It is the end of the year and time to look back, this time without anger.

The Good

On the writing side of the house I estimate that I wrote roughly 75K words of fiction for one endeavor or another. Most of this will not see publication with my name on the banner but this is not a bad thing. I had a hand in the creation of three novels, one of which will see print. The National Novel Writing Month effort yielded 23K of those words, far short of my goal for that month but far more than I would have had otherwise.

On the summer job front, my lifeguard job finally became a reality. It had been a deferred dream of sorts and the need to find summer work of some sort while I live in Adjunctland provided the justification. My summer employer took very good care of me and I have to say that I am looking forward to another summer with them. As a bonus, my overall health and fitness improved dramatically, giving me an extra boost of energy for the start of the Fall Semester which surprised even me.

On the Spanish Front, I managed to pull a B average for Spanish 101, erasing the stigma of a D minus from my High School years.

On the Military Research Consultant front, I helped John Birmingham wrap up Angels of Vengeance, which concludes the Disappearance Trilogy. It will be on the bookshelves stateside come April 2012. John has been a great friend and mentor over the years. I am lucky to have him in my corner.

Trinity and I celebrated our third year anniversary as a couple. We’re stubborn, I guess.

Finally on the Good Side, I am in my fifth year of teaching as an adjunct instructor of college history. I’ve been blessed in that I’ve had three to four classes per semester since I started in 2007. In many ways, I’ve managed to make up the six year experience deficit once you stop to consider that many adjuncts are lucky if they can get two classes a semester. It is good to find vindication and validation in a field previously blocked off by those who felt I had no place in the classroom.

I suppose if you want to add to the Good list, you could add in Abigail Faith French Murphy, or more commonly known as Abbie. The Boston Rat Terrier managed to win me over a lot more quickly that I thought she would. Worse yet, she is scary smart.

The Bad

We had budget woes. We had car woes. We had busted teeth, broken glasses and a bout of diverticulitis which sent me to the Emergency Room not once but twice.

On the writing front, the submission and publication side of things remains stalled completely out. Hopefully the move to a new two bedroom apartment will solve some of trouble, providing me with a true office for the first time since 2007.

I did not get to travel at all.

The Toshiba I bought in 2008 finally gave up the fight with the computer screen. Mom had to purchase a replacement, which is what this entry is being typed up on.

The Ugly

My father passed away after a sixteen year long war against three forms of Agent Orange induced cancer. He passed on the day before my fortieth birthday, which is enough to give anyone pause concerning their mortality. We laid him to rest up at Leavenworth National Cemetery later that month with military honors and a healthy presence of family, friends and well-wishers.

With regard to politics, I reached a point politically where I could no longer stomach some of what the Republicans seem to be peddling. I will most likely vote Democrat across the board for the first time since 2002.

So it goes.

It is my hope that next year is a better one. The pieces are in place for an overall improvement. We’ve got most of our budget holes patched up. Trinity’s car should be operational by the first week of the new semester. I’ve got a good chance at becoming a Lifeguard Instructor for my summer employer. I plan on following that up by applying for management as well.

Let us hope that 2012 is better than 2011 was.

Happy New Year, folks. Be safe out there.

Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
North Kansas City, Missouri

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