As this year comes to a close, it is time to reflect on just how much things have changed in the last 12 months.

Or, not.

Because that would be really depressing.

Suffice it to say, this year had its ups and downs, but the overall trend was certainly down. Yes, I was able to go on a wonderful Baltic cruise with the family. But no, I was unable to pay for it myself because my company instituted a 5 percent across-the-board pay cut. (We were, however, given two additional days off to compensate, but I'd rather have had the money. Also, we're not getting the money this year, either. We're also not getting the extra days off.)

This year was one of some new beginnings, as we gained some new members of our family. Sadly, we also lost one. (It's a good thing this decade is over. I'm fresh out of grandparents, and I can't afford to lose anyone else close to me anytime soon.)

The good news is that, overall, my life hasn't changed all that much. The bad news is that, overall, my life hasn't changed all that much.

I have resolved that 2010 will truly be a fresh start. I want to clean out the clutter in my life, and meet some long-overdue goals. Hopefully, one year from now, I will have much to report.

Until then, hold tight, blogosphere. We're in for another wild ride.

This month, like many that came before it, seemed to fly by. But, it sure ended on a high note.

In the last week, I've had more time off from work than time on, and I was able to get the majority of my holiday shopping squared away. Of course, the majority of my holiday shopping for others was squared away two weeks ago, and this week, it was my turn.

I made sure to stay out of the early-morning Black Friday fray, instead scoping out the stores on Wednesday, then returning on Saturday. (My theory: If I saw something I liked, I wouldn't buy it right away. If it was still there in three days, it was meant to be mine. I really cleaned up. And everything was 20 percent off!)

Of course, I also bought a few things online this year: used books and games, calendars and a special Chanukah snow globe designed by Christopher Radko. (Thanks, Rue La La!)

Tonight, I ended the month in grand style, with dinner with out-of-town friends at the Grand Lux Cafe. It's always great to see them, and watching their kids grow is always a treat. (Trust me: You never know for sure that anyone's listening to you until you've heard it come out of a 3-year-old's mouth.) It's definitely true: Kids do say the darnedest things!

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It's been 30 days since my last blog post and I haven't done anything worth repeating, much less committing to cyberspace for all eternity.

Yes, I welcomed a new cousin on Oct. 1, but the month went downhill from there. In fact, I've spent the last two weeks in various states of nasal congestion. It was tough at first, but once I found a daytime/nighttime medication that worked for me, all was well. Sadly, it took 10 days for that to occur, so I'm only on day four of breathing through both nostrils at the same time.

Lest you think I sat around, medicated, all month, I must tell you that I did watch two transmissions of the Metropolitan Opera's performances -- "Tosca" and "Aida" -- and I intend to continue on through the rest of the season. Next up: "Turandot." I don't know anything about that one, except it ends with the famous aria "Nessun Dorma," and stars Marcello Giordani, who I have seen in prior productions. He's good.

Tomorrow is Halloween. And, while it may have made sense to wait until I'd completed my holiday revelry to report on it, I'm just going to say it now: I don't like Halloween, and I won't be dressing up. Instead, I hope to watch the University of Miami Hurricanes and New York Yankees win their respective games. (If the Yankees don't win, I can at least be comforted by the pregame musical number by the cast of "Glee.")

And that's about it for me. Here's hoping next month beats the socks off this month.

Where did September go?

I know it's been 30 days, but it seems to have passed by in 30 minutes.

Despite the fact that nothing of note happened this month, I would just like to know if my life is going to be passing me by just as quickly every month from here on out or if this was just a fluke.

It's got to mean something that the biggest event for me this month was the one-night-only showing of the remastered, high-definition version of "The Wizard of Oz" in theaters nationwide.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that this classic is not exactly at the top of my must-see movie list. In fact, it so frightened me as a child that I don't think I ever saw it all the way through. Sure, I watched bits of it when it used to be on TV once a year, but I never sought it out or bought the DVD so I could spend some time with it on a rainy weekend.

And that's why I completely surprised myself when I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. At 70, it looks better than ever. And the flying monkeys aren't even scary. I am so glad I decided to give this film a chance in the forum it deserves. (Although I was surprised at the aspect ratio, which was less widescreen and more old-fashioned TV screen.)

Speaking of the TV screen, this month also saw the official launch of "Glee," my favorite new show of the fall season. It's about the glee club at McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, and I can't rave enough about it. Of course, there are plenty of musical numbers, so what's not to love! And, aside from having a fabulous regular cast, the guest stars are phenomenal. Tonight, it's Kristin Chenoweth's turn to shine as April Rhoades, a former classmate of glee club adviser Will Shuester, played by Matthew Morrison.

The show actually previewed in May, and I spent nearly four months obsessing over the show, eventually buying the director's cut of the pilot on DVD for $5 at Wal-Mart so I could get a free T-shirt (which arrived in less than four weeks in a size that actually fits me).

