The Year That Should Have Been

Pardon the Metallica reference on the title off their seminal album Master of Puppets, but after having passed on opportunities to at least post relevant entries on this unfortunate blog, I owe myself the privilege of writing about the year filled with hope and promise, only to fall flat on expectations and uninspired effort, and rebound to a renewed sense of optimism for the coming year. And yes, it's a run-on sentence.

DISCLAIMER: Let it be know that this brain diarrhea turned into fruitless words may contain obscure references, inside jokes, stupid one-liners, and just private shit that will most likely alienate you, the reader. However, please understand that I deserve this, having been silent for almost the entire 12 months.

2010, for the lack of better words or a phrase, kinda sucked massive donkey balls. It started out promising, as would any other person starting the new year, especially after having performed mediocre acoustic renditions of great songs to celebrate my second year with the beloved. Note to all: regardless of how awful your singing is, how badly you fuck up the guitar chords, and how much buckets of sweat you've collected throughout the whole debacle, as long as it comes directly and sincerely from the heart in front of your beloved and your closest friend, then I guarantee you, 100% fail-safe, that you'll end up looking like Edward Cullen without the lame vampire schlock and much, much cooler.

However, after not being available to attend the Kings of Convenience concert last March, which I oh-so-badly-wanted to see, the momentum towards the ideal year regressed and slowly suffered a downward spiral. Due to the nature of her work, girlfriend went off to a provincial run that lasted almost six months, which meant that I didn't get to see her during that entire period as she traveled to different provinces in the country, although we did meet on occasions. Coupled by the fact that I got an INC in one of my subjects despite having submitted all of the requirements, my boss has gradually grown to hate me, I haven't saved a single cent before the year ends, and I have become disillusioned by my responsibilities and priorities, and you have the recipe for a disappointing year.

But all wasn't lost in 2010. I was able to finish the guitar tracks for our upcoming album (hopefully released before 2011 ends). Plus, relationship has never been stronger, although it experienced the harshest and most volatile periods, but nonetheless weathered all of them.

I never planned on writing this blog, but I just had a conversation with girlfriend a while ago that pretty much inspired me into sitting my ass in front of the laptop and rambling away. Basically, we listed out things we want to buy for next time, and for every month, we'll purchase one based on the level of priorities for each items listed. Also, we came into an agreement on how we'll save money for the next year so that we won't come up short financially, especially when things get rough. After having this refreshing discussion (thank you, girlfriend), I felt a renewed sense of purpose in my daily activities and it gave me something to look forward to in the future, a mindset that I sorely lacked this year.

But one thing I learned from this year is that expectations are a bitch. Lowered expectations are the way to go. Not that I shouldn't push myself to the limit, either. It's simply all about being in control of your destiny and, from the looks of it, I will soon control mine.