hard to believe that there are only five days left at my current job. oh, you didn't hear? yeah, i'll get to that in a minute.

recently, i've had a number of my DJ partners get in touch with me. seems like we're all going through a season of change. my man Redlox told me that his wife is five months pregnant. come the month of May, they'll be blessed with a baby. "time to grow up," he said over the phone from Florida.

meanwhile, my man Soundscraper's been having a time of it. between trying to hold down jobs and bouts of depression, last year put him through the wringer as well. he's actually preparing to head down to Ecuador for a year. he has a rather large support system down there in the way of family and friends. plus with Bush winning the election, he's not exactly psyched to stay. nothing's really keeping him here and i can't blame him for wanting to spend the next 12 months out of the country. i think just getting out of NYC will do him some good. i have come to realize that if you want to keep your calm, the Big Bad Apple is not the place to live and/or work. this city is relentless in doing everything it can to steal your joy.

still another acquaintance called me out of the blue, this cat named William that i met through Soundscraper. we communicate well spiritually and musically. while he's largely a vocal house cat, he has a deep knowledge of soul, jazz, and other stuff. he turned me on to this wicked electronic cut called "E2:E4": i think it came out during the early '80s, but it sounds like it's 10 years old at the most...way ahead of its time. we fell out of touch for a while - i'm just glad to know he's doing okay. holdin' down the part-time gigs, but looking for something full-time so that he can move into a better spot. still gettin' the hook-up with free wax from a couple of contacts. he's one of the few Christians i know behind the decks, so that connection just brought us closer. so...still struggling, but hanging in there.

as for me, everything changed last Tuesday. i had been looking into a few different job prospects, trying to see if something would develop. one in particular looked quite promising, but i was still a little unsure about how it would all go down. they made me an offer last week for the salary i asked for; i accepted. it's a digital imaging company about 20 minutes north of where i live, so i get to stay in Westchester. although it's still a customer service gig, it's closer to home, it's higher in pay with better benefits, and much more convenient to get to. i don't have to take the subway to get there: that in and of itself is a big plus. so i start next Wednesday.

Beth's looking for work, too. she had an interview today with the same agency that helped me get my new position. She has a number of angles she's working right now; i'm pretty confident that she'll be able to find something soon. i'm just happy to have my wife back. we see more of each other now. we hang out together. we haven't done that in months. and we want children. and a house. and to get the debt off our backs. neither of us are strangers to struggle and hard work - we know it's a long road ahead. at least we can tackle these obstacles together, leaning on God for guidance and direction. if it was up to us alone, we'd fail miserably. i'm not stupid enough to think that i'm starting a new job because i'm so charming and intelligent.

there are very few people i know that can say 2004 was a good year for them. i know of several good friends that got married last year - that's a definite blessing. outside of that, though, trials and tribulations as far as the eye can see, spilling over into the lives of many of the people i love and respect. i'm not a bit sorry to see 2004 end: good riddance. i'm looking forward to a new start. it feels good to feel hopeful. i think this one's gonna be better for all of us. too many of us went through hell last year in order for us not to experience a slice of heaven in the '05.

at work, i've noticed that many of my pens have started running out of ink all at once. i can't help but find that somewhat timely and strangely amusing.