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Being a (Belated) General Overview of the Year 2014 CE
Back in the mid-80s, when I was just a young Thia-let, I remember sorting out old magazines – putting them in order, that kind of thing. For some reason which I don’t remember now, I looked at the dates, and started thinking about how they felt in my head. 1985, 1986 – that felt comfortably present-day. 1982, 1983 – that was firmly past. 1989 felt wildly in the future. I don’t remember if I even tried, in my little thought experiment, to venture into the 1990s, let alone beyond.
A few days ago I wrote the date, and nearly wrote it wrong (as you do in January). Except, when I stopped and examined the date in my head, part of it was also that 2014 still felt like it should be wildly in the future, not in the recent past.
(Apparently I am more Marty McFly than I realized. This is mildly depressing.)
Anyway. For those who don't check often (because lord knows I'm bad about posting), here is 2014 in a nutshell.
GOOD THINGS
- Iceland in February. Leaving aside the part where I started out with a head cold, spent two days miraculously cold-free, and then proceeded to turn the cold into Martian Death Flu, because my immune system is screwed up like that apparently. But the Northern Lights! And the Blue Lagoon (nothing better for the Martian Death Flu than boiling yourself in hot mineral springs)! And being able to say that I’ve been up on an actual glacier! Someday, I want to go back – without the health issues this time plzkthx.
- The niblings in December. Wife teases me about how quickly I went from ‘um, well, I’m sure it’s cool in a theoretical sense?’ to ‘BABIES ADORABLE’. This doesn't extend particularly far – I’m still not interested in having any of my own babies, for example – but my new niece and nephew are indeed the awesomest babies ever to awesome. Hopefully by the time we actually see them in March, they’ll have learned such things as Not Proving That Yes They Have Working Lungs All The Time, and maybe even Sleeping Through The Night. ...somewhere, my sister is laughing at me and doesn't know why yet. (Hi, Kate.)
BAD THINGS
- Wife’s job decided to save money by downsizing harder, not smarter. Unfortunately, my wife was one of those let go. (Back on the good side of things: she’s now teaching as an adjunct – at multiple colleges, no less, because she is also awesome.)
- Dash-con. Oh, Dash-con. I had such high hopes for you. On the bright side, I got to see Scenic Ohio, and the road trip there and back was quite survivable. :wry:
- My mother. There is a long and not terribly interesting story attached to this one. It’s not drama or People Behaving Badly, just the usual sorts of things that come with your parents getting old. Unfortunately, that doesn’t improve the situation.
THING THINGS
- Wife is applying to grad schools. If she gets in, this means moving to a different state. Like, a really different state. Like, out of New England for the first time in my life. (I am not a natural traveler. See also: more reasons why my friends makes jokes about me being the World’s Tallest Hobbit.) I am totally behind my wife earning a PhD and progressing in her career! She’s an awesome teacher and deserves all the good things! I’m just also sporadically flailing like a five-year-old up past her bedtime because BUT THE UNKNOOOOOWN.
A few days ago I wrote the date, and nearly wrote it wrong (as you do in January). Except, when I stopped and examined the date in my head, part of it was also that 2014 still felt like it should be wildly in the future, not in the recent past.
(Apparently I am more Marty McFly than I realized. This is mildly depressing.)
Anyway. For those who don't check often (because lord knows I'm bad about posting), here is 2014 in a nutshell.
GOOD THINGS
- Iceland in February. Leaving aside the part where I started out with a head cold, spent two days miraculously cold-free, and then proceeded to turn the cold into Martian Death Flu, because my immune system is screwed up like that apparently. But the Northern Lights! And the Blue Lagoon (nothing better for the Martian Death Flu than boiling yourself in hot mineral springs)! And being able to say that I’ve been up on an actual glacier! Someday, I want to go back – without the health issues this time plzkthx.
- The niblings in December. Wife teases me about how quickly I went from ‘um, well, I’m sure it’s cool in a theoretical sense?’ to ‘BABIES ADORABLE’. This doesn't extend particularly far – I’m still not interested in having any of my own babies, for example – but my new niece and nephew are indeed the awesomest babies ever to awesome. Hopefully by the time we actually see them in March, they’ll have learned such things as Not Proving That Yes They Have Working Lungs All The Time, and maybe even Sleeping Through The Night. ...somewhere, my sister is laughing at me and doesn't know why yet. (Hi, Kate.)
BAD THINGS
- Wife’s job decided to save money by downsizing harder, not smarter. Unfortunately, my wife was one of those let go. (Back on the good side of things: she’s now teaching as an adjunct – at multiple colleges, no less, because she is also awesome.)
- Dash-con. Oh, Dash-con. I had such high hopes for you. On the bright side, I got to see Scenic Ohio, and the road trip there and back was quite survivable. :wry:
- My mother. There is a long and not terribly interesting story attached to this one. It’s not drama or People Behaving Badly, just the usual sorts of things that come with your parents getting old. Unfortunately, that doesn’t improve the situation.
THING THINGS
- Wife is applying to grad schools. If she gets in, this means moving to a different state. Like, a really different state. Like, out of New England for the first time in my life. (I am not a natural traveler. See also: more reasons why my friends makes jokes about me being the World’s Tallest Hobbit.) I am totally behind my wife earning a PhD and progressing in her career! She’s an awesome teacher and deserves all the good things! I’m just also sporadically flailing like a five-year-old up past her bedtime because BUT THE UNKNOOOOOWN.