Other shows I've picked up this season are "Community," "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town." (Yes, I know the last one has an awful name, but I want to support the folks who gave me all those fabulous seasons of "Scrubs." Plus, it has a fantastic cast.)

So, that was basically my September. I can tell you right now that October is going to start of in a very exciting way, as my cousin will be headed to the hospital tomorrow morning to deliver her second child by planned C-section. I can't wait to meet the newest member of our family!

It's the end of August, so that means just one thing: I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Actually, I don't so much see the light as I do feel it. The light (and heat) coming from the sun, that is.

Yes, I know we in South Florida were lucky that we had a "long winter" -- with relatively cool weather into May this year. But once it got hot, it was very hot, and it's stayed that way ever since. Frankly, I'm a little tired of it. We're not even getting that much rain -- which cools the temperature at least a good 10 degrees. That's right: I'm complaining about the lack of rain. That's what it's come to here.

Hopefully, we'll be able to cool off a little in September.

If I had to sum up the month of July as succintly as possible, I'd have to say it sucked.

On the first day of the month, I arrived home from a two-week vacation. Unfortunately, all of the fabulousness of the trip was wiped away during the stressful 24 hours it took to get home after our initial flight was canceled.

The Fourth of July was great, as usual, as we gathered to celebrate the 22nd birthday of my cousin and the 233rd birthday of our nation.

And then, July 6 came, and it rocked my world.

My dear bubbe, 87 years old, lost her 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

At first, I felt relief that she was no longer suffering, trapped inside a body that looked like the woman who loved us, but with a brain that no longer knew that.

Three days later, we had her funeral, and that's when I completely lost it. My cousins, uncle and mother read eulogies, and it dawned on me that I never got to say goodbye to this wonderful woman. It had been more than five years since I last saw her. I guess part of me was afraid to visit her once I knew that she would no longer know who I was. But there's another part of me regrets that now.

People grieve in different ways, and I decided to deal with my bubbe's death by shopping the pain away. I did this to honor the memory of the countless shopping excursions she took me on, and I was determined to buy nice things.

Well, I did not fail her.

I did not fail her to the tune of $400 in designer handbags.

While this may sound like a lot, the actual retail value of the items I purchased was $1,172. So basically, I saved 66 percent.

Bubbe would have been so proud.

After a couple of weeks of reckless spending (and a vow that I would get my usual $20-on-clearance bags the next time I needed a fix) I cut myself off, satisfied that my retail therapy was complete.

And yet, I still grieve.

But, I'm moving on. Sure, I haven't gotten back to going through all the pictures from my trip, but that's a goal for this weekend. It's good to have goals. Especially those that don't cost anything.

In a perfect world, I would be at home now, telling you what a wonderful vacation I'd taken for the last two weeks. Unfortunately, I'm at the Spring Hill Suites at Newark International Airport, after a tough 20 hours, eight of them on a plane from Copenhagen to New Jersey.

In short: Our flight back to Fort Lauderdale was canceled.

I am still too tired to adequately break down the last 14 days in all of its wondrousness. And, tomorrow, I'll be back at the airport, hoping to fly home earlier than late afternoon/early evening. (I can't believe I had the foresight to take tomorrow off, but still dread my one day of work, Thursday.)

Luckily, I've got a three-day weekend. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time to write about my trip (and the rest of the month) before it's through.

It seems that May has lasted at least three months, but it's only been 30 days since my last post.

The good news is that this month has brought incredible amounts of rain to South Florida. While I hate driving in downpours, I know it's what's best, as we've been in a drought condition for quite some time now. Of course, with all the rain comes the flurry of flowers from the tree under which I park my car at work. Because they fall on a wet car, they tend to dry up and stick to it. I'd take the car to the car wash, but I'm trying to save money for my upcoming trip while planning for my imminent pay cut. (We had six months' notice. It didn't make it better.)

This month, I was able to discover a couple of things for the first time. I started off with "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," a three-act online musical that, when watched all together, is wonderful. I had seen the first act one day late last year, but wasn't really into it. I guess I just had to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. (Plus, it has Neil Patrick Harris, who I loved as Doogie Howser, M.D., currently adore as Barney Stinson on "How I Met Your Mother," and am looking forward to seeing as the host of this year's Tony Awards. Is there anything he can't do? No? I didn't think so.

And last weekend, I plopped on the couch and zipped through the 20 episodes of "Lipstick Jungle," which I never watched when it was on TV, mainly because it was on at 10 p.m., which was past my bedtime at that point. Boy, was that series a treat! I was so much fun to watch, and had Andrew McCarthy, to boot! (I've loved him ever since "St. Elmo's Fire.")

