its hard to sit here and write about the whole year; january 1, 2008 seems like such a long time ago and yet the time’s gone so fast. what’s more, its hard to recall much before mid-november, when my life and the lives of so many in my office were tossed up in the air.

its funny how a new year always makes us look back and reflect, reflect on the last year, and on our whole life. i may not seem it on the surface, but i’m truly sentimental. some people spend their lives looking forward; i’ve spent most of mine looking back. and so here we are at the end of yet another year and i’m forced to, yet again look back.

i have a hard time saying it was a good year, given my current circumstance and all that’s happened in the last month and a half. even knowing that, all in all, it was a pretty good year does little to affect my mood, which is dark.

in sitting for a moment and thinking, it seems to me the year can be summarized in a handful of events.

may 2008 saw my second state democratic convention. while i was merely a participant in 2006, this year i was one of the key organizers and facilitators; i served as the chair (honestly, i had a co-chair, but she did virtually no work and so i like to take all the credit) of the registration and credentials committee. my work in this role started early on in 2008 and even late 2007. basically from february through the end of the convention, nearly every waking free moment was spent doing work for the convention. i set the foundation more active participation and started to make a name for myself within the party. it was a hell of a lot of work, but the convention was a success, as was the registration and credentials process. i’m generally very modest by nature, but in that convention a star was born! (me, just in case you’re not sure) i also ran, unsuccessfully for a seat on the state central committee of the democratic party (if you don’t know, don’t ask). while i lost, i have to admit i was happy with my showing despite the fact that i had not previous name or clout in the party. i expect to win the seat in two years….

with the end of may came yet another birthday for me, my 30th. while i can’t say it was the milestone for me it seems to be for so many people, i couldn’t help but take a look at my life, my career, my surroundings and reflect a bit. for me the big milestone was 25, a quarter-century. still, 30 still sounds older. and now, as i quickly approach 31, i’m really starting to wonder/worry about what the hell i’m doing with my life. anyway, with my 30th came a trip back to OP, at the insistence of my mother, who wanted to celebrate the big 3-0 with me. it was a nice trip home and a nice party that my mother threw for me. that trip will stick in my brain for quite some time, if only because it was my 30th birthday….

part of me hates to say it, because i’m not one of the crazy obama followers, but november 2008 did see a historic presidential election. not only are we getting rid of (finally!) the worst president in the history of the republic, but we elected a good, seemingly liberal (we’ll wait and see), black president. while this in itself is big news, for me personally, its going to be an interesting transition. my political involvement began nearly three years ago; as long as i’ve been interested and active, bush jr. has been president. and because i haven’t been around very long, its hard for me to imagine a political landscape that doesn’t include a stupid, reactionary, right-wing administration.

finally, and the most immediate, the department of ASB that i work for has been sold. i am no longer an american savings bank employee. i am now a monarch insurance employee. bishop insurance, an agency that has been around since the mid 1800s was bought by the bank several years ago and became a department of the bank about 4 years ago. officially, on december 31, 2008, bishop was sold to monarch for an undisclosed amount. hurrah…!

i have stong mixed feelings about the move, its hard to put them all into words. i’ve worked AT bishop for over five years, i’ve worked FOR bishop for several months less (its complicated). in all my years, i’ve never worked in one place for so long, but in the grand scheme, it still isn’t very long. there are employees who were laid off who worked here their entire career. while i know there have been lots and lots of lay-offs nationwide, this kind of thing has never hit quite so close to home before. it is a stressful and emotional thing to have to experience. even though i was one of the few who were offered jobs with the new agency, monarch, i still experienced, first hand the stress and hardship that’s involved when people are laid-off.

as it stands now, i’ll continue to work for monarch in the same position i had with the bank/bishop, however, i am actively looking for the back door. all i can really say, without writing another several pages is this; as bad as the bank was to work for, i already can tell its going to be worse here. does anyone know of any positions open in the wide world of politics? maybe community organizing? something? anything? help a brother out!