Auld Lang Syne

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and auld lang syne?"

In a word:  Yes.

Poor 2009.  It will never be looked upon with fondness and smiles.  Toward the end of 2008, it was pretty clear that 2009 was going to be a crappy year, and it's all 2008's fault, really.  2009 never stood a chance at being a positively memorable year.  Wait, I take that back - it was positively memorable as a really god-awful wretch of 365 days for a lot of folks.

I think most of us are ready to put "auld lang syne" - at least as it pertains to 2009 - behind us, where it belongs.  Personally, I'm trying to see the best in the year, but overall it was exhausting.  There was a slightly panicky note to every situation, a whiff of desperation and impending disaster.  Every new expense in the workplace could have meant another layoff.  Each evening phone call from an unidentified number could have been a collection agency.  A strange engine sound could have meant the difference between getting to work and getting paid to work.  Of course, all these things could have happened anyway, regardless of the down economy.  But the feeling that we were all right on the edge of lifestyle security was so pervasive in 2009 that  I can't help but feel uncharitably toward the year in general.

At the risk of sounding very Debbie Downer, I have to say that frankly, it was a tough year for me.  I traveled less to see friends and out of state family than I normally do, which was a major strain on my emotional health - and worse than the lack of travel was the feeling that I couldn't travel because I wanted to have the backup finances available to me, just in case.  I made no progress whatsoever in the department of relationships (male relationships), largely because I was so stressed out all the time that I didn't have any energy left over at the end of the day to even bother trying.  I haven't advanced at all professionally, as really I've been grateful just to have a job and with the uncertainty of revenues in the travel industry, there hasn't been any place for me to advance to in my job, so I've stayed put.  And it's been an up and down year for familial relationships as well - or, at least, I've felt it more acutely than ever.

Sigh.

I'm well aware that even though we've moved into a new year, nothing will change overnight.  Some of the things that weren't so great about 2009 for me will inevitably carry over into 2010, simply because unfortunately New Year's Eve confetti isn't actually fairy dust that automatically wipes the slate clean at midnight.  But I'm happy to put auld lang syne behind me (and yes, some auld acquaintances, too) and work on moving forward into a new year that will be remembered well.

Welcome, 2010.