It's that time again

2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

Career: A- been working for the same company for a year and a half - longest i've stayed/longest the company has stayed in business since 2007. love the people i work with and the company is doing well, but i'm becoming increasingly disenamored with what i do on a daily basis. on the bright side, i've started some online courses for what i want to do for the next 5-10 years and am very excited about continuing to pursue that.

Family: A+ i continue to enjoy a very happy relationship with my wife, and my 2 kids are an absolute joy. found out in the summer we are having a third, and found out last week it's a boy this time. having a third is making it necessary to change some of the circumstances of our lives, and we are taking the opportunity to be bold about it, which is also exciting.

Social life/Friends: A- no major changes from years past, but i've always been pretty low-maintenance when it comes to needing friends. i did lead a bible study group for the first time this year with several other couples, which was a good and consistent source of friendship and growth.

Health: C- my highest priority goal at the beginning of this year was "develop healthy eating and exercising habits". woops. i did get my act together in july and started going to the gym again, but it wasn't nearly often enough and the damage is done. i eat way too much sugar and not enough fruit/vegetables. i weigh more than i ever have and my gut is pretty noticeable. i did start a "no more sodas" club at work though, so hopefully i can keep to that.

Money: B finished paying off credit cards and finished making my own budgeting software to do all the stuff that mint.com doesn't do and that i hated doing every month in excel. got a lot of student debt to start on in 2012. hopefully we can knock out a big chunk of it.

11/25/2011 6:50:13 PM

this is my favorite part of tww. besides the porn.

11/25/2011 7:06:30 PM

My 2010:

Quote :

"Job: Job is going well, got a promotion due to getting my MS degree, and its going well. B Love: Well, I was engaged but now I'm not. Kinda going through a lot of drama with the ex at the moment, but hopefully that'll die down soon. I did learn a lot about relationships though, plus I lived with a SO for the first time ever, so that was a learning experience. I know now how to handle things a bit better, and have a clearer definition of what I want out of a relationship, and what I would like in a partner. So while the end of my engagement has just happened, and for most people that would be an "F", I'm going to mark it a "C", due to everything I learned from this relationship. C Friends: I don't have many, but they are awesome. They properly bitch-slapped me with some info immediately following my breakup with my ex-fiancee that I really needed to hear. This information has been instrumental in me deciding that I need to be a more social person instead of the reclusive person that I have been. They have helped me lots through rough times this year. A Family: I love my family. They're strange, and have their own special brand of crazy, but they're blood, and they always have my back. Also, my biological mother and I have started writing letters back and forth, and are in the process of repairing that relationship. I am happy about that. A Random highlights: Got my first M.S. degree, which is awesome. I've learned a lot about life, which is great and I'm working on being debt free. Had some awesome times in Oregon checking out the scenery, its pretty out there, I think I would like it except for the rain. I'll probably go back b/c I wanna do some hiking/etc around Mt Hood. Living in a townhouse & area of town that I just really like."

My 2011:
Job: Job is still going strong, got some very strong performance reviews which should bring a promotion in 2012. A

Love: Finally got thru the drama with the ex fiance. I did quite a bit of dating, figured out what I want in a woman and what I want in my love life. Currently dating a pretty awesome chick. A

Friends: I became more social this year, involved in sports leagues/social events/etc. Now I have more friends (yay!) and that is pretty awesome. A

Family: My biological mother and I reconciled, and its nice to have a Mom now. I am happy about that. A

Random highlights: Still working on getting debt free, made some major headway and will definitely get there (with the exception of housing & vehicle) in 2012. Still living in the same townhouse & area of town that I just really like.

[Edited on November 25, 2011 at 9:26 PM. Reason : bold]

11/25/2011 9:25:13 PM

I'll let you know in a month since a lot can happen in that time frame!

11/25/2011 9:27:02 PM

Career: A- was accepted to, and currently in nursing school. Stressed from clinicals/studying but worth it and doing ok in classes. Now work for awesome lab, and awesome boss, part time. Crazy lady and stress from her lab went away. I love my co-workers and my grad students, although my department acts a little silly sometimes.

Family: C Oldest sister and my bro-in-law had some marital problems, brother got in a DUI for second time in the summer, youngest sis went off to college, parents are finally celebrating (I mean celebrated, my mom called me up drunk after they dropped off youngest sis) their empty nest.
In laws: sis in law is having quarter-life crisis, happened after we visited her in Boulder this summer. Relationship went a little sour with his parents after last Xmas, so I'm not visiting in the winter again.

My dude is doing well, 2 new bands and he's as supportive as always. Both still debating whether we need marriage to make it 'official'.

Social Life: B- Not as awesome because of school, but I see my besties and work out with them. I get out to important events on the weekends.

Spirituality/Community: A Finally got my butt to the Buddhist temple a few times this fall, I've started reading and meditating to ease some stress. Still involved in the bike project in town, but in a smaller role. Co-op kicked some ass this year financially and goal-wise.

Health: B Good- maintained my cardiac fitness and flexibility, dropped about 10 lb., took up more cycling sports (cyclocross and mtb). Finally found consistent partners to train with. Ran my first half marathon in October.
Bad- been plagued with chronic injuries this year that prevented me from doing a half-Ironman tri, and f'ed up weight training back in the spring. Over-stressed from school, but diet helps control that.

Money: B+- it's tight, and my dude's helping support me, but I've managed to pay my own bills, rent and tuition, and car insurance, as well as spending money.

Hobbies: A Finally got some hermit crabs, put in 2 new garden beds, re-stocked my freshwater aquarium. Making money from some sewing projects, still find time to ride horses. Recently built a bicycle powered generator with the bf.

Overall: B+

11/25/2011 9:35:39 PM

AHA, AntiMnifesto the family section is for you to talk about your relationships with your family, not just dump all the dirt.

LOL

11/25/2011 9:43:23 PM

Wow. Very interesting. Wonderful thread.

