Insomnia

2005 is ready to be over. Finito. Fertig. Done. Is it just me or has this year dragged on in such slow motion that not only will ringing in 2006 be anticipatory, exciting and fun, but an exhausting relief at the same time?

I don't think I am the only awaitor of fresh starts. Hell has set down upon most of my friends in the recent months, only exacerbating the need for change.

For starters, I have been trying to leave NYC since March. An innocent ski trip to Vail was the necessary ammunition to get me to see that life exists outside of the Apple. Nature thrives and the straight variety of men are abundant. More recently I've actually put the pipe dream to action with job interviews. Interviews where I've prepared like I own the company: I've read books, articles, interviewed competitors, prepared SWOT analyses, developed strategy plans and short of writing a full on deck, I ran circles around some of my interviewers. However, even that kind of over-the-top preparation does not guarantee a position. I am, after 3 months in the process, STILL in the process. And this, above all else, causes me extreme amounts of stress.

In addition, I've actually had to live like a nomad for the past 2 months. Wiser folks may already know that living month-to-month, without a lease, and with the requirement to pay cash to your landlord for rent is a recipe for disaster. And I mean disaster in the literal sense. On October 11, the monsoons came to New York. I'm not talking a few inches, I am talking dreadful sheets of rain. The type of rain that umbrellas fear and even ponchos can't compete. We had over 18 inches in total, primarily in the last 2 weeks of October. And because I live in a cheap and faulty apartment on the top floor of my building, the normally slightly drippy ceiling gave way - to streams of water from the roof straight to about 14 buckets, pails and bowls below - all in the privacy of my living room. The situation worsened and the smell turned from rainy to mildewy to plain sour. I was relegated to my room, specifically my bed - to eat, sleep, entertain and exist. Grand Sichuan never knew a better customer and I couldn't be more unhappy. The landlord continued with his empty promises of fixing the building the next week ... or two ... or three. Finally, the roofmen came to do their deed. And then, I was temporarily evicted until the roof was complete and the apartment was back to normal. That was two months ago, and I have just moved back in. The joys of living in New York.

My final straw is the perturbation I have with most people I know at the moment. Why is everyone pissing me off? Cover charges, bad planning, poor communication, self-centeredness, loud mouths, stupid conversations, wasting time... the list could go on. And the damn tourists! You and your slow-moving fat asses are not welcome on the sidewalks that people actually use to walk (not waddle) to work. I am officially going to hell after that comment.

I guess that's why 2005 should just be over. I have never anticipated a new year with such hope and excitement as I do 2006. My insomnia might possibly go away... and leave me with contented dreams of a life that I actually like.