Entry Forty.
Monday 2007.01.01, 3:33 PM CST.
Happy New Year, I Suppose.

Well, we finally made it to 2007, and I'm glad.  Frankly, 2006 was not a great year for me for many reasons.

I have been through a lot last year; in fact, I guess I should be thankful that I lived through it all.  Here were the high and low points (some of which were addressed in Journal Entry 39 and other entries earlier in the year):

JANUARY
I started off the year, only hours after a festive New Year's celebration and WAY too many Jolt beverages, with about a two-day illness (virus, I'm quite sure) that had me in agonizing pain, chilling, vomiting, and practically immobile at times while I underwent hallucinations.  It was the sickest that I can remember feeling since my bout with appendicitis over six years earlier.  What a great way to kick off 2006!

MARCH
I continued to feel more and more worthless at my "day job," I had the opportunity for a major promotion ripped out from under me, and then I was told that my department was probably going to be outsourced to another company.

APRIL
I DJed the "Bikini Pop Fiasco" event at the Gypsy Coffee House.  Except for the facts that there was hardly any dancing and at least two people (including myself) were assaulted at the event, it went great.  (The issues were addressed later, I got a written apology from one of the main individuals responsible for the problems, and I still love the Gypsy.)

MAY
I saw one really good concert this year:  Imogen Heap, formerly of Frou Frou, live in Dallas.  Lanna and I got to meet her after the show, and she was really cool.

JULY
Since my work days were making me more and more physically and mentally ill (my stomach cramps were working their way into chest pains and I was getting closer and closer to "suicidal"), I eventually quit my job.

(On a related note, please DO NOT EVER RENT CARS FROM DOLLAR OR THRIFTY RENT-A-CAR, if you value good American workers.  Gary Paxton, the head honcho of DTAG, can kiss my ass.)

AUGUST
A week and a half after quitting my job, I learned that my fianceé, Lanna, was pregnant, even though she had promised that we should be safe thanks to her trusty birth control, Ovcon-35.

(If you're taking Ovcon-35, STOP TAKING OVCON-35 and find some other pill or more trustworthy method that might actually WORK.)

SEPTEMBER
I finally got another job, a temp position at a very decent safety products company.

OCTOBER
Another special DJ event, "Saffron Retro Night," was cancelled when the owner of Saffron Coffee didn't stay open (as agreed in advance) the evening beforehand in order for me to come in and unload some of my equipment, nor did she have the courtesy to call me and tell me anything was wrong.  Flake.

A week later, Saffron Coffee shut down for good.  Oh, shucky darn.

NOVEMBER
I started collaborating with a talented local vocalist, Tiph Hohmann.

DECEMBER
On December 15th, I assisted with six tracks during Tiph Hohmann's big performance at the Gypsy Coffee House.  It was a highly successful event which earned accolades from numerous people, including the Gypsy's owner.

Lanna and I shared our third Christmas together, geared up for our forthcoming wedding, and ended the year on a decent note.

Oh, and Saddam Hussein was executed, and that was a good thing too.  I'd been waiting for him to die for over 15 years.  Hurrah!

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So, where does that leave us in regard to the coming year?  Well...

I'm not sure what's going to happen on the "day job" front.  I am still working on learning higher Web technologies, so that I can hopefully get a better job, but I am fairly comfortable where I am now.

Lanna and I are getting married very soon.  I won't say exactly when, for a number of reasons, but it'll be very soon.

Our son, X, is scheduled to be born in the spring.  (Yeah, I wish we would have gotten married before he was conceived, but Lanna trusted Ovcon-35, and I trusted Lanna.  Oops.)

I am planning on doing more music production, both with Tiph Hohmann and on my own.  I am hoping to finally complete my debut electronica album, The Relative and the Absolute, but I say that every year, so I'm not holding my breath and neither should you.  :)  I might also get around to releasing more remixes of the "Gypsy Drama" single in early 2007.  We'll see.

I will continue to battle my clinical depression, which has been a lot easier to control since I left Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group - imagine that!

Finally, I'm planning on making a lot more life changes this year.  I hit a "milestone age" of sorts in December (those of you with basic math and research skills can figure it out), and I think it's time that I started living a bit healthier - cutting back on the snacky foods, eating more fruit, drinking more juice instead of soda, and doing a crapload more exercise.  Wish me luck!

To those friends and fans who have given me so much support and love over the past several years, thank you so much... and may God bless you and your loved ones for the entirety of the new year.

More later,

Badger