Patuxent River, Maryland – December 31, 2011 – Home to Native Americans since 6500 BC
My attitude toward the New Year pretty much mimics Dilbert’s. Yet I must say it is good to have a marker to reflect on the past and plan for the future. As each year I seem to be on another spot on the planet, planning proves a challenge. I am coming to envy those with a somewhat predictable life.
I don’t care if anyone actually reads this blog; I maintain it so that I can have some sense of where I’ve been this last decade, as much of it becomes a blur. I do manage to migrate to my home in Piney Point around this time of year – a home that I rarely ever live in. Odd life this is.
2012 promises to be a year of turmoil for many. The hate-mongering in politics will reach new highs. The middle class will continue to shrink in the First World and expand in the Third World. The poor will grow in numbers, and the rich will do as they always do, grow richer. Time cycles forward with promise for some and despair for others.
For me, this coming year will be a record year in revenue, and maybe a pivotal year, landing me in India. I cannot predict. I am leaning to return to my beloved California. But India, Korea, and Barcelona are all whispering to me to come.
News from my home town rarely is good these days. Classmates are dying off, from either poor lifestyle choices or bad genes, or both. Steve Jobs will never reach my age, in spite of his billions of dollars.
So, as we age, this synthetic marker in time seems to become more meaningful. How many more good years? How many more years? Life becomes more uncertain. But that uncertainty can lead to adventure, if we choose. Complacency has no place in my life for the next year.
Tomorrow, on the first of the year, I return to California. I’ll likely take some snowboarding lessons in Tahoe and tour Napa Valley before the tourists arrive. I’ll explore Yosemite and get to know the streets of San Francisco well enough to call it home.