Quote :

" Job: Still there, still writing. Great perks. Fun projects. Also picked up a side job as a Spinning instructor, which gives me a bit more personal satisfaction. Am working on a couple of startup ventures with friends. One friend just bought a gym and I'm managing a portion of the business in my free time. Currently writing a business plan for another venture and meeting with a prospective investor next week. B+ Love: Nonexistent. Neither good nor bad. I'm okay with that. Unfortunately, not sure I'll have the time for a relationship for a while. C Friends: They rock. Thank God for them. They keep me sane. Oh, but we had to have an intervention for one because she had a serious substance abuse problem ... that was pretty stressful. She went to rehab, thank God. B+ Family: They rock. They're cray cray, but they're great people. Had a granddad die, but it was a blessing. B+ Random highlights: Went to Costa Rica with gfs, went to the Bahamas twice with friends, paid off my car, landed an interview with a pretty awesome company (scheduled for next week, so 2011 could have even more good news), appointed to the role of Area Governor in Toastmasters International, completed one marathon and one 1/2-marathon, moved in with a good friend and saved about $700 per month So, my 2009 was ok. I scored it higher at the time, but 2010 was actually better. Here's 2009: Quote : "A+ for love: Got out of a bad relationship. Enjoyed my freedom. A+ for friends: Went on 3 vacations (San Diego/LA, Vegas and Austin) with my closest friends A+ for job: Didn't lose it. Got a raise. Got awards. Still look forward to going to work every day. C for family: Awesome bro and sis-in-law. Parents are a basket case. Lots of ill family members. I have no complaints. Obviously, there's always room to grow. I'm looking forward to 2010. Trips to Cancun and the Bahamas in the near future." "

Job: After years as an ad writer for Starwood hotels, I left for an amazing company in June. Still writing. This is the job I alluded to at the end of last year's post. Still teaching spin classes. Also the VP of Marketing & Communications for a new startup, and the creative lead for another startup. A+

Love: About a week into the new year, I met someone very, very special. Immediate connection. We've basically been living together since the moment we met. Very happy. A+

Friends: I have good friends. Same group of girlfriends, minus the one in rehab. I don't see them as much due to the new job, but they're also going through life changes, like babies, new jobs, etc. We get together when we can. Will give it an A- bc it would be awesome to see them more often.

Family: Family, the other F word! I love my family members, but there's definitely some stress regarding family businesses, illnesses, etc. I'm glad I live where I do, bc I'm hundreds of miles away, so I'm not typically in the middle of the business drama and in-fighting. C

Random highlights: Finished tenure as Area Governor in Toastmasters International and now taking a huge break from the organization. Completed one 1/2-marathon (another one scheduled for next weekend). Traveled to Vegas, LA and NYC.

The biggest highlight is that I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I finally feel comfortable in my own skin and confident in my life decisions. And I'm very thankful for the opportunities that have come my way.

[Edited on November 25, 2011 at 9:56 PM. Reason : f]

11/25/2011 9:55:55 PM

^ Yeah I know. But I felt I had to explain why it was pretty lame this year, and that was because there was a lot of drama and a lot of conversations on the phone, directed at me, because I'm expected to give advice to my siblings, or something. My little brother still makes me want to run my head into a wall. Repeatedly.

11/25/2011 9:56:51 PM

Quote :

"AHA, AntiMnifesto the family section is for you to talk about your relationships with your family, not just dump all the dirt. LOL "

LOL

True, but it's so hard to separate their dirt from your personal feelings. When a parent or grandparent or sibling goes through stress or experiences pain, it's tough. You want to help, but you're pretty helpless in many ways.

Family is a tough field to answer.

^ I understand. And it's really tough to not be able to really help people you love.

[Edited on November 25, 2011 at 10:02 PM. Reason : j]

11/25/2011 10:01:46 PM

god so awesome. preface: i moved to california in august.

career: A+ started my phd in one of the best groups in the country, for an advisor that is super nice and quite frankly a fucking rockstar. i'm also getting to do math again, which is fantastic. classes take up way too much of my time, and i have no earthly idea what i'm supposed to be doing really, but i'm a first year so fuck it, i'm just having fun being lost and trying to soak up as much as i can.

family: B+ so i left my entire family, which sucks, but i spent a lot of time w/ my grandparents in raleigh before i left, and had a great trip to the west coast w/ my mom and dad, who i haven't lived near since high school. i've been skyping w/ everyone and shit, it's alright.

friends: A- winter 2011 was one of the most fun periods of time of my life, and this really amazing group of people formed in raleigh that was more or less based on some friends i already had and their new significant others and their friends. i was basically taking six months to write up my thesis when i could've done it in a week, so i was barely working and had a ton of fun. then i moved and started a new program, so i lost my cushy job and all of my friends; i think i'm adjusting well though.

love: A was single for the entirety of my 2011 in raleigh, which was a great decision, then started dating a girl that i really like once out west. this grade may swing wildly before the end of the year b/c this is early yet, but right now it's a solid A.

health: A+ (i think) started eating vegan and lost a bunch of weight (i'm 5'7", was 185 at my heaviest, left raleigh around 160, hang out around 145 now). i feel great, and am at least an order of magnitude more confident than i was before. there is the possibility that i'm actually just withering away from not eating right, but i don't think that's the case.

money: A+/D my paycheck went down by about 15% and my rent went up by about 200%, so the A+ is for raleigh, where i lived like a king, and the D is for berkeley, where i'm poor as shit.

11/25/2011 11:47:09 PM

I'm rotting from the inside out.

[Edited on November 26, 2011 at 12:40 AM. Reason : Then again, that's how most people rot.]

11/26/2011 12:40:12 AM

Completed grad school with a 4.0. Got the job I wanted. Life, family, friends, money, pets all going pretty well. Good year.

My husband is finishing up grad school and going on the job market, so I guess what happens with that is the biggest unresolved question for the coming year.

11/26/2011 3:29:30 AM

All I know is that I'm moving out of this godforsaken New England state and back to NC, and will be roughly an hour and a half from qntmfred and punchmonk. The outlook for 2012 is a hell of a lot better than what 2011 could ever have been.




[Edited on November 26, 2011 at 9:37 AM. Reason : ]

11/26/2011 9:37:17 AM

2010 was a much better year to say the least, this is probably on par or slightly worse than 2009

Career: C- Still trying to find a job in my field

Family: F My last grandmother died (whom I was very close with), mom had to go back to work this year for the first time in many years, sister not staying out of trouble, dad too poor to go back and visit family in his home country, I'm too poor to go visit all of them for Christmas

Social life: C Girl I had fallen for gets knocked up by some dude, other girl I've held out hope for finally got married, got in a brawl with my best friend (although this has been put behind us), but on the other hand I've made more new friends this year than I had in the past few years combined

Health: A At my lowest weight in 6 years, still have all my hair, successfully went off my antidepressants after being on them for 10 years, I feel like I'm better looking now then I probably ever have been

Money: D

11/26/2011 10:52:47 AM

A lot of good and a lot of bad.

Career: A+ I'm a stay at home Mom. I am fitting the ideal more than I ever have. I'm cooking, cleaning, hauling children, etc. My family is my job so...

Family: B+ End of the prior year, I moved to Greenville to be closer to my family because I was pregnant with my second child and my grandmother's health was failing. We moved in with my grandmother to care for her. In April, my grandmother became completely helpless and at 7 months pregnant, I could no longer move her to care for her. We put her into a nursing home 4 miles away and I went every day. She died in June just a few days after my daughter was born. We all knew that she was waiting for the baby. She got to hold and kiss the baby the day before she passed.

My children were my salvation during this period. Silas is in PreK and blossoming. He's a lot of work, but so entertaining. My daughter is a very sweet, easy baby. She also has DiGeorge Syndrome like my son, but not to the extent. We're looking forward to watching them grow together.

