Between Bag End & Orodruin

I’m just sitting up here in my “loft” / loungeroom, enjoying the scent of Chamomile & Frankincense oils wafting through the air, listening to Resphigi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances”, reflecting a bit on the previous 12 months, realising so much in my life has changed. This time last year I was:

• Starting a new job, and loving the escape from the old. I was travelling the country and I was relishing the “Honeymoon”.
• Bemoaning a broken Nokia phone that couldn’t be fixed under a warranty that had expired 6 months before, but the contract still had 6 months to go!
• I was in the 5th year of a “Polyamorous” relationship which was moving into shaky ground. I think I knew it, but just wasn’t quite willing to do something about it; deluding myself that it was still working for all involved.
• I was just about to buy an iMac, although I didn’t know it. I DEFINITELY DON’T regret that one.
• I’d just rebuilt and upgraded Bombadil the Mail/WWW/FTP server and Furbag’s blog was down and she was getting cranky.
• Had a W2K3 Server (Gandalf) seriously in need of a rebuild and no scheduled upgrade!
• Basically I was bursting out of my old abode, but had no intentions of going anywhere else.
• Furbag and I were in our 12th year together.
• We didn’t have a Cat Door.

Now it seems I’m in a somewhat different space in the Cosmos than I would have anticipated, if I was into that sort of thing. I’m more of a reflective sort of person rather than a predictive person. I like to theorize, but life’s lessons are only learned reflectively, so it’s enjoy the present then learn from the past to prepare for the yet to unfold future. I prefer to look for a direction rather than a destination. That said, it seems that I’ve arrived at the below current point in the journey:

• The relationship has dissolved, at some cost to all concerned, although there’s no doubt it’s for the best for all concerned. It had obviously run it’s course and we’d had the best out of it. I don’t regret the experience, only the reticence to finish it when it should have been done.
• Having realised that the previous job was not right for me, I’m in yet another job, six months in and well past the Honeymoon but still loving it. Once again 5 mins walk from work. This one is definitely a much better choice for me, as things have really rolled on since changing.
• I’ve had the iMac almost a year, and still not regretting the money I spent on it, and become a definite convert. So much so that…
• I’ve been the proud owner of an iPhone for nearly 8 months! Yet another “mac” choice I don’t regret.
• Bombadil (Linux Server) up and running without issues for 12 months. Furbag is up again and I’ve been forgiven. I’ve begun this blog, and moving away from my Livejournal.
• Gandalf (W2K3) has been upgraded with regard to Hardware, and also had several long term issues resolved that were not critical, but annoying.
• I’ve bought a house, and been moved in for 2 months (yesterday). Space for all sorts of things now. Don’t have any intention of going anywhere else for the foreseeable short to medium term. 🙂
• Furbag and I are in our 13th year.
• We still don’t have a Cat Door (yes I’m being made to pay for this one)!

All in all it seems I’ve come forward in a positive manner just as the Cosmos has generally done for me, with some very interesting changes. No regrets, a few bruises, but they’ll pass and I’ve definitely learned something from most of the above. Not sure about the Cat Door yet though…