2003 - The Year in Review
Wow. It's such a cliché to say that this was "quite a year." But Wow. This was quite a year.
The main word that comes to mind is "intense." I always feel that way, but this year was really something. A brief summary:
January - My 71 year old mother died. I played the piano & delivered the eulogy at her funeral.
February - Christine Stollins, a dear friend, died.
March - After 6 years, my cat Mr. Fuzz was no longer happy living here. He moved out to the local Countryside Vet clinic, where he is the official mascot.
April - My latest invention, a state of the art web service for my programming customer, goes online.
May - We have 2 great birthday parties, one for me, one for my brother. This was the last time my rock band played, and will probably be the last for quite some time. Also, on May 15, my best friend in the world, Baba Booie the cat, was eaten by an owl. This actually was, emotionally, the most devastating event of the year. It's when I gave myself permission to cry & morn my Mom, a world of death, war, sadness & loss. The next day, May 16, I write The Proximity of God Consciousness. This would be my only major posting to the website this year.
June - My mother's delightful Husband Stan Collum dies. I commemorate my 20th anniversary as a computer programmer, and first $100,000,000 of software sales. I am awarded a Rolex as a symbol of the accomplishment.
July - I spend July 4 at my brother's, watching fireworks over the Pacific Ocean. I start the first chapters of my not-to-be-released-any-time-soon masterpiece, Babel's Revenge.
August - The interactive demo for my new computer invention (see April) is complete, and given its first public presentation. Initial public reaction is more enthusiastic than anything my customer has ever seen, in 20 years.
September - I begin work on the greatest invention of my programming career, code named TVMECO. And sorry, it is classified, and I cannot tell you about it. I shave my head & beard completely off. I note the passing of my 3rd complete year without a date.
October - On Sunday the 26th the Southern California fires come within 5 feet of burning my house to the ground. We are without power for 4 days, no water, very shaken, but no one in my tiny neighborhood of 22 houses loses any structures or people. Unfortunately, less than a mile to the east 160 houses are destroyed, and a 16 year old girl dies.
November - Everything feels really weird after surviving the fire. Nothing feels like it will ever be the same. I perform a wedding for 2 dear friends, attend a computer conference, stop shaving my head, and try to get back to a semblance of normalcy, whatever that means.
December - The year retires gracefully and peacefully.
Top Movies of the Year
None. I saw maybe 10 in the theaters, none I would recommend, and I do not own a TV.
Friends...I cannot prove this to you here, and I'm sure than almost none of you believe me, but video is a VERY limited medium. It is one of the single most damaging things human beings do.
Top 10 CDs of the Year
These were not necessarily released this year. Rather, they were the ones that got the most platter time.
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Islands - King Crimson. So phenomenal I could gush for an hour. The first 35 minutes is full of pain, musically & lyrically, all about the horrid things we do to each other. The last 10 minutes turns into a Hymn of beauty & grace. Beneath the surface, each individual island is part of the same land mass. That's the essence of the Bible's message, and this album. I could not stop listening to this. |
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The Power to Believe - King Crimson. Harmonically, melodically, rhythmically, structurally, just about the most perfect composition the human race has ever created. Placed inside the theme of Restored Hope, I consider this album to be a Sacrament. |
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Under Rug Swept - Alanis Morissette. What can I say...I am quite certain of 2 things: Alanis is my soul mate, and I will never even be able to meet her. |
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Dreamland - Robert Plant. Haunting, gloomy, open-desert types of songs. About as far from Led Zeppelin as one is going to get. |
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Mozart Piano Concertos. Any orchestra, any performer. Played at very low levels, these are like Angel Wings tickling your ear. The best released this year is by Keith Jarrett. |
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Hot August Night - Neil Diamond. My Mom's favorite album, it got serious platter time in January. |
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Up - Peter Gabriel. A mature album about life. Contains a song about his incarnation, birth, life, and death. I just don't know how else to say it: Oh My God! |
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Lateralus - Tool. I cannot believe this album was actually made. It is the most God Conscious work I have heard in years. Their live performance is a delivery of the Beatific Vision. I am grateful to the Creator for this music. |
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Voyageur - Enigma. Not as intoxicating as The Cross of Changes (which is in my top 50 of all time), but a marvelous trip nevertheless. |
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18 - Moby. Just dark enough. Just hopeful enough. Just right. |
TCoY by the Numbers
Total number of hits: approximately 22,000
Total number of visitors: approximately 1,500
Total expenses: $6,526. This went to web hosting, book printing (see below), and the like.
