The year will be over before you know it, time to start thinking about how the year went and what's in store for 2013

2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005

Career: B quit a super-stable, well paying job in Charlotte to take a more challenging opportunity in NYC in an industry I actually care about. The work since has been mostly frustrating, but I knew going in that it would be. Hopefully a year from now I'll have been able to clean up things, but if not I'm fortunate enough to be able to find something else pretty much immediately.

Family: A+ i continue to enjoy a very happy relationship with my wife, and my 3 kids are an absolute joy. last year i said "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" and we acted on that opportunity by moving the family to NYC.

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 got tww and fb that pretty much satisfies me). i've been trying to focus less on social life and entertaining myself and more on my family and advancing my career.

Health: B still not where i want to be, but since moving to NY I walk a lot more and I've noticed some of the extra weight I put on the in the last 2 years has come off. I still eat pretty horribly I suppose

Money: B+ finished paying off credit cards in 2011, in 2012 resisted any temptation to use them again. stuck to the family budget pretty much all year though I did go on a spending spree lately with a couple laptops, new phones and tablets.

11/13/2012 8:48:58 PM

11/13/2012 8:50:04 PM

Anything less than an A+ for your family would get you cut qfred.

11/13/2012 8:51:32 PM

still haven't found my dream job, but everything else is going well

11/13/2012 9:47:38 PM

Career: C- Lackluster. I have part-time jobs that enable me to get by. I worked as a butcher, a social media intern, and do content writing for a health insurance company. None of these are full-time and they allow me to get by. Looking to transition into something more full-time in Raleigh/RTP, but with an English degree and some experience, I'm still looking at communication, editorial, content writing, production, marketing, and other spin humanities fields. Grad school might pull me out of this, but not necessarily in a good way.

Family: A- Awesome. Not as awesome qntmfred, fuck you man I want to live in NYC. But yeah, living with my girlfriend of 4+ years in Raleigh and we're very happy with this arrangement. It's worked well for us, I should say. Extended family has been okay, always SOME issues. Have an aunt that looks like she needs to move into an assisted living facility--and that's always hard.

Social life/Friends: A- Declining since graduation, but mostly in the sense that I don't hang out with as many "casual friends" anymore. If anything my close friends I see more often, and we do more things together. I'm trying to make friends in interest areas that I didn't try so much for when I was in college.

Health: B- I say B- as an overall status, but it doesn't really reflect that my health has been IMPROVING. I'm about two and a half months into a keto-inspired diet and I'm down 25lbs. Looking to lose a lot more even. Overall health seems okay, not dying yet.

Money: C SEE CAREER. Money is a bit sporadic, and like I said, I make enough to get by. Actually it's not all that bad. Living in a pretty small duplex in SW Raleigh with my girlfriend, so rent is pretty cheap between the two of us. We make enough to pay rent, food, insurance, et cetera, but we're not able to save much up. Hopefully this will change when I find a full-time job to transition into (her too... she's also doing a mish-mash of part-time). We're both recent graduates and our degrees are known to have some initial career humps (English with some minors for me, Natural Resources for her).

11/13/2012 10:26:23 PM

Career: B-With my wife finishing residency and finding a full-time gig in Richmond, I had to find a new job that allowed me to telecommute. I left the most fulfilling job I've ever had to take a role in our Service Delivery Transformation group focusing on designing and incubating new services that we sell to our customers. It comes with a ton of visibility, lots of autonomy, and allows me to flex a lot of creative muscles. However work/life balance is shit, and I spend a great deal of time navigating corporate bureaucracy. I'm working 60-70 hours a week, and too much of my time is spent on unfulfilling crap.

Family: A Now that my wife isn't working 80+ hours a week, she's less stressed and we have more time to do stuff. Now I'm the limiting factor. For the first time in my life I'm living more than an hour away from my folks, so the time spent with them is definitely more appreciated. My daughter continues to be the most amazing thing in my life.

