Comment by Phil

Phil — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:08:08 +0000

"the dixes" or since you are in the South, "the Dixies"? :-)

Congratulations, Ken, on your many advances. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that I appreciate how you've shared of yourself and what you've gained.

And Happy recent Anniversary to you and Amy!

The Ohs

Ken — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:31:51 +0000

First of all, I refuse to use the term "the noughties" to describe the decade from 2000 to 2009. It seems like such an affectation. No one called 2009 "noughty-nine"; it was "two thousand nine" or "oh nine". So when people refer to the decade in actual speech, they'll probably say "the two thousands" or "the ohs".

So I think it's safe to say that my life was dramatically transformed in the ohs. Ten years ago, I was dreadfully single, and just starting to dip into the seedy world of Internet dating. I was working at Nortel. I had dial-up Internet, and I didn't have a blog. I wore white tennis shoes with blue jeans. I was, frankly, a clueless mess.

But since then, I dated lots of women. I learned how to dress better. I got out of a job that I hated. I found my voice through blogging. And that all culminated in getting married to Amy, which I still consider to be the best thing I've ever done. So I'd say it was a successful decade, probably the best of my life. Sure, in the 1970s I learned how not to poop in my pants (mostly), and the 1980s I became educated. But it wasn't until the ohs that I learned self-confidence and style, and that seems like the most important achievement of my life.

So yeah, I'm starting to get old now, and I have years of aches, pains, and prostate exams to look forward to. But at least now, heading into the 10s (the teens? the dixes?) my life has direction, and it's hard to ask for anything more.