My marriage has never been better. We really matured over the months of caring for my grandmother. It gave us new perspective on life. It's also been a positive move to Greenville because life is a little slower and less stressful for us all.

Social life/Friends: B+ I left behind some wonderful friends when I moved and I have yet to find anyone here to occupy the same space in my life. I am still quite close to my friends in Raleigh, but it takes work to remain close. Most of my social life is family oriented. I cook dinner for my brother and his girlfriend and her son quite often. My brother works second shift so his GF and her son spend a lot of time at my house. I love it.

Health: A- I weigh less than I have in 10 years. This is due to two things: pregnancy and a massive change in lifestyle with change in city. I was very sick while pregnant and dropped a lot of weight. With Silas in school an a baby at home, my day has a lot more structure and I'm putting more effort into being a house wife. I'm busier, eating regularly, and cooking a lot instead of eating out. I had a major health blip late in my pregnancy and went into kidney failure. After a stay in the hospital, I now know that my years of kidney problems can be attributed to medullary sponge kidney disease.

Money: A We are entirely out of debt other than the mortgage on the house in Raleigh. Since my grandmother left her house to us, we're living in Greenville for free. Once we sell the house in Raleigh, we've budgeted so that we can live comfortably on my husband's income. We are in the best financial position that we have been in since having the children. I'm looking forward to getting rid of the house in Raleigh and setting money aside.

[Edited on November 26, 2011 at 11:11 AM. Reason : .]

11/26/2011 11:09:17 AM

Career: A- After a bumpy start working three different jobs at the start of the year, I finally have reentered my career. The pay is a serious downgrade from a year ago but I'm happy at my job. I'm hoping they'll fork out the money next year for some certifications.

Family: A Getting married is awesome We've had some rough times this year too but I'm glad I have my husband here to help me get through them.

Social life/Friends: C Most of my good friends have moved away from the area and the ones that are left I no longer have much in common with. As a result my social life is pretty much nonexistent. It sometimes gets depressing not really having anyone I can go hang out and have a cup of coffee with to just shoot the shit.

Health: B I've been getting much better about regularly exercising, though no longer biking to work doesn't help things at all. Need to figure out ways to make up for that drop in exercise.

Money: B- We bought a house, which definitely screwed up our disposable income level lol. But I'd much rather be in this house than dealing with apartment bullshit. Working on boosting up our savings for things like vacations and what not. Wish my salary was higher but I'll need to work on getting back to school for my masters for that to really happen.

11/26/2011 11:16:25 AM

My 2010...

Quote :

"got married and I still have a good job I'd say it was a pretty good year"

I'm still happily married and I still have a good job. Finally passed the CPA exam this year. Definitely a good year.

11/26/2011 12:16:53 PM

Career: B+ no job, but I'm one semester away from finishing graduate school. Still have perfect attendance and straight As, which is extraordinary for me.

Family: A+ family is great. Talk daily with my sister. Hang out with my parents a few nights a week--help them out with house work just a tiny bit, but we mostly just chill and enjoy each other's company, and they let me do schoolwork at their place like it's my own personal library. Went to visit my aunt and spent a nice weekend with her.

Social life/Friends: B+ I've still got just the two good friends, and they're both really good about making sure we keep in touch. I've kept up with my other friends monthly or so, but we don't hang out or anything. Still have a wonderful boyfriend.

Health: D+ my blood pressure is ridiculously/hilariously amazing, and I'm sober most days of the week. Otherwise, I'm a chain-smoking, binge-eating health disaster.

Money: F Through no fault of my own, I'm better situated than average. But I'm terrible with money, spending all of it on gas, cigarettes, tampons, beer, and take-out.

11/26/2011 3:33:33 PM

^ LOL on your splurge purchases.

11/26/2011 3:51:46 PM

Career: A - I have an awesome job that while it's not perfect and it frustrates the crap out of me, I'm really enjoying it. I've been there for just a year now and I really like waking up to go to work every day.

Family: B - My family is doing great, only thing that makes it a B is that my brother in law is still an asshole

Social life/Friends: B - I have made some great friends in 2011, hopefully will be able to keep them around for a while

Health: D - Couldn't make it 2011 without a hospital trip and I'm not being as healthy as I need to be. 2012, I will be turning that around.

Money: F - I failed majorly with money in 2011. I came off of being unemployed for 5 months in 2010, with $9k in medical bills. Horrible

11/26/2011 4:16:47 PM

Career: A+ I joined a start up hedge fund pre-launch, which got me out of a corporate setting and thus greatly improved my potential career growth

Family: B- For my new job, I had to move far away from all of my family where we were always at most a 90min drive away. Its especially tough because work a lot and I'm bad about keeping up on my phonecalls home. My first nephew was born this year, so that is the only reason why it's not a C-

Social life/Friends: D Again with moving, I moved far away from almost all of my friends. I try to keep up via facebook and email, but it's tough. People visit, but it's hard because people have to spend $ to fly up here and take off of work. BC of this I try to make it as affordable for them by paying for everything while they are up here. I am going out less and less because of my hectic work schedule. I did make friends at my new job (we're a group of 10), but only 1 or 2 I'd probably keep in touch with at this point if I wasnt working there anymore.

Health: D- My working long hours has left me with no energy when i go home to work out or anything like that. Since being diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis last year, its is becoming more and more difficult to sleep in a bed. Anytime I do, after about 4 hrs my sleep is broken up by back spasms, so I'm stuck sleeping in recliners most nights. THis is contributing to my weight gain as I have gained about 25 lbs since the beginning of the year, not to mention we dont go out for lunch at work and always have food ordered in. My blood pressure is above where it should be. This aspect of my life needs to change for the better before it gets much worse. I dont drink much at all anymore (maybe one a month) so thats a plus I guess

Money: A++ So I had to be sacrificing my family life, social life, and health for something right? this is the aspect of my life that improved the most the past year, but Im unsure at this point if the sacrifice has been worth it. I'm living very comfortably, have 0 debt, and with the job change I'm making 3.5-4x I was making last year, albeit in a bigger city.

Other Highlights My fiancee and I got a rescue dog, who is awesome and has relieved some stress and has me getting out more. I havent had time to keep up on my hobbies (poker, sports, etc) so I've been playing MW3 online with my friends in NC to keep in touch. I've been gradually scaling back my temper which i believe I'm getting better at doing year by year.

Overall: Undecided


[Edited on November 26, 2011 at 5:11 PM. Reason : .]

11/26/2011 5:09:40 PM

Career: B. I am in my second (and final) year of a Masters program at a school that is one of the best in the nation for my field. I have been able to work part time throughout this at a research center relevant to my studies which is giving me good experience. On the downside, I struck out at finding a paid internship over the summer, though I did end up with an unpaid one that was a decent experience and will be solid on the resume. Though I have gotten a lot out of my education and still believe that I am doing what I want to do, unfortunately, the economy is particularly unkind to my field and it could be very difficult to find a job when I graduate.

