Sometime in summer, on a hot day, I was in an area of Queens that I usually don’t spend time in. Next to a bakery a woman sat asking for palm readings. She looked to be in her early twenties if that, and I thought why not. She took me into a stairway, and started to read my palms. It started mundane but within minutes she told me I was surrounded my negative forces. She asked that I give her some information, and I should come back in three days time and she would get rid of the evil energies that were suffocating me. I said no, lost ten dollars, and felt kind of weird for the rest of the day. Now that 2012 comes to close I know that palm-reading hack was completely wrong, and I’ve had one of the best years of my life.
First I’ll start with skating, my childhood joy that has been sporadic in my adult years, but I am now firmly a skateboarder. From the Slappy Sundays in NYC I’ve met so many good friends that all take skating and skating today seriously. We are not talking about what we landed in 1992, but what we landed on sessions this year. A few people mentioned that we have a crew now, and it’s true. In a lot of cases if I want to skate a certain night of the week, I can find someone to meet. As recently as last year, I was kind of limited to park skating during daylight from lack of a crew, or a skate support group.
Filming and photography are interests that I developed this year. This coincides with skating and having a crew. My youtube channel now has 19 videos. For years I took pictures with my cell phone and got complimented on what I posted on facebook from my old cell. This year is March or April I simply went to Best Buy and asked advice for a starter camera. The Cannon Powershot elph 300 HS was a great starter camera. It’s easy to film and hold. On my recently purchased IMac I had Imovie to play with. A few weeks ago, I was getting ready to film, and fell down. The camera unfortunately was in my right hand, and that is what I naturally braced the fall with. So the camera is done. After the holiday season I’ll try to see if Best Buy can fix it or replace it, I’ve been too lazy to wait in the holiday lines.
In another feat this year is that I beefed up my blog. I finally found a compromise for my self absorbed tendencies to still write about my own life but less frequently and write on topics people are interested in. So I got a lot of views from reviewing skate videos, but still have a personal touch when I write about my work experience. My blog has improved, just ask me. In 2011 it had a little over 2,000 views, and in 2012 I’ve gotten over 5,00o views, so that is improvement. The numbers don’t lie!
I’m already well over 400 words and I haven’t mentioned family yet. There are reasons that single men don’t send Christmas cards, but this blog entry is what my family and friends get this year. In early-mid May I went to my cousin’s wedding in the Detroit area. A fun time was had by all of us, and although young the couple shinned. During the first dance I handed my camera over to my niece, and told her to get close to take a picture. Over the next few hours of dancing my niece took some great pictures including one of her brother, age 6, passed out on a couch surrounded by candy. A few weeks later I sent my niece and nephews the same starter camera I had. I think over Christmas the three of them are going to be very surprised when I ask for the camera back.
Later in May, I went to Toledo, and Chicago. It was great to see my parents, and eat better while there. I skated quite a bit on the trip. It was really hot weather during that time. I think there is a temperature difference between NYC and Ohio. In winter it is colder in Ohio, and in summer it is hotter in Ohio. Doesn’t seem fair. I saw my Uncle during the trip too. I scheduled a similar time of two weeks off for next May, and need to decide if that takes up too much of my vacation, or having that much time off of work is worth it.
In October I went to San Diego, and it was a lot of fun to skate, and check out things. My friend Charles and his wife took me out on the town for three nights. I skated everyday there including some transition, and now that winter is approaching maybe California is where people should be. Hopefully 2013 will bring up the economy, but until then, I’m staying put in NYC!
Work has been something, with Storm Sandy, my work world changed dramatically. My library was right in one of the worst hit areas of the Rockaways. We got there the Friday after the storm, and it’s been amazing to see the efforts of so many of my colleagues. Today they started to set up a trailer, so we’ll have a larger and more functional space. I would really like to be there when the library is rebuilt, and since there still is no timeframe for that I think it’ll be an interesting ride until then.
2012 has been a developmental year for me, and a fun one too. One thing I’m disappointed in myself, in that I did not make any donations. I feel to make donations before January I would simply be adding to my credit card debt. So daily I see people donating and volunteering and I ended up not doing either. So my goal for 2013 is simple, continue to make life strides, but at the same time be more aware of how I’m spending my money. I can and should be living comfortably on what I’m making and not charge experience or exceed my means. Hopefully be next December I can comfortable make some decent donations.
I’m going to go on a holiday vacation with my family so I’m not going to blog much for a few weeks. Anyone in Toledo that wants to hang out, let me know, especially if you want to skate, I’ll be in town Friday through Friday!!! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and live the Good Life!
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