2013 ...

After a fantastic week in Sydney and having just completed a great night watching fireworks with Sasky, she mentioned that seeing the sun rise on the beach would be a good way to bring in the new year.  With an hour or so of sleep, we went to Bondi Beach early in the morning to see the sun rise on 2013.  The sunrise wasn't the beautiful spectacle it normally is, however the year has started off quite well nonetheless. 

I'll update this throughout the year, and I just know that Sasky is right ...

2013 is going to be a much better year than 2012 was, for both of us.

January:

• Australia trip, hanging with Sasky for a week, and all the fantasticness that went on there.
• A day of walking around Baltimore and taking pictures with McGrady and Melanie.
• Working at the Orioles FanFest.

February:

• Ravens win the Super Bowl
• An 150th Anniversary Stoke City (personalized with American Geoff Cameron) top shows up at my front door, from Phil and Anna.
• A 9 hour, international, Google+ Hangout Saturday with Phil, Anna, and Michael, & then watching A-League soccer into the wee hours of the night.

March:

• Won tickets to Darius Rucker, Rodney Atkins, and Jana Kramer on WPOC, by being caller #9.
• Asked to DJ a wedding in New York, for a great friend's wedding.
• Started my legacy, the only way I know how right now, by starting to send photo books around the world.

April:

• Refereed the University of Maryland v Washington Spirit Pro exibition game.
• Finished 2nd in an NCAA Men's basketball bracket, and even led for awhile.
• Caps win the SouthEast Division, and head into the playoffs as the 3rd seed.

May:

• Not really a good month actually.  There were a bunch more downs than ups this month, and the ups kindof felt like pieces that were out of place this time around.  I was a bit alone this month, even when I was out with other people.
• Some good days watching the Giro d'Italia or F1.
• Fun with Scotty in studio and watching the Face Off Hockey Show Hockey Team.

June:

• Honestly, June was a bit more of what May was, and "normal" seems to be slipping below the x-axis. However the good nights, with friends, were really fun nights.
• Darius Rucker concert at Pier Six and USMNT friendly v Germany.
• Marc's 30th Birthday and fun with the group at the NHL Draft in Newark, NJ.

July:

• After a lackluster June, July was the best month of 2013 since leaving Australia in January.
• Hanging out with Sasky, for three full weeks, day and night, for Tour de France dates and sometimes just to talk about life.
• Picking out colors and styles for a handmade beanie hat, made in Australia.
• A random night at the Blake Shelton concert at Jiffy Lube Live and USMNT Gold Cup quarterfinal game against El Salvador.
• My 35th Birthday, brought in with a sunrise round of golf.

August:

• August wasn't too awful. It started off really bad, but picked up toward the end. I even got in an F1 date with Sasky. It's always a good time when I get to see her and talk to her.
• The start of the Premier League season was fun... being at Slainte, at 7am, to watch soccer was a great Saturday.

September:

• Well, things don't last forever when lives are getting busy and constantly changing.
• Soccer season has started and that means I have some long days and people yelling and screaming at me, even when they have no clue what they're talking about.
• I've been pretty frustrated throughout most of this month, and I've missed out on doing a lot of things that I like to do... like not getting to be part of the hockey show all month.

October:

• I got to be a part of Charlie and Ariel's marriage in the Poconos.
• I figured out that my legacy in life will probably be created through the pictures that I take, so I bought a new lens and I'll start creating soon.
• I spent the month with water damage in the guest room and a hole in the ceiling of my bathroom, stressed out about a lot of things, frustrated with most everything else in my life, and very much alone.

November:

• This month started in a flash... 70 hour work weeks and the stress of a company wide program going live. I wasn't home much and didn't have much time to be by myself.
• Refereeing has ended with the normal disappointment that should really just become the expectation. Playoffs come and go, and I'm just not good enough to get the D1 tournament games.
• Thanksgiving was fun. It's alway a good time at Aunt Cheryl and Karen's house. Their house is very nice, set up quite well, and there are pictures of their travels everywhere. They do have a lot more wall space than I do though. 

December:

• I got to take family pictures, for a former co-worker.  It was a great time with the family, got me out of the house, and they paid me even.
• I've found the hole in my roof and a got a friend to help me fix it.  We celebrated with cigars and beers on the deck, and then moved onto Frank's Den.
• I got to celebrate with some college friends and head to a tour of the Troegs Brewery.
• I ended the year on a good note though ... work promotion, making even more money, getting recommended to referee Big10 soccer next season, and getting packed up for an England adventure.  It's good to end on a high note.

Well, that's basically it. I'm getting ready to get on a plane heading to England to see Phil, Anna, and Michael and hang out for a bit... ending this year with another trip to see great people. This exercise will never be done again. I forced myself through some of the down months of 2013, and somehow seemed to make everything sound somewhat decent in the end. 2013 moved me in the right direction, as I'm in a much better place than I was two years ago at this time. I'm the most marketable, as an employee and a person, as I've ever been. Actually, for a period of this year, it was the closest I've ever felt to being in a real relationship too... the closest I've felt to finding a girl that I could be completely me around at all times.  Even though I know it is a good friendship, and nothing more (let's be honest, Sasky deserves someone far better than I can ever get out of me... I can't even get out of my own way half of the time) it was cool to be a part of someone's life and to share moments of our lives with each other, even if it was just for a little while.  Thank you darling, for letting me feel this way, and thank you for being you.

To end this year, I've learned that I'm getting better. With most everything though, I've learned that I'm good, but I'm just not good enough. I need to change something and figure out how to be better because I don't want to live a life of constantly wanting something that's not going to happen. Thanks to all my friends, that are around me and help me, and actually put up with my bullshit.  Losing the closeness I had with Sasky hurt me during the year, big time, and maybe 2014 will end up being better than 2013.  My horoscope tells me it will be.  Without adding someone or reconnecting with someone special within my life. I'm just not exactly sure...