A year of changes

As this year draws to a close, I look back on the events of the year, both in my life, and in the world as a whole.  In January, the first black U.S. President was sworn in.  Too bad he's a ego-centric moron with zero leadership experience.  January also saw the merging of MCRS and Rabbit Agility, and the obstacle-building "parties."


In February, I lost Cosmo.  He was only 2.5 years old.  He was my buddy.  He wasn't a cuddler.  He didn't seek affection.  He was a fighter.  He was solitary.  He was one of a kind.  He was afraid of thunderstorms, but fearless in a fur-flying fight with other bunnies twice to thrice his size.  He loved to burrow, be in snow, or just in the hay in his cage.  He changed from a bunny whom we weren't sure would pass white-band, to a Purple-Band bunny who loved sailing over an arch jump he once dreaded.  One of two rabbits to never, not even once, step in the water when performing the water jump.

But February wasn't all darkness:  It saw the beginning of something my girlfriend and I did not think possible:  Morgan and Bailey worked through the grief over losing their cage neighbor by beginning to bond.  I admit it helped me work through my grief as well.  Today, they're inseparable.

But knowing that Tawny would take the bonded pair with her, if and when she bought her own house, motivated me to find a bunny to try to fill the hole in my heart left by Cosmo's death.  In late March, I took a trip over to Wisconsin and found not one, but two baby Flemish Giants.  Tawny and I named them Goose and Dori.  At two months of age, they were already around five pounds.  About a month later, the "babies" outweighed Morgan, and within the next month, they outweighed Bailey, once considered by the two of us to be a big bunny.  They'll never replace Cosmo, as that's impossible.  But each of them reminds me of my little buddy in their own way.

April and May don't stand out significantly to me, other than when I remember having to tolerate some petty power struggles in Rabbit Agility while working long hours at my job.

Little did I know that the long hours and loyalty to the company would not be rewarded.  As June came to a close, all of the contractors were let go, and most of us direct employees were put on paid administrative leave.  While the two months' paid vacation was nice, I, in a rare display of youthful arrogance, squandered time that could have been spent searching for a new job.  I thought that my position would allow me to retain employment longer than some.  I was wrong. What occurred wasn't a layoff, but a massacre of a competent workforce.

So while my July was restive and afforded me the opportunity of getting a couple of projects completed around my house, as well as taking time to visit my grandmother out east, I paid for that choice later on.  Truthfully, with the benefit of hindsight, I might have still done things the same way.

Naturally, the layoff was the most significant event in August.  It's discouraging to see the talent scattered the winds like that, and then to hear my president go on television and lie about it, saying the Pentagon doesn't want these antiquated and expensive weapon programs.  Ahem, Mr. President, be a stand-up guy for a change and say that you don't want these weapons programs, since the Pentagon will want whatever you want.  They're merely in charge of putting your policy into action.  Putz.

September, October, November:  They've blurred together:  Some promising leads and chances that simply fell apart.  Tawny got her own apartment, Fernando got married, I was actively pursued by recruiters.

December was a good cap to a year of changes and challenges.  And what I hoped for, a position in the Cities, was all but realized.  Fortunes have a way of reversing, however.  The four open positions with that company became two, and they moved from the Cities to Maryland.  But I wasn't even back home from my interview in Des Moines when they called and asked when I could start!

But December wasn't all roses.  A mascot for Rabbit Agility, Goldy, succumbed to stomach cancer, joining Cosmo, Chester, Leland, Frida, and other special buns on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.  Thanks to Dell Robbins, Rabbit Agility is probably a big hit in Heaven.