Social life/Friends: B- Living in a new city where we knew nobody has put me in a position of having to put effort into making new friends for the first time since my freshman year of college. Traveling back to NC more than half the weekends we've been here hasn't been extremely conducive to making new friends. Working from home full-time doesn't really lend itself to meeting people either. I have been playing poker with a regular group of people and have made a few (so-far) acquaintances that way.

Health: B Motherfucking patella tendinitis. It's gotten bad enough that I haven't been able to run for 4 months. I can't sit for long periods of time without a ton of pain either. I have been able to adjust my calorie intake significantly and have lost 8 pounds in the past two months, so at least there's that. long work hours have given me frequent eye strain.

Money: A/C From an income standpoint, can't complain a bit. I've gotten three raises in the last year, and my wife's now making real money. She has a mountain of student loan debt, and we ramped up the credit card debt during a 3 month gap when she wasn't working. We started making big strides on the CC debt, and then stumbled onto an amazing home, so going to live with that CC debt for a few more months until we close and get moved in. And now that my wife has both more time and more money, she wants to buy all kinda shit. I can't blame her-- lord knows she's earned it, but I gotta be the bad guy and reel that shit in.

11/13/2012 11:21:35 PM

Career: B I'm still in nursing school and although it's been a good experience thus far, I'm over the B.S., eyewatering work involved in it. But still, graduation in May is right around the corner, and I look forward to sitting boards and getting a full time job again. I'm looking at going into acute care or pediatrics as a new grad.

My lab has gone through some positive changes at work, although funding is uncertain because of the fiscal cliff.

Family: My boyfriend's health has improved a bunch with losing weight, taking up running and cutting carbs. Our relationship is ok again after some rough school-related patches. My family all had some weird freak health issues so it was a bit stressful when it happened all at once during my midterms, and I couldn't leave NC. Good news, everyone is fine. Dad's health especially has improved. Besides that, my family are all solid in their lives in a good while.

Social Life/Friends: A- I haven't had the time or energy to nurture some friendships, so I downsized drastically this year. Upside is, the friends I have are amazing and fully supportive of everything I do. Everything's real, and there is no drama or baggage with them.

Health: A The stress of school has upped my caffeine consumption, but I've also eaten more gluten free and less carbs, so I feel and look better overall. I raced a pretty full schedule this year, with 1-2 races/month, setting some new PRs. I finished 2 half-Ironmans and a marathon, so I'm satisfied with my goals. I need to get back to yoga and weightlifting this winter. I dealt with some minor injuries, but nothing that kept me from racing this year.

Hobbies: B Bike co-op is stable, I added beekeeping, but gardening and sewing took a backburner. I look forward to returning to these post-school.

Money B: considering my student circumstances, I make enough to cover the basics and my hobbies. I got a scholarship last year and a Pell grant this year for school, so I'm walking out of nursing school with no debt. I look forward to the return of $$ and buying a house in 2013.

11/14/2012 10:31:23 AM

Career: B- Stable income, definite job security, but no changes in anything really. there hasn't been money for raises, bonuses, etc for years so i'm still making the exact same amount i made in 2007. i don't really see anything changing on the horizon either. i like my job okay & i love the people i work with, & i'm just very thankful to be employed period.

Family: A+ Had my first (and last) baby on my birthday in august! she's doing great minus some reflux issues. my husband has really stepped up & is more of a mother than i am, seems like. i am very lucky. my brother also got married to an awesome girl so it's nice to have a new SIL too.

Social life/Friends: B...I guess. nothing has really changed, no new friends, haven't lost any friends. i wish i could see them more often since ALL of them live out of town. i wish we had new in-town friends but i don't know how to find those.

Health: C It could be a lot better, but i'm still getting over the pregnancy stuff. my feet grew & i still don't have shoes that fit that i could run in. i need to be eating better, but don't have the time to cook like i should.

