Should auld acquaintance be forgot....

So welcome to 2015!  I hope everyone made it here safely and no one is too hung over to be enjoying themselves.

With it being the first day of the new year, that makes it time for me to review Polt's Top Ten Events Of 2014!

There were several things I had to scratch off the list, things like the birth of my lil cousin Morgan; Hanging out with Derick (and not just for bedtimesexxyfun, although there IS plenty of that too); The Dallas Cowboys finally making the playoffs again; Visit of my cute Asian buddy Louis; The Guardians of the Galaxy actually being a good, fun time; DC Pride; Getting a new bigger TV and a Blu-Ray (thanks ALCMDPP!); X-Men: Days Of Future Past was great too, and totally wiped out of existence that piece of excrement that was the third X-movie!; Moving grandma into a home; I discovered the awesomeness of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, and how it continued to BE awesome; The number of new fuckbuddies this year (6), the getting together again with not-seen-in-a-while fuckbuddies (5), and all the fun I had with continuing and current fuckbuddies.  And while all these were great things in the past year, the list I did make consists of the biggest events of the year, but also factoring in the impact some of these will have on the rest of my life as well.  And without further ado....The List!

10. Spinach

I have discovered, quite by accident, that I actually LIKE spinach.  I always thought spinach had a bitter, strong flavor.  It does not.  I discovered this quite by accident at work, of all places, by the stuff they had on the salad bar.   I do NOT like it cooked or mushy or anything like that.  I only like it, so far, in salads.  But as I need to eat better anyway, which includes more salads, this is something I can add to the salads for variety.  So, yeah....yay me.

9. New Dishwasher

I could not live without a dishwasher, I absolutely abhor washing dishes.  I would do without a washer and dryer here at my house before I'd do without a dishwasher.  The old one I had was, well, old.  It was loud, noisy, and frankly didn't do a very good job.  So in August, I got a brand new one.  It's quieter, more energy efficient (yay for also getting a tax deduction!), despite the fact a regular cycle takes longer.  But it also does a much better job and doesn't seem to leave spots or anything like the old one!

8. A VERY mild summer

I detest summer heat almost as much as I detest washing dishes (no, I actually hate summer heat more, I think).  It was warm here this summer, but never breached 100 degrees.  And I don't think there were very many over 90 degree days either.  There was some humidity, but nothing for weeks on end and nothing with extremely high temps.  All in all, a relatively mild and beautiful summer!

7. Jury Duty

Back in the very early 90's, while in college, I served on two juries.  And I loved the experience.  I was always looking forward to doing so again.  I got called for jury selection several years ago, but wasn't chosen for any juries.  This year, I went to jury selection again.  I figured due to my profession, I'd never make a jury.  But I did, back in March.  After hearing was the case was (alleged child sexual assault), I didn't WANT to be on that jury.   But what could I do by then.  It was a two day trial.  I volunteered to be the foreman, and everyone else readily gave me to job.  So I got to stand up in court and announce our verdicts.  There were three charges.  We found him not guilty on two right away, and then spend about an hour and a half deliberating over the final one, eventually finding guilty of one part of it.  The Commonwealth didn't have a great case.  Still, it was interesting and dare I say, exciting.  Since I served, I'm off the selection lists for two years, but after that I go back on.  And I hope I get chosen again sometime!

6. Work

There wasn't a whole lot of stress this year at work, everything's working great in my department, since Bossy Know It All Coworker isn't there anymore and the three of us work together well.  And the bosses are all good managers and supervisors.  There was a period in October when there was a project I had to work on for the big boss, and it took a lot of extra time.  And at the same time, one co-worker had to be off because his wife was ill and he had to take care of her.  So there were just two of us doing the work of three and I had to do that project as well.  Yeah, THAT two week period was EXTREMELY stressful and hectic.  But we made it thought.  And other than that, the year went well work wise.