Number of emails personally responded to: 832
Number of countries these people live in: approximately 20
Number of phone conversations: 43
TCoY Beyond the Numbers
The #1 thing I take away from this year is that God Consciousness is indeed growing on this planet. Yes, it is a bit thin now. Yes, it is hard to find. Yes, war, ignorance & sin still rule the planet. But there is a growing awareness, represented on each continent except Antarctica, that
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Small-minded dogmatism is a remnant of an ignorant past |
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We are all organisms living inside of a super-consciousness that we cannot imagine, but call God |
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All problems can, indeed, be eliminated on this planet |
I am honored, and I mean that with great intensity, to be able to communicate with that growing planetary God Consciousness, on almost a daily basis.
I am grateful that TCoY is able to play a part in helping people rise above the ritualized hatred and ignorance so common in our retail churches. People's horror stories of abuse in the church are overwhelming at times. But their courage to move ahead, sharing, caring, reaching for the Light, gives me hope for the future.
Things I Did Well This Year
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I responded to each & every email, usually in a timely fashion |
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I did not raise my voice in anger at anyone, regardless of whatever disagreements we might have had |
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I experience hatred for no one, except the evil warmongers who seek only to kill and destroy. To hate what God hates is still good. |
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I served my programming customers above & beyond whatever duty may have called |
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I did a much better job this year of properly serving the 4 Aims of Life, in an organic and balanced whole. |
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I spent less time worrying about the future than in any year I can remember |
Things I Can Do Better
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The usual...I can exercise more, get in better shape. This is not just lip service. Some months I am completely focused on this...then I let it slip away. |
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I can be more focused on learning new classical piano & organ pieces. |
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I can find a way to make TCoY the first fruits of my energies, so the ministry grows & moves forward. All too many of the months in 2003 TCoY got the remnant of whatever energies remained after the day's activities. |
The Next Year
I have learned that commitments are very touchy things. A commitment that cannot be kept because it was based on insufficient data cannot be called a failure. So, based on what I know now, the following will be happening for TCoY in 2004, subject to change, of course:
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I am going to invest in a typing-tutor program, so I can learn to type as fast as I think. I've spent 20 years looking at the keyboard, and I am handicapped by this. | ||||||
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We are going to begin posting a Book-by-Book commentary on the Bible. "The Church of Yahweh's Guide to the bible for the Modern Man." Hundreds of pages are ready to go. I will start posting them in 2004. | ||||||
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We will make available nearly all the writings on the TCoY website in book form. The covers have been printed. The first 2 passes of editing have been done. What's left is some fine-tuning wordsmithing & formatting. For 2004, 3 volumes are currently planned:
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The original jewelry I've been talking about for so long will finally be available on the website. I have prototypes of all the designs, and it's just a matter of attending to some details. | ||||||
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Posting the FAQs, doctrinal statements, and things like that that I've just procrastinated on. | ||||||
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Hoped for, desired, but not to be done until all the others are complete: Starting TCoY Radio, a 24/7 web-radio station. |
One Request
I have one, any only one, deep need from the TCoY community.
I need your prayers.
To share your soul's energy with me, surrounding me with Angels, asking Yhwh to guide & guard me.
This ministry is important. But I simply cannot do it without you.
Thank you.
Peace, Ahyh
December 2003
