Stiffed for $14K when I had to dump a client, motion without notice immediatley before Christmas on a pro-bono case, strep throat, sinus infection, sacroiliac going wild, explosive shits from the meds . . . .
Can’t say I’m particularly happy right now, but Buddy the World’s Friendliest Cat is happy as a clam, and it’s hard not to smile when he’s about.
Last month I buried my brother. He was my buddy, my advisor, my lead blocker, my right arm. Looking at his lifeless body really made me realize how very much better it is to be alive than dead. And how fine the line is, and how far we have to fall, and what meaningless bullshit we fill our days with.
So I am glad for my time under the sun. Anything else I could possibly have is just a bonus.
Wow! So sorry for your loss. Excellent outlook. Take care of yourself.
I have a job where I feel like what I do is actually making the world a better place.
The Neville kitties purr for me on a regular basis. It’s hard to not be happy when you’re petting a purring cat.
I demand pictures!
I’m incredibly happy to be married to my husband and to have the job that I have.
As much as my financial situation (and its related burdens) sucks right now, it could be a lot worse, and my life is still great because of my wonderful friends (RL and online–love ya Ulla!) and family.
The thing that makes me the most happy is the people in my life that makes me smile, laugh and feel loved.
In 2008 I meet a lot of new people - and I hope they will stay in my life longer then just 2009 <3
(love you right back Bethany!)
That my family and his family (the members that count) (yes, they are amazing and supportive and understanding) will support me when this marriage ends.
That my friends will be amazingly supportive and happy that the “old” Hazle is back!
I have a steady job, insurance, an apartment, a new car, friends and family…
All in all, life is good!
My one and only online picture of the Zen Man is my user profile picture. Beware the ears though or else you’ll be picking up TV signals from some foreign country.
You’ve been warned. 
Just got a new car after my last one imploded before Christmas. I’ve also finally got a topic for my PhD thesis, with a large amount of work already completed, so it’s looking like I will maybe finish early.
Here is my boy, pretending he is really happy to have received a shirt for Christmas. He needs a few more acting lessons to pull it off.
Funniest looking cat I’ve ever seen. Looks more like a good looking young human to me.
Every time I look in a mirror I am reminded how happy I am to be 25kg lighter (and seriously fitter) than I was at this time last year.
Everything else is good, too, but the weight thing is just awesome.
Si
[ul]
[li]I’m six months out of a divorce from a woman who was a giant lead weight around my neck for nearly a decade. Contrary to what some people expected, I have never, ever once thought about going back to her.[/li][li]I was feeling like crap for a month and a half after being unceremoniously and unexpectedly dumped by somebody who I thought was great. My self confidence took a serious beating. Somehow, New Year’s Eve morning, all of that seemed to magically resolve itself. I’ve felt, if not “great,” then at least “okay to pretty good,” for a week and a half straight now. Two weeks ago, I was lucky to make it a couple of hours without feeling like shit.[/li][li]I’m in casual relationships with no less than two hot, smart, funny women, and I’m not feeling particularly clingy toward either one of them. This a big step for me.[/li][li]I have a great job. I’m paying freaking quarter of my income in alimony every month, and I’m not really feeling the pinch. Hell, we’re growing at 30% a year. I just got a 15% raise.[/li][li]My kitty is hilarious.[/li][li]I may be drinking more these days, but I’m smoking less.[/li][li]Despite the damage it does to my precious free time, I’m happy with the way grad school is going. There’s still a long, hard, slog ahead, but I think I made the right decision.[/li][li]Finally, and most importantly, after nine years of virtual isolation in a fucked-up codependent relationship with my ex-wife, I’m opening up to my family, reconnecting with old friends, and making new ones.[/li][/ul]
Hell, a month ago, I wouldn’t have even been able to put that list together. I had a really three and a half years. It’s about time things started getting better.
My husband loves me madly and unconditionally and treats me like a queen, even when I don’t deserve it.
I am, finally, a mom. And he is worth every crappy, painful, awful, humiliating, expensive thing we went through to get him. I would do it all twice more just to see him smile at me tomorrow morning.
That of all the guys in the world, I must be the luckiest, to love and be loved by the sweetest, most beautiful woman. A soul who has stood by me through these last couple of terrible years, as the pain of burying our firstborn brought back depression and anger with the world.
She’s my best friend, my lover, my comfort and my playmate. She’s taught me to see the world in a new light and how to find joy in the little pleasures of life. She inspires me to better myself…
Of course, the safe birth of our precious daughter, now three months old. A miracle for which I still cannot believe our good fortune. She’s just now at the stage of learning to grin, and she gives the biggest smiles when I play with her, turning her head while her eyes twinkle, and robbing hearts along the way. She makes life worth living.
I’m feeling much, much better. I think I may have finally turned the corner on the issues from my childhood. There was something cathartic about becoming a father and being able to look at how most fathers love their children, realizing that what my father did was sick. It’s been healing.
My work is going much better now. Several large issues are getting better and I’ve got an project which I’m being challenged with.
My weight is down because I eat better and get more exercise.
I’ve got a great relationship with my sister and my mother.
My wife’s sister is holding tough. Breast cancer is a bitch, especially when you aren’t even 30, but she’s a trooper.
I’m more optimistic today than I have been in years and years.
I finally got a break after a shitty holiday season spent sick in bed… I’m being transferred from Downtown Manhattan to Midtown. The reason this matters is because I’ve been commuting 3-3.5 hours (I wish to Og this was an exaggeration) roundtrip to work every day and it’s damn near killed me. My boss rang me up today and said, ‘‘We’ve been thinking, this commute has been awfully hard on you… want to switch to Midtown?’’ Working in Midtown is going to shave an hour a day off my commute. WOOOHOOO! Oh, and not only that, but the new office isn’t nearly as understaffed as the one I’ve been working in. WOOOHOOO!
TP, I couldn’t be happier to hear how you’re doing so well. I think having a child changes things, especially for folks like us. I can’t wait to adopt one of my own someday.
First, a thanks to the OP. This thread might be what I needed.
I live in a cool, exciting part of town that is both central enough for me and loaded with parks and kids for my seven-year old. The emotional challenges of being six seem to have left him and I have an awesome kid again (for a few years). While my job is lacking in a few things, it is a good gig. I have an awesome team, two outstanding direct reports, two more who are solid and good. I have a decent dev manager, and one PM who makes going to work worthwhile. I have the respect and admiration of my peers and comrades. I’m in line for both a promotion and a significant raise.
I view my ex wife with almost complete indifference (and that may sound dumb, but I know people who hate their exs with a passion years afterword). I decided to start going to the gym a year ago, and I’ve lost a few pounds (which sucks - I’m trying to bulk up) but I’m just… bigger than I was, and sitting at sub 10% body fat. I’m not huge or cut, but I’m getting there. I’ve ended one really toxic friendship and I’m getting over that. And, against all odds, and in spite of my trust issues and general dysfunction, I may have actually made a new friend who matters to me.
Last year this time life sucked, and I sat down and decided how to make it better. I went and did those things, and I’m surprised to find that all of my efforts may actually have worked. I did the same thing this year, and I hope that the bad things (which are no where near as bad as they were a year ago) go away and the good things get better.
I haven’t had a drink since Labor day after decades of weekend binge drinking. I’m 49.
