The year in review

The first big thing was moving to Muenster, and getting out of Sulphur Springs just before Moser bought the paper there. No idea how much he would have held Marlin over my head, but he would have.

It's not been perfect here. Transitions from an old guard team, and mistakes. Add to that Shannon's anxiety and perfectionism levels, and feeling put too much under a microscope by my one column.

At the same time, I overall like it, and overall have less stress than Sulphur Springs. Plus, I make more money, especially with the gamble of not buying Obamacare. That's even more true after a raise.

Off the job, Gainesville's library does ILLs, which puts it ahead of Sulphur Springs for sure.

And Denton? Learning more and more than for most "ritzy" groceries and more, I don't have to go to Dallas. Has an art museum I've not yet been to, an old courthouse museum (ditto), a pretty funky square area, a great quad at TWU and more. And all almost 10 miles closer to Gainesville than Paris was to Sulphur Springs for Kroger, let alone the Metroplex.

Muenster itself is not bad to nice for a small town its size. But, it's cliquish like Rosebud, and even more inbred than most Protestant small towns its size here in Texas.

On the personal growth side? I decided to try a paid membership in a hookup-type website. Never again. Got my credit card hacked via there, and more than ever, the parent company dumps half a dozen chat sites together. Plus, little local selection, and not even decent nibbles beyond the local. And, 98 percent of "nibbles" are clearly fakes.

That said, overall, I've become a bit more detached from such things. A little more often, I feel a bit less like staring at a screen like that.

On the rest of the personal side, I'm becoming more aware of interpersonal dynamics and others' personalities more quickly than in the past. This last year saw definite growth there.

I still dream about work at times. Weirdly, I dream more about things that need to be done that aren't actually part of what I actually do, than I did in Sulphur Springs. I have no idea why. That wasn't the case in Marlin or Center, as best as I can recall.

And that's where we're at on the new year.