Money: D My husband lost his job back in may & now we have a baby with all the associated costs + hospital bills. we're still getting by, but his unemployment is up on christmas & i'm not sure what's going to happen then. plus he's still on cobra health insurance bc he couldn't get individual bc of a pre-existing condition, so that's like $480/mo by itself. it costs even more to add him to my plan with my work. not awesome at all.

11/14/2012 11:11:16 AM

Career: B- I'm in the field I want to be in but the pay and commute sucks. I'm hoping now that I have this experience on my resume I can find something closer to home with better pay. But at the same time this job offers me the flexibility that will be really good to have once the baby is here. But if I got paid more I wouldn't need the flexibility as much because I could afford daycare

Family: A Excited to be starting a family with my awesome husband. Not excited to see what the dynamics will change into with extended family. My family is really chill when it comes to holidays and stuff but I have a feeling we'll suddenly start getting pressure from all sides to visit more often once the baby comes. It probably makes me an asshole, but spending what little vacation time I have dealing with family drama is not my idea of a fun time.

Social life/Friends: C Most of my good friends no longer live in this area and I find I don't really have the time to cultivate new friendships. I have tried going to different classes/meetings once a week to meet new people but usually have very little in common with those people. Not really sure what to do to change that or if I even have the time outside of work, especially once I switch to my compressed work week.

Health: A Going to the doctor all the freaking time for this pregnancy has shown me I'm in good shape as far as my health goes. No real complaints and hopefully I can keep it that way

Money: B Could be better but we're not really struggling either. Now if only I could find a job that paid more

11/14/2012 11:12:42 AM

Career: C. Got laid off in July from the highest paying job I have ever had. Upside is that I was working 60+ hours a week, and my whole life pretty much revolved around my job. The free time has allowed me to get a lot of projects finished around the house. Started my own business, which has been really great for my sanity. It has been a financial strain, but should be very rewarding in the months to come.

Family: A. My family is awesome, and I am in an amazing relationship (4 years and counting). We have a beautiful home and are very proud that we got here together. Wedding bells most likely coming soon.

Social life/Friends: A-. I don't really have much of a social life to speak of as far as going out to bars etc. But over this past year I have become very close with some new friends, and have been doing my best to spend more time with my older friends. Done more traveling this year than I ever have, and did so with some great friends.

Health: B+. Overall I am in good health, but I could stand to lose about 15lbs. Already made some changes to my diet and have been working out more. I should be good to go by bathing suit season.

Money: C. Was at an A+ this time last year, but losing my job has put a strain on the funds. Fortunately I was able to save quite a bit, so I am not broke by any means. As my business continues to grow, hopefully I will be back to A+ status this time next year.

11/14/2012 11:45:42 AM

god, so much worse than 2011 LOL.

career: B overall i'm doing more of a B+, and earlier in the year i was doing better, but the last six months or so i've nearly completely stopped being productive. i need to address that pretty quickly before i face some serious consequences.

family: C i live on the opposite end of the country as everyone that i'm related to. do a decent job keeping in touch though.

social life: D just got broken up with by my girlfriend, and don't have too many friends out here, certainly not any good friends.

health: C have been having weird issues w/ my vision since the summer that i haven't been able to figure out, and am beginning to think that it has something to do w/ my kidneys. getting an ultrasound next week so hopefully nothing serious comes of it, in which case this grade is getting even lower.

money: B whatever, i make no money, but i also have no debt, so i figure having a positive net worth alone is grounds for a solid B.

11/14/2012 11:49:16 AM

Career: B-
Family: B-
Social Life/Friends: A-
Health: A+? idk NOTHING NOTICABLE
Money: B-


^you should hang out with my friend Erica N.

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

[Edited on November 14, 2012 at 12:05 PM. Reason : ]

11/14/2012 11:58:17 AM

Career: B - Job's kind of boring sometimes but I officially became a CPA this year. Didn't really change my daily responsibilities that much but I did get a small pay raise.

Family: D - Second year of marriage hasn't been fun and the first 7-8 months of the year was the toughest period I've ever had to deal with relationship-wise. We are doing better now but man, it was pretty rough.

