2009 – A Year In Review

It’s a little late, but here are the highlights of the year that was 2009, along with an explanation of those highlights (otherwise it would be a little confusing!)

1. I started the year unemployed for the first time since 1993

I suppose that this statement is pretty self explanatory. In addition to that. I started claiming unemployment too – also for the first time! Not that I am particularly proud of that, but it was more of the harsh reality of life at that time. The country was struggling, in the grips of a recession, and we all suffered. I guess my biggest problem was that I couldn’t accept the fact that after working for so many years, and being loyal to a company I was cast out without a second thought. Truth be told, I always knew that the day would come, but I buried my head in the sand and tried to ignore it. Hey – I’ve had a year to sit back and analyze my life – I know where I went wrong!

2. I sold cars for the first time

In April, after sitting at home for almost 4 months, I applied for a job at my local BMW dealership, and they hired me. I sold my first car on my first day on the showroom floor. It was a great experience, and the lessons that I learned there will be with me forever.

3. I went to an American court for the first time

Before you start oohing and aahing, let me explain. A friend of mine was being stalked by his ex girlfriend. The harassment continued across multiple mediums (phone calls, email, text messages), including visits to his office, and the supermarkets that he shopped at. It got so bad that we had to go to the police, and then saw a lawyer about taking out an order of protection. The way that it works is that you are granted a temporary restraining order for 1 week. The police will inform the (alleged) accused, and then in a week’s time you have to go back to court. If the accused denies the charge, then that is the time that they can protest and present evidence to the judge. If you don’t deny the charge, then don’t show up, and then the judge will impose a 1 year order of protection.

In this case, we didn’t expect her to show up at court, but she did. and she denied that events had taken place the way that they had. I may have neglected to mention that her harassment included threatening to kill herself if he didn’t go and meet her immediately so that she could ‘give him something’ (insert appropriate Psycho squeak squeak music here’)

She showed up an hour late and wasn’t penalized, but then decided to protest the charges by using phrases such as “but I’m a woman, and all women are like that – our moods can change – don’t you realize that” and “I didn’t text him that”, at which point we would provide the judge with a copy of the offending text message or email or even phone message. Oh yes, we were prepared.

While she was appearing as a witness in her own defense, I have anointed her as the witness for the prosecution. The judge (a nice lady) was not impressed with her explanations, and the constant lying. So she warned her to behave herself, and awarded my friend an order of protection for 1 year. It was quite the experience!

4. I dialed 911 and “called the po-po” for the first time

I mean no disrespect by using the phrase “po-po”, I was just trying (and failing miserably) to be cool/hip/relevant!

Nothing major here – my neighbor’s daughter backed her car into my friend’s mini van which was parked outside my house. I’m still unsure why, but he wanted me to call the police since it was in front of my house. So I did, and explained that it was not an emergency, but that we wanted a police report for insurance purposes. The officer was really nice, and my friend did get his mini van fixed!

5. I went to Tennessee for the first time

I was persuaded by some friends to accompany them on their long weekend (4th of July) trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains to spend the weekend in a log cabin. I had a great time, and actually left the state for the first time in almost 2 years. Oh, and it was my first visit to Tennessee! In almost 10 years here!

6. I became a Mac believer and traded in my Blackberry for an iPhone

My friend Mithun had constantly explained to me the benefits of an iPhone, and it didn’t take much to get me hooked. I had a Blackberry Bold at the time, but the OS was a little buggy, and the phone would routinely shut down. To make matters worse, there was no indication of the shutdown – until to activated the phone (by pressing any button) – at that point you would see a teeny tiny reset button in the middle of the screen. As a result, I would miss a lot of a calls. As someone who was actively (and somewhat desperately) searching for work, I couldn’t afford to miss any calls. So I traded…up! I must admit that I do love my iPhone. More than I loved my Blackberry! Next stop – a MacBook Pro!!!!

7. I fell down in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant and tore my trousers!

Yes, it is as pathetic as it sounds. While working at the dealership, I went to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch one day. I was carrying a book as I walked across the parking lot (I like to read when I am eating alone), and went over on my ankle while stepping on a broken piece of tarmac. Next thing I know, I am rolling on the ground like a pregnant hippo, and there is a nice Mexican couple rushing to help me. I stood up and realized that I had twisted my ankle, and that my trousers had ripped.

I went back to the dealership and told my manager that I needed to go home to change. It was when I got home and took off my left shoe that my ankle started to expand rather rapidly. I called the dealership and explained that I was going to have to stay off my ankle for a day or two, and they were cool with that.

I mention it here because I must have looked like a drunk, space cadet trying out the Matrix moves as I went down. I am sure that the nice Mexican couple who came to help me must have started to laugh first until they realized that I was hurt! That’s ok though, I would have laughed at myself if someone had videotaped it!

8. I was tipped by a customer at a gig.

My friends have formed a band called G-RaZZ, and I just help them out. During one of their gigs, at an Ind0-Chinese restaurant called Pao Lim, I was sitting behind the sound mixer controlling the music and the mikes, when one of the customers walked up to me, smiled, and slipped $5 under the mixer! I was the one who was contributing the least – I wasn’t singing (my singing prowess has been known to frighten dogs and small children, so I refrain from doing that in public!).

There are other smaller, less significant events. I bought my first DSLR and found out that there is more to taking pictures than point and shoot. I changed my car. I lost weight, but it didn’t go very far as I was able to find it again! I saw Transformers 2 twice! I was blown away by District 9. I thought that I had found the one, but I was (yet again) wrong. I made some new friends.

That’s all that I can think of. I need to get some sleep, so I will leave you with a soft, sad song. It’s called “Sad Lisa” by Cat Stevens. I hope that you like it.

Peace!