Whew!
It's New Year's Eve and I for one am staying up just to see 2009 put to bed once and for all.
Not that in retrospect it has really been a bad year here in bunnyland but the unpredictability of it all has been hell. We all seemed to be skating on the edge of a precipice, never really sure if we could hold our balance or if it would all tip into the void on the other side that we all knew was there but we all feared. That part of it, if nothing else, sucked. If you know me at all, you know that the unknown is one of my greatest fears.
I'm a planner and while plans change and go awry, this year passed has been the planner's worst nightmare in that nothing of precedence could be leaned upon and everything was cut at a moment's notice.
At the stroke of midnight, 2008, I was sitting outside a martini bar in Florida with my beloved, toasting in the new year. This year I'm at home and wishing for that bar, solely to be able to sit outside in reasonable climes. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, healthy and well but at the same time cold. The vernal equinox can't get here soon enough.
In February of '09, I was in a bar in Minneapolis with a colleague watching the world around us melt down. Couple of bourbons in, I opined that those of us who could hold on to work until the end of the year might just make it. To what I had no idea, but survival from one day to the next was success back then. Come to think of it, it still is.
That same month the folks that pay our bills reckoned that our bills were too high for the times we were living in. A good friend worked hard to argue our case and re-negotiate more favorable rates but I had to cave in on my promise to my staff that "everyone stays employed this year" and somebody had to go.
Sometime in the winter of the year passed, another friend was let go from his position. He and I had worked together years ago, and I launched Caustic Bunny by his inspiration so it was pretty devastating when someone I considered to be at the top of his game was shown the door.
Springtime didn't come quickly enough but once it did I staggered out the front door to connect with the Knitting Circle for the first time in six months. Strange how fellows you used to see daily now show up once or twice a year and you don't care about a damn thing going on other than catching up, wishing everyone well and hoping you're in shape to catch up with them next year, this time.
Summertime was as usual, a delight in that the days were warm, long and happy. I worried about my friend's employment and my other friend's absence from blogging but raised a fair batch of tomatoes in the battle against stinging nettle.
August rolled around and I got on a plane for work and just got off one about ten days ago. Been that kind of six months. During which I found out why one friend had not blogged for months and that another had more than enough to talk about.
The former lost a mother. One day, I will lose mine, the last blood relative I have and I will grieve as she did. I don't know my friend well. I did not send condolences publicly but did think of her and wish her best privately.
The latter landed on his feet and I was never so happy to see where he wound up. Nice going, fellow. Bet it feels pretty good to be the master of the ship. None of this is to minimize the angst of relocating, pulling the family into a new city, working day and night to right a tilting ship but today, in the magazine aisle of my favorite grocer I picked up a copy of the January 2010 issue and, flipping through the pages, thought: Nice work. If anyone can do it, you can.
September found us in Europe, me visiting a dotty old aunt who I most likely won't ever see again. I wish I could have said the same for a dear uncle I lost last year but he passed and while we hadn't seen each other in over a decade, I still miss him.
With November came Thanksgiving and dinner consisted of roast beef sandwiches in a gas station. Not a bad thing, just a bit of poor planning and we more than made up for it by draining the bar of gin a few hours later.
And this Christmas, for the first time ever I got to spoil three generations. Believe me when I tell you that sometimes, Santa Claus is really a crotchety old rabbit with a cigar who happens to adore you.
Been a weird decade that started in a big modern house watching the computer hopefully not melt down and winding up in a more seasoned home watching the Ganges of the Basement. I'd fill in the details but all you really need to do is click on the archives at the right hand side of your screen. Don't worry, no one has ever read this before.
All of which brings us to now, an hour and a half from the next decade. We're still (as far as I know) employed, so there's a chance. There's still food in the fridge, beer in the cellar and a jaundiced view of the world so there's more bunnies out there.
Happy New Year all. Thanks for being part of the ride. Well done. Sympathies and thoughts. Hope you're all around 365 days from now to continue the adventure.
Bunny on.
Not that in retrospect it has really been a bad year here in bunnyland but the unpredictability of it all has been hell. We all seemed to be skating on the edge of a precipice, never really sure if we could hold our balance or if it would all tip into the void on the other side that we all knew was there but we all feared. That part of it, if nothing else, sucked. If you know me at all, you know that the unknown is one of my greatest fears.
I'm a planner and while plans change and go awry, this year passed has been the planner's worst nightmare in that nothing of precedence could be leaned upon and everything was cut at a moment's notice.
