So it is now 2009

Workwise, 2008 was a very good year. Heck, it wasn't so bad on the personal side either, although there were some moments there toward the end that were a little hairy.

I don't know about anyone else, but I always feel a change -- mental? physical? emotional? -- when I hang a new calendar on the wall. I love the new calendar feel. I take the cellophane off (note to calendar makers: can you get a little more ecofriendly with the wrap?) and page through it. Not so much to see the pretty pictures, but to see the blank dates.

I'm a calendar obsessive. I have them all over the place, including three in my office -- two appointment calendars and a wall calendar where I track deadlines. Actually there is a fourth, from 2004, I think, that has beach scenes. I keep it around because I like the pictures. I keep my old calendars, too, which probably tell more about me and my life than any journal I ever kept.

I love the blank dates. To me, they represent hope and the openness of the future. I get a thrill every time I write something into one of those big blank spaces. It means something good is happening -- a deadline, lunch with a friend, LASIK surgery.

But sometimes the blank dates are scary. No deadlines. No interviews. Nothing on my plate, what will I do? You know the answer to that -- go out and try to fill those blanks, that's what!

My calendar is looking pretty good right now. There are interviews scheduled and deadlines all over January.

I can't wait to see what else 2009 brings.