Yesterday was my birthday. (Yes, I’m a Virgo.) I tried not to be too depressed at getting older. My wife and mother worked to make it a good day, so that was nice. I did some work, made some calls, read a little bit, applied for a new job. My friend Marcy sent me an electric razor as a gift, so that was nice. My mom gave me a gasoline credit card, which was thoughtful. Gretchen went all out though. She got me a lovely Godiva chocolate bar with caramel, an iTunes gift card (which I’m using right now to download the new Nine Inch Nails album), a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, and my very much desired biography of Jeff Beck, my favorite guitarist. I can’t wait to read it! Mom took us out for dinner last night at a place on the lake, and then we had some ice cream cake, which was delicious. Ended the evening with a little football on TV. Not a bad day, even though I felt down throughout the day.

This year has had its ups and downs. I got married to the love of my life, while my father died unexpectedly at my house. We went on a great honeymoon, and our house was broken into and we were robbed. I picked up a nice project management contract job, only to have the contract terminated in three months. These are the highlights. I’ve read a lot of books, especially Philip K. Dick, and played a few PC games. We discovered Me-TV and have been watching great reruns of Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, MASH, The Odd Couple, and more. Very cool. My Pittsburgh Penguins had a great year, but failed in the playoffs and didn’t make it to the Stanley Cup. Here’s hoping for this year. My UT Vols have started this season 2-1 with one of the toughest schedules in the country, while my Steelers look like they’re going to have their worst year in decades. My Pirates are in the thick of a pennant race, though, and have had their first winning season in 21 years! Gretchen has had her own job highs and lows, but she likes what she’s doing now and there’s growth potential, so that’s good. She misses her sons, who live in Maryland. Mom misses Dad, as do we all, and she’s trying to sort through that. Meanwhile, this year is the first year I haven’t had a surgery since 2009 (knock on wood), so that’s good. My health is improving somewhat, although I still have pain in areas that I can’t seem to shake. I don’t know what the coming year holds for me. I might move, but that remains to be seen. I hope to land a new job at some point. I think Gretchen and I will be spending more time with Mom than we used to because she’s all alone now. Hopefully these will be good times. Thanks to all of my WordPress followers. I have no idea why you follow me, but I appreciate it. I hope to resume book reviews soon. I’m in the middle of several very large books. Cheers!