One more year down...

Even though it's been said on every other blog in the world by now, I'll say Happy New Year to anyone reading. I myself was in bed by 10:30 last night so I didn't actually see the new year arrive. That doesn't bother me at all since I don't feel the need to be awake to see the new year start. To be honest, I'm very glad to see 2008 fade into history. It will not go down in the history book as the best year for me. Jayson's depression continued during the year, some times worse than others. Due to the depression, financial issues were difficult at times and that put stress on everything. Unfortunately both of those things had an impact on our relationship.

There were definitely some good things throughout the year. We met Anthony early in the year. He's become not only a good friend but also an important part of the family. My job has continued to go well and I actually enjoy going to work. I'm also thankful to have such a good and steady job when the economy is causing several people I know to still be unemployed. Life at home is getting better compared to this time last year, so that's a positive thing. Thanks to Anthony, I started going to the gym regularly to start improving my body, and I can definitely see some changes there.

So what's in store for 2009? Obviously no one knows, but I'm hopeful that the good things will continue. I'm looking forward to some travel this year, first to visit my father and step-mother in Texas. I intend to continue going to the gym since it's something I very much enjoy. And I'm looking forward to some interesting, positive changes at work. I've also got a few projects at home and on the boat, but if this year goes as quickly as the last one I'm guessing I won't get half of them done. So, it should be an interesting year.

Hope everyone had a good new years and has a great 2009!

Christmas and a movie review

As usual, I'm not very timely with this, but I figured I'd put together a quick update of my christmas weekend. I was lucky enough to have Wednesday through Sunday off, so it made for a nice break from work. The holiday itself was low-key, and that was fine. Anthony, Jayson, and I opened our gifts to each other that morning, then fixed a nice dinner. We had set spending limits this year for gift buying, and it didn't seem to diminish the gifting experience (at least from my perspective). I don't need or want that much stuff so whatever I get is usually a nice thing to me, and I don't see the holiday as an excuse to get free stuff. Jayson's friend Madhu(sp), whom I call Mondo, came over for dinner and they went to the cafe that Jayson volunteers for to serve food for the evening. Like I said, a very low-key day, but nice.

Before they left for the cafe we all watched Mama Mia! on DVD. I actually enjoy a lot of ABBA's music; it's a requirement in the contract I signed when I chose the gay lifestyle after I was converted. But, I'm going to say something that will threaten my standing in the gay community: I didn't like the movie. I know, part of being gay is liking Barbra Streisand, Cher, Project Runway, and this movie. But, I thought it was just not very good. It wasn't that half the cast couldn't sing any better than I can yet were still cast in a musical. It wasn't that I have a problem with the format of a musical where the cast breaks into spontaneous song and highly choreographed dance with an unseen band/orchestra hidden somewhere on the beach (I'm used to that from the classic, good, musicals like My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music). And it's not that I can't enjoy a lighthearted movie that is merely meant to be fun for a couple of hours. Meryl Streep did her usual excellent job - I would be hard pressed to find a role I didn't like her in - and the rest of the cast was quite likable as well as long as they weren't singing. In the end, I just didn't think it was a very good movie. It was nothing more than a vehicle with which to get ABBA songs out to a new generation of listeners. When there's one hour and 40 minutes of movie, I expect more than 12 minutes of story. The songs seemed gratuitously placed into the script, chosen not because they fit well but because it was a song that was popular and it needed to be in the movie. I found myself annoyed through much of the movie because the songs just seemed to be dropped into the film. The story actually seemed to get in the way of the songs at times. As for it being a happy movie, it was almost sickeningly deliriously upbeat. I half expected Hannah Montana to make a cameo and start bouncing around the scenes. I would have been happier putting on ABBA's Greatest Hits, which I do have on CD, and looking at some still pictures I took of Greece when I was there. I guess I'll just turn in my gay card now before the gay mafia knocks on my door and demands it back.

I hope everyone had a good holiday and enjoyed whatever they did!