Year in Review

I started writing a year in review post about two weeks ago. I got about half way through it and realized that I didn't want to write all that and you probably didn't want to read it all. It was kinda turning into a venting post about a lot of things that frankly I didn't want to rehash! haha Soooooo...I scrapped it and will now give you the very very abridged version. If you really care and want more details, you can always e-mail or IM me...I'll oblige you.

So here's the short version:

2007 SUCKED and I'm very glad it's over. I've decided I'll settle for no less than a MIND-BLOWING 2008.

Okay, so you might want a little more than that. I'll give you a brief rundown of why it sucked and, in the spirit of optimism, try to add a little anecdote to find something positive as a result. Here goes!

• Crappy part:I started out the year losing my old job. What a great way to kick off a new year filled with hope and promise! Keep in mind this came no less than 4 months after purchasing my first home! Nothing like new bills and no income to pay for them. Optimism: I actually kinda hated that job anyway. I hadn't been happy for about 8 months and was already planning my escape route for the coming months...just didn't see it all going down like that. Oh, and as for the house...good thing I had some common sense when I was shopping and actually bought something with a manageable monthly payment, rather than trying to stretch myself!
  
• Crappy part: I decided on a new career field I wanted to break into, but couldn't get hired in it for anything. Everyone loved me but said I was overqualified for the entry level position, but wouldn't hire me for anything else without experience having done the entry level position. Optimism: I had a lot of time to read and learn important stuff. It also forced me to think 'outside of the box' as far as my plans for my life. This thinking is setting me up for a whole new avenue.
• Crappy part: In an act of desperation, I took a part time retail job, previously referred to as job #2. It was pretty much a horrible place to work and I hated almost every day of it. And the crappy hours they made me work greatly stunted my social life, which was one of the last things keeping me sane through the rest of the turmoil. Optimism: My mortgage continued to be paid. Oh, and I did get a nice pair of designer jeans and a bottle of good smelling cologne for free from them (no...I didn't steal them!).
• Not so Crappy part: I began working part time for a small company doing a job that I was really excited about and was a great combination of all the things I was looking for in a job. Crappier part: Being small, the company couldn't afford me full time, or really even to pay a great wage part time, so I had to stay at job #2. Also...we've been through a lot of turmoil on that job just through circumstances that we (my bosses or I) couldn't really directly control. This means that a lot of the promises made to me at hiring and plans/goals we had for the company have yet to come to pass. Not really what I signed up for!
• Sorta-Crappy part: The small, independent company I started working for transitioned into a national company to help us out a bit. This has meant a lot more work for me moving things over (and that still continues) and a bit of instability/turmoil during the entire transition. Upside: The national model allows us the structure we need to get our company back going again and the tools to be more successful than ever. Also, it allows opportunity to do stuff on my own which sets me up to make a TON more money than ever before (even at the crappy old job) and some long term stability and happiness. This opportunity just requires more work than I ever anticipated and was probably one of the last things I would have thought I'd be doing at the beginning of the year, but...all that learning and out of the box thinking at the beginning of the year prepared me for this, even when I didn't know it was coming.

Those are the major highlights...add on top of that all the car issues (and here, and here, among other things...and the check engine light is STILL on!) I went through, having the air conditioner on my house checked out and over $1000 worth of repairs being done to it, and a few other not so minor frustrations. Oh, but at least I started running, and a blog!

Anyway, to sum it up, I started the year off with a major blow and spent the rest of the year desperately trying to get back on my feet. So far it hasn't happened and, from the outside, it looks like I ended my year in a much worse position than I started it. I know, however, that I'm actually in a better position now than ever before as far as how much potential and opportunity I'm sitting on...I just need it all to manifest! I've never been more excited for one year to end and another to begin in my life!

So here's to a MIND-BLOWING 2008!!!!