Speaking of series that were canceled before their time should have been up, I was able to watch the final episodes of "Pushing Daisies" online before ABC decided to broadcast them on consecutive Saturday nights at 10 p.m. I'm so glad series creator Bryan Fuller was able to tack on a bit to the unintended final episode that gave viewers a sneak peek at how they all lived happily ever after. Poor guy can't seem to get a break: His first two shows, "Dead Like Me" and "Wonderfalls," didn't last long, either. I may have to check them out someday. He's also a producer on "Heroes," but that's not really my thing.

This month, I also bid adieu to "Scrubs," which finished its eighth season (and first on ABC) with an hour-long episode that surely felt like a series finale to me. However, ABC decided that, since it owns the show and can only benefit from its continued airings, it would renew the show for another season. While many people cheered this, noting that "Scrubs" in any form is still better than no "Scrubs" at all, I decided that the way it ended on May 6 was the way I wanted to remember it. Creator Bill Lawrence explained in of his excellent My Scrubs Ramblings posts why the finale was still a finale and how he would continue the series -- which has signed Zach Braff for six episodes -- as if it were a spin-off. I don't know how I feel about that, but I have all summer to make up my mind. Right now, I'm leaning toward letting the eight seasons stand as the series.

Sadly, this month also saw the passing of a longtime family friend. His wife died nearly 18 years ago, when his daughter and I were starting our senior year of high school. I hate that she's now lost both parents at a relatively young age, but am content to know that he is no longer suffering.
With death comes birth, so, while no babies that I care about were actually born this month, I am happy to report that the sneak preview of the pilot for FOX's new hour-long dramedy "Glee" exceeded my expectations. With a cast led by Broadway stars Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele, this is definitely something I will be tuning into in the fall. The folks at FOX decided to preview it following the last "American Idol" performance show of the season, hoping to keep most of the audience. It didn't keep about half, but it did gain me. I doubt FOX realizes how important that is. Anyway, I found it to be a fun little show that made me smile, mostly due to the awesome soundtrack (which included "On My Own" from "Les Miserables") that creator Ryan Murphy promises will be available via compilation CDs once the show gets going in the fall. Which brings me to the one con about this: I am all excited for this show, and it won't officially start for four more months. What happened to starting new series year-round? I think this would be a great summer show. And I will be bummed if, come fall, it doesn't get great ratings and is canceled before Kristin Chenoweth's guest appearance.

And finally, I decided this month to take advantage of my company's generous vacation time benefit and go on a two-week European vacation with my parents and sister. We'll be flying to Copenhagen, from where we'll depart on a 12-night Scandinavia & Russia cruise on the Azamara Journey. I've never taken an Azamara cruise, but the ships are smaller (700 people) and every cabin has butler service. Yes, I'm really looking forward to it! We'll get to see not only Copenhagen, but Warnemunde, Germany; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallin, Estonia; and Stockholm, Sweden. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say and pictures to share in next month's update. Right now, I have to figure out what to pack.

Also, next week is my birthday. I'll be 35. I'm not averse to celebrating this milestone, but it doesn't feel real to me yet. Again, I'm sure I'll have more to say after it passes. So, I'll be back in a month!

So, here we are, already at the end of another month. I can't say much in the way of positive news, so I'll just start by mentioning that today would have been my grandmother's 90th birthday. She's been gone two and a half years, and I miss her every day. I her honor, I went shopping after work. Unfortunately, things are so bad with the economy that I only bought essential items.

Speaking of the economy, things have become so bad that my company announced not only raise and hiring freezes, but an across-the-board 5 percent pay cut for anyone earning more than $35,000 a year. That includes me. The thing that bothers me the most is that I worked really hard to get where I am and, in 32 days, I will revert back to a salary that I was given in 2007.

I don't know how long the raise freeze will last, but I'm not counting on it being out of effect anytime soon. So, it will probably take me at least two years to get back to where I am right now. That just ticks me off, to be quite honest.

You see, I work hard, and I expect to earn a fair wage for my work. I guess I need to slow things down a little and not aim so high. Unfortunately, I'll probably be doing more work than ever, so I'll be forced to work twice as hard and twice as fast. And sure, my work will suffer. But, those are the breaks, I suppose.

The positive spin on this pay cut news was that the company was giving everyone who was affected by it an additional two personal days to use before the end of the year. Unfortunately, I have an overwhelming amount of days off allotted this year, and I haven't even taken any yet. I'm not the kind of person who can stay home and do nothing. I need to have a plan, to go somewhere and do something.

Speaking of going places, at this very moment, more than 200 colleagues from all over the country are gathered in a hotel ballroom in Minneapolis for the American Copy Editors Society annual conference opening reception. I had expected to be there, until I was told that it was not in my company's budget, so they wouldn't be sending me. I briefly considered going on my own dime. The conference registration fee and airfare to Minneapolis were reasonable, but the four nights of hotel really added up quickly. So, I'm following along from home, hoping I'll have a chance sometime soon to get out of town.

