2006 Over Already? No Way, Dude!?!?

It feels like yesterday when it turned 2006. Some of the highlights of this year, for me, include moving to Wilmington. It's a coastal city, and I have never lived so near the ocean before. It is nice to go to the beach and turn into a Radioactive Lobster, to have an almost year-round Farmer's Market, and more warm weather than you can shake a frozen Montana stick at. I feel sorry for my folks, stuck up in the Blizzard Wastelands of Billings, MT. I hear it's pretty cold there right now.

At the beginning of this year, my husband Michal volunteered work in California, for the Odiyan Center. He worked his butt off for six months, without heat in the winter and questionable garments to keep the warmth in. He injured many a muscle during this trying time. His back and his neck worry me the most, for they seem to have gotten worse since that experience. I was very happy when he returned home, some six months later.

While he was gone, I had a hectic time. I've worked many jobs this past year. My first was as a caretaker, which lasted about half a year. It was not an easy job for me. The elderly, sweet as they are sometimes, have the unfortunate tendency to pass away. It's made me sad several times, for it brings back memories of my own grandfather's death, and I tended to get rather attached to the old farts. My next job in this town was a really crappy retail job as a Cashier. The head cashier was extremely stressed and stressful, which in turn makes all his/her charges stressed as well. It was during that job that I discovered that I was pregnant. I knew that I couldn't keep on that job for long, for there was a lot of heavy lifting, and the sheer stress of not being able to go on break if I needed to was hard on my body. I found a great temp job, grading school math and english papers. The pay was awesome, but it was a brief job. There was lots of sitting involved, and very strong coffee. ;) My next brief job was being a Mystery Shopper for some big stores. It was kinda fun. It was like being a spy....hehehe. Somewhere in between all those jobs, I miscarried. I went through a period of grief, and shortly after that, Michal returned home. We moved downtown, and I found a job at a local bakery. That's been my favorite job this year, brief though it was. They shut down, I collected unemployment. Then I found a *brief* job at an Italian Gourmet Market. I think I had perhaps four or five shifts, before the boss gave me The Dreaded Phone Call. Currently, I'm unemployed yet again. My only sentiment at this point about finding work in this town is.....W.T.H.???

This year's pretty much summed up with too many cruddy jobs, too much videogaming, and not enough cuddles with my sweetie. Slowly I'm coming to terms with grief, and although at its worst I needed a little bandaid called Prozac to make it slightly more bearable, I know that someday I'll be a mom. For my new year's resolution, I promise to be more active physically and emotionally. The physical part's easy...I can walk all over downtown, and when we get our bikes to the apartment and in working condition once more, I might even sell my car. Being emotionally active means connecting with people, and that for me is one of the hardest things in the world to do. I can be aloof, quiet, and distant. It's a very old habit, one that I can hopefully change. I need more girlfriends...any girlfriends...why do I get along better with guys, darn it? >.< style="font-style: italic;">One Job to Stick With for a LOOOOOOONG time! I'm tired of the crappy ones, and I do not have enough thick skin to survive more retail! Sheesh!

Although it is tempting to make my resolution for the upcoming year to create peace in the world, I know that this is too much for one person alone. Instead, I shall try to make peace with myself. That should keep me occupied through 2007.