Trent Reznor look. 

3.  Scalping Cardinals Tickets

This was a great sounding idea I had back in 2005 that wound up being a big waste of time.  As a partial Cardinals’ season ticket holder for the upcoming 2005 season, I had access to a presale for single season tickets.  I decided to buy some good seats for a few marquee games and try to scalp them for a profit.  It only worked out well for the home opener; I sold two tickets on eBay for a decent profit.  After that, it became a struggle for me just to get the money back that I had invested.  Some asshole burnt me on eBay by not paying me after I mailed him the tickets he won, so I tried hawking them in front of the stadium before games.  This was a huge pain in the ass.  Standing on a corner yelling and trying to haggle with drunk rednecks is bad enough, but having to compete with all of those weirdoe scalpers wearing I Need Tickets signs is almost unbearable.

By the end of the season I managed to come out like $5 ahead, which makes this by far the most work I’ve ever done for the least payback.

4.  Office Temping

As it turns out, this was the least amount of work I’ve performed with the largest payback.  Back in 2001 I temped at my Aunt Jackie’s work for a few of days to help her with some filing.  While filing is pretty dull and tedious, the pay was decent (and tax free!)  During this brief temping gig a colleague of my Aunt Jackie recommended me to a small business that was looking to hire someone for data entry.  That recommendation spawned a two year job that took me to most of the states in the lower 48.  It also was responsible for eventually employing several of my friends, a few of which still work at said small business.  All that from two weeks’ worth of filing payroll binders!

5.  Tenacious Trivia

I hooked up with the hip folks over at Tenacious Trivia back in the fall of 2008.  At the time it was an ideal way for me to pick up a couple of extra bucks.  The job mainly consisted of sitting in a bar and cracking some mildly funny jokes while reading trivia into a microphone.  Plus they let me play my own playlists from the iTunes on my iPhone!  It was a sweet gig that necessarily had to come to an end last year.  Taking the Metrolink to and from work every day for most of 2009 made it impossible for me to participate in most evening activities.  Now that I am back to driving every day I’ve been contemplating returning to the world of Tenacious Trivia.  Maybe I’ll give them a call once our puppy settles down a bit.  So, 2013 it is…

Ciao,

The Captain

1.  Even though I’ve explained to my mom numerous times what a medical study is and what it does, she still makes the same “have you started glowing green” joke when I mention it.  Damn you Marlon Wayans.

Top 5 Television Shows Of The Past Decade

1.  Lost

2.  Curb Your Enthusiasm

3.  Arrested Development

4.  The Daily Show

5.  It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Ciao,

The Captain

I must’ve been predetermined to be a Political Science major, because I love State Of The Union Addresses.  Even if I’m not fond of the particular President giving the speech, I still love watching the SOTU for the political theater of the event.  Stuffing that many inflated egos into a room always makes for some interesting television. 

Obama also spoke at length about the deficit, saying he would freeze government spending, but not until next year. When some Republicans snickered at the delay, suggesting through their derision that the President was not as serious as he claimed to be, Obama shot them a quick rejoinder. "That's how budgeting works," he pointed out, quite accurately. 

 

The first time I went to the Jersey Shore was 1979.  Here’s a pic of a one year old Captain at Ocean City, New Jersey.

I lived in New Jersey until I was four and my parents split.  I moved with my mom and sister to St. Louis, and my dad stayed in New Jersey.  For the next fifteen years my sister and I spent a month with my father every summer in New Jersey.  There were many highlights to these summer visits such as Six Flags Great Adventure, The Bridgewater Commons mega-mall, the horse farm next to my grandma’s house in Philly, and trips to New York City.  But usually at the top of my list was a trip to the Jersey Shore.

As an ocean lover who spent most of the year landlocked, I relished the chance for beach time.  And since the Jersey Shore was the only beach I ever went to, I had no idea that there were nicer beaches elsewhere.  So I spent 19 years thinking the Jersey Shore was one of most beautiful places in my life¹.  One of the best summers of my childhood was when my dad rented a beach house at Point Pleasant Beach for a week. 

