So this year was like Mr Toad’s wild ride.  Not just me personally but the country and world.

Enough sites will post huge summaries of the major pivotal events, but a few stick in my mind.

Obama won.  I expected it.  Hell, I predicted this in 2004.  McCain tried to energize the conservatives despite not really being conservative.  He got smart and found a real conservative to help him, and he came this close to making his inevitable loss almost close.  Now we can see if conservatives can recapture their voice or not.  It may be all the harder with the losses of William F. Buckley Jr, Tony Snow and Tim Russert.

Other notable voices lost were Paul Newman, Charlton Heston and George Carlin.  I actually mourn more for the loss of a favorite author, Robert Asprin.

Global warming had a slight death too.  It brought us the worst winter on record, has been proven to not exist as stated by the UN report which is being challenged by the UN scientists, but thankfully continues to make Al Gore wealthy beyond all measure.   Well at least Al is happy.

Eco nannyism is at an all time high, with light bulbs, plastic bags and many more common elements to our lives under attack.  And the nanny state has come into its maturity all over America.

Forgetting the world outside for a moment though, I am frankly more concerned with the world inside here.

I have had what is for me a tough year, and next year is shaping to be even tougher.

My blogging has been much less than I wish, both in terms of volume and quality.  The distractions (which I won’t detail) that have caused this have not vanished, but my ability to adapt to them is improving.  In the last few months I have started to feel more energized about this, my chosen night job.

One big issue was my health, which has had some challenges.  Notably, my struggle with sleep disorders which has contributed to my stress, anxiety and other health issues.  While not fixed, it is improving, but there remains much to do.

I face the need to restructure my schedule to provide consistency.  An astute observer will have noted that most of my posts are in the late evening or early morning.  This is necessary to allow me to focus on my day job, which, you know, pays my rent, and allows me a cozy warm apartment in which to write at night.  But even considering the balance of working around the 9-5, I find my ability to focus best when the household has settled for the evening.

This wrecks my sleep pattern of course, so a compromise will have to happen, as the sleep issues make a huge impact in too many other places.

This combined with some severe diet changes, notably a reduction in caffeine, sodium and alcohol, along with a more balanced and conservative diet will help.  I won’t go massively Seattle-istic and become the organic chef, but I see nothing wrong with eliminating fast food and the grossly unhealthy things I tend to love to eat so very very much. (sob)

Looking at the calorie chart on the menu at Jack in the Box has really opened my eyes.

While I abhor nanny state rules, I have to admit that seeing the calories on the menu do actually force you to consider what you are shoving into your gaping maw.

Writing…sigh, this is difficult.  I actually gave some thought to closing the blog down for a while.  I have three books in my mind to write, one of which I started several years ago, but is in limbo.  Can I balance that writing with my blogging?

Blogging takes work.  Unless you want to be a mirror site that just parrots headlines and reposts other people’s stories (which is still work), it takes time and effort to formulate ideas and opinions.  At least for me it does. 

My rankings are hardly impressive, but then again, I have gotten some good critical praise from serious bloggers and some media professionals, as well as some loyal readers who consistently read and comment (thank you!), so the fact that the site meter is not higher is not really a problem for me.

I do however, plan to expand my horizons this year and work to find a wider audience.  I may do another site redesign, my third.  I am pretty happy with the general design, but the graphics need to be updated.  The recent software upgrades were a night and day change and have made everything much easier to deal with.

My site name…I also gave consideration to rebranding it, as the name (or the concept) sometimes confuses people.

But I think I will stick with it for now, as it still represents my dislike of being forced into a partisan label.  Despite my (admitted) conservative bent, I am not, nor will I ever be a boiler plate republican.  I have actually gotten flack from other republicans for some of my non lockstep stances, which is good.  It shows me my ideas are my own, for good or bad.  When bother liberals and conservatives occasionally take issue with you, I take that as affirmation of my independence.

The new year promises to be one of huge change and turmoil, what with Obama-socialism on the upswing, the federal government bailing out everyone in site (except bloggers apparently) and more.  There promises to be a killing ground of blogging fodder.

So rather than quit, I feel energized again.  Obama will find he faces a serious challenge in the blogosphere.

So I am here to stay.

To my regular readers, I sincerely thank you for the privilege of your loyalty and trust.  You honor me with your readership and I will do all I can to continue to make the site worthy of your attention.

To my friends in the discussion groups I participate in, where I sharpen my ideas and ideals against some of the most astute, intelligent and challenging minds on the planet, I thank you for keeping me honest and helping me to continue eliminating knee jerk responses.  My evolution of beliefs I owe in part to your arguments debates.

To my family, the greatest family any man could ask for, I thank you for the love and acceptance.  It’s hard being the only long haired hippy at reunions, I admit, but I guess that is a cross I will continue to bear.  We sharted some hard losses, but the aftermath has been a renewed reconnection to many relatives, proving that joy can be born of tragedy.  Grandma would be proud.

To my coworkers, you make my dreary 9-5 life not just bearable but actually enjoyable.  I have never worked with a team of this caliber, and you all make me feel inadequate and honored with your abilities, spirit and attitudes.  We are the best in our business on the planet, no doubt about it.

To my guardian angel, thank you for keeping me sane in times of abject insanity.  I can say that this last year, without your hugs, your jokes and your belief, I shudder to imagine where I would be.

And finally, to my friends, truly I am blessed to have you in my life.  I hope in this coming year we continue slashing the distances between us.   True friends are never that far apart, especially with cell pones and computers, but even so, I will spare no opportunity to see you when I can.

Thanks you for being a part of my journey, and for making me a part of yours. 

See you next year.

PS:  Maybe 2009 will be my year to finally win a Schrammie