Quarterly synopsis:
#1: Boring.
#2: Uh-oh.
#3: Denial.
#4: Massive suckitude.
All in all, 2008 sucked.
All in all, 2008’s been pretty good to me.
Got to spend the summer in New Orleans working at an awesome internship at the U.S. Mint with the jazz collection… no money, but awesome nonetheless.
Got through more school, realized that I’m really going to be a senior in college, got accepted for a study abroad program in England for next semester, paid for plane tickets and a Eurail pass, and managed to get my FAFSA in on time so I got the full amount of aid that I need.
Worked on my mental state, and have made strides toward being more confident. Hopefully 2009 will see the same improvements and opportunities.
I hadn’t thought about how good it’s been until I saw the thread!
My missing grandchildren came back into my life after two years!!! Caitlin sent us a graduation invitation and that led to a reunion. Of course, they still don’t call, but I guess that’s closer to normal.
A new MRI indicated that my brain anurysm has not grown and I won’t have to have it checked for another two years.
I was invited to join a wonderful women’s club and that has taken a lot of my time. I’ve made many new friends that have lifted my spirits.
My old roommate and I made it to the beach twice and became Twenty-something again.
Zeldar and I still enjoy each other’s company.
2008… a shitty year with a good strong outlook.
I overcame my depression, and managed not to fuck up my job.
The future looks good, I am more fit and confident. I’ve even been out on some dates! The money keeps coming in, and I hope to fill out my instrument collection this year (3G acoustic guitar here I come!)
I’m healthy, as is my family. I like my job enough to keep me interested for a while longer. I have more friends now. In fact my biggest problem right now is that there is too much I want to do and have not enough time to do it!
Next year I want Sex. Thats my only hope! 
It’s been the worst year of my adult life, although the horrible events actually began in fall of 2007. We moved back to Indonesia (something I was thrilled to do) and shortly after the school year had begun, a truly horrible school administrator here in Jakarta treated us like s–t when we tried to enroll our son in school, pretty much telling us in a very arrogant, sadistic way that our child has a pervasive development disorder (which he does not; he’s just a proto-nerd with an official “diagnosis” :rolleyes: of gifted and talented). He was then out of school for three lonely months while we tried to pick up the pieces from that unexpected setback (given that suitable schools for expatriate kids in Jakarta are limited).
At the same time, my 79-year-old father got very sick while living in Mexico, where he got lousy medical care. My mother, who speaks no Spanish, was hugely traumatized by the whole experience and got very sick herself. This spring my father died. Since then my mother has pretty much gone to pieces. However, although she is living alone, not in the best of health, in a small Mexican town, she REFUSES to move (even though I’ve invited her to come live with us). I have no idea what I will do when she has a stroke or heart attack and there is no one in the world but me to deal with it (I am an only child, and my mother has no one but me to help her). This haunts me every day and night and sucks the joy out of everything.
On the plus side, my son eventually got enrolled in a school that has recognized his abilities and challenged him academically, making him happier at school than he has ever been before. Also, I found a wonderful job that I can largely do through telecommuting, so I have been able to (mostly) keep up despite my frequent travel to Mexico for my mother’s issues. And of course, we have a wonderful lifestyle in Indonesia - interesting friends, neat cultural and travel opportunities, a beautiful house, maids, etc.
2008 was very good to me.
The Good
Got married
Went overseas for the first time in about 5 years
Doing well financially
Dad’s health deteriorated short-term, but that lead to an operation which has hopefully fixed the problem long-term
Bought a new cat
Kept to a 3 day a week gym routine
The Bad
My uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer
Because of all the wedding and honeymoon planning, didn’t make any progress on my novel in the second half of the year
Got sick a lot
Good and bad. Bittersweet. Long story short, we were living in the States after having been evacuated from Beirut in 2006 during the summer war. We were unhappy–partially for financial reasons, partially because we are now incorrigible expats and love living abroad, and mostly because we missed the hell out of Beirut, which is (despite everything) an incredible city, one which we still regard as home. I figured I could alleviate two out of these three problems by getting a job overseas again (which I did, and which has worked out great). But it was bittersweet in that accepting this job required finally submitting my resignation for my position in Beirut (where I had been on unpaid leave since 2006), thus officially closing that chapter in our lives.