When my sister and I were young we spent most of our time playing in the ocean.  As we got older we gravitated more towards the boardwalk; it’s practically designed for teenagers:  games, shops, arcades, food and no parental supervision!

Since graduating high school I’ve only been to the Jersey Shore once and that was eight years ago.  So at this point, most of my views on the Jersey Shore are heavily tinted through nostalgia filled glasses.  With that being said, I’m still pissed that MTV has effectively ruined something I loved so much as a kid.

Actually, let me qualify that statement. I watched every episode of Jersey Shore on MTV and I understand why so many people watched the show.  The producers started with the highly successful Real World template for a show: filling a house with eight walking stereotypes.  But the ingenious move was that they picked eight of the same stereotype instead of eight different stereotypes.  If everyone watches The Real World for the Puck character, why not put eight Pucks in the house instead of one?

Their instincts were correct.  Watching eight Guido stereotypes consume massive amount of alcohol and fight with each other is some compelling television, especially when they are so willfully unaware of how their actions will look on television.  I love mocking vain idiots from the comfort of home, especially when they are as dumb as The Situation and Snookie.

Ciao,

The Captain

1.  I about fell over the first time I went to Florida and saw how pretty the beaches were on the Gulf side.  I didn’t realize that ocean water was supposed to be blue and not have garbage floating in it.

2.  I will say that if it had to be the Jersey Shore, I’m glad they picked Seaside Heights.  My dad always thought Seaside Heights was ghetto and took us a bit further north to Point Pleasant.  I would have been much more mortified if the house was at Point Pleasant.

Week three of my Friday 5 is short and simple:  My favorite books of the past decade.  This list was probably the easiest of all my decade lists to choose.  Of the past ten years I spent less than five of them reading for pleasure.  Sad but true. 

While I was in college and grad school I made a rule for myself that I would not read for pleasure while I had other required reading for school.  It just seemed silly for me to be reading if it wasn’t for class.  And with both of my degrees focused on government, there was quite a bit of required reading.¹  So much so that it took me a good year after each of my graduations to embrace reading as a form of leisure.  So I really only read from 2002-2004 and 2007-2009, with an odd Harry Potter book thrown in during the off years. 

However, since I moved to Florida and back I’ve been reading like a fiend to make up for lost time.  My reading pace increased dramatically last year on the Metrolink, and I ended the decade at a respectable place.  Well, enough apologizing for my unliterary years; let’s get to the list!

Top 5 Books Of The Past Decade

1.  Sex Drugs and Coco Puffs

Way back in 2004 I was still unsure about recreational reading.  I had picked up a couple of books that I rather enjoyed and one that I loved, but I wasn’t quite sold on reading.  And then this little collection of essays passed to me by and I was hooked.  I was vaguely aware of Chuck Klosterman from his days at Spin Magazine, but I had no idea of what he was capable of creating. 

It sounds cliché, but his writing sounded like the thoughts in my head.  Way back before blogs and online journals were common, I had never heard a voice from my generation seamlessly blending so many pop culture references into compelling narratives.  He reminded me that reading and writing could be and should be FUN.  Unfortunately, this realization came about a month before I started grad school and had to be put on the back burner for a couple of years.  After graduation, I reread this book hoping that it would jumpstart my love of the written word.  As you can see, mission accomplished. 

2.  World War Z

The past decade saw lots of fantasy novels being published about wizards and vampires.  But for me it was the decade of the zombie, and this novel was the Twilight and Harry Potter of zombies novels.  There are just so many things to like about this book.  The use of an oral-history format was brilliant and enabled Max Brooks to globe-hop on a truly epic scale.  The lack of a main character really made his story seem authentic, or as authentic as possible for a novel about the zombie apocalypse.  The social and political commentary was subtle and dead-on accurate.  And more than anything else, it was such an exciting read; I plowed through this in three days and then reread it four months later!

