Missing Link

As 2010 fast approaches I’ve been looking back upon 2009 and all that has happened.  While doing that, I realized that 2009 has been – by far – the best year I’ve had in a long time – probably even this entire decade.

This year has seen the following events in my life (in no particular order):  I got married, I changed jobs to my current job (which I love), spent a week in las vegas,  drove a tow truck for the first time, spent a week in florida,  got an xbox 360, and bought a new car.

Now – that’s just the things I can think of off the top of my head.   I’m sure there are other things that have happened (such as me catching perhaps the best shot of my photographic career),  and plenty of other things that have made this a great year.

By far the biggest and best thing (as mentioned above) is that I got married and now get to spend my life with my best friend  - it doesn’t get more awesome than that.    A close second was snagging a new job at one of the best email and 1:1 marketing companies in the world.   I was able to move out of a position that was in a toxic environment for a variety of reasons,(which I won’t post here), and into a position in an environment that allows me to thrive.

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Unlike a lot of bloggers, I’m going to completely ignore the fact that last week was Thanskgiving here in the United States, a fact which seems to compel many to post about something they are thankful for.   That’s not to say I’m not thankful for anything (I am, quite a few things actually), but rather that I just don’t care to share that with you

Thanksgiving, along with the help of two days of PTO (Paid Time Off, for those who don’t know), allowed me to enjoy a nice six-day weekend.  I did thoroughly enjoy the time off as it allowed me to unwind quite a bit and disconnect myself from work.

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If there’s one thing almost all of us take for granted, it’s privacy.   We seem to operate in this mode of denial – wanting desperately to believe that we have privacy in what we do,  how we do it, how and where we spend our money, etc.  Every day more and more of our information goes online, into vast databases because the online world offers us convenience – it makes our lives a little easier.   I know and have heard from numerous people who have said “I never carry cash anymore… plastic is just more convenient”.

Convenient – yes.  Private – no.

What most people, in the United States anyways, don’t seem to realize is that we do NOT own the personal and private data that is collected about us.   The companies that collect the data own it.  What’s perhaps more disturbing is that there is nothing that forces them to let you even SEE what data they’ve collected, much less anything with which you can use to compel them to destroy it.  In fact, most of these companies have little reason to destroy it, and significant reason not to.

The US Government, rather than create regulations and laws to protect it’s citizens and their privacy,  has given in to industry pressure to leave things alone.   “We’ll self regulate ourselves!” exclaim the industry players,  trying to assure the government that no oversight is needed,  that they know how best to handle the average citizens personal details.

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I love weekends!  They’re wonderful, fun, relaxing and really offer a break from the big ball of stress called work.  While I love lazy weekends around the house doing nothing, there is certainly something to be said for going out and spending time with others, whether it be friends or family – getting out and hanging out can be just as, if not more, rewarding than staying in and relaxing.

This Saturday Ann and I spent the majority of the day being completely and utterly lazy.  We watched some TV (finishing off Leverage season 1) and lounged around the house.  Late saturday afternoon, however, we got cleaned up and went down to our friends house in Greenwood.  These same friends were the awesome photographers who shot our wedding.

We had a wonderful time hanging out with friends  - they are currently on a very short list of “married friends” – grilling ribs, drinking beer, and enjoying a gorgeous saturday evening.

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Most days I come home from work, cook/eat dinner and then retire to my office to play games, read or surf the internet while Ann retreats into her office to study for school.   Sometimes she comes out of her office and pokes and prods me with her new medical instruments – which she’s getting much better at using – to practice her new skills.  While I generally moan and groan about this, in reality I don’t mind in the slightest.

Some nights, though,  we eschew the normal routine and do something a little different – and tonight was one of those nights.  While trying to decide what to make for dinner (rifling through our pantry trying to figure out what we even HAD to make), Ann made an offhanded comment about our neighbors bbq-ing. That in turn made me want to grill,  so we decided to go to the store and get some hamburgers to grill (and pick up a few other things we needed anyway).  So – off to the store we went.

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