Goodbye 2014!

I mentioned this last year, but it is worth repeating: 2013 was the worst year of my life. 2014 was nowhere near as bad, but it was a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let's take a look back at the year, shall we.

The Ugly. That would lay primarily at my feet. I am not an attractive man - at all - and even less so since I gained a lot of my lost summer weight back. That said, the inner me is not very attractive, either. The demise of the other SYLG was my fault, and my fault alone. I was stupid for posting photos from Getty Images, and even more stupid for paying that law firm's extortion money. Similarly, the demise of TGWS was my fault, and my fault alone. I let a few commenters get to me and I hung it up, even after Ellen asked me to reconsider. My problem, as most folks who know me have realized, is my temper...



The Bad. Obviously, being threatened with a lawsuit, being strong-armed into paying a $1,500 fine, and being forced to delete nine years of work was pretty horrible. Some close blog friends had some issues, too. Easily Lost had stents inserted into her heart and Ellen was - and still is - dealing with a messy divorce. I don't like to see my friends suffer, so these items would fall into the Bad category.

The Good. I wanted to finish on a high note, because who wants to end a year with misery? There has been a lot of good here - and the other SYLG and TGWS. Most importantly, you, the readers and commenters. You read my drivel, sometimes comment, and always put up with my wild mood swings and rampant OCD. For that, I thank you. As long as you keep reading, I will keep writing.

Hopefully, a second book will hit the shelves this year, as well. It has been started, then shelved after the lawsuit, then in the on-deck circle. It'll be done - I hope - by year's end.

Last, but certainly not least, Ellen started her blog career off with a bang after posting a hilarious kilt comment during an Olympic Babe O' The Day post. I believe she said the curler was only wearing an authentic kilt if she was commando under it. Yes, she fit in rather quickly. In the ten months which followed, she went from lurker, to commenter, to co-blogger, to one of my very best friends. I cannot, and will not blog without her. She is a part of our family now.

Oh, Wordpress sent me a 2014 Year In Review retrospective for the now-defunct SYLG. If you want to relive those days - Ellen and I did not - you can see it by clicking here.