Andy Chase

It's not just me, so I'll state the observation as fact: the years keep slipping away faster and faster as time goes on. Where did 2003 go?

Anytime the subject comes up with anyone I talk to, the consensus is always that time is passing faster than it used to.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a phenomenon which has been observed by humans since time immemorial... but never moreso than the late 20th/early 21st centuries, with all of the stupid distractions we've created for ourselves.

The new year ought to be a time of reflection on the events of the last year, but more and more it seems like people use it instead as an opportunity to tally up regrets and lists of things left undone... and to make an unrealistic new year's resolution that they can put first on next year's list.

Personally, I think I'm over that. The holiday season was always particularly rough in Los Angeles, with my family on the other side of the country and each new year finding us no closer to getting back east than the last... although even by the end of 2001, our last Christmas and New Year's Day in California, I had made the conscious decision not to worry about it anymore - and as a result, my memories of our last year or so in California are mostly quite fond.

About 365 days ago, my worries were much more immediate; no job, and not many prospects to speak of. It was wonderful to be back in New England and surrounded by family, but the future was such a huge unknown that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.

This year has been much better, after a jobless few months; A new job on April first, a house to rent on July first, and enough time back in Massachusetts to settle into a new routine as summer gave way to the Best Season Ever, Autumn in New England. On the one hand, I don't want to take the beautiful place we live for granted, but on the other I don't want to spend every day telling myself "This is too good to be true!"

I guess this is my roundabout way of saying "Happy New Year". If there were things you meant to do in 2003, don't sweat it- if they were really that important, you would have taken care of them already. True, life is short... but it's really not that short.