Hey Jakey,

I guess it's time to get started on a "2005 Year in Review" post. It was an odd year. I've had better, and I've had worse. Anything bad that happened this year, turned out decent in the end. For example:

* In February, your Nana was diagnosed with leukemia. But with a radical new drug, Glivec, she was officially in remission come summertime. She's still not feeling 100 percent, and she has to take a shit-load of medications every day, but she feels well enough to enjoy the hell out of you when she comes to visit.

* In July, your daddy had another heart attack. Well, it wasn't a heart attack per se... he threw a clot and it lodged in his heart. We were in the VIP section at the Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor, and he started convulsing. I held your daddy in my arms, thinking that "this is it... this time he's actually going to die..." But he didn't. He was ambulanced down to Carson and spent about a week in the hospital. His doctor discussed the possibilities of a heart difibrillator (pacemaker) and maybe a heart transplant. But after several months of being on new meds and a decent diet, he's made quite the turnaround, and is no longer even a candidate for heart surgery.

* In June of this year, I lost my job as editor of the entertainment mag. I was pretty depressed there for a while, especially as there was no good reason to take it away from me, other than political wrangling and massive power trips. Oh well, I take comfort in the fact that it's now a piece of ugly crap that people make fun of on the street. I made a lateral move into the company's online division. I got a new computer, a new office and a new boss. A tidy new start. I think I'll be happier here in the long run. I'm actually treated like an adult now. All respect-y and shit. Ha.

Other high/low points:

* The garden. Ah... what a piece of crap that turned out to be. Spent a good deal of time and money (at home and at Home Depot) with grand dreams of a fruited oasis in the high desert, but between unexpected freezing rains, insects and just plain ol' high desert meanness, I wound up with nothing. Well, a few stunted squashes and a wheelbarrow-ful of heartache. I keep saying that I'll never go through that hell again, but the seed catalogs have already started showing up on my doorstep, so... we'll see...

* This was a big year for music for me. The purchase of Son Volt's "Okemah and the Melody of Riot" towards the last half of this year kick-started my interest in music again. I'd been listening to nothing but NPR for months, hadn't seen a live show all year, and then boom: OATMOR must've sparked my belief in the power of music once again, cuz I've bought dozens of CDs and even kinda started trading live shows again.

Which brings me to:

* Meeting Jay Farrar! Whoo-hoo! That's a year-end highlight if there ever was one! Whoo-hoo! Enclosing his soft, flabby little hand in mine on the streets of Santa Cruz was a joy that will remain close to my heart for the rest of my life.

Other live music highlights:

* Cracker at the Rib Cook-Off. Precious. Johnny could not have been more accomodating.

* Camper at the Reno Hacienda. Best.show.of.the.year.period. How lucky was I to be there. No really. It was sold out, and I was ticket-less.

* Nickel Creek at the Reno Hilton. Discovered Andrew Bird and turned C and F&C onto the greatness that is Nickel Creek.

* Not music, really, but... Paula Poundstone at the Crystal Bay Club. Coulda met her, shoulda met her, the hotel manager arranged a meeting, but we rushed home right after the show cuz it was daddy and me's first time leaving you with a sitter.

Let's see... what else... oh yeah. That damn Jay Farrar message board and all my new buddies there.

And every day with you in it is a treasure in itself, sweetie. You've grown so much this year, and have all sorts of new interests and talents and Jake-isms. You're not my lil' baby anymore, but my big boy, the love of my life.

I'll probably add more to this list of high/low lights as the countdown to 2006 winds down... but that's my year as best as I can recall at this moment. Love you!