At the Close of Another Year

As the year 2007 comes to a close, I sit and reflect on my goals and setbacks and achievements and failures over the past 12 months. Of course, some things I am more proud of than others. But as the Bible says (somewhere lol), all things work together for the good. Therefore, I embrace them all and take them as lessons learned to help me grow into a stronger, better, and more confident person. And hopefully, I will learn to not make the same mistakes over and over again. So here are some of the highlights for me for this year:

1. I landed a permanent job after a two-year cycle of unemployment and temp work. When I would hear about people being laid off, I would say to myself, I hope that does not happen to me. But in April, 2005, that became me. And damn what a wake up call that was! There is nothing more frustrating than to not have your skills and expertise being utilized in the workplace or worse, not being paid enough for your skills and expertise. After temping at Merrill Lynch for low wages for about 10 months, I was informed that my department was being relocated to Jacksonville, FL. Because I was a temp (and not an official employee of the company), I did not qualify. I was guaranteed to lose my job. But thank God a former coworker of mine put in a good word for me at this banking company that he had moved to. One of his coworkers was just fired at the time, and they were looking for a good replacement. After 3 (yes 3) interviews, I was offered the position in March making my best salary since graduating from college. To all you out there looking for a new job, don't give up and utilize your networking skills to the fullest. Yes it's gonna be hard, and there are times you will be frustrated, discouraged or even depressed. But keep pressing on and tell everyone you're looking for a job. You never know who's gonna remember your name when the right time and opportunity comes. In due time it will happen, believe me!

2. I still have not moved out on my own. I told myself that 2007 was the year that I would strike out on my own. Sadly, that was not to be. Because I had fallen behind on my bills because of the unemployment and temp work, most of my money went to catching up with that. Even though I'm living somewhat comfortably financially, the money I had left over was not enough to save up for an apartment. It sucks, but I am determined to really do it next year. That will be my top priority for 2008! Hopefully my bonus, raise and IRS checks together will make for a nice down payment on an apartment. The next step obviously would be to find a suitable location. I would like to move a little bit further north so that my commute to and from work would be shortened. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

3. I worked out the medical bill issue my aunt left for me....somewhat. Refer to my posted titled, "It's Nice to Have Family...Right?!" for the full details. I was successfully making payments for about 5 months to the law firm that had sued me. Problem is, I missed the first payment (no money, what else) and now they have sent me another letter asking for a default judgment against me. I'll have to figure out how to resolve this issue on my own this time. My aunt wrote the letters to the firm last time, but I don't want her involved in it this time at all. Shit, I can write the letters myself (even though I'll have to find out how to use all that legal jargon).


4. I have learned to further appreciate my friends more and more. Don't get me wrong, I have always shown (or tried to show) how loyal and loving I am to my friends, and I appreciate them. Cause I truly believe that good friends do not come a dime a dozen. That's why I treasure the ones that I have. But two major occurrences this year made me realize that I have wonderful friends: when two of them decided to take on the responsibility of caring for a 17 year old that otherwise would've lost his way, and the other was when one of my good friends was hospitalized for a heart condition. Each of these instances strengthened our friendship bond (that goes for our entire circle of friends) because it showed how great we can be when we stand together united in our friendship and helping each other get through rough times. The actions that my friends have displayed has taught me that I can be the best man I can be, because I'm surrounded by plenty of them. (After all, a person is very much influenced by his surroundings.) And even though they sometimes annoy the shit outta me and say/do things I don't understand, I really love and proud of my friends (yall know who you are).

5. I made it through another year of being a born-again virgin. What? You thought all of my highlights were gonna be serious? Please! LOL. Yes folks, it may be hard to believe, but this year marks over my 5th year of not being a bottom. (I haven't been a top in a while either, for that matter.) And screw all of you who think that needs to change. It's my body dammit lol.

6. I am still single and enjoying it. As I have stated before (especially to my friends), I really do enjoy being single and don't worry about finding a man. People frequently ask me if/when I am in a relationship, to which I nonchalantly reply, "No." Oh well, such is life, I say to myself. If I want to remain single, that's on me. No shade.

So there you have it, Jersey Brotha's 2007 highlights. I leave you, my fellow Bloggers, with a Happy New Year, and may 2008 be the year that you are abundantly blessed in all areas of your life! I'm looking forward to that myself.