Same Apartment. Survived a round of layoffs. Same Job. Visited Philadelphia, Chicago, Portland, Albuquerque. Visited Jeremy, Saw my friend Jeff get married. Same Car. Told a woman I had deep feeling for her and was rebuffed. Same Single status. I put up a new web page, two web logs, a group web log, and a dream log. I bought a new computer, Bought a MP3 player, bought a big hard drive for my MP3 files.
That is the short and easy version of my life. I am starting to wish I had a better way to define it.
I spent New Year’s Eve 2001 Alone. I started the year by asking the desk clerk in my building out for coffee. She said yes, but nothing became of it. My love life when that way for the rest of the year. Went to Vegas for the first time. At least for the first time I have been anyplace other then the Airport. TiVo sent me to CES (Consumer Electronics Show). One of my goals in 2000 was to work hard enough for them to send me. I spent three nights in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I worked the booth for the first two days of the show. I really liked working the trade show, but it was hard work. I swear the Los Vegas Convention Center has one of the hardest floors in the world. I really love gadgets, but none of the stuff there really excited me. I spent the late winter and early spring getting used to my new apartment. I was living in Downtown San Jose. I wanted to get the lay of the land. I started to go to this poetry open might night every once in a while. It was good some of the times. Too many of the poets were too caught up in political poetry. In April My brother Sean was in San Diego. He called me to visit him while he was down there. He thought San Jose was just north of LA. Despite the eight-hour drive, I still went down to see him. It was great to be with him for a little while. It has years since it has been just him and me. While I was in San Diego I got to see Both Gerry and Steve. Steve was trying to get me a job at his company. They said they would be looking for people when they got their next round of funding. That round of funding never came. The company was working without money for months. I am happy I did not go down there. I called my boss first thing Sunday Morning to ask to take Monday and Tuesday off. My boss said it was okay. I came back to the office to find they had almost sent out a search party to go look for me. My boss did not remember that I called him. The same week that I went to see Sean in San Diego, TiVo had layoffs. I remember sitting down at the company meeting and being extremely light hearted about it. By the end of the meeting my heart was in my throat. I was sad and afraid of loosing my job. I did not get laid off. My job did change and I felt like I was being played as a chump. It took me a few months before I was happy at work again. In the summer in played softball on TiVo’s softball team. Being one of the worst players. I always get the shaft. My greatest skill in softball is trash talking, so I do not get much respect. Chris came out to San Jose. I got a chance to see her for a day. I drove her about my city and we went to the Tech Museum. Gerry came up for two visits. Once over the summer he and Joanna came up. It was the first time I had ever gotten to meet Joanna. The three of us had dinner together. The other time Gerry came up to the Bay area to see a college professor from CMU. We started the End of Summer Party Web Log. I think that all the people that have used it really like it. I started my own web log after being shamed my Jeremy. I have had a good time doing it since then. Visited Jeremy in Chicago. It was the closet thing I had to a vacation this year. I went to Chicago to go to Jeff and Jen’s Wedding. It was great to see Jeremy and to see the life he has in Chicago. We had a second round of layoffs at TiVo. I kept my job this time also. The company will be going in a different direction. I did a little celebration dance when I found out it was not going to be me. I felt proud that I was still going to be around. I feel that I was picked for what I bring to the company. I do not know if I will be spared next time, but I need to work so I am. I purchased the domain www.sadsalvation.com for my web log. I want my web log to be good and to be something people want to read. Went back to Philadelphia to see my Family at Christmas. It was a good trip home. It was enough time for me to know that I am not done in San Jose yet. I think I still have to learn some things before I move back home. The whole thing with the Unnamed Woman happened. I spent New Year’s Eve 2002 alone.
I have been thinking about how I want to sum up 2001. When I was just keeping a journal on my PC, I would just fill one page of MS word with ideas. It is not that easy with blogger. Maybe I will still do that and just transfer it.
Meg at Notsosoft has a good argument for not summing up the year. I like the argument, but I am on the other side of the fence from you on this. My life is all about markers and mile posts. I think that end of year summaries and resolutions are all about that idea. I like to look back and see my year. It makes me think about my life more clearly.
1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year? Keeping my job through two rounds of layoffs.
2. What was your biggest disappointment? I did not do enough to challenge myself. I did not find things to write about until late into the year.
3. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions? Yes! I will be writing about them hear over the next couple of days.
4. Where do you wish you were celebrating? It has been such a long time since I have had a good New Years Eve, I can not think of anyplace good to Celebrate.
5. What do you plan to do for New Year's Eve? Me, A 12 Pack of Rolling Rock, and a stack of DVDs.
From his web log he links to the best of the 2001 lists at Othermusic.com. I am happy to say Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs is not on any of their lists.
It is the time of the year that everyone makes there best of lists for music. I used to be really into these kinds of lists. I would always be disappointed when the bands and records would be passed over. I was hoping that people would see the same things in this music that I saw.
I would make my own top list. Maybe if I made my old top 10 list of that year's records people would see what I saw in those records. I would send the list to my friends and e-mail it to other people. I would not get much response. The people that knew me would say that the list matched what they expected from me.
I still love music. I listen to about two hours of music a day, but I no longer care about new music. I have no interest in following around new music. I cannot keep up with that treadmill. I just look for things that I like and listen to them. Most of the new music I hear does not hold my interest very long. I do not connect with it.
I did not buy many CDs in the past year. I spend most of my time downloading songs from Napster, listening to all those songs once Napster closed down, and making CDs of those songs. I bought a couple of CDs, but it was mostly old stuff that had been popping around my head. I bought stuff like old R.E.M. and Smiths albums that I crave hearing every once in a while or stuff I missed the first time around like Belle and Sebastian or Neutral Milk Hotel.
There was one new CD that I bought this year. It is a CD that has been spinning around my CD player since I got it. I do not think I have gone a week without listening to it.
I would like to declare Ben Folds Rockin' The Suburbs the album of the year. It is hard for me to express how good I think this album is. It is one of the best things that I have heard in years. It is an album that should be admired for both its sound and lyrics. It has all of Ben Folds trademark piano playing, but you do not feel like you have heard it all before. It is an album that moves slowly over a landscape of ideas, constructing a coherent world of thoughts and feelings.
What I like about Ben Folds is that I feel that he is a guy about my age write songs about things people my age should care about. I do not feel that I am listening to people who are ten years older or younger then me. His songs make sense to me. I can understand what he is getting at. I think there is both an intent and texture to the songs that fit into my life.
I think that this is a great album, but I have a hard time seeing my friends really embrace it. I do not think they have the kind of patience that this album need. It is full of songs that need to be discovered one my one. I think most of my friends do not like albums that unfold that way.
Can you tell the story of your 2001 in 20 words or less. It is a great challenge. You can see how other people have taken on this challenge. this website is no longer there
Here is what I wrote.
Rich [ San Jose ] 10/12/2001 23:42
Same Apartment, visit Las Vegas, San Diego, survived layoff, turned 29, started web log, visit Chicago, survived layoff again
You should read the rest of them also. People have a lot of ways to summarize their year.
