Rant #1,811: We've Only Just Begun ...

Today is Friday, December 30, 2016, and we have just today and tomorrow left in the current year. We are right now at the doorstep of 2017.

2016 started out pretty well for my family and I, and for most of the year, it was truly great.

My parents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, my wife celebrated her xxth birthday, and my father finally retired after all those years of driving a cab.

My son continued to thrive at his job, and while I took each day at a time with my job, at least I had one that I could count on to pay my bills, if nothing else.

I won a contest this year, and my wife and I traveled to South Korea. We were treated like movie stars, and it is a trip that neither of us will ever forget.

Then, towards the end of the year, the wheels came off the car.

First, my dental situation, which I was told did not exist by my dentist, accelerated to the point that I can rightfully say that I traveled around the world with numerous dental problems, all of which culminated with a cronoscopy that I should have had months before it ever got this bad.

Happily, my mouth feels much better now, and while I will be looking for a new dentist in 2017, at least I can put that nightmare behind me once and for all.

Then, leading up to the end of the year holidays, very quickly and very brazenly, I found out that my company, and the job that I had, were both in dire jeopardy.

We all knew that the company was not doing well, but having been here for more than 20 years in some cases, we all figured that the bad times would pass and the good times, or at least better times, were right around the corner.

Well, we found out that that scenario wasn’t true, and we have downsized to the point that we have nothing more than a skeleton crew here. It is almost as if we are counting down the days here.

Our benefits have been taken away from us, and we are in a holding pattern that doesn’t seem to show any signs of stopping anytime soon.

Heck, they won't even provide us with desk calendars anymore!

No, the holidays were not fun this year, not at all.

I have started my job quest, but looking for a job is so different today than it was years ago. Add in that I will turn 60 in April, and you have what I would call a mess in the making.

So I look at 2017 as a year of redemption in a way. No, I can’t beat 2016 for the thrills—and spills—that my family and I experienced, but I do expect to find a new job sometime during the year, and I plan on putting all the current nonsense in the past when that happens.

When it will happen is another story. Will I go down with the ship, or will I get off of the Titanic before it hits that proverbial iceberg and quickly sinks?

I wish I had the answer to that, I really do.

But I will keep on plugging along, hoping that my current job can last just as long as I need it to last, and I can find something that suits my background, experience and skills.

So yes, I look at the new year with anxiety, with some trepidation, with some wariness, but I also look at it as a year of hope.

So I wish you a Happy New Year, to one and to all, and I will speak to you next on Tuesday, January 3.

My quest has only just begun …