Thankyoubyebye 2009

It’s been an interesting year, 2009. Started out a little ‘off’, shall we say, with some epic weirdness, but after some work to resolve the issues, it was brilliant from about June out. I’ve been exceptionally fortunate, and there are a lot of things I appreciate more than I did a year ago. Some are petty things, but others are pretty big. Here are a few:

I am grateful the August 19 tornado missed my house by a couple hundred feet. Also grateful nobody was killed or badly hurt by it.

I am grateful for my office/studio space. It’s got good light, good equipment, and good company.

I am grateful that people still choose to gather together to play music. They could be in their bedroom with a sampler, but they haul equipment through snowdrifts to play for little more than gratitude and a few beers. Thank you. (On that note, I was extra grateful to have seen Prince play at his studio this fall, easily the gig of the year. How often do you get to see someone with that many hits just play what they like? Larry Graham’s cameo on the Family Stone covers put it over the top.)

I am grateful for material things, but in the interest of conservation would rather acquire less this year. I have too much stuff, admittedly: too many shoes, too many records, too many of which I love far too much. It's hard, because damn, every time I put on those killer mod George Cox winklepickers I smile. It’s time to make do with less, and appreciate what we have.

I am grateful I have been afforded opportunities to travel. The old St. Augustine saw, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” rings true to me. I have now read a few chapters, which have been enriching beyond all expectation.

I am grateful for pets. They don’t care who you know, and they can usually spot the nice people in the room. Everybody needs friends like that. We had a big scare for Rory’s health earlier in the summer, but it’s resolved, and every day I get with this grand old Cornish Rex is a good one. We have a saying in the house co-opted from Bruce Lee: “Be like the Corn,” because he loves everybody, and trouble just rolls off his back.

I am grateful for continuing opportunities to learn. Academia's great, but I’ll take it however it comes. I'm finding the unplanned kind, resulting from tribulation or experimentation, is often more valuable and easily retained.

I am grateful for bright colleagues. Clients, vendors and partners constantly impress me with their drive, reliability and resourcefulness. The good things you do enhance people's lives every day, and I am glad to be a part of your efforts.

I am grateful for family. I am especially grateful I got to spend time with the branch of the Jurrjens family tree in Victoria, Australia at the very start of 2009. We really get around, and didn’t do too badly for modest folks from Haarlemmermeer, did we?

Finally, I am grateful for good friends. (You know who you are.) I'm constantly indebted to you for the amount of love, generosity, and fun you add to the world, and I'm constantly awed by the talent enclosed within my circle. You rock, straight-up.