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Longish   The Art of Selling Faith by Jenn Lackey Quixtar: Bringing Amway to the Web   Bus One Seven: "I Think, Therefore I SPAM" by Roderick Armageddon A history of the meaty online and offline brand   Where's the Private in Private Parts? by Greg Coyle   Shortish   Personals by Greg Coyle Love's Lost and Found   How Do I Like Thee? by Ken DuBois Getting over the hump   Customer Support by Edward Fishe Emails From The Edge   Lists   40 Notable People Those who've served on the Anvil staff, and the reason for their dismissal   Top Ten Ways to Maintain Your Rockstar Lifestyle While Collecting Unemployment by Kent Lewis A few tips for the jobless but not hopeless   Random: Last Friday’s Happy Hour Planning

April Fools
by Kent Lewis

Over the recent holiday break, I watched the movie "City Slickers" with my family. Toward the end of the movie, Billy Crystal and his two sidekicks discuss the best and worst days of their lives (not including the days their children were born). Being close to the New Year, it seemed apropos to reflect on my own best and worst days. It did not take me long to realize how challenging a task that would actually be.

To start, I thought about the possible contenders for the worst day of my life, both personally and professionally. One day in particular in 2002 stood out; April 2^nd was the day I was fired by my former employer. The stress of two mortgages and no job was overwhelming and significantly contributed to a breakup with my girlfriend at the time.

To avoid dwelling too much on the negative, I quickly shifted mental gears to determine the best day of my life. Somewhat reassuringly, I had more difficulty picking just one as there were so many great days from which to choose: the day I read my first novel in grade school, the day my dad quit smoking, the Valentine's Day Dance at Western, my first teaching experience, or April 1^st of 2002, when I purchased my first house.

After much deliberation and consternation over which day to choose, I came to the realization that my best day was possibly the same as my worst. Just as it had been for one of the characters in "City Slickers," the best and worst days of my life were, in fact, the very same day: April 2^nd, 2002

That same afternoon, surprised, angry and scared to find myself without a job and without a safety net, I also concluded I should be on my own professionally and committed to doing whatever it took to keep my house. In retrospect, it was the day I realized I could achieve any goal, so long as I believed in myself and was not afraid to seek support from others. The experience was as valuable as it was difficult, and for that I'm grateful.

While we're on the topic of relying on others, this issue is dedicated to those that have helped make this ezine possible over the past seven years. While it was nearly impossible to select a representative sampling from the hundreds of past articles, we did manage to find a few that we thought stood above the rest for their quality and creativity. We hope you find enjoyment and inspiration for the year ahead in this Best Of Anvil issue.