Social Life/Friends: B - Small group of close friends like I've always had, which is fine. I'd like to go out more than I do now though.

Health: A - I work out almost every day now and I've lost about 25 lbs this year.

Money: C - I don't think my wife has ever had a pay raise in her 6 years of teaching. I get moderate raises occasionally but we still don't save as much as I'd like to and we need to pay some debt off. Her car is finally paid off though and mine will be soon so hopefully in 2013 we can do better.

[Edited on November 14, 2012 at 12:22 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2012 12:21:57 PM

Funny to compare to last year...

Quote :

"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. "

Job: Still with my company and loving my career. Spending a lot of time at the theme parks. Quit teaching spinning to allow time for hobbies, travel and fun stuff. Still working with the startups, though one is on hold for a few months due to the owner's health emergency. A

Love: Broke up with live-in bf in April. Moved out. Was bummed for a bit, but got over it pretty quickly thanks to having some really great friends. Moved into a sweet apartment in downtown Orlando. Dated around. Enjoyed life. Been seeing someone new for about 3 months... he's kind of awesome. I <3 him. A

Friends: I have the world's best friends. Wouldn't have made it through the year without them. A+

Family: Same as last year. But the older I get, the more I realize that my fam is pretty cool compared to most. Would love to see them more often though. B

Health: Feelin' good! Been running races and trying to get faster. I have to have my wisdom teeth out on Friday, but that's no biggie. A

Money: Can't complain. Everyone wants more money, but I don't stress about money. B

Random highlights: Completed one 1/2-marathon (another one scheduled for the first weekend in December). Traveled to London, Vegas, Aspen, the Bahamas, NC, Atlanta... and excited for the next adventure.

Still happy.

[Edited on November 14, 2012 at 12:37 PM. Reason : d]

11/14/2012 12:31:33 PM

Career: B Still working at the same company I have been for the past 5.5 years. Continuously get great performance reviews and I got my PE within the past year. My wife works for the same company which can be really nice. I gave it a B because I think with my time here and my performance that I should have already been promoted again and my wife is in a similar situation. We enjoy working here but they have been overly stingy with promotions in the past couple years. Hopefully that changes come springtime. Also, I do not do what I love; however, what I love would be something creative/arts related and I could never make what I do as an engineer and am not sure I would be happy with my income if doing something arts related full-time. :/

Family: B+. My wife and I are as good as ever. My sister got married this year, but she and I have not kept very close which I hate; we still get along fine but we just don't talk as much. my father-in-law is still basically my 2nd father and I'm basically the son he never had. We have a great relationship

Social life/Friends: A- Last year was a bit of a slow year for me in this area. It was kind of a transitional period. I had a lot of friends move away and it's harder for me to find people that I have a lot in common with. I tend to keep a small network of close friends and have a hard time letting new people in. This year I've started hanging out with some old friends again we've been going out a lot more than last year which is nice. We also went one of the best (if not the best) vacation we have ever been on with friends this summer (cross-country US train trip). A few of my closet friends are out of the country right now which is the only reason for the minus on the A.

Health: A. I haven't been as rigorous in my workouts this year. Still lifting multiple times a week, playing volleyball, playing soccer and doing some plyo but I haven't put in the same intensity as years past. Still the same weight I was 11 years ago though.

Money: A. Finished student loans so we are completely debt free outside of our mortgage. Maxing Roth IRAs, Maxing 401ks, paying 150% of our mortgage. I am happy with what I make (60% more than when I started at a competitive salary 5.5 years ago). My wife, though she makes a good salary if viewed in a bubble, is probably underpaid by about 40% if we put into perspective what she does and who she does it for.

Overall a good year. B+/A- overall maybe?

[Edited on November 14, 2012 at 1:06 PM. Reason : ]

11/14/2012 12:48:19 PM

welp, mom died, i guess dad died last year so that doesn't count.

and i've had to be the rock for numerous other people's psychological break downs (two ended up with 1 week stays at mental institutions) and i'm not getting a bonus this year because the rest of my company can't run a project for shit.

so...

fucking crappy.

