This is not completely chronological.
My brother Dan had a kid early this year, Victor Matthew. I got to meet him in February, but a couple of planned trips this summer to see him didn't come off.
I started the year working at Expedia, but grew increasingly unhappy there. At the start of the year, my boss-to-be Seth finally took over the department I was in. That was short-lived though, as upper management emasculated the department in a reorganization in February. It wasn't done so much to kill us. Instead, they pulled a bunch of people from my group to be the leading figures in a new group. Shortly after that, Seth became V.P. of Engineering at our Hotwire subsidiary, so I was boss-less again. With no one in the position to fight for the group and with a large percentage of employees either actively fighting us or ignoring us, I was not looking forward to continuing. And as of June, I didn't.
One major positive thing in my life this year has been mentoring students at Chief Sealth High School with Community For Youth. An all around positive experience, though not without some major bumps. The student I worked with during the 2005-2006 school year never bonded at all with me, and increasingly disappeared. So my opportunities for interaction were limited to other students at group events. Luckily, the group events far outnumbered the one-to-one events.
The summer was spent mostly adjusting to unemployment. While I have a large portfolio, I tightened up my spending a lot. Not as much as I need, but it's work in progress. I stopped planning a trip to South Africa that I wanted to take in November. From June to September, I pretty much filled my time with recreational pursuits.
I've had one major friendship end this year, but several others have grown and I've started some new ones as well. In 2003-2003 I fell in love with Deborah. But I gave up waiting for her to figure out her issues and stopped waiting. The relationship has been up and down since. In October, I found out I'd been lied to for years. Not single as she'd said to me. Married for 10 years. While any sort of obligation I had to know the truth was long past, it still hurt quite a bit. Then, another 7+ weeks of waiting for her to discuss it with me as she promised led me to finally decide I can't be friends. This was because I (obviously) still carry a torch. A piece of me kept saying that maybe things would happen. So I decided that picking that scab just kept it from healing.
But I did meet several cool new people. Lindsey and Deanna moved here this year, and I've spent time with some people in their circle of friends as well. While I met Dawn back in 2000, I've struck up a closer friendship this year.
In September, I went on a cruise with my family. It wasn't exactly a rousing success, but it was nice to spend time with most of my family (Dan didn't make it). I hate cruises generally. So I wasn't the most pleasant person there. And I managed to upset my mother as well.
September saw the second year of Community for Youth mentoring being, in the Steps Beyond program for sophomores through seniors. This year everything is done in small groups. The group of students is a good one. It'll be cool to see them accomplish their dreams. It was also nice to renew acquaintance with my fellow mentors, though a few dropped out for this year. I'm also getting to build friendships with some mentors who weren't in Steps Ahead last year.
The major goal I set for myself in Steps Beyond (everyone sets a personal goal and a vocational/academic goal) was to complete a business plan to open a bookstore. It's been the thing that occupies my head the most these last few months. I've hired myself a business coach to help me complete it. To familiarize myself with the business, I hired on at the Pacific Place Barnes & Noble in September. I love selling books. I love handling all the books. I hate being timed on everything. And I hate the corporate control, though I expected that. I've learned a ton of things I expect to use in my bookstore.
I'm grateful for my friendships with a few people, who have provided me with both sage and bad advice. Deirdre continues to be one of my steadiest friends. Erin remains the person who will bitch with me, lightening my mood. Through thick and thin, Jason has been a part of my life for around 30 years. I'm grateful to have spent 2006 with you.
I've probably forgotten something important about the year. Some things I've omitted purposefully.