Good bye to 2010

It's officially the last day of 2010, albeit very early on that day. I can't say I'm going to miss this year very much. While no major catastrophe happened, in all this just wasn't my year. I didn't knit very much, although I bought enough yarn to knit every day for years, all of which just got added to my collection. (Remember, I'm not calling it a stash anymore.) Money was tight, but not really tight. It's a struggle saving nearly a thousand dollars a month just to cover my "summers off" (read unpaid planning time for those two months, in reality). I still don't understand why my district won't go to a 12-month cycle, instead of a 10-month one.

My health was lousy this year. February saw the start of my knee problems, which continue to this day. I got only one nasty case of whatever was decimating my class, although they went through 3 cycles of it. And of course, just before Thanksgiving, I fell in my classroom, badly spraining my left foot, which put me in bed during the week off for Thanksgiving.  Then, I fell going down the stairs at my apartment on Christmas day, carrying packages to my car. My own fault, couldn't see where I was going, and missed a step. I prided myself on not damaging a single package, and not landing on my left knee or foot. However, I spent a miserable Christmas night, worried that I'd sprained or broken my right foot. I wrapped it firmly in an ace bandage, and had to sleep with my right leg bent at the knee, with my foot flat on the bed (not a good position for sleeping, I can now verify), but come morning, it was much better, and it hasn't caused me any trouble since. The only reminder of it are the scabs on my right foot, where I scraped all the skin off it in the fall.  Not pretty, but not particularly painfull.

I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted or needed to this year. I seriously need to get my life more organized. My apartment is overflowing in books, knitting magazines, yarn, and school-related items. I need more closet space for my clothing. I need more cupboard space for my kitchen items.  I need to get everything organized and put away in its place. (Once I figure out what those places are.) I think I actually need to find a new place to live. One with more room, on the ground floor.  The thought of packing up, though, makes me nauseous. I think I'm going to channel a little Scarlett O'Hara and just think about that tomorrow, though.

Politically, this wasn't the year I'd hoped it would be. Obama accomplished a lot, but not enough, and he certainly hasn't found his defining idea yet. He's too concerned with bipartisanship, and not concerned enough with getting his goals accomplished. And the coming year isn't going to be any easier. Harder, in fact, with the "Just Say No" Republican party taking over the House.  His compromises make the nay-sayers look better. It's time he stood his ground, and let the Republican party be seen for what it is, these days.  All that screaming about the deficit, and how it was killing America, and what do the Republicans demand? Tax cuts for millionaires. Tax cuts for the wealthy inheritors of million-dollar estates.  Which of course added billions to the deficit. But you don't hear any Republicans talking about that, now.  Gingrich did this "just say no" bit back in the 80s. Shut down the government, even. But his "Contract with America" didn't turn out well for him, since Clinton ended up looking much better, and the Republicans looking very bad, indeed.  Obama should stand his ground, and let the Republicans show the American public exactly what they're after.  Anybody paying attention to what's coming out of the Republican leaders knows that America isn't synched up to it. And most of us realize that, unfortunately, raising taxes is going to be necessary to save ourselves from ourselves.

California, thankfully, elected the right governor, although I don't envy Jerry the state our state is in. We honestly need to scrap the state constitution and write a new one. And if we have any sense, we'll omit that part that says anyone at all can put a measure on the state ballot that casts certain revenues or expenditures in stone, and removes the Assembly's ability to manipulate funding to match need. Or that tries to amend the state constitution to discriminate against one group of citizens.  The initiative process has made governing California nearly impossible, between tying up funds, raising voting numbers for passing any sort of revenue-generating process, and spending millions on lawsuits fighting initiatives that are flat out wrong. (And no, it isn't just the latest gay-bashing initiative that we've paid out for. There was that lovely little initiative not too many years ago that tried to turn priests, pastors, teachers, etc, into immigration agents. Imagine anyone telling me I have to turn in the names of my students to immigration, if I'm not sure their parents are here legally. Not in this lifetime! That was one law that I fully intended not to obey. Fortunately, the courts ruled it illegal for a variety of reasons, so I didn't get to go to jail for civil disobedience.)  California schools can't take any more budget cuts, folks. We need a new, sane, state constitution.

So, all in all, this wasn't a year I'm going to look back fondly on. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good, either.  I don't do resolutions, and I'm not betting on anything, either. But, I am hoping that 2011 is a better year. We need one.