Another year has come and gone – this one seemed to go by very quickly for me. I had a lot going on, many changes began here and continued.

I left Alcoholics Anonymous

It was a while in the making. I finally saw the inner workings of the service side of AA, what I assumed would be the most spiritual was the most sick I guess. It seemed all anyone wanted was what they wanted, not what was best for AA as a whole. So to me I had lost a second part of the triangle, the one I believed in most – Service. Between that and the “fake it til you make it” dishonesty in an honesty program. I’m really an atheist and cannot swallow what others do in its entirety. Don’t miss it, gives me lots of free time and less to be resentful at. I did go to a meeting with Flo when I was in Albuquerque but that was for him, I was just along. No one from AA has really reached out to me asking me about it – some have said they want to leave too, so that’s interesting.

I wrote

Mostly I wrote in my blog – bookofjamez.com – but I also am working with Suzanne on a book and have some other stuff that I’m unsure of so it sits on in a folder waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I’ve started a multi part story – Eric John and it’s going places, I think J

I had therapy and drugs

I was just coming out of a depression from the previous year, the doc had given me an anti-depressant and it began to take effect. I started to feel immensely better about things. No longer as irritable or as much of a doomsayer than I was previously it’s a drastic change for me – depression seemed to be my natural state and I just didn’t know there was another option. I decided to see a psychologist and then a different one for a few months – that went well, they helped me deal with some stuff that I had to deal with.

I had a bunch of visitors this year.

Saw Suzanne a bunch of times in Phoenix. Ma was here on her birthday with Uncle Rick driving across the country with a truck and a camper having fun I think. My friend Chris was here for a conference – we saw a movie and had dinner. Kenny and Sheila came to the city and we had dinner. It was a nice year to see people.

I took a few trips.

First to Las Vegas for a work conference – got to talk to photographers about insurance. Then I drove up to Las Vegas to see Suzanne for a few days – we went to a bar to see a few bands. I flew to Albuquerque to spend time with my friend Flo and help him get his cabin ready for winter. For Thanksgiving I flew to Virginia Beach and spent the holiday with Suzanne and her family – was very nice. In a few weeks I’ll be flying to Wisconsin to spend a few days with family for the holidays.

I moved.

From Scottsdale to Phoenix, only about 10 blocks really. Have a roommate named Anne who I work with also. It’s a bigger space in a gated community. It’s a few minutes longer to work but nothing to complain about really. Just off the freeway and near a park I like to walk in.

I love my job – most of the time.

I’m still working for Hill & Usher, the insurance agency I’ve been at since 2014. I am almost always extremely busy, engaged and learning – it’s so great for me. I work too much probably but I’m not feeling like I am. I manage three people, when they let me, and they are great workers who work as hard as I do. I work with a great staff and my bosses and I really get along well. I’m happy there.

I saw dead people

I found my co-worker, Andre, dead at his apartment. He was a sweet old French Canadian who worked in insurance for a good long time. He had forgotten his satchel and called the office asking if someone would bring it – I volunteered. It was a weird experience and took a while to process. Many of our friends say they are glad I was the one who found him as I took care of him, but I don’t think it was ‘lucky’ really…

I read a few books.

• Most notably, my friend Randy Ganther wrote a book – Law and Disorder: Abuse, Corruption, and Misconduct in the American Criminal Justice System –I really liked it quite a bit.
• Wool Omnibus Edition – Hugh Howey
• Follow You Home – Mark Edwards
• An Innocent Client – Scott Pratt
• The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemmingway
• Boy’s Life – Robert R McCammon
• And I reread some old favorites and random comic books and insurance magazines… I like to read.

I left Facebook: after the election I saw a lot of hate being spewed back and forth and realized I didn’t know the approximate 300 people that were my “friends” anyway. So I deactivated my account. Frees up a lot of time and like smoking or World of Warcraft, I only miss it once in a while J

I saw movies:

• Deadpool (OMFG was this wonderful)
• Captain America: Civil War (loved it)
• Warcraft (not bad)
• Batman v Superman (horrid)
• Suicide Squad (horrid)
• Finding Dory (ok)
• X-Men Apocalypse (bah)
• Independence Day: Resurgence (bah)
• Ghostbusters (I walked out of the theater)
• The Conjuring 2 (I liked it – never saw the first one though)
• The Nice Guys (not bad really)
• Star Trek Beyond (nice, but I liked the previous two more)
• The Magnificent Seven (really enjoyed)
• Doctor Strange (good movie, true to the comic book)
• Zootopia (cute)
• Sausage Party (not for kids, not bad)
• The Accountant (really liked this one)

I listened to music:

Prepping for the Shiprocked cruise I started listening to some of the bands – Art of Dying, Avatar, Papa Roach, Cane Hill, 12 Stones, Crobot, Living Sacrifice and more…

In addition I still love Zac Brown Band and Zac’s new venture – Sir Rosevelt.

I bought albums from Disturbed, 3 Doors Down and John Legend

I had a great year I think, my birthday is today and I’ve got things planned for the next year already (a cruise in January, work trip to San Antonio, visit to the DC area and more). Thank you for being in my life this year and maybe next.