# Any accomplishments in twenty-twelve? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713 "2012-12-31T21:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/41 "2013-01-02T15:45:30Z")
I finally started going back to school to finish my degree, after 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/42 "2013-01-02T16:39:18Z")
I moved into my own place, finally getting my stuff out of storage. I wrote about 140,000 words (I have to transcribe about two hours so I don’t know the exact count), including the first draft of a novel in 17 days. I have three novels and what’s probably going end up a novelette to finish. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/43 "2013-01-02T17:04:53Z")
I finished my Masters degree in March and got a new job at the same company in September. I went from being an IT guy to being just another dumb user and I love it! Mua ha ha! On the not-so-good side, my wife and sister-in-law had to put their mother in full time care because she has alzheimer’s. I guess that’s an accomplishment, but it certainly crapped all over our summer. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/44 "2013-01-02T17:12:03Z")
I got married. But I can’t take all the credit. I couldn’t have done it without my wife there. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/45 "2013-01-02T17:15:13Z")
I defended my dissertation and graduated. I’m very glad to no longer be a grad student. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/46 "2013-01-02T18:50:36Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > I am that Doper 🙂 We’ve got some cool stuff coming up with the book. > > I also bought a house that is amazing. And a very amazing doper you are. 😃 > [@digs](#): > > Cool-- keep us posted. Is the first book on Amazon or anywhere yet? > > And my only accomplishment of '13: I made _ **Chimera** _ and _ **scabpicker** _ go 😃 ! > Oh, and huge kudos to everyone who lost weight. It ain’t easy, and I respect your mega-motivation. The book is called [Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines are Safe and Save Lives.](http://www.amazon.com/Your-Babys-Best-Shot-Vaccines/dp/144221578X/ref=cm_rdp_product%5B/url) It was published by Rowman & Littlefield in August. I will be on [this](http://webtalkradio.net/internet-talk-radio/parenting-with-playdate-planet/) radio show tonight to discuss it. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/47 "2013-01-02T19:12:12Z")
I lost on _Jeopardy!_, but then I got married. Call it even. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/48 "2013-01-02T19:21:47Z")
Congrats to all who accomplished something in 2012! 🙂 I’d like to say I also managed to avoid killing someone in 2012, but sadly I had to have my precious 16 1/2 year-old kitteh put down due to renal failure last month. The ball team I’ve been coaching for the last two decades won the league championship in 2012 and I like to think I had some part in achieving that goal. I’m rewarding myself by taking a summer off from baseball for the first time in my adult life. I picked up a paid writing job for a rapidly growing sports blog website in 2012. Okay, the pay is very nearly non-existent (as in, I have earned just under $20 in a year, not even enough for them to justify cutting me a cheque yet), but I have been able to go to quite a number of games this year for free, which is pretty sweet. I also got published in their monthly hard copy magazine, which is also pretty sweet. Being a credentialled sports writer kicks ass, even if the pay is less than spectacular. My wife and I had our 10-year wedding anniversary in August, so that was a good thing. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my wife and I were able to successfully make use of birth control for another year. Still no little Dread Pirates running around. Woo Hoo! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/49 "2013-01-02T19:56:50Z")
Speaking of **Dread Pirate Jimbo’s** sports magazine, I had a picture of mine published with his article. I didn’t realize how proud that would make me - I just take pictures as screwing around, without any thoughts of anyone thinking the pictures are anything special. I can’t swear I didn’t kill anyone, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/50 "2013-01-02T20:09:07Z")
I got a new job. Yes, still as a software engineer, still in the mapping/car navigation area. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/51 "2013-01-02T20:37:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Speaking of **Dread Pirate Jimbo’s** sports magazine, I had a picture of mine published with his article. I didn’t realize how proud that would make me - I just take pictures as screwing around, without any thoughts of anyone thinking the pictures are anything special. > > I can’t swear I didn’t kill anyone, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t. 🙂 Yes, her picture of Calgary’s McMahon Stadium at sunset was both really eye-catching and featured as the lead photo in my stadium review of a University of Calgary Dinos football game. Apparently her pic was super excellent and all of mine for that piece paled in comparison. Well done, baby! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/52 "2013-01-03T05:07:14Z")
