The Grey Shadow

As a flip-side piece to my 2009 evaluation post, I would like to set some things that I should take into account regarding the year 2010:

In the personal side, it is clearly evident that I should become more careful about my own health. It is also clear that I should do this not only because of myself, but because I am a steward of God’s creation of my own body, and because I am indebted to people who love me and appreciate me. It is going to be a tough effort, no doubt; but I should do it nonetheless.

Regarding work, it is clear that I should go look for a better job. This would include a better-paying day job, and also see whether I can improve on my translation practice. A tough call, again.

In my studies, I have several goals, but the most important of these is to try to keep as high as GPA as possible and to read as much as I can.

As for the computer stuff, it looks like this year is going to be interesting in both Slackware and KDE fronts. I just converted the laptop to Slackware-current, and so far it’s great.

Finally, I should improve my spiritual life, in church attendance and in devotional practice.

All in all, this is just a small sample of what I see ahead for me in 2010. Please keep me in your prayers.

Oh my. 2009 was such a year! It was a year full of news good and not so good, and it came and went in style, but all was so hectic! But I digress. The year 2009 was a year full of blessings, challenges, and opportunities and one more reason to be able to give thanks to the Lord.

In the work front, things were not so easy. I got a much needed raise; but falling U.S. Dollar prices and a serious threat of cuts in our fundings reminded me of how unstable my position is despite the good efforts of Rev. S., my patient, kind, and understanding boss. Now, more than ever, it is clear that I should look for a job that could allow me to improve on my weak finances. For that reason, I went to see Uncle M. (you’re right, the big shot lawyer) to see if he can get me a position in the Judiciary Power (one of our three branches of government). He told me upfront that the situation is not very good, but he would look into that for me anyway. Now, I am awaiting for news. Let’s pray for that.

As for my personal life, things were more or less okay, but this year will mark the departure of Don Victorio, my father in law. He was quite a character, and I liked him a lot. His countenance and ideals were the perfect embodiement of the Quixotic archetype; but despite his quirks he was a kind, generous, and fair gentleman. We all miss him. As you may have read in my previous post, too, one of my sisters got married near the end of the year, and it was a joyful moment for all the family.

I also realized that I was having increasing problems with sleep, tiredness and lack of concentration. This made me see a doctor yesterday, and he gave me some news I would rather not hear. I am going to write about this ASAP.

Regarding my spiritual life, I recognize that I should really get my act together. A number of circumstances that act very well as excuses —tiredness, my hatred of praise bands, noise and music, and the disagreements with the current church leadership, and so on— all led to a dismal attendance to church services. One may chose to ignore this fact, but the truth is that my spiritual life will not be helped by it. I am trying to revert this dreaded habit, but it is not easy.

In my academic life (i.e., law school) things went very good. I was able to study on full scholarship thanks to a perfect 5.0 (equivalent to a 4.0 in the American system). We had some difficult subjects, but thankfully I was able to pass all of them with flying colors. I got an 5 in everything save for one course, where I got a 4. But I am happy, and I look forward to my third year with confidence and anticipation.

Well, this is a short summary of what happened on 2009. Please keep me in your prayers. Stay tuned!

Paraguayan oxcarts

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.

Excerpt from the Magnificat, Luke 1:46,49,50 [show]Luke 1:46 Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat [46]And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, Luke 1:49 [49]for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:50 [50]And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

I would like to wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy 2009. May you spend these holidays with all your loved ones, in peace, joy and comfort.

I spent Christmas Eve with Mom and my sisters, and Christmas Day with my in-laws. Today the reverse will apply: we plan to spen New Year’s Eve in my in-law’s place, while I plan to spend New Year’s Day with my mom and sisters.

All in all, this has been a stressful year, full of changes, but right now is not the time for evaluations. Instead, let’s join me in thanking our Lord Jesus Christ for all his blessings and protection, and asking Him for his continued protection in the year to come.

And thanks to you, my readers, for your continued patience, support, and encouragement. May the Lord bless you richly today and every day of your lives.