Ring Out, Crazy Bells!

In lieu of an actual Merry Christmas message to y'all, my dear friends and readers that I might not actually know, I'm combining a late cheer with an early wish.

First off, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas with family and friends all around and good food on your table. Even if you didn't what you wanted, it doesn't matter because it's who gave it to you that's really important. People talk about the giving and receiving of gifts like it's the gift that's important. It's really the people that are important. Who you give the gift to and who gives you a gift. The gift matters little. So I hope you got from whom you wanted and gave to whom you needed. To all of you, a very Merry Christmas!

Now for New Years'...

This past year has been crazy! For one thing, I started blogging. I mean, how crazy is that? I've grown up, grown apart and grown closer in a whole variety of ways. Those in the know, know, and those not in the know are going to stay that way. Discretion is, after all, the better part of valor. I've started a career in theatre that seems to have fizzled a little, but is not without promise, I hope. I've lost touch with some of my good friends from SVU and I've reunited with a couple of friends from high school. I've missed three weddings, attended no funerals - thank God! - seen one birth, heard of at least six engagements in as many months, loved, laughed, wept and danced.

I've tried new things, ended old things, tossed out the garbage of my life, and shuffled things around to see if the new arrangement is to my liking. For the most part, it's not, but it's livable for the moment.

The biggest thing I can say is that I have grown some. Maybe not much, maybe not even enough, but I've grown. I'm getting better at identifying who my friends are and who's just there when it works. And always, my family has been at my back, giving me an anchor to the ground.

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Lose weight. I don't want to be a twig, but I do want to lose my gut.
2. Get in shape. I want to be better and improving my body is one way to do it.
3. Find a girlfriend. I know what love is like for me now. Sort of. I just need to find the right girl for it now.
4. Improve my vices. Everyone has them and mine need a lot of work.
5. Live wisely. Each year should be a little better than the last one I think.

We'll see if I can't get all these accomplished before the end of next year.

For the first two, I plan - if something else doesn't crop up soon - on joining one of the branches of the Armed Forces. I was thinking Air Force or Navy, but I went through Army JROTC, so we shall have to see. Basic will take care of the first two resolutions naturally and hopefully the third will happen with little help from me. The fourth will be a work in progress. I have good days and bad days and I'm going to try and make all of them good. The last resolution is something I'm going to be continuously working on. We're here to learn and to prove ourselves, so I'm going to do the best I can.

I hope to see you all on the Journey with me! Any trip is better with friends, just on general principal. And the greatest trip of all should be made surrounded by friends and family. You need to know where you've been, even if you don't know precisely where you're going or why.

Ring Out, Crazy Bells! Let the Old Year pass and the New Year arrive!

Cheers to all of you!

-S.