Good year, bad year or just a year

It has been several months now since my last, somewhat optimistic post. I'm still in decompression mode after our experiment at the Rocky Mountain Independent ended and I'm still sorting through the year that was trying to figure out what to do next. It's also been slightly more than a year since the Rocky was put up for sale and nearly a year to do the day that we launched IwantmyRocky.com. I do not yet know if this has been a good year or a bad year. Maybe it has just been a year, certainly the longest year of my life.

It is perhaps telling that what I remember most about my experiences fighting for journalism this year is not the journalism, but a hot dog -- a Puka Dog in Poipi, Hawaii, spicy with pineapple relish. It's what I was eating when I had finally had enough of the INDenverTimes experiment and said, during a conference call I had joined while in a courtyard at a little shopping mall in Poipu, that I was out. When it comes to life-altering disappointments, I highly recommend doing them in a place like Kauai -- it softens the blow considerably, especially when it is accompanied by pineapple relish.

Other random moments that have me leaning toward this being a good year, despite the setbacks:

More hot dogs, this time at Hot Doug's in Chicago. I had to stand in line for an hour, but in a year of wasted hours that was not one.

Freezing my ass off in Game 3 of the Rockies-Phillies NLDS.

Freezing my ass off in Game 4 of the Rockies-Phillies NLDS.

Moving back into the condo I had given up for dead. Maybe it's some sort of karmic reconnect.

Toasting the closing of the Rocky with a glass of Johnnie Walker Blue.

The chicken pot pie I made that actually looked and tasted like a chicken pot pie.

Ryan Spilborghs' grand slam in the bottom of the 14th inning.