2010: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

I find myself getting a little nostalgic and taking an inventory of my life at the end of each year. Some of my findings as 2011 starts off with a bang:

The highs:

• Spending a lot of time with the absolute lights of my life: Emily and Asher. As they grow, it's such a privilege to get to know them as their personalities emerge and they become little people. As someone who is not religious, it's truly a miracle to witness.
• I bought a house! All by myself and it is utterly perfect. The best part? My new neighbors (and the 9ft ceilings, hardwood floors, big front porch, and future clubhouse in the back yard).
• In the last half of the year, I managed to lose 25 lbs. After getting to the point where I didn't fit into any of my clothes and didn't want to leave the house out of embarrassment, I rejoined Weight Watchers and have been moderately successful so far.
• I got to go to the new Yankee Stadium with two lifelong friends as a part of a weekend spent in Providence and then lower Manhattan. What a treat! From soup to nuts.
• I bought a new car: Small, black, sporty, efficient. It smells great in there and I love keeping it shiny.
• Very excited to have hit a new stride at work. I'm really coming out of my burnout cocoon that has been haunting me since the aforementioned Meltdown of 08.


The lows (and their lessons):

• You know I love Martin Luther The King, but my jubilation over his commemorative holiday got a little out of hand and ended with my being arrested for driving while under the influence. THE definitive low point of my life has taught me several things, therefore turning it into a positive:
> Never trust my own judgement after 2 beers. (or the 15 after that, either)
> Being sent through the legal process is a very humbling, very dehumanizing experience. One that I never want to be put through again.
> When you're floundering at absolute rock bottom, you learn who your real friends are. And you become less angry and more grateful for that as time passes.
> It's never a good idea to go on a spontaneous roadtrip to Charleston at 3am on a Monday. Even if it IS MLK Day.

• I lost a friend in a car accident. Even though I'm still in the angry phase of grief, I believe that the crash could have been avoided and hope (in vain) that other friends take this lesson and change their post-gig habits. I did manage learn some valuable lessons on the shoulders of this tragedy:
> My friendship with him was damaged about a year prior when I found myself in the middle of an argument that really had nothing to do with me. As I am known to do, I took sides in the name of Loyalty and now I am left wondering if holding a grudge was worth it.
> In the spirit of lesson 1, I have worked to let things go with old adversaries that I think I have mentioned in previous posts. It seems fitting that it is because of a man who wanted nothing more than to play his instrument and laugh with friends and genuinely be the best person he could.

• The boat crash. In regard to this, I will only say one thing: There is NOTHING more terrifying than coming up to the cockpit from the berth to realize that you're about to hit a dock. And the subsequent sound and violence of ten thousand pounds of sailboat ripping a wing of a private dock into the water. And the emotional fallout thereafter. The lesson learned, which I believe is useful in one's view of life at large: always look where you're going, even if you haven't been told to do so.

• While working with an artist that has an in-proportionate level of experience, talent, and ego, it is important identify such an unfortunate imbalance and treat them thusly. The in-store in-sanity that culminated into The Worst Day Of My Career taught me several things:
> I'm right about artists. On all counts.
> Be sure to ask for Tour Manager's resume before assuming his attitude differs from artist's.