Family: C. Not really much to say about this. I'm single, and live 12 hours from my immediate and extended family, so it's not much of a factor.

Social life/Friends: B-. I broke up with someone who I was in a very serious relationship with, and have since had a couple of failures including one recently that was pretty devastating. Thanks to the looming uncertainty in my life of graduation and no clue of where in the world I will end up, as well as the insular nature of the program I am in (ie: I work, go to school, socialize, and party with the same people), there does not seem to be much potential for this to change any time soon. On the flip side, I have met a lot of new friends, some of which have become very close, and seem to fit in amongst the people I am with here more than at most other points in my life.

Health: B. Sort of status quo. Some healthy habits that I had been working on previously were completely wrecked by grad school, but some others have emerged. I never go to the gym and rarely do any sort of strenuous exercise, but I walk or bike a mile to school and work most days and have generally become much more reliant on active modes of transportation rather than my car (in 2009, I put 15,600 miles on my car; so far in 2011: 5,400). I have started trying to play soccer occasionally, but need to find people closer to my level to play with because I am utter garbage.

Money: B. Savings account is emptying fast, but that was expected coming in so nothing is too drastically off track. I am going into some debt for grad school, but had no loans in undergrad. I under estimated my expenses for school and living, but I also under estimated how much I would be making from working, so it is sort of balancing out.




[Edited on November 26, 2011 at 5:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/26/2011 5:19:56 PM

Career: B. Solid, dependable B. I'm sort of treading water at the moment because it makes sense from the meta career view. I've been at my current position for 2.5 years, with amazing benefits and a pretty solid salary for what is actually required of me, and in general professional manner. It makes sense because I'm doing some career development that will have a long term payoff that requires the stability and relative lack of challenge of this position. But like I said, I can't complain because I have a decent salary and excellent benefits.

Love: B- "The one" became "the one that got away" at the very beginning of the year. Spent the first 3 months of the year in a pretty bad state of depression. Finally got out of that, moved on, a few false starts here and there over the summer in getting back into dating, and then I got too busy this fall to really worry about it for at least another 6-12 months. The "~"/bittersweet part of this post is that I can finally say I know what "it" is supposed to feel like, even after having what I thought were serious relationships in the past. Still keep in touch with her, and have been made aware that on some levels she's not sure we should have broken up. I definitely would like her back, but it's not in the cards right now for either of us. Managed to eventually negotiate a decent friendship, so that if something can ever reconcile, we can have the conversation if need be. Realizing that I think I'm pretty OK with focusing and continuing to build myself as a person for the next several years before looking for anything extremely serious again.

Family: B. Only go home at Christmas anymore, so I don't see my family very often. They could be doing better, but like everyone else, they're getting by.

Social life/Friends: B+ What little there is these days is good. I live in an awesome city, especially to be single and in your late 20s/early 30s. But due to aforementioned career development, I don't have a lot of spare time, so I have to make what social interactions I do have count. I've been pretty good at that.

Health: A- (would be an A if not for having to begin prostate exams this year) Was in the best shape of my life over the summer, lowest % body fat and healthiest weight I've ever been, even after going through two bouts of marathon training. Had ankle surgery in August which set me back a bit, but I'm still in pretty great shape, and I do so by doing things I enjoy. No large concerns on the horizon and yearly physical was clean.

Money: B Comfortable, but not where I would like to be (realistically).

[Edited on November 26, 2011 at 8:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/26/2011 8:32:12 PM

Career: A+ took a huge leap of faith and sold my company and am now national sales manger for a European based company. best move ever. less stress, more money, and being only 31 in this position should put me in a good position in the future.

Family: A+ moved back to charlotte when i took the new job. the whole fam for my wife and i are in charlotte. my daughter is doing great and i am still happily married.

Social life/Friends: B- left so many great friends in charleston when we moved. i seem to travel and work a lot more now but it is less stress. i had some friends in charlotte i expected to see more when i moved back but having kids for them and us has slowed this down.

Health: C- i gained 35 pounds when i moved from all the meals out with work. in the last 30 days i have been back to working out but i need to keep this up. i could do a lot better here.

Money: A new job means more money as i do not have to float a business any longer. haven't sold our house in charleston yet so that weighs me down some. once that is gone i think it will help. all the credit cards are paid off, all we have left are skewl loans, 1 car, 1 boat, and 2 houses. while that sounds terrible compared to floating a business it is great!

[Edited on November 27, 2011 at 9:33 PM. Reason : uhhh]

11/27/2011 9:28:32 PM

Career:F - I probably realized that I was in a dead end job about 6 months after I took it three years ago, but the offer they had made me was too good at the time to refuse. I was in a hurry to get back to the Triangle for a fiance that didn't work out. I know I should have set forth to find a new job some time ago, but let myself get too bogged down in the day-to-day grind and didn't...and now I have to because I lost my job. It's doubly discouraging because my last position didn't add much to my marketable skillsets. But the hunt goes on.

Family: B - Although the relationships with my siblings continue to be nonexistent, the one saving grace this year has been my parents. The emotional support and love they've given me throughout the year has been priceless. I don't know what I'd do without it, and hate to think of the day when I'll have to do without.

Social Life/Friends: B - My closest friends continue to be so; they've been unwavering constants over the years, and none of that's changed. I'm very lucky and thankful to have them. I haven't made as many new friends of the same caliber, though.

Love: C - My romantic involvement, however, has been more of the usual rollercoaster ride that I always seem to get wrapped up in. I've been seeing the same girl since Memorial Day Weekend, and it's not been the most fruitful venture...but the odds aren't in my favor on that one. She's 16 years younger than me and lives 200 miles away. It's not really going anywhere. Logically, it's not a great scenario, but there's a certain level of emotional attachment that gets in the way of just walking away.

Health: C- - I've managed to put on about 20 pounds this year. I smoke way too much. I've at least reined in on the drinking somewhat, but I did develop deep vein thrombosis in my right leg, which limited my mobility for a while and still hasn't fully gone away. It's become very obvious that sitting at a highly depressing desk job for 3 years has taken its toll physically and mentally.

Money: F - Even before losing my job, the money situation wasn't great. I have horrible spending habits, and blew a lot of money on liquor and food in the first half of the year (my preferred methods of self medication). I continued to spend too much, especially with having aforementioned girlfriend. Losing my job just made matters that much worse. I'm still waiting on final determination of eligibility for unemployment. But I'm still able to work and perform manual labor, which I do every chance I get. Maybe somebody will see fit to hire me, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. In the meantime, it's back to auto parts sales and working on folks' cars.

Divine Realization: Here are my words last year:

Quote :

"I realize that there are definitely people here who've had a lot worse things happen to them, and that I should be grateful to be alive, have a decent paying job, and a warm pillow to lay my head on...and believe me, I am. But if there's a God in Heaven, I don't want to have another year like this ever."

