What's "Up Chuck"?

It’s the last day of 2005 or, depending on when you’re reading this, it’s the first day or so of 2006. A fresh new year. A new beginning...a time to start over, in a way. All the ups and downs of the past twelve months are in the books and now it’s time to strike out and make new things happen. As I look back over the past year I can’t help but think of all the events that have occurred in my life. It’s late on Saturday morning and, as usual, I’m sitting here alone and bored, so I thought I’d take advantage of the time and write about some of my own personal “ups and downs” as well as some that may have effected all of you. Blogging On the ups side, I returned to Blogger from a few months with my own domain. I’ve found it’s much easier for someone of my limited computer knowledge to use. I have also influenced at least one person I know to start up his own blog. In the almost a year he’s been blogging he’s gathered a nice following and turned out some good stuff. I’ve had the opportunity to personally meet with four bloggers, and have gotten to know many others via the phone, chat or e-mail. Another up would have to be Half-Nekkid Thursday (HNT) which I’ve become a big part of over the past six months. Osbasso created a real gem, and it’s created it’s own community of folks linked in yet a different way. There is only one real down I can think of, besides the fact I spend way too much time writing or reading blogs, and that would be the whole “comment word verification” thing. What a pain in the ass! If you can’t deal with an occasional spam comment that can easily be deleted, why not just get Haloscan? It’s free and oh so easy to use. At first I balked at leaving comments where I would have to type in a series of letters in order to post, but eventually I gave in. Still I will really consider whether it’s worth it, especially when it’s HNT. Friends The up side to this area is that this has been a year of great friendships for me. I’ve made friends with many people around the world thanks to this medium we know as the Blogosphere. A nice hand full of these people have become more than friends (and less than lovers...sorry I couldn’t resist), they’ve really become folks I can’t see doing without. Best friends I could say. Who would have thought I’d find my BFF via words on a 17" monitor? Wait a second...I almost forgot, I did find my wife via the Internet.......oh, my bad. The down side here would have to be not getting to hang with and get to know these people in person. I do hope to remedy that soon though. Look forward to an upcoming announcement in the weeks to come... National and World news Obviously this has been a bad year when it comes to disaster. Whether it be man made or acts of nature, it’s been a rough one. Although I could fill several pages on this subject I’ll just stick with one...Hurricanes. This past hurricane season was a bitch, and nothing was worse when it came to damage and loss of life than Katrina. As do many of you, I live within a short driving radius of the effected areas and it effected me (lost business), but no where near as bad as those who were actually along the coast at ground zero. The lives lost and the property damage was unthinkable in itself, but then there was the finger pointing, blame game and playing the racial card. Many folks were blamed, and some even accepted the blame (even though it wasn’t their fought). When in reality those who should have been most ashamed got away with hardly a slap on the wrist. There was a lot of ugliness during this time, the destruction aside, and a lot of stupid things were said (uh, hello...Kanye). I guess the only up side to all of this that I can see would have to be the giving spirit of the American people and our friends around the world. We pitched in, dug into our wallets, and gave more than we though we could. It truly was an amazing thing to see. Hopefully we won’t have to experience anything like it again. My Personal Life A lot of good happened to me this year. It was a good year for me, my wife and my kids. The previous year was one of stress and accusation for my wife and I. In ‘05 we settled into a calmness, although it was cool and lacking passion. After going through one divorce I can never imagine experiencing another. So I am content and happy to go through life in a perpetual state of living like room mates. Yes folks, that is an up as I see it. My daughter has flourished in school during the first half of her seventh grade year making A’s and a few B’s only, on her report cards. Doing tons better than the year before. My son has grown into a sweet and caring young five year old. They teach me daily that being a Dad is the best thing in the world. Even conditions with my exwife were better in 2005. For this I am especially thankful. The first two years of divorcehood were hell. Over all the biggest down I can think of would have to be my personal health and fitness. 2005 was the first year, in five, where I totally blew any ideas of consistent diet and exercise out the window. This is one area I’m very glad to be able to wipe the slate clean and start over. I’m not getting any younger, right? Not only have I lived the year hardly moving off my ass, but my personal bad habits had a chance to really flourish as well. Yes, there will be a lot of slate cleaning indeed! I could go on and on, but I reckon I’ll end here. I’ve never looked forward to the coming of a new year more than I have with this one. I have a feeling that ‘06 is going to be a good one for me and those I care most about. I hope each of you can say the same. There are always ups and downs in everything. Hopefully we can continue to celebrate the ups and learn from the downs. Y’all have a safe and wonderful New Year’s Eve and party it up. Try to have as much fun as these two ladies seem to be having! P.S. I'm not condoning the activity in that first pic...been there, done that...I just thought it was an interesting picture when I found it.