From wikipedia: In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus (/ˈdʒeɪnəs/; Latin: IANVS (Iānus), pronounced [ˈjaː.nus]) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past.
When I went back to USC Upstate to finish my degree in 2004-2005, the teacher in my capstone course of my interdisciplinary studies degree program had us write journals based on the Roman God Janus, looking back at our past class and forward to the future. Seems like a good format to use for my end of the year blog.
Overall 2018 wasn't all that bad. I ran into some financial difficulties due to lack of hours this summer, but they have come back since the fall and Christmas and my upcoming tax refund should get me back on track.
We also didn't have as many celebrity deaths as 2017. Burt Reynolds really hurt, I shed some tears over him, and Penny Marshall was tough, but overall they didn't take nearly as many i loved as last year.
Football season ended on a sour note for my Gamecocks, and I'm trying to be more neutral towards Clemson with my immediate and extended family having so many connections to both Clemson as well as our lifetime connection to South Carolina. Alabama should win again, however.
The biggest change for me has been finally saying goodbye to DirecTV, not because I was unhappy with my service, but because I don't get AT&T internet, I have to pay Verizon for my internet and if I'm doing that, it made more sense to go with a cheaper streaming service for my live TV. I chose YouTube TV because of all the streaming services I tried, it was the only one that doesn't buffer or skip constantly. The only real drawback is with the dispute between Amazon and Google, there's no official YouTube TV app on my Amazon fire stick. I had to download a rogue one and apart from " minimizing " every sixth or seventh time I launch the app, it works fine. The problem is solved with a reset of my fire stick.
Looking forward to 2019, I'm really excited about my alma mater USC Upstate finally starting Big South play in basketball and baseball. I decided against an ESPN+ subscription because I'd mainly be "keeping an eye" on the games on my tablet while I watched bigger schools or other events on my TV. I figured if I'm doing that it's just as easy and more cost effective just follow the scores. I'm toying with the idea of attending the basketball game against UNC-Asheville, because that's a rivalry I'm really hoping develops. I never attended a basketball game when I was a student there, and its frustrating to me that we still don't have online ticketing.
The baseball schedule just recently came out and to my delight there are two home games on Thursdays, my day off. I have a morning appointment one of those days but plenty of time to get home, watch days of our lives and head over to spartanburg. Sadly USC Upstate is once again not playing at Fluor Field.
As for my Gamecocks I've decided not to go to the Clemson game in Greenville this year. It was cold and got windy towards the end of the game which is in early March and some USC and Clemson fans were kind of jawing back and forth in the stands and it made me uncomfortable. It's also the most expensive game even moreso than Greenville Drive games. I do plan to go to the game against Furman later in March.
I have my eye on 3 Drive games, all on Sundays. One against the Columbia Fireflies, which I skipped the game I had a ticket to last year due to cold temperatures and being more interested in Monday Night RAW that night. One against the Charleston Riverdogs and one on the Sunday after my birthday against the Asheville Tourists. I think I prefer Sunday games because it's more of a family atmosphere (aka less drinking) and they are typically in the afternoon which means I don't have to bring my pills with me.
I don't really have any resolutions again this year. One of the usual suspects, losing weight and eating better, I've done big time. I was around 195 and now I'm usually between 170-180 (I weigh more at my appointments because i have my shoes on). Ive also reduced my dosage of Metformin, for type 2 diabetes, to once a day. My house needs a good cleaning as usual but I have made progress there as well. Also since Judi Buckley got me excited this year by giving me someone to vote for in my SC House district, I've gotten involved in politics and plan to stay involved. I've come to the conclusion, however, that a run for office is not in my future. Being born on the cusp of exposure between Leo and Virgo, I have some Leo the Leader in me, but he's usually brought back down to earth by my ascending Virgo. A gay, HIV+ atheist would have little chance in the upstate of SC. I've also accepted that my current living situation isn't going to change anytime soon, so I'm going to make the most of my life here and stay behind the scenes.
And even though I'm probably more "Green" than "Blue", joining the Democratic Party offically is also a goal of mine.
