2010 - A year full of changes for me

2010 turned out to be an eventful year for me.  Early on (January 26th to be precise) I was let go from the job that I had over the past 11 years.  It was my very first job in New York.  I started in that firm less than two months after I moved in with my now husband, back in 1999.  Although it was a bit of a shock as, for some reason, I deluded myself into thinking that there is such a thing as job "security", I had stopped being happy there for quite a long time, I would even dare say years.  However, I was "comfortable" and as I said, felt "secure", so why mess with things.  Fate had a different idea, it seems.

Though I spent two months and a half looking for a new job (a short period of time compared to what a lot of others are going through trying to find a job), I think I was lucky... and also have the very strong feeling that my guardian angel felt that I needed the kick on the ass for me to take action, and finally get out of a job situation I was unhappy with.  Though I am earning a bit less, my quality of life has substantially improved, and since I don't have to pay hundreds of dollars a month in transportation (railroad, subway, and gas), it all evens out and my take home salary is pretty much the same.   I also  have made some new friends among my new co-workers, which is a blessing as well.  I pretty much only had one true friend in my former job, and I have made it a point to keep in touch with her.  Finding her has been a blessing to me.

Later in the year, I also made the decision of leaving Just Erotic Romance Reviews.  My time to leave was long overdue, as I had stopped enjoying my role there a long long time ago and it felt more like a chore than something I was doing because it brought me satisfaction.  However, for some weird reason, I just kept hanging on because of a sense of responsibility.  I then realized that it was not going to be the end of the world if I left, that things would continue normally, so I finally let go.  I confess I enjoyed the first few years I spent there and it was an incredible experience, but my stay lasted more than it should have.

The closing of the year turned out to be on the crappy side though.  My husband spent most of December and a portion of this month dealing with pneumonia and I got a bout of bronchitis (the joys of coughing fits in tandem...).  Suffice it to say, I am hoping that is not an omen of things to come (keeping my fingers crossed).  Over the past 3 years we both seem to be getting some sort of major health issue at the beginning of the year, specifically around the Martin Luther King weekend.  Looks like this winter we got it earlier though. :P

In terms of reading, I found myself reading substantially more historical romance than paranormals, and it does look like the trend will continue on 2011.  I tend to avoid contemporary romance as well as romantic suspense, so I do not have anything to say on those two sub-genres.  I am happy to say that I discovered some new and new-to-me historical romance authors, and as to that respect, my list of auto-buy authors has increased.

As I decided to start this blog a few months ago, my one and only resolution for 2011 is to keep track of what I read.  I bought a gorgeous planner with that purpose in mind.  Hopefully I'll keep motivating myself to jot down what I read.  I only include date in which I started reading a book, the date in which I finish, and some notes as to if I liked it or not.  I read a lot but I truly have no clue how many books do I go through every month.

Let's see what this year will bring.  Hopefully a LOT of good reading material...