I should have kept my fat mouth shut.

11/28/2011 1:16:26 AM

Career: A+ I've been with my current company for 4 years now and I really love the industry I am in. Last month I made a bit of a career change and left project management to take on resourcing management for another division of the company. I now oversee resourcing across 4 departments worldwide for my company and I am really loving the challenge.

Family: A- It would be more like a B if I didn't have an awesome soon-to-be in-law family. My fiancee's family is amazing and I have a wonderful relationship with all of them. They are incredibly understanding of the situation with my family and they support me in every way possible. Things with my dad are wonderful; our relationship gets stronger every year. My brother and I have never really been incredibly close but we do try to keep in touch and I am always trying to convince him to come home.

Love: My live-in boyfriend of 2+ years and I got engaged in October. We're excited to get married. Our relationship remains strong and we look forward to what the future will bring.

Social Life/Friends: A I still remain close to all my good friends. I don't really like going out much anymore but it hasn't changed much in my relationship with my friends.

Health: A+++ FINALLY realized what had been causing all my weight/health problems throughout the year. Things are drastically different now that I have been diagnosed with my food allergy and I have altered my diet. I'm down 30 pounds and feel great. I feel more balanced and happier. I've been running in some races and look forward to running in some more next year.

Money: B+ No money struggles which is great. My HVAC unit at my condo died last year so that was an unexpected expense on top of some car repair work and dental work. But I am happy to say I paid off all the debt (about $10K total) in less than a year while continuing to pay for all other expenses. I got a nice raise with my new job so that's always nice. I really need to start getting good about saving money again.

11/28/2011 9:27:57 AM

Never done this before and been around for all these years, so screw it, I'm in.

Career: A- Started with a major rival of our alma mater last December. It was a huge change for me from a small school district being half the IT staff. So far it has been pretty good and was a 35% pay raise from my last position. I really like where I'm at and the team I work with. My biggest issue is not having adequate backing from top brass to implement changes that are needed. Constantly putting band-aids on situations that everybody wants to resolve, but we can't get the administration to release the funding to do it. So a lot of spinning our wheels on some projects. However it has allowed me to bring my hobby into a semi-professional position and I am now unofficially the medical school photographer. Got my hands on a lot of higher end photography gear through this so that has allowed my hobby to become more of a business and I am

Family: A- My immediate family has been much better this year. Since taking the new position, we were able to move to Carrboro over the summer break and got my oldest in a great school. He is doing quite well and we are happy with his learning and his teacher. We were quite concerned with how he would transition from homeschooling to public schools, but his teacher has been very positive. My wife has had difficulty finding a job up here, On the down side I have a close cousin who is in college and is going through a very unplanned pregnancy with serious complications courtesy of a guy she had just met, likely by cheating on her boyfriend at the time. New guy had no job, no wheels, and was kinda working on his GED. Also has his name tatted across his shoulders. FTMFL. Her family is devastated about the pregnancy and complications and are very worried about her, the baby and their future.

Social Life/Friends: C Not terribly existent. Keeping up with the few close friends. Had my 30th birthday and had a nice dinner with the closest. Have not had the cash to go out much or tailgate Canes/Pack games, so not a whole lot. Made some new friends at work though and gone out a little bit with them.

Health: C Eh. The new job is more sedentary, so I gained weight for the first few months. I have adjusted my eating and need to exercise more, but I have leveled off and even lost a little weight.

Money: C Job pays better and we saved up a lot when my wife was still working and living at our house in Halifax County. Then she moved, we couldn't sell it and she is not working. So yea, that sucked. Just got the house rented though, so that covers the mortgage. Thank God we had some savings, but we pretty much ran though that, so another tight Christmas, but only debt we carry is the mortgage and her student loans. Once she finds a job we will be doing a lot better again.

Other Highlights: We found a church that we like, so we are attending regularly again. Also got my son in a new Cub scout pack since we moved, and I am his den leader and involved in the leadership. We have done one camping trip already and are going to Yorktown next year. They do a lot of outdoor activities, so I am happy about that. Also as previously mentioned my photography has expanded a lot. New camera, several good lenses, and a lot more chances to shoot. Taken some classes and worked with some local pros. Hoping to expand that next year. Did a wedding and some other paid gigs. Really happy with how things are going there.

11/28/2011 10:51:42 AM

Quote :

"Job: I don't really like my job, but it pays the bills and after it is all said and done, it could be a lot worse. C Love: A+++++ Will continue to date. We moved in to a nice house together and so far it has been great. Friends: D My bff moved to Alabama and I moved to Charlotte. I don't have any here except for my boyfriend. But people at work keep asking me to go out with them so maybe I will soon C Family: I love my family and wish I could spend more time with them. A Random: I dislocated my shoulder at the beginning of the year and it still gives me trouble. I adopted a kitten and he is awesome. "

Job: B I got a new job and its a lot better than my previous one.

Love: A We still get along and love each other

Friends: C Still no real friend here, but I'm not really trying. I usually just go to Raleigh or somewhere if I want to socialize. I have 3 coworkers and get along with all of them really well, so I do have people to talk to day to day.

Family: C I think I've been avoiding some of them because I'm living with my boyfriend. My Mom has been visiting a lot this year though.

Health: C My shoulder is worse than ever and I'm going to finally take the steps to figure out how to get it fixed.

[Edited on November 28, 2011 at 11:18 AM. Reason : -]

11/28/2011 11:05:20 AM

Last year:

Quote :

"Anyway, this year: Money: C (lower rating than last year b/c despite 2 years of significant quarterly growth my company isn't giving out raises or promotions to anyone) Career: B - (no change from last year: not thrilled with what I do but trying to take it more seriously) Sex: C+ (definitely more interesting than last year, though these (more or less) flings are getting old and not what I want) Love: D (Same as the last 5 years or so...I must be doing it wrong)"

Let's see...

Money: C+ I got a small raise that barely keeps up with inflation (thought I was told it was bigger than what most people got) and I significantly paid down a lot of debt I had.
Career: B Same as last year
Sex: C worse than last year
Love: D same, it's pathetic really

11/28/2011 11:08:42 AM

Career: C been working at the same company for awhile and getting back into school more trying to slowly work through a different direction

Family: D estranged relationship with parents. severed last tie to exwife.

Social life/Friends: D- lost contact with a number of friends over the 7 month stint i've been working on improving my health

Health: A+ significant changes in my appearance, eating habits, and exercise routines.

Money: B keeping up with credit cards and spending within my limits

11/28/2011 11:10:54 AM

Never done this before and been around for all these years, so screw it, I'm in.

