Farewell, 2013, and good riddance!

And so another year ends and a new one will begin tomorrow. I, for one, am glad to see the year end. It's not been the happiest year of my life, so I am eager to see it gone and to move on to another year ahead that, with any luck, will be far better than the one just leaving. The economy hasn't improved all that much, to where my now former employer will be forced into even greater austerity measures starting next week, when hours will be sharply cut and staffing will also continue to be reduced. Probably as good a time as any to have left my job. I wasn't happy in it anymore as it was, so when you start to dread going to work each day and look increasingly forward to weekends, it's time to as yourself why and do something about it. I was royally burned out, never felt that my knowledge or skills were being used to their fullest and I just felt increasingly miserable in a job where I had long ago reached a dead end. My wages remained stagnant over the space of a decade and it was becoming increasingly disheartening knowing that the longer I worked there, the more it was going to cost me to keep working when my wages were flat and going nowhere fast. So I while I miss some of my co-workers, I do not miss answering the daily alarm clock at 5:30 a.m. and enduring the maddening commute with drivers whose skills seemed to rapidly deteriorate over time. I saw so many really bad accidents in the years that I drove to work that I am grateful not to be putting my life at risk twice a day making the 30 mile round trip commute to work, especially this time of year when the roads can turn treacherous at a moment's notice. It's also nice to save the wear and tear on my car, which now has over 80,000 miles on it and will probably need a good tune up, oil change and tire rotation soon. Not adding 600 miles per month on the car via commuting is a relief and it may also help to drive down my car insurance rates knowing that I am not putting as many miles on it as I once did. Guess I should call my car insurance company to tell them to lower my rates now that I am retired.

So here's wishing everyone a very safe, healthy and Happy New Year. May it be far better than the one about to leave us in about six and a half hours from now.