And so we wrap it up for the year. There was the good, the bad, the ugly and that which is now forgotten.
On the plus side, after a string of four dry holes, the last of which caused me major grief, we have two good holes down in the last weeks of the year, with one with casing set on pay and drilling ahead. Relief.
My bonus was small, but I got a raise! So, I guess they’re keepin’ me for a bit. My CEO is a truly forward looking guy, and he’s authorized some exploration (dreams, Tap) that a money flusher wouldn’t. He’s near retirement - I respect the guy.
My ex is doing well - I know that is a wash for a lot of y’all, but it is significant to me. And my Mom has beat the odds so far and is still alive and vital.
My best time this year was that spent with my friends, and they are there if I am.
Downside - well, today I wrote a check to the CPA that my agreement with my erstwhile partner stipulated would be her responsibility. He’s a guy who maintains a professional practice, as I did. I didn’t like it when I didn’t get paid, so I can’t stand to seem him get stiffed.
I am theoritically not responsible for that bill, as partner had bought me out. But, he needed to get paid.
A year ago at this time I was heading into a period of time that was…problematic to say the least. Work was horrid, and I would soon be physically ill every morning before I went into work. I couldn’t see any way out of it, and by the first part of March I was getting desperate.
Someone stepped in and told me what I needed to hear - and I still don’t know how she knew that I needed to hear it, but even now I think that I might not have been at work the next Monday if she hadn’t.
This led to looking at what I was doing and what I really wanted to be doing. I took the GREs, I applied to grad school, I got in, and in August I left that job (in the meantime the situation had become much more bearable, even knowing that I could be asked to leave at any time because I had given my notice).
So here I am. I moved to a new city. The first semester of grad school went extremely well (4.0, baby), and I’m looking forward to the next, and to a future that could bring anything - but one that is what I’ve made it, not what I’ve fallen into.
And while I was typing this, the ball dropped, the year changed here on the east coast…so Happy New Year, y’all. May it have all of the joy and none of the sorrow of the past year.
It’s been a rough year, with depression and family history catching me blind-side, the death of close friends, and much upheaval. Still, I am more grounded, better employed, and more self-aware than ever before. I consider the last year to have been “clearing the decks for action,” and I look forward to a year of unparalleled growth and self-improvement.
Well, it was a crappy year with my wife leaving and taking the kid, losing my job, my car getting repo’d, having to file bankruptcy, and losing my house. It was balanced out with my brother and sister getting married and the fact that my ordeals have brought me closer to my family by making realize that I could count on them no matter what.
Amp: Your brother married your sister? :o (Seriously, I do hope this year is better for you.)
Where do I start?
Let’s see… I started 2002 pregnant and living in Houston. New Year’s Day, I got a surprise call from Airman just to say hello. Two weeks later, I was in San Antonio, attending his graduation from basic training.
Forward to the end of May. I was then living with my parents in San Antonio, hugely pregnant, and getting married. A few months later, I gave birth to Aaron, whose exploits have been mentioned frequently.
Now, I’m living in Pennsylvania, still unemployed, but about to really start looking for a job. Hopefully, I’ll be employed soon.
This year, I finally found a job I love, my True Calling. The pay is almost laughable, but the compensation in terms of happiness and general life-satisfaction is immesurable.
This is our first Christmas and New Year in our new house. We moved to Albuquerque in the autumn of 2001 from NY, and, after nine months in an apartment, we knew we needed our own place once again. We live up in the mountains, with the stars and the wind and the coyotes.
I am still adjusting to life in the desert Southwest, and sometimes it is difficult…I miss old friends, and my old way of life. But most of the time I just cannot imagine living anywhere else. What would I do without my mountain to look out at every morning?
I wrote several short stories, saw another make it to publication, spent all year negotiating a first contract and then seeing it go to impasse and mediation, graded thousands of papers, went to Vegas in the summer, did a lot of babysitting, uncle-sitting, dog sitting and house sitting, did a textbook review, sold a bunch of stuff at half dot com, took myself to San Diego and caught a cold to ring in the New Year with. :rolleyes:
Last year started off with my stepdad’s passing, which was inevitable since the year before. This event marked 2002 indelibly as a year of adjustment. Where he once governed, we (me and my mother) learned to organize; where which he held down securely, we managed to hold fast against the threatening torrent of that which comes with death. It was a strange comfort to me that death presented itself in a manner that was the direct opposite of what I had previously thought. I am still adjusting, though with less frequency than 11 months ago, and I have hereby accepted 2003 as a year of new life; a necessary period of growth and discovery.
Got a new (thankfully full-time) position, which required me to…
Move[d] from My Beloved West Texas to northeastern North Carolina (which is really a pretty cool place in its own right). So, I’d like to give a big shout-out to fellow expatriated-to-the-east-coast Texan, MsRobyn!
A $75,000 lawsuit against me was thrown out of court.
A friend for over fifty years, her boyfriend, my husband and I made a trip together to Savannah, Charleston and Ashville – three of my favorite places. This was our first trip together.
I have been better able to set boundaries and relieve some of the emotional pain I have endured. I did it with the help of a much loved step-daughter.
My youngest granddaughter has begun to run to me when she sees me, calls me “Grammy,” and showers me with hugs and kisses.
I found SDMB – What a relief!!!
My husband and I began to celebrate our 17th Anniversary as the old year passed. I’ve never been more in love with him.
It was an eventful and busy year, that’s for sure.
My company took advantage of newly relaxed FCC rules and bought a second TV station here in town. That meant consolidation of our two properties, the redesign and rebuilding of one of them to handle both stations, the disposal of the second studio building (a task not yet totally accomplished) and, unfortunately, the laying off of over 100 people.
But, in accomplishing this task in just about 90 days, we pretty much set a new record for doing this sort of project. There wasn’t a person in the industry that thought we could actually get it done in that timeframe, but after getting started right around the first of June, we flipped the switch in the newly rebuilt plant promptly at 5:00 PM on Labor Day. We have some of the best damned broadcast engineers in the business. Period.
Personally, I decided after being away from the sport for about twenty years to get back to motorcycling. The youthful training, experience and habits served me well for a couple of months until I low-sided on a damp street in May and crushed my left leg under 600 pounds of Harley. That pretty much blew my summer, what with three surgeries and lots of time on crutches. Given the work situation, however, I wasn’t going to get a lot riding time in anyway, so it all sort of worked out.
The good news is that since mid-September, I’ve put almost 3000 miles behind me on two wheels and have started wondering why I hadn’t been riding for all those years in between the dirt-bike days in my 20’s and today.
In other news, I discovered the SDMB this summer while I was convalescing. You folks brought me through the doldrums of injured summer weekends and evenings with a smile and brand new knowledge - my eternal thanks!
(Seriously, I do hope this year is better for you.)