Dear 2014
[LOBO]
2013 wasn't all that bad. In fact the things that fell apart in 2013 would have been utter fiascoes if allowed to continue on into 2014. But the climb out of utter ruin has been slow and tedious, and I'm dissatisfied with the progress so far. So I decided to organize and write out some goals for 2014:
1) Move Closer to Family. I moved back to Chicagoland at the height of the recession out of desperation, relying on professional contacts and personal reputation to claw my way into the rather meager situation I'm in now. But as the recession slowly abates, it's clear Illinois is not the same industrious animal it once was: the taxes and weather are horrendous, good opportunities are scarce, the meter maids with guns (aka cops) are leaching whatever is left … and I'm just not “feeling” it anymore. Meanwhile my aging parents have happily semiretired. I need role models like that. This is crap. I'm better than this.
2) Network to a Better Job. My income needs to double. Sure this job saved me from homelessness and soup lines, but in the digitized age of Kindle and iPads, book distributor opportunities aren't likely to improve. I enjoy the work, so I need to be careful of getting complacent; actual “physical” books are increasingly exotic, and I suspect this industry will vanish altogether within the next decade.
3) Be More Careful about My Associations. I must accept that I can't fix people, and some only arise to their potential of being devastating setbacks. Reaching into my past, I want to try and recapture some carefully-selected old friendships that fate and misadventure drove away. And building from these lessons, I want to improve future relationships.
4) Quit Smoking. This battle is currently underway, as I'm about 70% on e-cigarettes. At this rate I should be done with both by the end of the year.5) Less Internet, More Life. Fantasy baseball, social media (excluding ones relevant to goals 2 and 3), and news, news, news, have rendered me an anxiety-addled basket case. All are on the chopping block. I want to streamline use to fantasy football, blogging, podcasts and pornography, just like Al Gore intended.
And maybe get some sun.
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