What's it all about, Alfie?

Well... I can't say as I'm all that surprised that I've had a hard time keeping up with writing this year. It's been a little better this year, but it's not really been a great year, and I know myself well enough to know that I need to be in a reasonably positive frame of mind to be able to write on a regular basis. But hey... I can keep trying.

Advent of Code

This year, a friend of mine started doing the Advent of Code problems, and so I joined in. They started off fun and interesting - almost in a little competition with my friend who was also using clojure for the solutions. It was nice, and it made me smile, and fir that I am very grateful.

But then the problems got to be massive searches, as opposed to interesting little problems, and the fun faded. Still, it's something that I think is a lot of fun to try - and do all the problems you want to do. For fun.

Change of Jobs

This year I changed jobs, and this time it was to a Shop that wanted to do clojure. There were a lot of good signs in the interview, and so far, it's been pretty decent. Nothing is perfect, so it's learning what is important to me, and what isn't, and learning to live with the latter, and relish the former.

I would like to be here next year at this time, but who knows... I know I don't, that's for certain. But I will try, and maybe that's all I need to do.

My Friends and My Recovery

Probably the most significant thing this year was that I actually saw old friends that I haven't seen in nearly 20 years. These are guys that defined my childhood, but since my marriage, and moving to Chicago, I really haven't seen them. A year or so ago, one of my old friends called me, and we started talking. Every month or so, he'd call, and check-in on me to make sure I was still alive.

Finally, this year, I was invited to his Dad's 85th Birthday Party in Indy, and I decided to go. It was a nice time, and it was very nice to see my friends again. We have all changed a lot - mid-30s to mid-50s is a lot of change. And in the end I think we all cut each other a lot of slack, and can move forward from here.

My recovery is going about like I figure it'll go - slowly, but inevitably. There is nothing that replaces the passage of time. It's not a cure-all, because people can hold grudges for a very long time, but in my case, I think it's a vital part because "distance" is the thing I need most. Distance provides perspective, and that's what I've lost in this Season. Hopefully, things will look better in a few months, but I'm guessing it's probably a few years.

But I hope it comes.