3.  American Gods

The book that started it all.  I’ve been a super fan of Neil Gaiman since my teenage years.  I was infatuated with his Sandman comics from early in my teens, and I was hooked for life when I won a contest to have breakfast with him.²  This novel was released shortly after I graduated and it was the first book I read after college.  It instantly reminded me of why I spent so much of my high school years wrapped up in reading.  Neil has an amazing ability for creating contemporary mythology that is both believable and compelling.  He writes fairy tales that are enthralling for both grown-ups and kids.  He had several other great projects this past decade, but this was the one that stood out for me.  Reminding a burnt-out college graduate the reading is still cool is no small task, but he did it easily.

4.  Three Nights In August

This book came out in 2005, but I didn’t get a chance to read it until last fall.  As it turned out, waiting so long to read it made the experience more enjoyable.  Among other things, the 00s were a decade where I watched a ton of baseball games.  I’ve been a diehard Cardinals fan since about 2002.  As such, reading this all-access account of the 2003 baseball season that I followed so closely was a real treat.  And reading about this season six years later actually made it a nostalgic experience rather than a contemporary one. 

In reality, 2003 was a frustrating season as a Cardinals fan.  But through the eyes of nostalgia I was able to appreciate it as enjoyable despite the outcome of the season.  Instead of thinking about the specific games mentioned I was able to recall how much fun I had watching them with friends.  And learning all the behind the scenes stuff that is highlighted in the book was exciting.  It helped me to better understand a game that I already knew well.  A great read for any fan of baseball, but a must read for Cardinals fans.

5.  The Road

This was the first selection in the book club I started with my wife back in 2007.  We were living in Tallahassee at the time and wanted to join a book club, but we didn’t know anyone so we started our own.  This seemed like the perfect choice since Megan tends to like selections on Oprah’s book list and I tend to like post-apocalypse fiction.  We had no idea what was in store.  We became so invested in Cormac McCarthy’s main characters that it actually started to affect our moods.  At certain points that winter we were both moping around the house because we were worried about the characters in the book.  The way McCarthy describes the life and death struggles of the man and his son trying to navigate their hostile world is so heart-wrenching that we couldn’t help but be wrapped up by it.  By the time we both finished we were exhausted; it took us about a year to pick our next selection.  We still haven’t seen the film adaptation yet, partially because we know that it’s bound to be inferior to the book.

Ciao,

The Captain

1.  Which is not to say that I didn’t read some good books as part of my education or that I haven’t read any books about government since graduation.  But even the best government books are no match for a great piece of fiction.

2.  This is still one of the coolest and yet most frustrating events of my entire life.  Having lunch with one of my literary idols was as cool as it sounds, but unfortunately for me the year was 1993.  I was a super awkward 14 year old fanboy at the time and I was so starstruck I only managed to say ONE sentence to him.  Now I would have about a million questions to ask him, but all I was able to ask at the time was “Are you really going to write a comic book about Alice Cooper?”  DAMMIT!

For my second week of the Friday 5 I’ve decided to keep with the decade theme.  With the film discussion over, it’s time to move on to my other favorite form of entertainment, music.

My first thought was to rank my Top 5 songs of the decade, but there are several good reasons to focus my attention elsewhere.  The obvious reason not to focus on my favorite songs is that I’ve already discussed them at length.  I created ten Modern Rock discs worth of my favorite songs of the decade.  Whittling down these 200 songs to the Top 5 seems difficult and unnecessary.  Besides that, I can’t hope to beat Shortcake’s convincing argument that Cry Me A River by Justin Timberlake is the decade’s best song

So instead I’ve decided to rank my favorite albums of the decade.  This also was a difficult task for many reasons.  For starters, this 00s have been correctly labeled as the decade when the album died.  The decline of the record industry and the rise of iTunes created a strong disincentive for crafting entire albums¹.

This move away from albums resulted in relatively few discs that were great from start to finish.  Many of my favorite artists from the previous decade were better at creating singles than entire albums. 

