Variables beyond control.
I guess it is unavoidable to do some sort of balance at this time of year. Disclaimer: I am a ranter; a natural cynic and an acid critic. I simply can't avoid it.
To make things a little bit lighter I'll start with the highlights. Look at it like the little pats nurses give you on the arm just before they insert the needle.
My personal life has no dark spots. After 6 years together with Luciana I have no complaints whatsoever. Sure enough there are some minor arguments. Most of them have to do with me spending too much time in front of my PCs. But she accepts that and, if you can talk her into it, she'll even state my passion for what I do is one of the things she likes about me.
Professionally it was a tough year. The first semester plainly sucked. I won't get into details, but the overall situation was stressing and frustrating. Why did I hang on? Two reasons: I never leave things half finished and there was light at the end of the tunnel.
There's too much people I'd have to thank for the opportunity I was given on the second semester of 2007. You know who you are, and you know I'm thankful.
The projects I've been involved with lately and (more importantly) the people I work with make every single office day worth every second spent working. I had to adapt to a lot of things, and my transition was very smooth thanks to the support I got and the trust placed in me. I love what I do and feel great doing it.
The not so bright things about the year that's about to die have one thing in common: they are variables which are absolutely beyond my control. Frequent readers of this blog should know exactly where I'm heading.
Inflation has been a major concern. There's no way my employer (or any employer) can keep up with a 40% increase in life cost (particularly i the government keeps twisting the numbers). I have talked about it in the past, so I won't repeat myself.
I'll elaborate on the personal side effects, though. We've been wanting to give the leap; try to buy a house/apartment, or maybe buy a car (either choice). So we started saving money since we got out of debt from our marriage. As we save towards a target, the target moves further away. As an example: the cheapest car we can buy was 8,900 U$D last year. Now it is worth 13,000 U$D (46% increase, once again my estimate of the inflation proves to be more accurate than the government's figures).
Argentina is an odd country. Real estate is more expensive today than it was in 2001, when our wages were paid in dollars. Another example: an 80GB classic iPod is now worth 249 U$D in the US. Take your wildest guess on how much it would cost you here. You probably missed. It is worth 570 U$D. Sure enough shipping is more expensive to Argentina, and there's a 50% tax on all electronics. I'd "understand" a 400 U$D price tag. The funny part is that we are dumb enough to pay for them because they are "cool".
I have a single new year resolution. I'll keep that to myself. If you read between lines you'll know what that is.
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David Churbuck