11/14/2012 1:30:07 PM

I was worried my husband would end up with a job out of state after finishing grad school, but he ended up as a visiting professor at Wake Forest University, so that worked out well. I’m still loving the nonprofit job I got after grad school last year and find the work very fulfilling. The family, friends, and money situation are all going well. Got to do a little traveling too.

And as a political junkie getting to go to a national convention in my home state as a delegate, getting nearly front row seats to almost everything as a part of the host delegation, getting to meet, shake hands, and talk with so many people I’d never otherwise meet, getting to help vote marriage equality into a national party platform, and helping nominate the person who would win the Presidential election, that was pretty awesome.

11/14/2012 3:04:37 PM

Career: B- Work is the source of a large amount of my stress. I got a new boss on January 4th and I don't like him very much.

Family: A Family is the highlight of my life. We found out in July that our daughter is diabetic and this has been pretty difficult to deal with. We have a large support system of extended family to help us deal with this. My wife quit teaching in May and she has enjoyed staying home with the kids. After July, this became a necessity for her to be home. Due to the diabetes, babysitters we trust are in limited supply.

Social life/Friends: B I have a pretty solid social life. A lot of it revolves around the kids and their friends' parents.

Health: B Doing pretty well in this department as I have lost almost 40lbs in the past 6 months. No major issues other than having to sleep with a CPAP.

Money: D Definitely struggling here. Since my wife quit her job, we have incurred several thousands of dollars of medical debt and the combination has definitely put a crimp on the monthly finances. Being in the construction field, raises and bonuses have been almost non-existent for the past 5 years. Afloat, but no free board left.

11/14/2012 4:47:03 PM

^feeling your pain (i'm in architecture)

11/14/2012 5:03:08 PM

Career: B+ I finished my Master's in May and started teaching full-time in August, but I'm already looking for a higher paying position and less of a commute. Fortunately, I have an interview on Friday for a faculty position that I REAAAAALLLY want, so if I get it, it would probably bump it up to an A-. An A+ would be a tenure-track appointment, but I think that's going to take a few years...

Family: B- My grandmother passed away last December and my sister is going through a really terrible divorce, so that's been hard on all of us. However, it was great having my entire family come out to California for my graduation, and I'm looking forward to going home for the holidays for the first time in a few years, now that I have time off from work and can afford to fly home for a while.

Social life/Friends: A+ While I don't go out as much as party as hard as I did during grad school, I have a close circle of friends that I'm really fortunate to have. I wish I had more time to spend with them, but I've been doing a TON of traveling this year: Vegas (3x), San Diego (2x), Seattle, Portland, Death Valley, Yosemite, Tahoe, and Hawaii. I'm also going to Orlando for a week in December, and home to DC for the Holidays, plus I'm going to Europe for 2 weeks in January.

Health: C+ I started off the first half of the year doing really well with diet and exercise, and I even ran a 10K in May, but the past few months I've been incredibly lazy and haven't spent much time in the gym. Working 14hr days and getting up at 5am hasn't been easy, but I'm at the point where I'm ready for a drastic change. Luckily I haven't gained 50lbs or died of a heart attack yet, but I definitely plan to make 2013 more about taking better care of myself.

Money: B+ Student loans aside, I'm making more money than I ever have in my life, and I'm finally at a point where I have a steady paycheck. I work a lot of hours a week, and I definitely wish I were making more, but you have to start somewhere I guess.

Overall: B+ One of the best years of my life for sure. Looking forward to 2013

[Edited on November 14, 2012 at 10:15 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2012 10:14:11 PM

I'm going to have to withhold judgement on this one for about 6 more weeks. things pretty shitty as of late, but i see things getting a good bit better by 12/31/12.

11/15/2012 12:52:40 AM

Career: C+ rehired at my last company after the start up I went to last year failed. Some of the projects are interesting, some are not. Hopefully I have done a few things to be noticed for advancement but nothing certain.

