My first instinct is to call 2016 a terrible year. Trump won. But on a personal level it was pretty good.
First, the bad:
Our beloved dog Jaxx died.
Our beloved cat Mafalda died.
I can’t think of anything else as bad or worse.
So, the good:
I sold my book to Chicago Review Press.
My tenure is on track for approval.
I won a grant to conduct research at the LBJ Library.
I had a blast covering the Mike Hubbard corruption trial for the New Republic and Ledger Enquirer.
Allie and I had the vacation of a lifetime in Argentina and Uruguay.
I applied to the Ph.D. program in mass communications at the University of Georgia.
We adopted our beloved dog Skritch.
We got a killer new amp and a Sonos player, which enables us to stream millions of albums at CD quality.
We saw Bob Dylan.
I won an interdisciplinary education grant with my buddy Gary.
Allie was accepted to a graduate translation certification program at Georgia State.
Those are the big highlights.
So, what to expect in 2017:
I’ll finish the first draft of my book and submit it the publisher.
I’ll get tenure and a promotion and a raise.
I’ll decide whether or not to pursue the Ph.D. and, if I go for it, classes will begin in August.
I’ll lose some weight.
I’ll keep writing on this blog, and writing in general.
Who knows what else lies ahead?
