Strange But True

Things that have made me happy this year:

Always and forever, my family and friends come first.  You've pulled me through, you've held me up, you've waited it out, you're still my support and my rock.  The family I'm related to and the family I'm not, the friends I've known since forever or last year and the friends I've never met.  Those of you whose views I share on everything, those of you whose views I share on nothing, those of you in between.  Those of you who knew Jerry and those of you who never had that immense good fortune.  I love you all, I'm grateful to you all, I thank you.

Sugarland.  I am listening to The Incredible Machine every single day to and sometimes from work, that is, when I don't have the 1976 St. Martin-in-the-Fields recording of Messiah going instead.  If you've never heard the voice of Elly Ameling singing "Rejoice Greatly," I suggest you go remedy that - you'll be glad you did.  If you don't have "Stuck Like Glue" stuck in your head, I don't know whether to feel sorry or really really happy for you.  Just went and ordered all the rest of Sugarland's CDs from secondspin.com (great used CD site) the other day and am anxiously awaiting their arrival.  (I know.  CDs.  Not downloads.  Luddite tendencies.)

Shoes.  Yeah, I know, it's my new addiction.  Shoes and Auburn University football.  No surprises there for anyone who's been reading this blog lately.  Cam Newton and his smile have made me very happy this year.  The luck of having been sucked into Auburn football this year, of all years, is pretty cool.

Banana-mayonnaise sandwiches.  That motorcycle ride in Auburn. The entire visit to Auburn, and the trip to Huntsville, and the conviction now that I'm going to move to Alabama someday.  The joy of having a destination, a goal, something to aim for.  Sacred Harp singing, oh, forever Sacred Harp singing, voice or no voice, laryngitis or no laryngitis.

Archie Panjabi.  The accent is a bit wobbly, but every time I see Kalinda I want immediately to put on tall boots and a short skirt and wear lots and lots of makeup.  Probably had a lot to do with my becoming girlified and buying way too many shoes this fall.  And for all I know I'm way into mutton-dressed-as-lamb territory by now, but by God I showed up at work last week in a short black skirt, black tights and black knee-length boots.

Getting a job.  Getting a job in which I get to edit material for a newsletter, work on assembling the newsletter, and still have the journal to learn about, too.  Yeah, the commute is horrid, but otherwise it's working out so far.  The editing, the being involved in publishing something, is exactly what I would have chosen to do if I could have chosen anything.  And it fell into my lap in the 2010 economy.   Amazing. All I need to do is convince the recently relocated organization to up and move to Alabama and I'm all set.

Pedicures.  Google chat.  Did I mention Auburn football?  The Toomer's Corner cam on the auburnalabama.org website that shows me it's light mornings in Auburn when it's still dark here.  The fact that in a couple of days the days will start getting longer.

"Single Ladies."  "I Gotta Feeling." And Lady Gaga.  Swear to God.

Anyway.  Another week gotten through, and I'm more comfortable at the new job, learning more and more, becoming more familiar with everything there (not the acronyms, though.  There are so many acronyms, most of the time I have no idea what any of them mean).  I'm working on my nefarious plan to be efficient and quick and pleasant and to become indispensable as an editor/proofreader.  Had a bad moment one day this week while researching medical device providers as potential exhibitors for the annual meeting and came across a familiar name, the manufacturer of Jerry's mediport, which took my mind spinning straight back to that hellish hospital room and left it there a while.  But I'm doing okay.  So far, recently, when the dark moments come, they aren't as dark, and they leave me with the awareness that they'll pass, and that better times are possible.

The next three work weeks will be shorter ones - four days of work next week, three the week after that, and four the week after that.  Then comes 2011.  Which, based on the unexpected improvements the end of the Year of Suck, 2010, has brought, I can only hope will be better and better... for all of us.