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Dec 27, 2003 The Good Part 1. I stayed in pretty good health, and no one in my immediate family died. This is VERY important to me. 2. I came close to getting my dream job. I'm still a long way from being able to quit the 9-to- 5 madness, but I'm making inroads. It's been a long,slow process, but bit by bit, I'm making progress. And I had a glimpse, which is enough to keep me going. 3. I was able to spread the word on tumor awareness online,and am very proud of this! I hope to be able to help a lot of people. 4. I was published on www.useless-knowledge.com! (including "My Tumor"). And I've been getting responses and feedback from different people across the country! It's an interesting experience. 5. My assailant was sentenced;justice has been served! (Late last year, I was knocked down and stabbed several times by a total stranger. Don't worry, I'm fine.) The guy's defense attorney actually wanted me to consider the case as a misdemeanor. I wasn't pleased and consulted with my witnesses. We decided to press for a felony. (The man had intended to kill me.) After numerous trials and some cancellations, the sentencing hearing was finally held. A verdict was finally rendered, to my great satisfaction. 6. I joined a few writing and music clubs on Yahoo! I dropped a few, added some, returned to one, till I got what I currently consider a good fit, my essential fab five. 7. I discovered and fell in love with the Warren, Ohio Main library. The town of Warren is rather drab, BUT they have one of the cleanest, nicest downtowns I've ever seen(though there are many abandoned buildings). Just off this area is the main library. It is truly To Die For. Fabulous! 8. I'm glad for all the online survey sites. Many of you find them annoying, but they're an excellent way to accumulate extra cash or acquire nice prizes(and they're not cheesy items,either) for a few minutes of voicing your opinion. Two of the best ones are www.greenfieldonline.com and www.harrispollonline.com. I also like www.surveyspot.com and www.synovate.com. 9. I'm glad that I'm picky when it comes to friend or relationship choices. I may not know hundreds of people, but the ones I DO know are top of the line, not bottom of the barrel. 10. I have discovered and greatly admire the Hispanic world. Now I have worked with a few before and studied high school Spanish(you know how that is),but was never immensed in their world until October of this year. It's fascinating. Besides an excellent opportunity to relearn Spanish, I get a glimpse of the culture and world. And world is the right word; they have their own recording stars in all genres, own businesses, media, etc. And perhaps most important is, they have A FANASTIC SUPPORT SYSTEM. The Bad Part 1. This was a year of too many celebrity deaths! Personal favorites like Gregory Hines, Maurice Gibb, Katherine Hepburn, Dan Ryan(a very popular local radio talk show host), David Brinkley, Gregory Peck, Buddy Hackett, Buddy Ebsen, Cecilia Cruz("The Queen of Salsa". HUGE star in the Hispanic world), Fred Rogers("Mr. Rogers"), Bob Hope, John Ritter, Gordon Jump, Robert Palmer, Donald O' Conner, Bobby Hatfield, Johnny Cash, and Art Carney. Other notable deaths were Nell Carter, Edwin Starr, Hume Cromyn, Barry White, Charles Bronson, George Plimpton, Althea Gibson, Elia Kazan, and Fred Berry. Did you know there were seven deaths in September alone? 2. This was also a year of many false starts and promises for me, work and career-wise. Or there's no follow-up. I sincerely hope this'll change in 2004! 3. I really wanted a laptop computer(actually, I really NEED one)and wasn't able to this year, because of reason no.2. 4. I wasn't able to relocate to Canada! 5. A certain trivia website that I was winning some nice cash on went "belly up"without warning. They were supposed to be back in operation by October. And they still owe me money! I'm not thrilled. 6. Our area was hit hard by constant flooding. My mom's basement was hit a grand total of seven times! It took a bit of work; some items were ruined and had to be thrown out. The floors and foundation had to be reinforced, but ultimately, the basement was saved. 7. Several relatives went through some rather shattering domestic upheavals, myself included. There's a saying that goes "Whatever doesn't break you, makes you stronger." Or something to that effect. I sure hope it's true. 8. I had to worry much more about finances this past year than in the last 10 years combined. 9. The sluggish economy scares me. I don't care what the news reports say or what anyone else tells me, if you're on the outside looking in, it's a frightening feeling. 10. I can't rewind 2003 to April or May. I'd like to do a couple of things differently, but I can't. I suppose everything's for a reason and all. I hope this is true too. ------------ Email Patricia Jacobs: Patj25@yahoo.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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