To the New Year

As 2011 gasps its last breaths, it is either a time to review the year that has been or look forward to the year that will be. Given the year that was for me, I am choosing the latter. So the assignment I have given myself is to think about things to look forward to.

While 2011 had some good movies to go to and I actually attended more than I usually do, 2012 is shaping up to be a very interesting time at the theater. The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and Prometheus all look entertaining if not excellent. But the one really making me eager to see is the first of The Hobbit movies. Aggravating that is the trailer that was released this month:

Looks fantastic, doesn’t it? The final moments of the trailer raised goosebumps for me. It is hard to believe it is ten years from when Fellowship of the Ring came out.

Come to think of it, watching the Blu-rays of the Extended Editions is another thing to look forward to. My sister and her husband have given us a 40” 1080P 120 MHz LED LCD HDTV for Christmas. This unexpected addition to the living room has prompted me to raid the money I was saving for a new PC monitor and get a decent Blu-ray player for the set.  Just one catch and that is getting it to Minnesota from Indiana.

At least by the time it gets shipped home all the needed cables and gear should have arrived in time. New gear means new cables. At least I will still be able to hook up my region free Yamaha DVD player to the new set. Time to rebuild the media center PC too and add an older HD compatible video card I have to it.

I just hope I do not break anything setting it up. A gift to my step nephew lasted only a couple of minutes after giving it to him. Warning him not to overstretch the toy resulted in one broken toy thirty seconds later. Maybe I should not have warned him…

It appears I have inadvertently created a couple of Bleach fans with the step nephew and niece. They especially like Rukia after seeing several episodes, so they show some good taste there.

The big news is that my sister is pregnant. Irony runs strong in the family, so it is no surprise that this happened unexpectedly after many previous travails trying to conceive.  Welcome news, indeed.

While trying to maintain a positive attitude about next year, I cannot say I am looking forward to the political and economic aspects. The only description I can muster for it without sounding apocalyptic is the word “meatgrinder.” If that is one word, that is.

One thing I will not be doing is a New Year’s resolution. I am too busy trying to do everything I can to improve my health to add something on top of it. Also, last year’s one of finding a gal was a total fiasco, so avoiding the irritation of failing to keep a new one is a bonus. All hope has been lost on that anyway.

Here is to hoping something can be done about our transportation problems.