Family: A second son born earlier this year, he is happy and healthy for the most part. still getting used to being the only income earner, need to find a balance between working and helping at home.

Social life/Friends: C- never been the most social person but has probably decreased some extent this year. not doing the best job keeping up with friends or making new connections.

Health: B+ staying active playing bball on average 2x per week. lost a bit of the weight i put on over the last couple years, probably only 10 lbs over my ideal weight. getting older is sucking, more joint pain but not really stopping anything. working on some mental health, trying to become more focused and organized.

Money: B- salary continues an upward trend, but not as much income from other sources as years past. no debt to worry about except mortgage, which i am working on refi that should save quite a bit over the life of the loan. had some medical bills associated with kids so hopefully that will be lower next year.

decent year for the most part, looking forward to the boys growing up and family life getting back to something more like normal next year. hopefully with increasing my organization skills at work I can get more done and move to the next level.

11/16/2012 12:12:39 AM

Not much left that could derail this year. My annual work performance evaluation is coming up at the end of this coming week, but I feel pretty good about it. My husband recently got his visiting professor status renewed at Wake Forest, so he's got that locked down for 2 more years, but is also free to apply to tenure-track positions elsewhere in the meantime. We could hear more about other positions before this year is up, maybe. It's kind of a win win though, either keep a job he really likes where he still has a few years to figure out whats next, or get a better paying job with more long-term job security.

12/9/2012 5:54:58 PM

2012 has probably been the worst year of my life, as far as sustained, unrelenting, brutal suck.

Suffice it to say that this year can't come to an end soon enough for me.

12/9/2012 8:08:22 PM

Career: D see my thread in lounge about wrongful termination. Took a crappy job at my company's sister plant. Job consisted of dealing with an incompetent douchenozzle supervisor who ran off 4 other people in the group over 6 months that I was there, job didn't involve hardly any engineering but instead doing technician level work, safety nazi's everywhere, and having to deal with 2 am calls every 4 weeks for on-call duty. The only reason I do not give "Career" an F is I spent the first few months in Wilmington with a job I enjoyed and I got purged from my current job with enough time in the year to begin looking for a new job which is a positive in my book.

Family: D- hmmm my grandma (mom's side) died and my girlfriend of 3.5 broke up with me out of nowhere (still do not know why we broke up) on the same day. my grandma (dad's side) got cancer while the treatment was successful from removing the cancerous growth, my grandma went from a fully functional elderly adult to one that is in need of "assisted living" due to the stress of and after effects of the surgery. Sister who i'm close with, moved to Baltimore. 33 yr old cousin had a heart attack. This could have also been an "F" relatively speaking but I decided shit could always be worse (i.e my buddies dad died).

Social Life/Friends: B If I exclude girlfriend from this category then if anything my social life has actually improved this year. Reconnected with a bunch of old friends after moving to Charlotte, made it to visit my Raleigh friends more then I ever did when I was in my last relationship. Back on the dating scene. Only negatives didn't make it to as many concerts or travel as much as I wanted this year.

Health: B+ Probably a top year for being healthy and physically fit. Stopped taking a medication that was contributing to some health issues in years past (was triggering panic attacks), did not get sick, and since becoming single joined crossfit. Work out 5+ times a week and improved my diet. If it were not for increased drinking would probably give myself an A- in this category

Money: C I really did not save as much this year as I should have. Lost my job which will start draining the money i was saving for a house or going back to grad school. As a positive almost have my car paid off and have little overhead. Did not manage my portfolio as much as I should have which took away investment income for the year.

Overall: C- Probably one of the crappiest years I have had in awhile will not miss 2012.


[Edited on December 9, 2012 at 9:10 PM. Reason : l]

12/9/2012 8:42:17 PM

^ 3.5 years

12/9/2012 9:17:57 PM

Got the highest rank on the performance evaluation I mentioned earlier, so the year is ending on a high note, and I'm looking forward to a New Years party where I'll be seeing some old friends I haven't seen in a while. It's been an A year. It'll be hard to top next year, but if my husband's job situation goes well and if SCOTUS ends DOMA, 2013 could be pretty good too.

