A New Year and a Look Back

Happy 2010 to one and all! Personally, I'm glad to leave 2009 in the dust. Not that it was the worst year, far from it, but it wasn't quite the best either.

Probably the best highlight that comes immediately to mind this New Years' morning was when my short film, "Gravehunting With Steve," was accepted as an Official Selection at IndieFest USA, to be held at Downtown Disney, Anaheim, CA. So, in August, I went Behind the Orange Curtain to spend a week as a "real filmmaker." It was a great week, and the fulfillment of a long-time goal.

Other highlights of 2009 also revolved around a bit of in-state travel. We went to Desert Hot Springs in April, up to Bodega Bay and the Sonoma Coast in July, and shorter weekend getaways to Carmel/Monterey (twice) and the wine country (Napa and in-land Sonoma Counties).

Unfortunately, the major downer event of 2009, my car wreck in May put a bit of a dark shadow over the rest of the year, as I'm still dealing with major back pain and a very slow recovery from that. (The wreck was not my fault: I was rear-ended at high speed by a hit-and-run driver).

As a result of being somewhat incapacitated, we've had to put off a lot of work around the house that I'd planned to do over the late spring and summer. Yes, contractors would do most of it, but I was unable to even do the basic prep, cleaning, and moving of stuff so the contractors could start. So now, 2010 will have to be "the year of the house."

The upside of having your car crushed while you're sitting in it is that you get to pick out a new car when it's all over. I picked out the new VW Tiguan and filled it up with nearly all the options. I am loving that, but I'm sure there must be easier (and less painful) ways to get a new car.

Work-wise, 2009 was good and busy, with a mix of rewarding projects and stress. When your work is about nonprofits in trouble, recessions can be a boost to business. While so many of my friends are out-of-work, or "under-employed," I'm not going to complain about being busy. As my friend Tom likes to say; "High quality problems."

Socially, 2009 was also very good, with Bay Area visits from many friends from the on-line world of YouTube. In fact, today will be spent having a traditional Southern New Years lunch of Hoppin' John, Corn Bread, and Mississippi Mud, and we'll follow that up with a wild night of Karaoke and drinks in San Francisco (we'll get a room in the city and take a cab to the club - no drinking and driving this weekend) ... Each with YouTube friends.

Yes: Online community is true community!

Which leads us to the last highlight of 2009, a creative collaboration that resulted in a fundraising event. Gary (known on YouTube as Anakin1814 - and one of tonight's karaoke participants) noticed that a lot of us vloggers are also into photography, and organized a 2010 calendar of our photos from around the world. Best part: the proceeds from the calendar will all be donated to the Nature Conservancy!

Learn more about that collaboration and the calendar at vloggerhood.org.

Have a great 2010 and thank you for being with me for 2009.

Out with the old and in with the new...

I've been away from the computer and TV for a couple of days, so haven't been following the news too closely, but did I hear that former president Gerald Ford had been hung for crimes against humanity? Come on, inflation was out of control during his term, and he did pardon that crook, Nixon, but why hang him now? Oh, well.

Sorry, that's the last bad joke of the year. Now, I've got to brush up on my New Year's Superstitions over at the Urban Legends page (snopes.com).

For instance, did you know that "The new year must not be seen in with empty cupboards, lest that be the way of things for the year. Larders must be topped up..." I guess that means I've got to go to the market today, as our fridge is quite empty following a 30 hour (+) power outage from Wednesday evening to Friday morning. And, while we were inspired by cleaning out the rotted food from the fridge, we went ahead and cleaned out the cabinets too.

More New Year's Superstitions:

• Pay off your bills before the New Year.
• "The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the year you're about to have."
• Nothing leaves the house on the first day of the year, not even garbage!
• Do something work related to guarantee success, but don't do too big a project because serious work is unlucky.
• Wear new clothes on January 1.
• Make a lot of noise at midnight, New Year's Eve, to scare the evil spirits away.

Learn more about the "rationale" for these, and other, superstitions at snopes.com.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Christmas Eve, holiday lights in Los Gatos, CA


New Year's resolutions are for sissies!