2008 in Review

Well, it's definitely been an interesting year. A lot has happened. I ended a relationship with the best girlfriend I've ever had (though she still wasn't right), I've watched my prosperity complete dry up, I've almost completely stopped smoking and my drinking is almost not even noticeable at this point. I've fallen in love with the most incredible woman and I'm slowly figuring things out.

When the year began, I was worried about money. My company stopped producing and selling adult content which resulted in a massive drop of revenue. Around the same time, I broke my primary revenue producing website preventing people with IE 6 from accessing it, so I spent most of the year working on a new design which finally went online in August.

I really thought most of my financial problems were my fault. The result of changes in my companies business model and my own failing's running the web sites. In fact, I was so busy trying to figure out what I was doing wrong that I didn't notice the world collapsing slowly outside my window.

I had to cash in my kids college funds to pay bills. I had to cancel my life insurance to pay bills. When my car died, I decided to sell it for scrap rather than repair it. Fewer bills again. My house is usually a bit chilly and dark to save on utilities. I've reduced my monthly budget by around 2,000. I've been selling furniture to buy groceries.

For everything that had gone wrong, I'm optimistic. Not because I see an end in sight, but because I feel like I'm getting a handle on things. I have the best friends of my life. I'm in love for the first time in my life. I'm relatively healthy and my kids are healthy and seem well adjusted.

I think things are going to get worse. A lot worse, but I'm confident that we'll all get through this. As a planet, we need to step back and assess what's important. We need to focus on the things that need to be done, and we need to start working towards a better future.

I think we'll do it.

I hope.