Another problem is the same thing I faced when picking my Top 5 films, the idea of best v. favorite.  For example, I think Kid A by Radiohead was one of the 5 best albums of the decade, but I wouldn’t say it would be one of my favorites.  With that in mind I based my selections on two ideas:  Which album did I listen to most often from start to finish, and which albums would I be most likely to listen to start to finish in 2010.  That criteria made the selection process much easier.  So without further ado

Top 5 Albums Of The Past Decade

1.  Is This It – The Strokes

Number one was a true no brainer.  I can honestly say that this album changed my life.  Is This It is easily on my Top 5 all time albums.  I LOVE every song on this album; it encapsulates the 00s for me more than anything else that comes to mind.  It sounds exactly like I think a rock record should sound.  When it was released in 2001 I remember immediately thinking that The Strokes were the coolest guys on the planet.  They were five scruffy New Yorkers who were my age and it felt like they were making an album just for me.  Now that I’m at the ripe old age of 31 I can say that Is This It served as the unofficial soundtrack of my twenties. 

2.  Elephant – The White Stripes

The number two spot was the toughest decision on the list.  I knew the artist would be The White Stripes, but I had a hard time choosing between White Blood Cells and Elephant.  Both are amazing albums and both present a compelling case.  In the end I chose Elephant for two reasons. 

First, after careful examination I determined that it’s the better album from start to finish.  White Blood Cells has amazing songs like Hotel Yorba, but it also has some filler songs, like Aluminum.  Whereas Elephant starts out with the best intro of the decade, Seven Nation Army, and never really loses it’s momentum from there. 

The second reason has more to do with what Elephant represented.  As demonstrated by many bands last decade, it’s very difficult to follow up initial success in music.  After the huge commercial and critical success of White Blood Cells, Jack White managed to make his band bigger and better with his next album.  Elephant was the sound of Jack conquering the world; from 2003 on he owned the decade.

3.  Our Endless Numbered Days – Iron and Wine

When I started making a list this did not immediately come to mind.  It was only after skimming through my iTunes that it occurred to me how much I love this album.  In fact this is the only album that was so good that I left it off of my Modern Rock discs; I couldn’t decide on a song because there are so many great tracks.  It’s the quintessential mellow mood album and it always manages to remind me of the lazy days of summer.  There is so much beauty and personal touches that I feel like I know Sam Beam personally.  I’ll never understand why this album never made it big, while Coldplay and Dave Matthews continue to go platinum.

4.  Funeral – Arcade Fire

This made a lot of Best of the Decades lists and for good reason.  It’s amazing that a nine member band with such grand ambitions managed to make such a succinct album. Even now it’s hard to believe how densely layered and complete it sounds considering it was the band’s first album. 

5.  Suck My Mixx – D.J. P

Technology managed to decimate my musical attention span over the last ten years.  Digital music and the decline of the album made it difficult for me to listen to most artists for more than a few songs at a time.  Luckily The 00s were the decade of the mash-up, which are perfect for short attention spans.  And while I enjoy the mash-up stylings of Girl Talk, no one does mash-ups better than D.J. P in my book.  Suck My Mixx is like discovering an old friend that I’ve never met; the whole album is so familiar and so damn listenable. And to this day I think that mashing Tipsy by J-Kwon with Africa by Toto is the coolest idea ever.

Ciao,

The Captain

1. I fully admit I’m part of the problem.  The last time I purchased an actual cd in an actual record store was in 2005.

Yesterday was something of a milestone for me; it marked my one year anniversary with my employer. 

This may not be an accomplishment for some people, but for me it’s a big deal.  Since I graduated college in 2001, I’ve only had one job that lasted more than a year.  That job lasted from January 2002 to February 2004.  So it’s been about six years since I enjoyed an anniversary with my employer.¹ 

During the past six years I’ve switched jobs at least once every year, except for 2009.  So beginning my second year at my job today is a cause for celebration.  I usually go out of my way not to discuss my job here at the Captains Quarters, but a milestone like today is a good reason to express my gratitude.  But I am grateful for so much more than just keeping my job.  I don’t say it enough, so let me take this opportunity to state it:  

I LOVE MY JOB AND I AM THRILLED TO HAVE IT!

This was the exact type of job I had in mind when I enrolled in graduate school.  The whole purpose of grad school was to enable me to get a job that I actually enjoy and pays a decent salary.  I had a job like this in mind when I graduated with a Masters in 2006, and it took me a little over 2½ years to obtain it.