I survived the shit show that was my breakup, and am the better for it. 16 pounds lighter, and now with a nice savings account. I also earned a 91% in my math class. If 2013 goes well, I will end up with a much better job, or be back in school working towards a much better career. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/53 "2013-01-03T16:49:14Z")
Wow. I just totalled my sales last year on my handmade jewelry, and it looks like I topped $10K. I am stunned! I knew I was selling a lot judging by the amount of beading materials I was burning through, but I had no idea it was that much! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/54 "2013-01-03T16:52:23Z")
Congrats to all on their accomplishments! Me, I self-published my first original novel in both dead-tree and ebook versions, and finished the second in the series (a total between the two of almost 300,000 words and 1,000 pages). I’m hoping I can finish the final book in the trilogy this year if I can drag myself away from WoW long enough. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/55 "2013-01-04T00:24:56Z")
Some music I wrote got published on a website. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/56 "2013-01-04T02:23:48Z")
I shot and edited 35 five camera _School of Rock_ concerts, each 90 to 120 minutes long, as well as 6 other concerts and two productions of _Pirates of Penzance_. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/57 "2013-01-05T02:20:49Z")
With a nod to the OP, I was contacted by a boutique shop in a nearby large city which was interested in showcasing my handwoven rugs and table runners. I took them a stack of stuff in late October, and as of Christmas, it was all sold. Gee whiz, you mean people will pay real money for this?? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/58 "2013-01-05T05:03:44Z")
> [@limegreen](#): > > With a nod to the OP… The OP’s nodding back at ya – it’s _SO_ cool when something that’s easy and natural for you is valued by others. (And, in most cases, it’s something we’d be doing anyhow – in my case, doodling; in your case, hey, you don’t end up with a bunch of rugs in stacks around the house.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/59 "2013-01-05T22:10:54Z")
2012 was a series of dramatic ups and downs. It started with unemployment, severe depression, and then a job I despised. I like to think of it as the first part of the year being the growing pains necessary to give birth to a new, more positive existence. This was the year I started my career in non-profit development by taking on a position with more responsibility then I’ve ever had at a job. Incidentally, this is also the year I stopped being insecure. I don’t worry as much about my appearance, I’ve learned to embrace my own personality and have come to the conclusion that the people I love are pretty lucky to know me (and also I am lucky to know them, but I’ve always known that.) I don’t think I’m better than everyone else or anything, but I just… like myself. Professionally, this job has given me a lot of confidence. I’m now competent and comfortable enough at work that I can flat-out tell my boss, ‘‘I don’t agree with this and here’s why’’ and he actually listens to me _because I know what I’m talking about_. I have to look for a new job in a few months (because I’m moving out of state) and I’m actually looking forward to the interviews rather than dreading them. I don’t think finding a job this time around will be as difficult, if only for the attitude change alone. 2012 is the year we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My husband got 10 internship interviews for his Ph.D. program (compared to the zero interviews he got in 2011, this is huge.) I can’t talk in detail about our preferences, but there are many great options on the table right now. Also, now that I’m working, we are building our net worth instead of going deeper into debt. In 6 months we very well may be taking the first step in settling down for good, and in 1.5 years we may even be looking at something like a _dual income_ instead of living off my social worker’s salary. So yeah. I don’t think I could be in a better place to start the year. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713/60 "2013-01-06T04:42:55Z")
Can I actually say something about my now-husband? He started out in IIRC February of 2012 with the beginnings of the blog about the fandom of Dark Shadows he’d always wanted to do, and now he’s huge in that little niche and has started a podcast where he’s lined up what to me are some pretty big guests (Nancy Collins, PN Elrod, some guys who are evidently big comic book dudes, etc) and the weird thing is that _he doesn’t think it’s a big deal_ because he’s worked in journalism so long that getting people to talk to him doesn’t seem like it’s very important. But it blows my mind and I am so impressed that he’s stuck with it. Seriously, he impresses the crap out of me every single day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-accomplishments-in-twenty-twelve/645713.md?page=2)