Goodbye 2005

now that 2005 had come to an end many of us, like myself, reflect on the year that past. it was a pretty stable year all things considered. i think i'll take foo's advice and write a list of good things that happened in 2005 (well maybe not 25, but i'll do my best).

but before i do that i want to pay tribute to the 3 pets we lost in 2005. our pets are our children and the loss still affects us. even though they were with us for only a relatively short time, they left an indelible mark on our hearts.




Cassie
May 2004 - January 2005

cassie was a sweet, goofy and energetic puppy. we adopted her through smiley dog rescue about a few months after our dog sandy passed away at 15. anyone that met cassie was immediately enamored with her funny personality. cassie was a whippet / shepherd mix that loved to run. she was unfortunately diagnosed with bone cancer in october 2005. she was only 11-months old when she passed. we miss her more than words can say.


Yoshi & Quico
1998 - 2005

yoshi and quico were pacific parrotlets. parrotlets are smaller than love birds and originate from central america. yoshi and quico joined our family just 1 year after we settled in san francisco. they were brothers (clutch-mates is the proper name) that had completely different personalities. yoshi was shy and demure and quico was feisty. they passed after a freak accident. our house isn't the same without their whistles and chirps.

now for the just about 25 good things of 2005 (in no particular order)

1. my job is still good
2. i was promoted to a sr. producer
3. after 2 years of being mistreated and unappreciated at a horrible previous job i finally felt like i could make a difference at work.
4. we adopted our dog trixie
5. i knitted (or is it knit) my first sweater, albeit baby sweater
6. i started "stitch 'n eat" a knitting group at work
7. i discovered blogging thanks to "k" and started this blog
8. david and i celebrated our 15-year anniversary
9. we had a great vacation in san diego
10. lots of friends had babies - i love kids!!! cathy & jim adopted theo, paula and roger had matthew, susie and adam had hank, and terri and mat had rainer
11. my brother is still in remission
    
12. our senior cats remain in relatively good health for being 20+ and 17+
    
13. i turned 44 (i figured if i list this as a good thing i would feel that almost hitting my mid-40s wouldn't be a bad thing)
14. david turned 40 (he finally joined me)
    
15. the cats and dog finally showed signs of beginning to tolerate each other
    
16. my hair got grayer but at least my hairline didn't diminish (at least not too much)
    
17. i put on a few pounds (this is a good thing. gaining weight for me is the same struggle as loosing weight is for others)
    
18. some really good movies were released like King Kong, Serenity, House of Flying Daggers, Sideways, Sin City, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, Finding Neverland, and david wanted me to write Star Wars, Episode 3 (david wanted me to add the star wars movie, i thought it was entertaining at least)
19. gay acceptance got stronger, at least in the media and urban areas
    
20. Brokeback Mountain!!! heath ledger and jake gyllenhaal, screen play, direction all excellent!!!
21. logo tv, the first, free gay cable network was launched
    
22. martha stewart was released from jail
    

happy, healthy and prosperous new year to all!