While I love the work that I perform every day, there is so much more about my job that I enjoy.  I have a very manageable commute to work and I park in a covered garage.  I work in a nice high-rise in Clayton.  I have a decent sized office with a door.  My benefits package is remarkable compared to most job sectors.  I only have to wear a tie for important meetings.  I have a laptop that I can take home every nite.  And perhaps the most amazing aspect of my job is that I actually enjoy my boss and coworkers.² 

It may sound like I’m trying to boast or be a braggart, but I assure you that I am not.  I’m actually quite humbled that I was able to obtain such a great job in these tough economic times.  I’m reminded how luckily I am when I see the news reports with high unemployment and low worker satisfaction numbers. 

2009 was by far the happiest I’ve ever been with my employment and today seems like the perfect opportunity to acknowledge it.  So here’s to year #2 of my job, Cheers!

Ciao,

The Captain

1. Six years is a bit misleading.  I spent two years in graduate school full time during that time.

2.  My boss is a hip, young guy that I would actually be friends if we didn’t work together.  But my #1 rule in life is don’t shit where you eat.

Number one on my agenda is my health.  I have ideas on how to improve my diet, but those will be gradually implemented.  The easiest way for me to improve my health is by becoming more active.  To that end I decided to make only one New Year’s resolution, a sure fire way to increase my activity.  I have decided to not ride elevators this year.  Ever.

Taking the steps instead of riding an elevator is basically free exercise.  It won’t change the outcome of my day at all.  The stairs just sneak in extra activity, much like walking to work did last year.  Since I now must commute to work in an automobile, taking the stairs seems like a good replacement.

Always taking the stairs wouldn’t be a major change to most people.  However, I park two floors underground in my office’s garage, and I work on the 8th floor.  So up and down ten flights of stairs at least once every workday is actually quite a commitment.

I started taking the stairs on Monday and by the end of the week I am definitely feeling the difference in my calves.  While I’m enjoying this for the most part, I’m still undecided on how I feel about these motivational posters:

On every floor and half-floor these are posted.  While I like the fact that my employer is actually encouraging employees to lead more active lifestyles, I think that this is a cheesy way to accomplish that goal.  I get the feeling as the year progresses I will come to loathe these.  But on the other hand, they could be a lot worse…

My other big target for consistency is actually right here at The Captain’s Quarters.  As my long time readers can surely attest, my posting schedule on this blog could be described as sporadic at best.  It’s not from lack of desire, more like lack of time and/or motivation.  So I’ve decided to be much more consistent in updating this blog.

Similar to my health aspirations, I will be gradually implementing my ideas into The Captain’s Quarters.  I’m starting off with what will henceforth be known as the Friday 5.  I’ve decided to post a Top 5 list every Friday for discussion purposes.

This seems like the ideal way for me to consistently update this blog.  It will guarantee I write at least once a week for recreational purposes.  It will feed my lifelong habit of list making.¹  It will hopefully provoke some interesting discussions with all of the random people I’ve known throughout the years.  And by posting it on Friday it will hopefully get maximum exposure to my readers, since it seems that everyone turns off their brains at work on Fridays.²

So on this first Friday³ of 2010 I’m going to kick it off with a topic that I’ve seen discussed quite a bit over the last few months.  With the 00’s officially over, the internet has been abuzz with Best of the Decade lists.  I’ve been eager to weigh-in, but I thought I should wait until the decade was actually finished.  So for my first Friday 5 I’m going to rank my favorite films of the decade.  Keep in mind that I don’t necessarily think these were the best five films made, these just happen to be my favorite.