12/29/2012 9:09:02 PM

Career: B Well I still hate my job, but I'm going back to school for Radiography. Hopefully I'll get a student tech job in May and can quit sales forever.

Family: Still living in sin with my boyfriend. It's been pretty awesome these past couple of years. I visit my family and his family as much as we can.

Social Life: I've actaully made new friends since I've started back school and they're pretty awesome. Although, I wish I was better about keeping up with old friends.

Health: Since school has started I haven't been taking care of myself as much as I should. Hopefully I'll do a better job next semester and lose some weight. My health insurance sucks so I try to avoid the doctor, which means I've had an upper respiratory infection for about a month now. My shoulder is doing a lot better since surgery at the begining of the year and hasn't dislocated since.

Money: I'm completely debt free. I did have to go to working part time since I'm in school. I've been managing pretty well though. Didn't spend nearly as much as I usually do for Christmas this year, but everyone seemed understanding.

12/30/2012 2:32:35 PM

Career: A I've made it into management (w00t) and things are looking good.

Family: C My one still-living grandparent was moved to a nursing home. An uncle died. It's been a painful year in general for both my parents.

Social life/Friends: C- Plenty of friends but I really need to work on closer relationships.

Health: B Overall good thanks to firefighting. The last month has been crappy due to some mystery illness but I am recovering.

Money: B Things are okay.

Love: F One word: FAIL.

Overall, on a scale of (worst) 1-10 (best) I give this year a 6. Maybe it's because I've had a bad day so far or maybe now that I look at all these categories I realize it's not been as good of a year as I had thought. Here's hoping that '13 will be lucky.

Goodbye 2012.

12/31/2012 12:45:50 PM

Got paid to shoot dudes in the face. Work out, do paperwork, get minions to run errands. It was a good year. A.

12/31/2012 1:26:13 PM

Spirituality: A. Still pushing with the Zen thing. Doing most of the work on my own, but I really feel the change in my life over the past couple of years. Headaches and little sicknesses don't last as long. Stress isn't what it once was.

Career: B. Left the job I had after things started to head south. Took most of July off and began working a new career at the end of that month. It's been challenging, and I've had more than my share of disappointing times, but I feel the good side of the work is far more rewarding and appreciated than what I was doing previously.

Family: B. Things are somewhat re-reaching normal after my grandmother's death. Some relatives moved back to New Orleans, and others who can't make the time to visit more often. It's always good to see them around.

Social life/Friends: A+. I raved about a girl who intrigued me in 2011; we've now been in a relationship for eight months. I've never been happier, even despite the challenges brought about by distance AND a national border. As far as local friends, I don't go out as much and I more or less killed my FB account, but it's still good to share time with them, and also know that I haven't done anything to lose friends.

Health: B-. I joined a gym but my attendance is erratic. There's no excuse for that, given how it's steps away from where I work. I'm not completely sedentary though so that's a positive.

Money: C+ I've been trying to get ahead on saving, but it's been tough. Little things kept coming up and the expenses had me dipping into my savings pretty much on a monthly basis. After I began the new job, I started cutting back on some things, though the need for something on the side is still imminent. I can get by with the money from the job but a side deal will allow me to save up more assertively.

This was actually a weird year for me. I had great highs and terrible lows. The relationship gives me something to smile about every day and the sooner I can really close that gap, the better. It'd be a big move, but I have a prior experience to draw off of (2005, though Hurricane Katrina and not my own whim was the impetus for that). Nonetheless, there's lessons from that to be applied now, and I'm trying to make sure all my bases are covered before I make that move - even within the timelines I've established for myself. I think it's achievable.

I'd like to close this post by saying fuck Roger Goodell for ruining the 2012 Saints season. I hope he has an entire phonebook of fake names to use to order room service during the Super Bowl run-up.