5. Mom's moving

Mom decided, since she's almost 72 years old, that the house she currently lives in (and has since the mid-60's) is too much for her to take care of.  So she got on a list to move to cottage in a nearby retirement community.  It's only like ten or 15 minutes drive from her current home, so no biggie there.  And really, the current house IS too much for her.  The cottage will be great for her.  So she's packing things up and giving things away and getting ready to move.  She doesn't know WHEN she may move, it depends on when what she wants comes open and if she's ready, but it'll probably be sometime in 2015.  And while this didn't have a HUGE impact on my life this year, it certainly will next year (or whenever she moves).

4. Anxiety

In 2013, from the middle of August until December I had such terrible, paralyzing anxiety, I didn't know what to do.  Finally, in December I asked the doctor for something for it.  She put me on a pill, which helped with the anxiety, but made me sleep ALL the time.  Still, it was better than suffering with the anxiety.  Thankfully though, by March of this year, I convinced her to let me stop taking the pill, and it's all been good.  There was a time, for about the first ten days of December, when the anxiety returned, and I again was nearly paralyzed by it.  But after only about ten days, and without the pills, it went away.  I've had glimpses of it since then throughout December, but I mostly am able to just put it aside and move on and everything fine.  So while I'm still suffering from minor anxiety, it's miles above how bad it was last year!  And that's a GREAT thing!

3.  Comic Book disappointment

See those shelves?  That's my comic book shelves.  See how empty they are?  In the past they have been filled with series I get each month.  I used to get nearly 30 titles a month.  Now, I'm getting maybe 5 a month (some of those stacks of comic books are ones I've stopped collecting and just haven't boxed up and moved to the attic yet).  I've been collecting mainly DC only since the mid-90s when Marvel turned me off entirely.  And now, in the last couple years, with their New52 crap, DC is emulating the 90's Marvel stuff in tone and subject matter, and I hate it.  The 'heroes' are whiney, dark, violent, bloodthirsty, gritty, angst-ridden, and frankly, not fun to read about.  I hung on for a couple years with some titles, hoping things would get better.  They did not.  And so I finally gave up on DC as well.  I started collecting comic books in 1978 (and bought then several years before that as well), and up until 2014 I collected lots of them.  But I just can't do it anymore.  I can't spend my money on something that's depressing and that I don't enjoy.  So, unless DC changes things, and soon (even though there's zero evidence they'll do that), I'm done with comics in general.  And that is something I NEVER, prior to this year, could envision myself saying.  I'm not at ALL happy about it, but that's the way it is.

2. The NYC Trip

The end of June I spent a weekend in New York City!  It was on Tam's GoodBye To North America Tour, but it also coincided with NYC Gay Pride, something I NEVER thought I'd get to.  I spent the weekend with john eliot, Tam and the Kidlette; visited Staten Island for the first, and possibly, last time; rode in a NYC cab, hopefully for the last time; walked through NYC by myself a bit...at night; watched the ENTIRE 5 (or was it 6) hour long Gay Pride Parade; saw more hot guys in one place then I ever imagined possible (and my head didn't explode); hung out with Paul, and FDot, and partied with all the Puntabugang; saw "Avenue Q"; rode Amatrak again all by myself (and didnt' fuck up the tickets and have to buy a new one); got to stay in an AMAZING apartment Tam rented (which a shower to DIE for); got to FINALLY meet john eliot in person (and he's even cooler than you'd think!); and walked all over, and rode all under, the most amazing city in the world (next to Toronto, of course)!  This would TOTALLY have been THE number one item on this list....except later in the year came....

1. Insulin

Yep, I've done such a shitty job of controlling my diabetes with pills, diet and exercise over the last 14 years that finally, I had to go on the insulin pen.  It sucks, but it's nowhere NEAR as bad as I thought it was going to be.  It's a once a day shot, and the needles are 'ultra fine', which means I can barely feel them going in.  I watch myself push the needle through my skin and sometimes, I don't even feel it.  It's crazy, but I'm glad it's like that.  Now, hopefully this will help me get my diabetes under control, or....well I dont want to think of the 'or'.  It could include going blind, losing my toes or feet, going on dialysis, or having to do the other insulin shots where I have to inject myself every time I eat.  Bummer.  But this is definitely has had THE biggest impact on my life this year.  And into the future as well.

So that's been my 2014.  How was yours?

POLT