Watershed

Many sudden, big changes are happening at once.

First and foremost, I am getting married to the woman of my dreams. We're currently waiting to hear back from different venues before the date is certain, but we're looking at the last weekend in February or the first of March for the wedding.

I am quitting my night job at the retirement community, once week from tonight. And then we are going to visit relatives and friends in Missouri for Christmas. When we come back, I am going to focus on teaching piano. I am going pro. I am working on a solid studio policy, and I am almost ready to recruit. I have only had three students for over a year now, and the night shift was making it impossible to expand, so I'm taking the plunge. The night job was a lifesaver at the time, three years ago, but it has since hindered productivity in everything else, including a social life. Time to get out. I've spent enough time around death; I want to be around life.

I am going to fill in the gaps with other sources of self-employed (or independently contracted) income. I will combine three or more part-time jobs until my piano studio is self-sufficient. No more squandering my life in a blur of endless midnights and repetitive motion.

I am also going to focus on making music to sell online. I am going to be a composer, not just call myself one because I have a degree in it.

My lease is up. I turn in my keys on January 31. We're looking for a place together starting in February. I will move in first and hold down the fort until she moves in after the wedding.

2013 came and went, and I barely noticed. Blink and you'll miss it. 2014 is going to be entirely different. A new chapter of life, full of the three basic things every man desires: freedom, love, and dignity.

But there is so much work to be done, to make it all happen. All at once, and in such a short span of time. Every day now is a mad rush. It is going to be a very short winter for me; March will be here before I know it.

New sleep schedule. New jobs. New living space. A whole new lifestyle with my soon-to-be wife.

This marks the turning point, the end of an age. And good riddance.

Merry Christmas.