Don't let the door hit you in the ass

Well, here it is.  Finally, it's December 31 and this year is almost over.  I for one am ready for it to be history.  It's not so much that it was personally a bad year for me just that I'm really hoping 2009 will be better all around.  So, for a recap, a la me.

The Bad:

1) We lost some fairly incredible people this year. Some were writers, some were scientists.  Some old, some young.  Here's the list of who I think will be missed:

• Heath Ledger
• Charlton Heston
• Arthur C Clarke
• George Carlin
• Michael DeBakey
• Issac Hayes
• Sir Edmund Hilary
• Paul Newman
• Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn
• Roy Scheider
• Dith Pran
• Michael Crichton
• Eartha Kitt

There are others, of course.  But these folks contributed something unique to the world and their spark is now gone.  Hopefully, you know who they all are.  If not, may I suggest a little research.

2) Disasters:

• Sichuan earthquake
• Myanmar cyclone
• Hurricane Ike

These were the big three. 70,000 dead in China.  130,000 dead in Myanmar.  Only 12 dead for Ike but the storm damage nearly destroyed Galveston and left millions without power in Houston for over a week.  Thousands are still displaced from Ike and one of the largest employers in Galveston, the University of Texas Medical Branch has laid off 3,000 and left the city.

3) The Economy
Can I really add anything else?  It sucks.  It's gonna hurt for a long, long while.

4) The Campaign.
  Sarah Palin.  John McCain . Wingnuts galore.

The Good:

1) The Olympics.
  I'm not a big sports fan but I always watch the Olympics.  I got to watch Michael Phelps out touch Cavic.  I have it on my DVR.  It was amazing.  May-Treanor and Walsh kicking butt and taking names.  Jamaican Usain Bolt.  Some called him arrogant.  I called him fast.

2) NASA-
  They had a good year.  Which in my opinion is always a good thing.  They successfully landed on Mars, orbited Mercury and a moon of Saturn.

3) The Election .
  The fact that Obama won on November 4 gives me hope in America.  Despite the many whack jobs who called him a Muslim, said he wasn't a natural born citizen or prepared for the job, we still chose him.  We have an intelligent, thoughtful and inspiring man as our next President.  There could not be a greater contrast between Bush and Obama.  His election is the first step in repairing the damage done over the last 8 years.

Personally, I saw my youngest graduate high school and get accepted into my alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin.  My eldest has finally found what it is that she wants to do with her life.  She's majoring in Emergency Administration at the University of North Texas and expects to graduate in 2010. She's energized and amazing things are falling into place around her.  This is what she was meant to do.  My temporary job became full-time and our company is doing well and looks well situated to survive the current economic nightmare.  After five years of hubby in college and struggling to pay our bills, we're finally beginning to see the light at the end of tunnel.  It may still turn out to be the headlamp of an oncoming train but for now it looks like daylight.

After 8 years of Bush and Cheney, I feel like there is a new energy in our nation.  Despite the economy, despite the tensions in the Middle East, despite Russia's growing return to yesteryear, I believe that we are headed in the right direction.

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve and many happy returns for 2009.