Belated New Year's Posting

I had every intention of writing an end-of-year recap / beginning-of-year message. Really, I did. Now, I can't even remember what we did most of New Year's Eve, other than making a faux-Thanksgiving dinner and then spending the evening and Momentous Occasion itself in the company of good friends at Bj's new place. (Quite fun.) New Year's Day I went to Tampa to visit another friend, and we went to see Disney's Beauty & The Beast in IMAX — also very cool, and they ran "Circle of Life" from The Lion King, which will apparently be Disney's 01-01-2003 delivery to IMAX screens. And now, I'm back at work.

The turning of the year this year didn't seems as noteworthy. Going into 1999, we had the whole Prince song thing. 2000 had the double-whammy of the turning of the apparent Millennium, in addition to all the "Y2K" bug fervor. Last year carried the weight of its Arthur C. Clarke / Stanley Kubrick association (and I, for one, will be glad to see less "A ___ Odyssey" advertising gimmicks), and of being the start of the "true" Millennium. But 2002? Aside from pretty numeric symmetry (something that won't happen again until 2112), it carries no great anticipatory significance, at least not from a pop-cultural perspective.

This year has plenty to live up to, though, if it is to be more memorable than last. Personally, I lost a good deal of weight, and gained the strength to lift a good deal more. I met a number of new friends, most of whom (gasp) don't work for Disney, a first for me. I made technology improvements by buying a cell phone and getting cable modem service. I joined a church. I turned 30. (I still find it difficult to accept that, somehow.) I got a permanently-statused salaried position, and was moved to a new job. There are still things I would like to improve on; however, I refuse to call them "new year's resolutions."

Best wishes to any and all who read this 'blog, and may this year look bright for you.