At the stroke of midnight, 2008, I was sitting outside a martini bar in Florida with my beloved, toasting in the new year. This year I'm at home and wishing for that bar, solely to be able to sit outside in reasonable climes. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, healthy and well but at the same time cold. The vernal equinox can't get here soon enough.
In February of '09, I was in a bar in Minneapolis with a colleague watching the world around us melt down. Couple of bourbons in, I opined that those of us who could hold on to work until the end of the year might just make it. To what I had no idea, but survival from one day to the next was success back then. Come to think of it, it still is.
That same month the folks that pay our bills reckoned that our bills were too high for the times we were living in. A good friend worked hard to argue our case and re-negotiate more favorable rates but I had to cave in on my promise to my staff that "everyone stays employed this year" and somebody had to go.
Sometime in the winter of the year passed, another friend was let go from his position. He and I had worked together years ago, and I launched Caustic Bunny by his inspiration so it was pretty devastating when someone I considered to be at the top of his game was shown the door.
Springtime didn't come quickly enough but once it did I staggered out the front door to connect with the Knitting Circle for the first time in six months. Strange how fellows you used to see daily now show up once or twice a year and you don't care about a damn thing going on other than catching up, wishing everyone well and hoping you're in shape to catch up with them next year, this time.
Summertime was as usual, a delight in that the days were warm, long and happy. I worried about my friend's employment and my other friend's absence from blogging but raised a fair batch of tomatoes in the battle against stinging nettle.
August rolled around and I got on a plane for work and just got off one about ten days ago. Been that kind of six months. During which I found out why one friend had not blogged for months and that another had more than enough to talk about.
The former lost a mother. One day, I will lose mine, the last blood relative I have and I will grieve as she did. I don't know my friend well. I did not send condolences publicly but did think of her and wish her best privately.
The latter landed on his feet and I was never so happy to see where he wound up. Nice going, fellow. Bet it feels pretty good to be the master of the ship. None of this is to minimize the angst of relocating, pulling the family into a new city, working day and night to right a tilting ship but today, in the magazine aisle of my favorite grocer I picked up a copy of the January 2010 issue and, flipping through the pages, thought: Nice work. If anyone can do it, you can.
September found us in Europe, me visiting a dotty old aunt who I most likely won't ever see again. I wish I could have said the same for a dear uncle I lost last year but he passed and while we hadn't seen each other in over a decade, I still miss him.
With November came Thanksgiving and dinner consisted of roast beef sandwiches in a gas station. Not a bad thing, just a bit of poor planning and we more than made up for it by draining the bar of gin a few hours later.
And this Christmas, for the first time ever I got to spoil three generations. Believe me when I tell you that sometimes, Santa Claus is really a crotchety old rabbit with a cigar who happens to adore you.
Been a weird decade that started in a big modern house watching the computer hopefully not melt down and winding up in a more seasoned home watching the Ganges of the Basement. I'd fill in the details but all you really need to do is click on the archives at the right hand side of your screen. Don't worry, no one has ever read this before.
All of which brings us to now, an hour and a half from the next decade. We're still (as far as I know) employed, so there's a chance. There's still food in the fridge, beer in the cellar and a jaundiced view of the world so there's more bunnies out there.
Happy New Year all. Thanks for being part of the ride. Well done. Sympathies and thoughts. Hope you're all around 365 days from now to continue the adventure.
Bunny on.
posted by The Caustic Bunny at Thursday, December 31, 2009
3 Comments:
From my own perspective as I sit here, thinking of some of the crapola that floated -as crap always does, downhill- and left a lot of other issues too in its wake, that even so, my life, that of my kids and grandkids, is still a hell of a lot better than loads and loads of other folks have to deal with. Here's hoping the employment scene's downhill slide is coming to a little bit of a halt, or lull, and that things will again begin to turn around and we can all start the uphill walk again. Like you, I too was really shocked at the blogger friend whose job was pulled from under his feet but was ecstatic to see he managed to begin the bounce back to stability once again!
Peace and Happy New Year to you and yours and the good Lord willing and the sun don't fall -or my reader doesn't whack out on me -I'll be here next year (and in between too) to read your recap of 2010!
I enjoyed your recap. I'm glad you're still here. It's nice to have some old reliables when I log in.
All the best in 2010!
i enjoyed your recap. glad we both made it through last year and hope that this year is brighter yet.
happy new year, bunny.
Post a Comment
<< Home