12/31/2012 1:35:13 PM

Career: C.
This is a job. It's been steady but feel there's little room for advancement and I don't feel I'm being rewarded beyond a pat on the head and a $10 Target gift card for working myself to the point of exhaustion for Dan Quayle's crew. Overtime's nice if unreliable, as is my schedule when at a moment's notice I may be called in to cover part of second, or worse, third shift.

Family: A-.
Everyone's great, though dad had surgery two months ago from which he's recovered. Everyone thinks it's odd the five of us actually get along! Sister's been dating the dame fellow over three years, brother's got half a clue what he wants to study upon eventual return to college, and Mom's remained ever enthusiastic for all of us. Man, I'm bad at writing serious stuff.

Social life/Friends: B.
Friends are doing well, and I might as well have the Saucer folks calling me Norm. Lovelife's remained a helluva challenge.

Health: C.
Turning thirty may be catching up with me, three trips to urgent care this year, oddly all within a month of the UFO parties, hence hangovers are worsening. Don't work out but eat fairly well, and the sheer slothiness is haunting me though the scale isn't. Yet. Three bad colds, two of which sent me to UC, and a case of shingles offering me quite the embarrassing prescription. Is listening to Paul Gilmartin's Mental Illness Happy Hour a suitable sub for actual help?

Money: C.
Income-wise, I feel I'm not making enough but have kept costs low while renting rooms at a friend's place, driving a million-mile truck, have my company's 401K match maxed out, and paid off the credit card... at least until I went Festivus shopping. So barring the bar tabs, I'm doing OK. Life well within means, but could easily lose these down payment blues.

12/31/2012 6:22:55 PM

Career: B. The good rapport I had with the former law firm I worked for continues, and I returned PT for a temp position in the middle of the year. It worked well, and i was even asked back again. Unfortunately we didnt have a childcare solution for the 2nd opportunity, so i declined and began my search for an at home customer service job. I did find one with a legit company. After a lot of long nights, training, and even resigning I got the shift hours straightened out just a few days ago so I decided to stay. While not my career, I think this will be a good solution for us at least until our son is in half day preschool. I have also maintained my paralegal license for when I do return.

Family: A-. My grandparents are old, but alive (all four), but every other month one of them seems to be having a health problem that reminds us of the end. Things with our parents and siblings are good. Marriage is great. Son is growing up super fast and is a bit of a daredevil which keeps us on our toes and occasionally in urgent care or the emergency room. I am worried about one family member in particular right now though...this is a recent development so I think a lot of this will be in 2013.

Social life/Friends: B+. While getting together is difficult between all of our own lives, getting older, kids, etc...social life is fine. I became a lot closer with one girl friend this year, and I really like having her back. I ditched one friend who constantly made stupid decisions and I finally said I would no longer enable her. Friends went through a lot this year though...some bad, some good.

Health: D+. It's obvious I need to do something about my daily back pain, and I will be calling my doctor tomorrow to make an appointment. I've been taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times a day for nearly 5 months now. I'm worried about a GI bleed at this point. Sitting, standing, laying down, bending over, it hurts. Something is wrong, and I need either PT or a chiro to help alleviate pain. I am happy to report despite all the holiday food I lost 12 of the near 25 lbs (ugh...) I put on ater I stopped breastfeeding. Hope to lose 5 more, and am wanting to return to yoga--it will prolly help my back as well. I also had a miscarriage which was particularly hard on me for a bit...but I'm okay now, and even willing to talk about it.

Money: B. it is what it is. We have months it's tight, we have months it's ok. This job should bring in enough relief per month though, and I hope once our son is in preschool I can either pick up more hours or find a PT position in a law firm. We need to start saving for some home repairs we need (roof, master bath) and a larger car (Honda pilot? Toyota highlander? Minivan?).

Overall 2012 was just fine. I look forward to 2013.

1/1/2013 2:52:00 PM