Merry Christmas 2007!

If you opened this page, you may have received my Christmas letter. For those who didn’t, let me summarize:

Merry Christmas … oops, a little late, I fear

Quite a lot has been going on late in the year

For those without Internet access, the facts

This year has flown quickly, it’s time to relax

My meds have been working, my depression’s sedated

My blood pressure was high, tho, and now that’s medicated

I traveled to D.C. this summer and saw friends

Say “I do” and “I do” as their happiness blends

I kicked ass in a show called “When the Cat’s Away”

And took an award for my work in the play

And here’s why my letter’s late – try not to laugh:

The Forum is looking to update its staff

And I interviewed well and I’m waiting to hear

But I won’t know for sure until the new year

So click on my photo at tjaman.com

For news of my progress, I’ll post there anon

For those without access, I’ll keep you updated

Here’s hoping your holidays were well celebrated.

Happy Christmastide

And have a great 2008!

Click the Forum photo above to read their decision!!!

So 2007 has been an excellent year, relatively speaking. I quit smoking with a great deal of difficulty and I started taking part in plays again. I was in a one-act production called “Burglars, Bunglers and Neighborhood Thieves” in the spring, and in the fall I was in a production called “When the Cat’s Away,” which you can read about here.

I have been walking an average of 10 miles a week all year. I don’t know that I’m losing any weight but I feel healthier. They’ve got me on antidepressants for another few months, and the blood pressure meds I’m on keep my blood pressure perfect, so that’s good at least. In other health news I recently had an eye exam for the first time in like 20 years and my vision is near-sighted in one eye and perfect in the other, which the doctor said is all but ideal so she didn’t prescribe any lenses for me.

I traveled to D.C. in July to congratulate some friends of mine from the Internet and help celebrate their wedding. As it happened, I was asked to be in the wedding party and I gladly accepted. Marc and Heather are both wonderful friends and fantastic people, and you can see some photos from my trip here.

I thought I’d been far too long without some sort of independent Web presence, so late in August I started getting serious about establishing this page. I’ve kept it updated to the extent that I’ve been able to and have included just about everything I’d care to in a public format. I’d like to get more of my reviews reposted to this site, but all things considered, I’m pretty happy with it.

I loved seeing my folks for Thanksgiving, which we celebrated early so they could take in my production, and we had sort of a mini-Christmas party with family and friends while I was home last week interviewing for the features editor position at the Forum.

It went extremely well, I thought. They made a full day of it. I met with the deputy editor and the features staff and then the editorial staff, as well as sitting in on a couple of editorial meetings and lunch with the editor. I was impressed with their organization and felt I had some good energy to contribute, and honestly it would be a fantastic move for me.

This week, however, I featured profiles of local dancers who took part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and a local graduate who’s taking part in the national touring company of “Mamma Mia.” I came into work Wednesday morning with one tiny photo for my Friday features section, and by the end of the day I had four of my five main photos in place along with two side stories – everything I needed for the page to be perfect. And late Thursday afternoon, my organization and planning and plain dumb luck paid off with the fifth of my five main-item photos walking in the front door.

I realized that as thrilling as it would be to be living and working in Fargo again, if the Forum did take a different direction on this position, I was perfectly happy with the work I’m doing here in Minot and frankly I feel really good about it.

Anyway, like I said, I won’t know for a few weeks what their decision is, but WATCH THIS SPACE. When I find out one way or t’other, I’ll post it here.

Apart from that, have an absolutely magnificent

holiday season, and God bless you in 2008!