Year in Review

This wasn't a stunning year, career-wise. In fact, I think the only thing I did to further my career was to fly my bosses' airplanes to the best of my ability. I didn't do anything to damage it either, except grow a year older, so maybe I come out even. I didn't resolve to get a jet job this year, just said I might like to, and wishes aren't jet planes any more than they are horses, so that's that. I've been pretty passive, but that's because I've been comfortable, and the latter is better than the opposite.

Here's what I did resolve for 2009:

• 1. Never read the comments on YouTube videos or LOLcat cartoons. No matter how funny or intelligent the images, the comments will be illiterate and inane, and I'll regret the time spent reading them.
• 2. Eat only the best chocolate I can afford.
• 3. Whenever I can gain something of merit without risking anything but my pride and my Internet surfing time, I will make my best try to do it.

Hmm. I did pretty well on number one. I've definitely broken the habit of clicking on comments in search of intelligent debate. I've finally learned that my own blog is one of the few places on the internet where the comments hold intelligently considered opinions and insider information supplementary to the main article. My readers can even snicker at zebra penises and make it sound erudite. So SUCCESS, and I have no desire to relapse on that one.

Number two went pretty much perfectly up for almost ten months. I rationed imported European chocolate made out of "sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla." I didn't touch anything made by Hershey or containing soya lecithin or polyglycerol ricinoleate. But then came the latter half of October. People, there were giant boxes of mini Kit-Kats, Smarties, Coffee Crisps and Aeros available at every grocery store, even in the north, for about $12. Everywhere bad chocolate was being given away. I'm only human. I was no match. And then when Hallowe'en was over, I went back to the vending machines. And there's a Fun-Sized Aero bar in my home, but I haven't opened it, even though I had to pick it up to see how to spell ricinoleate. I think I can give myself a PARTIAL SUCCESS on this one.

The third resolution is pretty nebulous. I lose by not having looked very hard for such opportunities, but I went on a couple of great bike trips, made some new friends, built a raft out of beach-found materials and paddled it, entered a 10 km footrace, and demonstrated the carpe diem spirit right up to the end by venturing onto a foreign military base to fly the simulacrum of a giant airplane, so I'm going to count it as a SUCCESS too.

So I had a pretty good year by the standards I set out for myself. I hope your own year went well, or at the very minimum that you can salvage something from the memories that you can hold up as a success. I've a few days left to figure out my 2010 resolutions. I'll tell you about them on New Year's Day.