2011 Beginning

As a friend pointed out to me recently I was a very negative person last year (and probably the year before that too), so I have been trying very hard this year to not be that person. I will admit it has been hard especially since I suffer from minor depression and severe anxiety. I just want to point out to people in general telling someone who suffers from these things to "get over it" or "just snap out of it" doesn't work. Some people recover from this stuff quickly and for others it takes longer. I definitely admit that I haven't been doing my "homework" when it comes to some things, but I am trying. I will also say that I listen to everything people tell me. I try to make the changes people suggest but I do have a very hard head which makes it a little more difficult.

So now on to how the year has started. This was planned to be a year of friendship, which started out well in January. I got to have dinner with friends I haven't seen in months and we all enjoyed the night. We went to a nice Irish restaurant and it was good food and good company. I also got to have dinner with another friend and we went to a charity quiz night which also was a very fun evening. Unfortunately the next month flew by and I haven't had a chance to see any more friends. I will make up for that in March when I intend on visiting some friends at our annual "exhibition."

On the volunteer front I was able to do 2 and a half hours at the Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) and 3 hours at a charity Mardi Gras event for the Naperville Jaycees (unfortunately that night was cut short because of bad stomach pains). This was a good small step to my trying to do 100 hours this year (the 250 just isn't realistic).

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, We find it hitched to to everything else in the universe." --John Muir

Goal = 100 hours
To date = 5.5 hours
To go = 94.5 hours