The year in review

Another year is over. Not so eventful, right? Think again.

Sure, my life hasn't been very eventful this past year. A lot was happening every place else.

I'll start with ...me. Aaaaargh! still on a tight budget...and it's all my fault. Andre, admit it. You could have worked harder, burn the midnight candle and get that new business off the ground like you know how. I know you try and try and try some more BUT when the results are not there, then it's not good enough. And you don't have enough to show for it! And you know it! This is not a game! Andre, it's a life you're living, so...push the envelop in 2011. Got it?
That's me talking to myself and slapping myself over the head. Why?

Because I've reached most of my goals except my financial ones. I just wanna be debt free, that's all. It wasn't that bad though. I was just as happy as the year before, and the year before that. Happiness is an inside job. And you can find it anywhere, anytime. It doesn't have to be as drastic as in the movie "Life is beautiful" with Roberto Benigni...

...Just imagine the 33 Chilean miners getting rescued after 69 days underground. Do you think Prince William and Kate Middleton were any happier than the miners even though it was royalty getting engaged, compared to poor miners in Chile getting out of a hole? Or do you think these guys were any happier than Debbie and me camping at Oconee National Forest after we just spotted two birds we've never seen before...and now, it's late afternoon, and we're eating crackers with homemade paté for snack and sipping on our favorite Merlot? It's hard to say who was happier. All I know is, I was happy! again and again...with the kids, working, birding, camping, relaxing, writing, learning.

It's strange how the year went. A real good thing happens, followed by a not-so-good event. Or vice versa. Sarah Shourd, one of the three US hikers, got released last year. Good. But what about her two friends still in an Iranian jail? No one is even talking about them anymore.

Chile gets hits by a horrible earthquake and shows great logistic prowess and rebuilds quickly. And then they got hit again (with Argentina) just a couple of days ago by another big earthquake. Well, they'll recover. Brazil elects their first female president with a peaceful and democratic transfer of power. Good progress, and yet still today, other leaders refuse to yield power after loosing elections (Ivory Coast for instance).

Remember the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with the "Deepwater Horizon" offshore oil rig? Well, we all thought how horrendous that was going to be on the wildlife in the area. And it turned out not to be as bad as feared. Sometimes we do worry about things that never happens (the oil spill was still bad, and irresponsible). I was thinking about other near misses we had last year i.e. North Korea and the South almost going to war, the near collapse of our financial system...

Talking about near collapse of financial system, I'd said this is the worse recession I've ever witnessed. I know I haven't been around that long, but still. Sure, I saw the impact on people who use to work for me that I had to let go, and they still calling me for work...but then the brokers (mortgage and real estate) going out of business, and then banks going out of business, large corporations going out of business, then cities and counties going bankrupt, and countries going out of business, bankrupt (what do you think happened in Iceland?), even European countries , members of the European Community, having to be bailed out (yes, because they were bankrupt! can't pay their bills). I'm referring to Greece and Ireland this time, and more to follow. Things are also getting better. 2011 will be better for lots of reasons. Keep reading.

The Euro survived, we're experiencing a modest growth that will continue, we responded quickly and saved our core financial system, and overall we remained the only Superpower in the world with the largest economy. Our 15 Trillion Dollar economy is three times as large as China's, just to give you an idea. And we've started leading again with the Dollar remaining the World Exchange Currency. Other countries keep doing good and South Africa just got added to the BRIC group of emerging economies (BRIC: Brazil, Russia, Indian, China), now BRICS.

Some quick personal notes in this year review. My daughter Leah started college and just got her first car! Kelly went to France and visited my brother Eli and his family all by herself. Debbie and I went to Arkansas with Connie and Duane, and we had a lot of fun.

It's rewarding when you put efforts into something you want to do, and then you make it happen. That's how I felt when Debbie and I renovated our sun room ourselves and decorated it nicely. Just paint, caulking, time and elbow grease. Now, we're spending time there watching birds in the backyard. Cozy and warm. Same thing when I got a trophy at the last Taekwondo tournament and later my 3rd Dan for black belt. Yeah!

There is so much more I want to write about but I'm concerned people will be in a hurry to go back to their computer games and Facebook and not read the whole thing. Tell the truth. Ok, I'll skip the World Cup, the blizzards that shut down European airports and stranded travelers just before the holidays, I'll even skip our road trips down to Florida for camping because it was too cold here in Georgia. I skipped even that! with all the interesting things that happened because I just want you to read this.

Now, I need you to do me a big favor. If you read this post all the way to the end, make a comment just to say "I read the whole darn thing". I just need to know if I need to make next year's review shorter or not.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!