Top 5 Films Of The Past Decade

1.  The Royal Tenenbaums

This was by far my favorite film of the past ten years, and quite possibly my favorite film of all time.  I know that loving Wes Anderson totally makes me a white guy, but I can’t help it.  I love everything about this film:  the script, the score, the actors, the setting, the constant literary references, the narration, etc.  EVERYTHING!  This is the first film where that I felt like I was the only person who “got it.”  It’s funny in the way that I think things should be funny.  The first time I saw it in the theatre in 2001 I was the only one laughing through most of the movie.  All of the films on this list I saw at least twice in the theatre, but this is the only film of the decade I saw three times.  The introduction to this movie is probably the best ever recorded to film.  It’s fitting then that I start out this list with the best introduction credits ever made:

2.  The Fountain

This is easily the most polarizing film on the list. I know many folks who actively dislike it and I understand why.  All of the films on my list tend to have weak, underdeveloped female characters and this one is probably the worst offender.  But the visuals alone put this on my list; they’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  To me this was the most stunning 96 minutes of the decade.  The score, besides being hands-down my favorite, was perfectly integrated into the story and the amazing visuals.  And while many dismissed the plot as too ridiculous or new agey, I thought it was a beautiful reflection on the two most basic elements of existence – life and death.  The climax of this film is the most intense scene of the decade and by far my favorite.

3.  Punch Drunk Love

Let me begin with a caveat.  Of the two films that P.T Anderson directed this decade, I think that 2007’s There Will Be Blood is the better film.  The magnificent screenplay is perfect for Daniel Day Lewis’ unbelievable performance.  However, this is my personal favorite of his and my choice for number three.  What can I say, deep-down I’m a sucker for a quirky yet dark love story.  And they don’t get any quirkier or darker than Punch-Drunk Love.  Anderson managed to focus the script around the only enjoyable parts of Adam Sandler the actor: his childlike, meek behavior and his lightning-fast rage.  This film also features an amazing score and probably my favorite single scene from the decade:

4.  The Dark Knight

Here’s another good example of the difference between best and favorite.  Christopher Nolan’s first film of the decade, 2000’s Memento, is his best film.  The novel backwards-to-forwards construction of the film was a wonder to watch the first time and was even better in subsequent viewings.  But being the nerd that I am, this was my favorite of his films.  I adore dark comic books and Nolan managed to paint Batman pitch black in 2008’s The Dark Knight.  Once again, an amazing script, amazing cast (especially replacing Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal!), amazing score.  And bonus points for the best action sequence of the decade:

5.  Brüno

Ciao,

The Captain

1.  I’ve been making lists on scraps of paper since I was quite young.  It helps my thought process work more efficiently.  And ever since I read High Fidelity I’ve been in love with the idea of making Top 5 lists full of trivial, pop-culture material and then debating the content with friends.

2.  I’m looking at you, Facebook.

Another year ends and another year begins.  And my annual tradition of reflection and declarations starts yet again.  As you may recall, this time last year I declared 2009 to be The Year of Stability.  I decided that 2009 should be a calming year, one in which I lived and worked in the same place all year.  It was supposed to be a year with no big events and a more active lifestyle.  Funny how things work out…

As it was, 2009 was yet another year in transition for me.  Shortly after I dedicated The Year of Stability, life sent me on a radically different course.  In January of 2009 a first time homebuyer credit worth $15,000 began being discussed in Congress.  Megan and I immediately began saving additional money to put towards a down payment for a house.  By February it was announced that it would be only $8,000, which is still nothing to sneeze at.  Spurred by this amazing opportunity, we had signed a contract to build the house where we now live by the end of March.  And since then we’ve been consistently busy preparing to become homeowners.   

Also around this time last year I observed that The Year of Focus was a struggle for almost the entirety of 2008, and then somehow I managed to obtain it right as the year ended.  Strangely, that seems to have happened again this year.  After working hard all year I found myself with a job I love, living in a place I love with a family I love deeply.   

Much like focus in 2008, stability was not the theme of my 2009, it was the goal.  And it was a goal that I ultimately was able to achieve.  Moreover, I would not have been able to work so hard at preparing for homeownership if I had not been successful at finding my focus.  By the time the idea homeownership was introduced this year, I had a very clear picture of how I want to live my life.  Without the ability to focus on what was important to me I would have never been able to commit my year to homeownership so quickly.

1  While it’s true that a good chunk of my inconsistency has been a result of dealing with the large amount of change I’ve experienced in that time, it should not be an excuse.  Change will always be a part of my life and I can be consistent in how I respond to it if I so choose.