761. Happy New (secular) Year!

Happy New Year! Let's see, what have I done all these weeks instead of blogging:

• Finished a crushing amount of work.
• Realized there was very little work forthcoming to take its place, as the crappy economy begins to affect those of us at the end of the food chain (designers are the first to be cut out of everyone's budget).
• Built a new website for my business in hopes that something new and spiffy will help attract customers. "If you build it, they will come."
• Discovered that the new website screwed up my email. Got upset. Awaiting answers tomorrow, when everyone (I hope) goes back to work.
• Bought a great new computer that I really need but can't quite afford, although it will surely make all the work I don't yet have go much more smoothly.
• Read Torah a bunch of times.
• Led a shiva minyan, with another to come on Monday.
• Planned to go to a great New Year's Eve party, and two on New Year's Day. (I am usually not much of a party animal, but I really like this holiday. As cool is it was to toast 2007 from a Tel Aviv beach, it felt strange that few people were celebrating along with us crazy Americans.)
• Instead, caught a stomach virus and spent New Year's alternating between the sofa and... well, you know. Woke up at 12:42AM to discover I had missed everything. I think this is the first Jan. 1 of my adult life I didn't spend in the company of festive people. Watched the ball dropping on YouTube, instead. I am grateful that YouTube exists to help those of us who need to reconnect with humanity every once in a while.
• Was deeply distressed and confused about Israel. Tried to figure out what I felt. Did not yet succeed.
• Was ashamed, as well. Tried to understand why people act this way. Did not succeed.
• Noted that Hanukkah began this year on the darkest day. Hoped this was a portent of more light reaching us all in the near future.

I hope to elaborate very soon on some of the above. Meanwhile, wishing everyone a happy, healthy and peaceful 2009. Wait, strike the happy and healthy--they can wait--make that a triple measure of the peaceful, for now.