Here it is, a diary of the day that was December 31, 2004:

5 a.m.: Still awake, can't sleep. Pop in the Anchorman DVD and a few chuckles later I'm out like a like. Boy Steve Carell really carries that flick.

I probably should get up by about 9 a.m.

11:24 a.m.: *wakes up* Oops...

11:28 a.m.: Original plan: Wake up at 9 a.m., workout, go to bank, withdraw money, pay insurance bill and call friend Kellie in hopes of getting to her New Year's Eve party EARLY in the day to avoid post rush-hour traffic. New Plan: Workout, go to bank, go to mall and get left Christmas gifts, pay insurance bill. Have lunch with Samantha that I would've ignored had I got up early.

12:07 p.m.: Samantha calls, she's want to bitch me out talk to me over something. I decide that it's gotta go down, but not until 3 p.m.

12:15 p.m.: Shower, dress, go to mall. I got the parents good stocking stuffers (hand-held massagers, earring for mom, a "U" skull cap for dad).

1:40 p.m. On the way to the bank, I see friend Johnny who asks me to stop by his house. I said I had to go to the bank, pay insurance and get together with a friend for lunch. But I'd call him after I was done.

1:47 p.m. Bank. Herman's (insurance man) office better not be closed, because if it is I can't pay him until the 6th.

2:01 p.m. Herman's office is closed.

2:11 p.m. Home and check my messages...It's my good friend Cesar -- "Ralph, give me a call, I need you"..

That don't sound good. BTW 'Ralph' is my first name, but if you call me that don't expect as answer. My rule on 'Ralph' is that if you knew me when I went by 'Ralph' you can call me that...Which means anyone who I knew in 10th grade.

2:14 p.m. I call back and leave a message that I'm showering, I'll leave the phone in the bathroom.

2:21 p.m. In the middle of a GREAT shower...*ring ring*..."Ralph, I need you to come to my house". Oh geez.

2:23 p.m. I call Samantha and say I can't make it this minute. My friend needs me, I'll call back.

2:38 p.m. Cesar's house. He got into a car accident, a bad one for the car (not him, he's fine) and his girl dumped him the day before. He's depressed and pissed. And his car is totalled. Yikes..

3:21 p.m. Corey's pep talk with Ces is finished as I need to call Samantha back.

3:23 p.m. Eerie phone call. I'd go into my history with Samantha, but it's useless. She doesn't care for me. I particular don't like or dislike her and that seems to be a problem. I don't care and she does. She was using words like "We need to have Sam and Corey time"...Huh?!?!...Geez, I hate this. Why do we need to have "Sam and Corey time"...We're not dating, hell she doesn't like me at all. I've lived many solid years without "Sam and Corey time".

4:18 p.m. More pep talks with Ces, some friends arrive and leave quickly. I need to go call Kellie because I'm in a flux here.

Now the Kellie situation is delicate. I'm her friend, she expects me to be at this party. I want to be at this party. I don't want to drive or drive back, but I'll do anything for Kellie.

4:40 p.m. I run home to call Kellie. I think I woke her up. I had a disjointed conversation and hung up. The nuts and bolts was that Cesar got into an accident. I'm still trying to come to the party, but I'm not going to leave him here.

5:05 p.m. Quick run to the packaging store to get a fifth of Grey Goose for Kellie. I have a bad feeling I'm not going to deliver it.

7:00 p.m. Two games of ESPN NBA 2K5 later...Ces is borderline suicidal and I'm trying to figure out a way to drag him to a party.

Cesar: So who's in control of this party?

Corey: My friend Kellie, she's been planning it for a while.

Cesar: What does she do?

Corey: Work for the Sentinel

Cesar: Cool. Wanna play another game?

Corey: Sure.

8:45 p.m. The good news is I've beaten Ces four straight times on NBA 2K5. The bad news is I know my night is over. I'm not going to her party. I'm not leaving this house. Twice he said if I wanted to go I could go, but it sounded like "Hey Corey, if you go to that party I'll probably slit my throat."

9:50 p.m. Watching some of the Peach Bowl...

Ces: That Devin Hester is fast right?

Corey: Yeah...

Ces: Who's party is this again?

Corey: My friend Kellie from the Sentinel.

Ces: Any girls going to be there...

Corey: .... Well Kellie is really pretty.

Ces: If you want to go you can go..

Corey: Nah I want to stay here and feel sorry for you.

12:50 a.m. It's 2005. I came home...


Hope you had a better New Year. I'm visiting parents until the 5th, hopefully I'll see Kellie when I get back and give her the Grey Goose. It's a nice "I'm sorry" gift.

Enjoy.

Cheap Plug: I reopened Sporting Fool again, it'll probably be free of Bee-Ranom, although he can rejoin whenever he likes. I'm convinced he stopped reading me a while back, since he got a girlfriend and a social life and stuff. Anyway, I'll be more of a column-based site with the occasional quick hits from the sporting world. Nothing as educational and fulfilling as what Yoni Cohen is doing on the regular, but I don't hate Dick Vitale as much.

As some of you know, I occasionally get frustrated with my job. This isn't a job rant because I don't need to get fired, but I've lost many good friends in the last few years. I remember earlier this year how distraught I was when Amy left because she was so pleasant to talk to every day. She really liked her job. I could talk to her and be envious of the excitement she had for being a cop reporter. I'm glad she got better opportunities but I definitely miss her.

My hope was that she would be the closest friend I'd lose at the Ledger (not counting my retired Sports editor), but the most recent departure has hit me. My friend and online guru Jamie is leaving to take a better position within the corporate structure. Of course I'm happy for her, I'll always be supportive of my friends getting more credit (and cash), but Jamie's lost has been particularly difficult to deal with because she's one of the few reasons I show up at work everyday.

I really can't describe Jamie in any sense of words. If you know her, you know her. A beautiful person, not a mean-spirited bone in her body, always available with a smile. I pretty much treat her like a cross between a little sister and a high school crush and she doesn't even take offense to it. She lets me insult the douche bags she dates and appreciates my feeble attempts to protect her from evil.

After she told me she was leaving, I said I wasn't going to talk to her anymore. I was kidding, but part of me wanted to be serious. Maybe it would be easier not to talk to each other, not due to the fact that she is leaving but because everytime we talked, we'd be a day closer to the end of those daily chats.

I'm not going to make this too long or sappy because it isn't my style. I'm upset that corporate is taking Jamie away. Jamie's boss is really upset because he loses the best worker he's had, I'm upset because I'm losing one of the truly good people. While it's nice that she's dragged her time here until Jan. 28, I know that Jan. 29 is going to be the day that work became a little more difficult.

I miss her already.