Career: A- been working for the same company for a year. love the people i work with and the company is doing okay. The company went through a rough patch, but I came out of it with a raise and we have a good mindset and business plan going forward, so we'll be around for another few years at least. I worked my way into a new area of the company and have built it up doing R&D in a very new and high stakes technology field with some very powerful clients...which of course brings a ton of new stresses. I've made some great advancements, but its an uphill battle with a technology that no one has been able to crack just yet. There's also a developing potential to get into what I've had my sights on before graduating (soldier-level armor technology), but it all comes down to what I can accomplish in the lab (alone), and its a little daunting. Meanwhile, I have to keep up with duties with other demanding and time consuming programs and get pulled by bosses in several directions at once all with high urgency. Another such program is about to start as well. Just one of the things I have to get used to. All in all, its still just about my dream job

Love: A+ We still get along and love each other. The questions and jokes from family and coworkers on when we're getting married is getting a little old though

Family: B I don't get to see my family too much since they are far away, and work schedules get in the way of any sort of long visits on the holidays. I keep in touch and they are doing swell. The cats and dog are working out great, and the dog seems to be improving socially. Girlfriend is going to start schooling for a new career and I'm excited for her .

Social life/Friends: B I've always been pretty low-maintenance when it comes to needing friends and I have my bmel. We don't have any good friends in the area, my Raleigh friends have mostly moved away or have very constrictive work schedules, and another good friend has been corrupted/consumed by a horrible girlfriend. I get along with the guys at work but don't see myself hanging out with them too much outside of the office. All of that said, we do get to visit friends and have great times and keep in touch over the internet.

Health: B- I've gained a lot of weight since last year and would like it gone (from about 190 with high muscle content to 215 and high fat), but I have a hard time motivating myself to do cardio. I also have a hard time getting worthwhile workouts in my home gym, though I maintain general strength levels by dropping in for sets on the bench, pullups, and some deadlifts. A mostly sedentary job doesn't help, especially when I come home drained of energy and don't find time to go lift. I was eating pretty bad to start out the year and got up to 215, but I've switched from eating out a ton, to making lunch every day, and now making healthier lunches every day. I don't think my weight has dropped since making these changes, but I'm going in the right direction.

Money: B Other than a car that is a few months from being paid off, I'm debt free. I keep on top of my credit card and have saved up a few months of emergency cash, and we take a lot of measures to minimize unnecessary expenses. However, high rent and other expenses - gas money on trips, eating out - make it difficult to have money laying around at the end of the month to make extra car payments or stash away.

[Edited on November 28, 2011 at 1:21 PM. Reason : lkj]

11/28/2011 1:21:01 PM

Career - A - got my first job doing something that is relevant to both master's and is in an extremely convenient location with great hours and great pay. I make stupid money doing very little actual work but the work I do looks great on my resume.

Family - B - everyone is healthy and happy. A+ on family, but since I haven't had a girlfriend in several years I'm gonna go with B. Not that I haven't dated, just haven't found a girl worth giving the title girlfriend to yet.

Social life/Friends - A- - the minus just because a few friends have moved away and that sucks but I'm from Raleigh so I have a lot of friends to draw on from several different groups and phases in my life. I can find somebody to hang out with any night of the week so that's cool.

Health - C - I weigh the most I've ever weighed and while I'm not a full fledged fatty, I do have a beer gut I built on in grad school. If I lose 10-15 pounds I'd be totally happy. I could also stand to drink less and exercise a bit more .

Money - B- - the shit hasn't hit the fan yet with student loan debt but this will change come May. I do have a bunch of debt but it's manageable and this job is going to really help out.

11/28/2011 3:17:09 PM

I'm noticing a trend in the health department

11/28/2011 3:27:35 PM

Quote :

"The questions and jokes from family and coworkers on when we're getting married is getting a little old though "

I don't think they're joking :-p

11/28/2011 3:57:34 PM

2011

Always a ton of travel, can't get enough of it!!

Breckenridge, Mexico, Seattle, Vancouver, Captive Island, Illinois, Minneapolis, Geneva, Villar, Chamonix, Annecy, London, Hawaii (plus lots of travel within Texas & Louisiana for work, also several trips back to NC to see the fam)

Highlights: Saw Mt Blanc & got to ride a segway twice (France & NC)

I learned how to sew & love it. I'm also learning how to quilt. Never thought I'd be good at it but it's very fun for me.

If I was going to grade everything else...

Career: A I've mastered my current role & I'm up for a promotion in the next couple of months & I get to stay in Houston-- yay!!

Family: A I love my family & I got to see my ENTIRE family this year between the 2 cousins getting married. I give my dad's house burning down an F- but it has brought us closer.

Social Life/Friends: B I still don't have a huge base of friends in Texas but I'm also never home (because I'm flying around visiting my friends--catch 22). I did make a couple new friends in the area or else I would have graded this lower.

Health: D I'm not dying but I've had a bunch of shitty things happen to me. Everything is treatable I guess but I'm pissed the fuck off that I have rosacea & have pre-osteoperosis... such fucking bullshit. I have kept off the 15lbs I lost in 2009 but I need to do better with my fitness. I also clearly need to be doing more weight bearing exercise since my bones think they're like 100 years old (genetics, gotta fight it)

Money: A+ I maxed out my retirement savings & only have my house & a little bit more on my student loans. I'm going to have to buy a car next year. Currently I have $0 expenses related to a car so this is going to suck a lot but I'm hoping to Dave Ramsey the car so I can minimize the impact.







From years past....

2010 (didnt post in the thread)

-Learned how to cycle & did the MS150 (150 mi ride from Houston to Austin).
-Did my first triathlon
-Learned how to water ski (at a staff meeting of all places)
-Did the Muddy Buddy in Dallas

Trips to: Hawaii (several weeks), Monterrey Mexico, Carmel & Monterey California, San Diego, Michigan, Montreal, Austin, Lake Tahoe


2009

ran 3 half marathons (in addition to a 10, 8 & 5k)
two of my best friends got married
3 of my best friends came to visit me
fun as hell 48 hour road trip (san diego and back in 2.5 days)
went to oktoberfest in munich
spent a week in switzerland
didn't lose my job
lost 15lbs

2008

1. Bought my first home
2. Moved to Houston
3. Started the job I trained 2 years for (finally!)
4. Saw a handful of live shows, comedians, etc.
5. Visited my cousin in STL
6. Spent 3 weekends in PHX with a good friend
7. Did the Phoenix Great Urban Race
8. Was homeless for a month
9. Spent some serious time in Las Vegas living the good life
10. Did the Dallas Great Urban Race
11. Spent 5 days touring Texas with 2 good friends
12. Did the Chicago Great Urban Race
13. Finished my first 8k Race
14. Spent 4 days skiing in Colorado with 16 of my closest friends
15. Training for my first Half Marathon (although I won't run it until mid-Jan)

Multiple trips to to Nashville, Atlanta, Galveston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans & Chicago

2006

hard to say

some parts have been off the charts, some average and some below my expectations

2005 was pretty fucking awesome so i guess it was hard to beat the very next year

11/28/2011 4:02:09 PM

Career: B Avoided layoffs last summer. I'm very much on cruise control here. I'd love to find a new job. Got B2T certification this year, thinking about CBAP.

