…but not as much as 2011 did.
At least for me.
For sheer misery, that will be the one I remember till I die. I’m way past it now, but just thinking back to how miserable almost every day of that soul-sucking year was for me makes me cringe. As bad as it seemed at the time, I really don’t think I quite realized just how fucking dark a place I was in (for 2012 and part of 2013 too). It’s kind of scary in retrospect and I’m glad I finally got some help.
I like myself and my life a whole lot better now. In fact, I think I’d like myself even if I weren’t me. Mainly because no one else could parse that last fucking sentence. But also because I’ve now re-learned how to enjoy life and prioritize the important stuff. Usually, at least.
Anyway, if you have to make a New Year’s resolution, asking for help when you need it might be a good one.
Happy New Year and wishing you a great 2022!
Cheers! and may 2022 be better for all of us!
I stumbled across your “Ten Years in San Francisco” post after Googling “Mike’s Night Gallery.” (I’m on bit of a nostalgic streak, currently remembering many a night of debauchery at that place.)
Anyhow, I lasted a bit longer in SF—16 or so years—before it “chewed me up and spit me out” as we used to joke, never to return. That’s not to say I don’t miss the place or that a strange, twisted vision of it doesn’t pop into dreams now and then, but I have no desire to ever return. I’m no longer the same person I was from ’86 to ’02, and from the looks of it, neither is the place itself. I realize I’ve now been gone longer than the total time I lived there, but if I go to Google Street view and attempt to walk around downtown—or even Upper Market—I become completely disoriented. And I’m most certainly not the same innocent, naïeve 20s-30s something I was then. I used to remark that San Francisco was a city for the young, and looking back now, it seems more apt than ever.
Anyhow, just wanted to drop you a line to let you know your observations resonated. (Tried emailing you directly but it was rejected as undeliverable.)