Good Riddance

So, as we have come to not only the end of the year, but the ending of an entire decade (I like to call this the "aughts", but that may be just me) TV news shows have started to do retrospectives of the entire year. I remember in 1999, despite the looming threat of Y2K, looking back on the decade with mostly fond memories. And while the aughts had some great times, way more positives than negatives, we are not ending on much of a high note. In fact, I'll get to the point and just say it - on a national level 2009 kinda sucked.

Really, the year was a tease, as the best national news happening in January. There was Sully Sullenberger landing a plane in the Hudson and President Obama getting sworn in. We thought that these were signs of a great year to come, but as it turns out that as a Nation we peaked way too early. Also, they weren't even that great. Think about it: the two highlights were a plane crash (Brought down by birds, of all things. Nature still beats technology!), where we were just happy nobody died and a large, mostly pomp and circumstance party that actually didn't change much else in the day-to-day world. After that it was all swine flu shots and news footage of the unemployment line.

In the world of entertainment, Conan O'Brien left his Late Night show to Jimmy Fallon. I haven't watched either since they debuted. Joe Buck got a TV show on HBO, because if there was one thing we all needed in our lives it was more Joe Buck. Then cool, interesting people like Patrick Swayze, Bea Arthur, Walter Cronkite and Michael Jackson all died. But, at least Sons of Anarchy was awesome to watch and The Daily Show kept everything in perspective.

Of course politics turned out to be a disappointment. Turns out Obama, the savior, is actually just another politician - lots of talk, not so much with the getting stuff done. The Democrats have majorities in both the House and the Senate, but they still couldn't get their act together to get a damn thing done this year. They are all either too stupid, stubborn or agenda-driven to actually get people the help they need. Yes, they pushed a health care reform bill through both houses, but had to gut it to do so; thus it actually won't reform health care all that much. And unemployment is still hovering around double-digits. But, all those banks we gave billions to are recording record profits... which they are keeping for themselves. That worked out well. Also, Ted Kennedy died so Massachusetts will be going to the back of the line when it comes time to get spending for government programs. At least we can say the phrase, "Senator Al Franken."

Even sports weren't that great this year. Here were the champions of in 2009: the Steelers, UNC Basketball, the Penguins, the Lakers and the Yankees. So, in other words, it was the year of the have's. (Yes, I realise that I root for teams like the Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox and Notre Dame, who are all in the have's category. But, I don't mind a year of the have's when they are my teams.) No great upsets or gritty teams that we could have gotten behind. As an added insult Alex Rodriguez was caught lying about steroids and not only did he not get suspended, he won his first World Series Title. Either karma doesn't exist or she was asleep at the wheel. In addition, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were caught with positive steroid tests. Basically, 2009 was so bad it was trying to fuck up the memories of good years like 2004. As if that wasn't enough, right after Thanksgiving we discovered that Tiger Woods is a giant asshole. Happy Holidays from 2009.

Now, on a personal level, 2009 wasn't all that great, but it wasn't awful. I loved, I lost, she didn't come back like I thought she would, which meant she was never really mine. There was never enough money, but plenty of laughs and an amazing family to support me in whatever I tried to do. Everyone turned out healthy and looks to be ok heading into the new year. The year also gave me an awesome, adorable and beautiful new Goddaughter, and I went to Liz and Simon's kick-ass wedding. Like I said, not a bad year. The thing is, I have plans for 2010 that will blow 2009 out of the damn water. So, while some people might have spent last night hoping the clock never strikes midnight, I was instead wishing the 30th was the night we turned clocks ahead. Tell 'em, Ferrara.