Of course, for that, I'd need more money. In fact, the 5 percent pay cut just about amounts to what it would cost to take a relaxing two-week cruise.

Ah, well. There goes that idea.

Enough for this month. Hopefully, things will look up in May (although I doubt it).

It was a mostly uneventful March, but it ended on a high.

We celebrated my parents' 40th anniversary and my sister's 31st birthday with a family dinner.

In much less significant news, I welcomed the return of "Scrubs" to the airwaves, paired with "Better off Ted." There are only six episodes of the former left, and four of the latter. While I'm sad to see "Scrubs" go, I hope "Better off Ted" does well enough to warrant a full-season pickup for the fall. (I guess we'll know more in May.)

And that's about it.

See you next month!

I had hoped that, by waiting until the last day of the month, I would have something exciting to say in my February post. Well, I was wrong.

Sure, I did go see "A Chorus Line" this afternoon. And I got to go with someone who'd never seen it before. Unfortunately, it wasn't as perfect as I remember the Broadway revival of 2006. (Unfortunately, these things never are.) As for my friend, well, she's been listening to the soundtrack for 25 years, so the deviations were all too apparent.

All it all, it was enjoyable. I still cried during "What I Did For Love." The finale was still incredible. You can't really mess this show up. (Unfortunately, you can hire performers whose voices are a little bit off.)

Of course, going to the matinee meant I missed the 4th birthday of Joshua, held at Chuck E. Cheese's. I've had people tell me I was lucky to have an "out" -- but I still would have loved to see the look on his face when he blew out his candles.

Next time this year, he'll be a big brother. (That was this month's big news.)

Speaking of birthdays, my car turned 1 today. Happy Birthday, Honda Civic! (My Aunt Shoshie also celebrated a birthday today, but it wasn't her 1st. We'll leave it at that.)

In other news, the news business is getting worse. Luckily, I'm still employed and love what I do. Unfortunately, budgets are tight, and I won't be able to get an all-expenses-paid trip to Minneapolis for the annual ACES conference. No matter. I'll be OK. I'm seriously considering going anyway, paying my own way. (I can take a deduction on my taxes, right?) I haven't made a decision yet, but I will by next month's post -- I promise.

Happy new year!

I know it's been more than three weeks since my last post, but I really felt I needed to write something today.

A lot has happened since it became 2009. I spent New Year's Day in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I visited the No. 1 Borders store and got plenty of use out of my new purple coat.

It's been a big week, starting on Sunday, when I went to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where Alexa Ray Joel was putting on a free concert. I'd never seen her live, and free is a fair price, so I got in my car, drove 10 miles and prayed for a good parking spot (which I quickly found). Sure, there was a line to get into the cramped Hard Rock Cafe, but I got in (right under the wire) and settled in a chair right next to the restrooms.

The show was great. Less than an hour, but packed with energy (even during slow songs). Alexa Ray really seemed to be enjoying herself and the crowd, many of which had just come from her father's concert (which was not free and I didn't attend).

After the show, those who wanted to 'say hi' to Alexa formed a line. Somehow, I ended up in the front of it (thanks, unnamed English guy!) and within moments was face to face with the daughter of legends. She was really sweet. We chatted for several minutes, occasionally interrupted by well-wishers from her dad's crew. She told me how nervous she was because of all the people who were coming straight from her dad's show with high expectations of her. I told her how great her show was, and told her that I wasn't even at her dad's show (for the very first time in 20 years). We took a picture, she signed a head shot (using her dad's trademark 'cheers' salutation) and I was on my way. Yes, it was totally worth staying up past my bedtime.

Yesterday was Monday. Other than being a little tired from the night before, it was nothing special. The main event was today: Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States.

A little before noon, about 20 co-workers gathered in the conference room to watch the ceremony. We saw Rick Warren give the invocation, a quartet of musicians play "Air and Simple Gifts" as arranged by John Williams, Joe Biden take the oath as vice president while resting his left hand on an impossibly large bible and Aretha Franklin's hat sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" to the world. (OK, maybe that was an exaggeration; but her hat was really huge. I bet the people all the way at the Washington Monument could see it.)

When it was time for the main event, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was to administer the oath to Barack Hussein Obama. (Yeah, he said it.) I don't know who messed up first, but it wasn't all that pretty. Someone should have done a run-through. Still, the oath was valid -- even without the oath, Obama was president as of noon, Eastern time -- and the crowd roared.

The inaugural address was wonderful. When it was over, there was such a feeling of hope in the conference room. And then, we all returned to our desks. I did catch a glimpse of Elizabeth Alexander reciting her inaugural poem, but I wasn't all that impressed.

I've mostly stayed away from the coverage this evening, as too much can be overwhelming. But, I am proud of my country today.

I don't know how anything else this year will top today, but I hope to be back here next month.