Family: A Put together a great 30th birthday for my little brother and have seen my father regularly this year.

Social life/Friends: B+ Made some good friends this year. Lost someone I considered a good friend over a text message she accidently sent to me that was about me. Went on lots of dates this year and have the ever rare third date coming up on Thursday with a new girl.

Health: A About 15 pounds lighter than I was last year. Broke and sprained my ankle in August and recovered from that nicely.

Money: B Did better than I did in 2010, but I still probably spend too much at bars. LOL.

11/29/2011 10:39:15 AM

Quote :

"Lost someone I considered a good friend over a text message she accidently sent to me that was about me."

i wouldn't consider that much of a "loss" considering she totally bailed on yalls friendship last year when you asked her to go out with you on Valentine's Day.

11/29/2011 11:35:54 AM

Damn, what was the text about? I had something similar happen to me when I was in middle school. Middle school bitches be triflin'

11/29/2011 11:53:12 AM

Career A been here for about 6.5 years (even though we got absorbed by another company a year ago), they love me here and I really like the direction we are going. I also get to look forward to taking the PE exam next year

Family A+ Great relationship with my wife, and Lily Belle amazes me every day. I'm still very close with my extended family as well.

Social life/friends C- I really need to get back in the loop with my Raleigh friends. I feel like we see each other on ever-decreasing occasions. When we do hang out its always a great time, just gotta make more of an effort to make it happen more often. Might be hard since I'll be studying for the aforementioned PE exam most of the year in 2012

Health B I'm in good health, probably need to get a gym membership at some point. My herniated disc in my back seems to be all but gone, which is great.

Money C We've got money to pay the bills and life fairly comfortably, but thats about it. We really need to sock some money away in savings. LB's doctor bills and my student loans are killers. Hopefully we can knock a couple of them out this year. Plus if I pass the PE exam next October I'll be in line for a pretty significant raise given my current status within the company.

so basically I'm around a B average for the year, seems like just about every aspect of my life in 2012 will hinge on the PE exam

11/29/2011 11:56:35 AM

Career: B+ Been at this company for over 6 years, and I really like my boss, to the point where I would have quit at some times if it wasn't for him. I got a nice double digit raise in April, so that has helped with my happiness. I have also moved into a new role doing what I love doing, I get to be a manager of the smartest people in our division, but also participate in coding projects with them.

Family: A+ Family is awesome. My daughter is blossoming, and my son is holding his own. My wife and I have built a strong relationship together, especially bonding and leaning on each other over my son. We were worried at first that it would tear us apart, but it's done the exact opposite.

Social life/Friends: C- I gave this a low rating, but honestly, I think its my personal problem, not a problem with friends, etc... I just don't have time to have relationships outside of work/home that aren't "convenient". Most of the communication/"hanging out" with my friends (even real-life ones that live close) is done via the internet/games. I don't find myself going out very much.

Health: F Disappointed here. I lost almost 75 pounds last year, and gained it all back this year. I can come up with all the excuses I want to, but I failed here, plain and simple.

Money: B- Every year, we have had to tap into my 401k to pay for my son's medical expenses, and this year I swore we wouldnt. We actually made it without having to do that, but it hurt, a lot. We were strapped a few months, and had to let a few bills slip for a short period. We are all caught up now, but it was pretty damn stressful. My wife stuck to her budgets for food and gas, and that really helped out. She has also been involved in a local mom-swap group that buys/sells toys and clothes between each other for really cheap, so she has been selling our kids toys and using that money to buy new ones, all through the group, which keeps a steady supply of fresh toys for the kids, with no real cost to us. I feel like it's safer than Craigslist too, because she deals with other moms she is familiar with from play groups, etc...

11/29/2011 12:14:59 PM

Never done this:

Career
A -- I started my investment banking job after previously working in corporate finance project management. I love work, my company and the potential future opportunities it will certainly present. On recommendation of the department head I am studying for the CFA exam which I should take spring/summer (well, part 1).

Family
B -- we still live quite far apart, but next June we will all be back on the east coast so that is a start. I'm going to become a first time uncle to twin boys in 2012 so that is exciting. My family has no drama and no health issues, so all in all a B is mostly for the distance.

Friends
B+ -- I wish I was able to see a few non local friends a bit more but aside from that I can't complain. We've added a few new regulars to our group this year and made some other "useful" friends while losing none.

Love
C -- this one is tricky because I got out of a long term thing in 2010 so took some me time. I didn't really know what I wanted and to a large degree still don't. I do know that a good deal of the girls I dated it felt more like a chore than something I wanted to do. I'm currently seeing/talking to someone who it doesn't feel that way and I think i like, so maybe that will go somewhere. We shall see.

[Edited on November 29, 2011 at 12:38 PM. Reason : Health and Money are fine]

11/29/2011 12:37:33 PM

2011:

Quote :

"Job: After 8 years as an engineer, I made the leap to management. New challenges, new aggravations, more responsibility, and after several months, the initial net pay cut has changed to hit the break even point. I don't work weekends anymore, so it's ultimately a net gain. A Love: Wife and I had our 5 year anniversary this year. Wife is on year 3 of anesthesia residency. Her hours went up and I see her a lot less, and when she is home, she's usually too exhausted for it to be quality time. Sometimes I get fed up with literally doing all the chores at home, 90% of the childcare, and being the primary breadwinner, but I knew it would be this way beforehand, so I shouldn't complain. 1.5 years left until the light at the end of the tunnel. B- Friends: With the new job, wife's crazy hours, and a three year old, haven't been able to make much time for friends, and starting to feel like my friends and I are drifting away (none of them have kids), but that's not their fault. C Family: spending a lot more time with family, especially extended family this year. I've grown really close to most of my wife's family, even though one of her brothers is now attending UNC. I really couldn't ask for a better family situation. My daughter turns 3 next week, and she's pretty much the most awesome thing in my life. A+"

Career: Got through the learning curve in management, have accomplished a lot this year, including singlehandedly rebuilding a global support team that imploded from poor management and handing it back off to the organization that 'owns' it in a much better state than it had ever been. At the point now where I can do all of my work in about 20-30 hours each week which leaves me with little to no day-to-day stress and lots of flexibility. I also got another promotion and a 10% raise. 2012 will be interesting, as I'll probably make another job change in the near future. A+

Social life/Friends: Saw our friends a lot more this year than the with both mine and my wife's work hours being better than 2010, and having a child that is getting older and easier to handle. B+

Family: I'm pretty fortunate, I can't ask for a better family. My relationship with my wife continues to be great and I couldn't ask for an easier child. I got to spend more time with my parents this year. After 30 years of working 3rd shift at a retirement home, my mom is finally retiring at the end of this year. My sister got engaged. Other than my father-in-law (and i rarely see him), my in-laws are better than anyone could ask for. A

health: I'm definitely at that age where I have to be fastidious with exercise and diet to not become a fatass. I'm probably about 15 pounds over where I want to be, but have been better about working out regularly this year than last year for sure. C

[Edited on November 29, 2011 at 12:55 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2011 12:55:10 PM

2011

Career: B- I started a new job the first week of January and it's fine. It can be a bit boring and I make enough money to scrape by but I want something more fulfilling.

