I am so ready for the new year. Granted, I had the same hopes at the beginning of 2016, 2017, and 2018. But they say bad things come in threes, so hopefully the last three years will take their crummy luck with them as 2018 finally gets the heck outta’ town.
There were some bright spots in the last three years, so I can’t be too hard on them. I had a chance to be the photographer for North Dakota Game and Fish for a while, and that was really cool. But dirty old 2018 brought overinflated land values in North Dakota during that time, so I couldn’t afford to keep the job and stay up there permanently.
That turned out to be a blessing in disguise, at least partially. I got to come home to Wyoming, where I found another good job, and I didn’t have to give up my residency – or my hunting privileges – in Wyoming. I still miss getting paid to take pictures of wild animals all day every day, but at least I’m back home in the best state in the union.
I also had a chance to go full-time freelance with my writing and photography for a while, and that was cool, too. It was a heck of a lot of work, but I had a blast doing it. And I learned all the wrong ways to run a small business, so if I get another chance, hopefully next time I can make it work.
I’m hoping to turn things around in 2019. I hope to do a lot more fishing, get out in the field to do more hunting, and maybe even get the kids up to the hills for a camping trip this summer. If I can do any of that, it’ll already be a better year than 2018 was.
So good riddance, old year. And here’s wishing you all a happy 2019.
