Personal highs and lows for 2003

When you look back on the year, what are the best/worst things that you remember? For me:

Best: March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day. On vacation, I flew into Sydney, arriving at sunset…what a beautiful view coming in over the Harbor! By the time I had made it into the city, the full moon had come up, and the sidewalks were full of boisterous pub crawlers. I made my way out to the Opera House, and had a few Irish whiskeys, soaking it all in.

Worst: Watching the news as the Cedar Fire swept towards my house in San Diego. Seeing the billowing black smoke clouds on the other side of the ridge, and trying to figure out what to take with me as the evacuation notice came. I was luckier than a lot of others, the fire never made it to our place.

Worst: Coming to the realisation that I am going to have to sell my beloved family home, because my ex-husband is an arsehole and wants to see me “sink” financially.

Best: Having my one true love and soulmate move over from interstate to be with me. (We fell in love via the internet).

I bought into and took over a company this year, thereby fulfilling my dream of becoming a Capitalist.

Worst… Watching the Braves lay yet another egg in the playoffs.

Best: Got a new job that I actually enjoy.

Worst: Smashed the living hell out of my right leg, but I got better.

I think both of mine have happened today.

Best: Young Tiger passed all his tests and will shortly become an airman in the United States Air Force. This after a really bad year of him nearly flunking out of college and slinging pizzas for a living. Now he’ll be a computer programmer courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Worst: My only sister (two years older than me) was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease two months ago. Today she appears to have had a stroke. They’re still not sure, but whatever happened to her, it is Not Good.

Best: Getting accepted to Americorps, visiting Chicago, getting my own bank account, and getting a 3.5 GPA for my third semester. Not bad!

Worst: Nearly getting thrown out by my folks, my boyfriend broke up with me in a disgustingly wussy way.

2003 has been full of highs and lows. My cousin is pregnant, but my other cousin’s wife has been diagnosed with diabetes. Two of my cousins got married but my brother’s girlfriend had a tubal pregnancy and had to have major surgery. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster.

Worst: having a Mormon girl chew me out about being an Atheist then trying to nail me with her husband passed out in the next room. Her following me out to my car naked except for a towel then trying to nail me in the car while i was trying to get the heck out of there is something I think will embarass me for a lifetime. (amusing story though)

Best…um I dunno maybe deciding it was time to go back to college so hopefully it will lead to a good job for once in my life. But I guess time will tell on that one.

I had the fortune of two highs this year.

May 24th - My wife and I got married.
June 23rd - We discovered my wife was pregnant. And, to top it all off, the baby was conceived on the weekend after our wedding, thus saving me from a life’s worth of lectures from my mother.

My low was when I discovered that my 18 year olod sister was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and as a result, she has shunned all contact with the family.

High point of the year: Climbing all 7000 steps of Mount Tai in China.

Low point: Learning that, while on said trip to China, my best friend at work had been laid off.

Best: That deep moving water feel of holding your newborn child for the very first time

Best[sup]2[/sup]: Turning around and doing the same thing with his brother

Worst: Dealing with figuring how to support the family, house, debt, with a 4 tier budget: Now, Now with unemployed wife, Now with unemployed wife and no unemployment bene’s, and Now – with just my income. Luckily it didn’t come to that as the company pulled out of it’s nosedive about 4 feet short of the ground (from 180 employees to 18 in 3 years.)

worst: getting married.

best: i’ll get back to you…

Yikes! Sorry, jujuju - here’s hoping 2004 holds good things for you.
best: watching the world through my children’s eyes, day after day

worst: losing a friend (not by death) and not knowing the reason why

Worst:

Selling my house of 11 years, paying off $40k of my wife’s debt, then watching her try to commit suicide, check into the mental hospital and blame me. All in one week in January.

Having her removed from the house in August under an Order for Protection.

Moving out a few weeks later, after she filed for divorce.

Best:

The last month or so. I can honestly say that I feel better and am doing better, on a personal level, than I have at any time in my entire 41 years.

As the I-Ching says: One is enriched through unfortunate events (Hexagram 42 - Increase)
I married a crazy lady. This made me become a better person.

I divorced the crazy lady (ok, it’s still in the works). This made me a happier person.

Now I’m both better and happier than that person I used to be.

Best: Finally saw my favourite band in the world live. One hell of a road trip, and discovered how great my friend really is.

Worst: Running away from home in May. Only for the night though, to cool things down between parents and myself. Awful feeling of guilt.

Best: [ul][li]Trip to Mexico, which included the best New Year’s Eve and Day I think I’ve ever had. It was very, very hard to come home after that.[]Getting my balance–and a whole bunch of my life–back. That’s a biggie.[] A really fun day, night, and the rest of a full day–a grownup slumber party, really–that resulted in my every-other-week housecleaning group. (Three of my friends and I now have an arrangement, where, every other Sunday, we go to one of our houses and help that person with chores, etc. We get some work done at first, then we have a beer, or rum ‘n’ cokes, or whatever, sit around, talk, eat, etc. It’s fun, and it’s part of what’s been keeping me going recently.)[/ul][/li]
Worst: [list][] A very intense, but very brief-lived, period of dating someone I’d really fallen for. I still hurt from that, even though it became pretty clear that he has some major issues. [] Having my attempt to go to Brazil–with funding!–get shot down. But that’s OK; I’m trying again this year, and the results will be better this time, I think. The general dreariness of still being in grad school, having no friends at all in my department, and feeling like my thesis will never be finished.

Best: Got a job that pays over minimum wage and doesn’t involve communicating with morons all day.

Worst: School suffers due to hours worked.

Neither is extreme, but unlike the previous two years, this one didn’t have anything extemely bad or good happen.

Best: Graduating from McGill University and getting my B.Sc. degree. Wearing that gown, hearing my name called, and finally holding that diploma - a day I’ll never forget.

Worst: Realizing that the B.Sc. in physiology doesn’t lead me right to a job, and that my lack of lab experience means it’ll be tough to get into graduate school.

But I’m in a medical laboratory technology program now, so it should all work out in the end… just taking the scenic route!

Worst: Being diagnosed with cancer.

Best: Making a full recovery (tumor removed surgically, no signs of any other growths so far), signing papers on a house, and getting a $20,000 bonus and a $5000 raise at work.

Compared to previous years, I count this as one of the good ones.

Low: Having to move.

High: Moving.

Although we weren’t expecting to have to move and finding out that we were moving on short notice was extremely distressing, it’s really turned out to be the highlight of the year. We love our new place and getting out of the hot San Fernando Valley was very good. Moving to Huntington Beach, 4.5 miles from the beach, is the best. :smiley:

Best: An ‘A’ average in my first year of a program I actually like.

Worst: The person who I tell all my shit to has cut off all communication with me. What’s worse is, I don’t know why.