Well that’s Christmas over with, and New Years too. I’m really glad to see the back of 2008 - For me this year was a washout. I didn’t manage to find a new job so I haven’t been able to pay off any debt like I wanted to. And the world’s economy has hit the skids, just great. People are starting to be made redundant all over the country and bankruptcies are going up. At the bank where my sister works most of her department has been let go, she was one of the lucky ones for now. A good friend of mine has been made redundant from another bank also, which is very sad. He has a mortgage and two children, one under 1 year old, so it’s going to be tough for him. He’s very upbeat at the moment but the longer it takes to get back into work the more uneasy he’ll get I suspect.

2008 hasn’t been a total washout for me, I did achieve a couple of things. I got my brown belt in Ju Jitsu which has been a long time coming. So only one away from black now, I just have to stick at it. I also got to green belt in Karate, which considering I had started on white the previous December. That’s 4 belts in all. It would have been purple (5th Kyu) which is half way to black,  but my hips started to in October and by mid November it was painful even to walk, so I’ve had to take a rest since then. The good thing about martial arts training when you’re unemployed is that it keeps your spirits up. I was getting really depressed up until I started  to take Karate lessons, but thanks to building up my Chi, or Ki as it’s known. I can’t wait until the hip injury is fully healed so I can get back to it. I wanted to get my black belt in Karate in just over two years, but the injury has put a spanner in the works. Patience is a virtue, right?