Family: B The end of last year found me moving up to Pennsylvania in part to be closer to my mom and the rest of my family. I wanted to be closer to spend more time with my mom who is back on chemo again. Being closer has been nice, it's good to be able to see them when I want etc. Sometimes they stress me out a bit though.

Social life/Friends: C Since moving up to PA it's been a bit hard finding new friends. The one person I got along with great moved to Amsterdam so that sucked. I really miss my NC friends. I also stopped being a long time lurker and started posting a lot more lol.

Health: A I'm never sick. I haven't been "under the weather" for more than a year so that's a blessing.

Love: A I took a lot of time off from dating after my last relationship (engagement) ended. I really liked it. It gave me time to really think about what I wanted and the type of person I want to let into my life. Eventually I decided I was ready to start dating again and I joined eHarmony. Went on a few dates and now I'm dating a guy (chapstick guy), seeing each other pretty regularly. We just went on our first trip together and had a nice time.





For record keeping:

My 2005

Quote :

"Started off really great but I got too attached to a guy who broke my heart a few months later and the year turned into an emotional rollercoaster (Mar-June) Learned a lesson: stay away from actors! Things straightened out for the most part, school went well and I found out that if I wanna stay emotionally stable I need to not date people who aren't, and then I met a guy (which with a rocky beginning has become one of the best relationships I've ever been in) and since September I've been in a long distance relationship with him. Still have my wonderful kitty who I love more than anything else in my life. Living in the same apartment. Have the same car. My hair is red again.(back to natural) I'm just glad the ultra emotional part is over. I'm happy again."

My 2006

Quote :

"In the beginning of the year I got rid on an ex boyfriend who was just dragging me down emotionally. I also started dating my current boyfriend who is very supportive and loving. I've let him really open me up, I've learned if you work hard, you have to play hard. Since January I've also started to like beer, which is totally different from before. I got my career path going with two internships and now I have another internship (this one pays) @ red hat. I'm finally finished with school so that's great, and I hope in 2007 I become more independent and self-sustaining."

My 2007 I didn't post but I remember it being all right, nothing amazing. I lost two jobs, then got hired at a pharma company.

My 2008 I didn't post either but it was pretty cool. I was happy that year.

My 2009 wasn't posted either but it started off fine, but just went down hill. I lost my job and started a year and a half of unemployment woes.

My 2010:

Quote :

"Job: Still unemployed F- Love: Relationship/Engagement went under C- Friends: Found some of the greatest friends I've ever had, truly life-long friends. A+ Family: My mother was diagnosed with incurable ovarian cancer. Cancer and chemotherapy has completely devastated her body and her energy. F- This year sucked!"

11/29/2011 1:17:33 PM

Career: B I left the job I finally found toward the end of 2010 to stay at home with our son. Funny that when I finally find a law firm I really enjoy working for I get pregnant. I'm still in good standing with them, and I hope when I'm ready to return to work they might have a part time position available for me.

Family: A+ We've started our own, and it's pretty damn swell.

Social life/Friends: C- When I was pregnant, I felt isolated and left out a lot. We only know two couples with kids (and their kids are 2+ yrs old), and a third couple we're closest to that is luckily also on the same track as we are lives 3 hrs away. That still continues now that we've had our son as a double whammy of not only feeling isolated from the "way things were" but not knowing many moms with children his age. That said...when we do go out, it's usually a lot of fun...although I wish alcohol wasn't the center focus most of the time. And now that I've regained my sanity due to our son sleeping longer at night, I'm getting out with him more doing mom & baby stuff to try and meet new people. Hopefully that will really take off in 2012.

Health: A- Pregnancy was really good to me. I ate better and was more active than I have been in a long time. I shed the baby weight quickly (Yes, I'm that bitch), and have so far been able to keep it off though I'm not nearly as active as I was when pregnant. Again...with my return to sanity, I know that will only get better.

Overall: A I mean duh--I had a kid this year! That trumps anything...cause gosh, I never knew you could love something so frickin' much.

11/29/2011 1:20:34 PM

Quote :

"My sister got engaged. "

damn. just when i am kind or realizing that I'm in to Indian girls...

to be fair it's not ONLY indian girls, but i've been on a world tour with Mohammad my man, goin each and every place with a mic in my hand...my last three dating adventures have been cuban, iranian and indian (asian). thin, cute faced indian chicks >>>

[Edited on November 29, 2011 at 1:34 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2011 1:29:24 PM

Quote :

"Went on a few dates and now I'm dating a guy (chapstick guy), seeing each other pretty regularly. We just went on our first trip together and had a nice time. "

is he the cute guy i met last thursday at the turkey trot?

11/29/2011 1:40:35 PM

Career: F. After things went south back in May, I took a gamble on myself and failed miserably. Unemployed now for 6-7 months, and not even so much as getting callbacks. Wasn't even lucky enough to attain seasonal work in retail. Absolutely miserable.

Family: A+. Everyone is doing great, parents are getting close to retirement and loving life as grandparents. Couldn't ask for a better family - they're my rock.

Social life/Friends: A. Missed a few weddings which put a strain on those friendships, but the one that counts the most is the one that's doing the best. My gf and I are 18 months in and doing very well. Only a matter of time before I walk her down the aisle.

Health: D. Gained probably 60 lbs. Only recently started going back to the gym to start turning the ship around. Again. I've yo-yo'd in weight my whole life - just once I'd like to finally lose a bunch of weight and STAY there. Job/Financial problems have caused some depression issues.

Money: D-. I started very strong. Now because of the unemployment, my savings has dwindled and I'm basically broke. Honestly if it weren't for family/girlfriend I'd be living in my car or living in a shelter. Debts are high, income is non-existent. Things are very, very tough right now in this aspect.

Here's hoping 2012 brings better fortunes.

11/29/2011 2:00:42 PM

^^haha that would be him. He's such a nice guy, super cute and really sweet! Felt nice to have someone cheer me on too.



For my "Health" I forgot to mention my weight loss. I started the year at 160 lbs and I'm now hovering at 136. And I can now run for a good bit of time (at least 2 or 3 miles) without having to walk. This is a major first for me! I look forward to shedding more weight and doing better at running in the future!

11/29/2011 2:02:53 PM

[Edited on November 29, 2011 at 2:32 PM. Reason : ]

11/29/2011 2:14:50 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the Lounge not Shit Chat. Be nice.

Oh you added an emoticon...that makes it all better.

[Edited on November 29, 2011 at 2:18 PM. Reason : ]

11/29/2011 2:17:32 PM