Choose they croon the Ancient Ones
The time has come again
Choose now, they croon
Beneath the moon
Beside an ancient lake

So, have we made it through the first decade relatively unscathed? Perhaps a scar here, a nick there… but for the most part, we’re all in one piece, yes?

Good. Now get out there and do it right this time. You’ve got just under two years to pull your socks up and get ready. Prepare yourselves… you know, have water on hand, maybe some MREs, definitely a rifle or hand gun or a rifle and a hand gun. Better yet, a rifle, a hand gun and a tank.

Seriously, who the hell doesn’t want a tank?

I’m keeping my personal thoughts about the end of the Mayan calendar to myself. I do think they’d form a pretty nice little apocalyptic story. Or maybe not-so-apocalyptic. Still, I know there are folks in the ‘zombies are coming’ camp, and folks in the ‘blink out of existence’ camp, and then there are the folks planted firmly in the ‘nothing is going to happen’ camp. Well, I’ve chosen my camp.

I don’t care, one way or the other. I’m with the ‘meh’ camp.

According to the Doors movie (ha I know the movie was more fiction than truth) Ray Manzarek supposedly once said: I feel the universe functioning perfectly but I’m still perfectly locked inside myself. Instead of oneness, I feel isolation.

I lot of what I do is solitary, it’s the nature of working from home. I’ve put a lot of other things aside in order to get everything going with Belfire, my freelance work, and a handful of other projects I’ve not been sharing around (no offense, just don’t feel like sharing ‘em). I keep in touch with friends mostly by email or facebook, see the local ones occasionally in the ‘meat world’ and stay in touch with ah…others…by messenger and voip.

But mostly, at least 16 hours of the day, it’s a solitary life, and has been for the last 7 years. In a couple of years, that 16 hours will extend to 24, when the youngest packs up her gear and moves on to start studying… well, whatever it is she’ll be studying.

I’m starting to think I need to put an end to the hermit life, and start interacting more with the world. Particularly offline. Even if I have to schedule it in…

It’s been a long year, and amongst the highs there were some serious lows. I rarely make deep friendships, and I thought I had one for a while… but it turns out that wasn’t the case. A friend I’d thought lost long ago got in touch, and of course…there was the massive familial blow up.

Professionally, things have been great. I’ve been busier than an ant next door to a picnic. Thank the gods – this is the first year in several where I didn’t experience some form of depression; moments of sadness, yes, but not the bleak, tiring, dreary days of gray. I have a lot of people to thank for that, and they know who they are.

They’ve also been pretty low… some decisions have had to be made that won’t make other people happy – nor do they make me happy. But they’re necessary to keep things moving along the way they need to, the way they should. I have a recession to thank for that.

Changes are coming, hopefully for the better. The new year looks to be busy, busier, and the busiest yet.

Blessed Yule, everyone – or Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah… how about just plain old, Seasons Greetings? And absolutely – a very Happy New Year!