How was your 2008?

[Lord Garth]

We only have nine days left in the year but I don't think they'll make much of a difference so it's a fair question to ask.

Overall I had a good 2008. I've recently decided not to continue with grad school but, other than that, nothing really changed. Since I liked the overall direction things were going in with 2007, I'm not complaining.

 

[Danoz]

We only have nine days left in the year but I don't think they'll make much of a difference so it's a fair question to ask.

Overall I had a good 2008. I've recently decided not to continue with grad school but, other than that, nothing really changed. Since I liked the overall direction things were going in with 2007, I'm not complaining.

It was a very different year.

My first year away from home, graduated, living in a major city (Washington, D.C.). I got a full time job that I love very much (for a non-profit global health institution). I am engaged to be married as of this summer. I've spent ample time in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, Orlando and a few weeks in the Bahamas (fiancee) and I've been on at least 10 airline flights. All in all, it was a transformational year for me. My cousin who is very close to me got married. Missing my fiancee, I watched a ridiculous number of science fiction shows on Netflix (Babylon 5, BSG, Firefly, Lost-- mostly in response to being in a long-distance, minimal-communication relationship most of the year). I've also almost finished the Ds9 relaunch . Good year for that! Made a lot of new friends from work. I'm known for planning a happy hour or two . I've been sporadic with gym time but I'm still in good shape. I've grilled more hamburgers, brats and sausages than I ever have in my life. I took up photography with the Nikon D80 DSLR I purchased for work. I've learned a number of new programs and I've become addicted to Linux. I still enjoy a Guinness Extra Stout more than most things...

Wow, come to think of it, this has been the first year of my life as an "adult." Kind of freaky

 

[RoJoHen]

One of the least eventful years of my life. It feels like such a waste.

 

[Amaris]

2008 has been garbage, just like years 1997 - 2007.

J.

 

[Jen]

Mine kinda sucked. I had some major health issues. I ended up in the hospital for a week. My job is going no where. I can't find 2 out of 3 brothers (they disappeared off the face of the earth). And the topper was one of my best friends died in November.

So the bad outweighed the good this year.

 

[Eratta]

It's been a year of growth. I graduated college (against my will), moved out into the Real World, spent four and a half months trying to find a job, fell into a scam, and just a few weeks ago got a really great job.

Dated some strange ones, been propositioned in a coffee shop, been abroad to somewhere new, and welcomed a new cousin into the world.

 

[James Bond]

Meh. It wasn't anywhere near as big a piece of shit as 2007 was.

 

[Harvey]

Broke up with my first girlfriend in quite some time, but have recently met someone new and am very happy with her.

Became burnt out with one facet of my college degree (film production), but became much more fascinated with another (film theory). Looking to pursue the latter in graduate school (finishing applications now).

Completed one major (cinema and photography), am working on finishing my other (politics) by the end of next semester.

All in all, a year of transitions. But, as Yogi Berra would no doubt opine, it ain't over till its over. Another week of 2008, yet.

 

[tomalak301]

Other than the financial crisis, I had a great year. Finished college, went to Disney World and Virgina, and some other good stuff happened. I think my only complaint is my social life is still not that great, and I graduate college at at time when Jobs are at a premium. Hopefully things can turn around in 2009 and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[DarkHelmet]

I had a great, fantastic 2008. Emotionally, financially, family wise. Seriously. Good year.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

The first 8 months were really good. I got promoted at work, reached my two year mark. Was almost out of debt. And then i got fired. The last 4 months have sucked. So ... i've had better years and i've had worse years.

 

[Kestra]

Mixed. I did a lot of growing up this year, but not always under good circumstances.

There were some good things this year, but all in all I don't think it'll be a fond memory for quite some time.

 

[JNG]

Absolute worst year of my life. One year ago at this time I thought I had everything figured out and was on a path to a good future, and now everything that was the foundation of that feeling has been lost. The car accident was in 2007, but only at the end of 2008 do I wish I'd died in it.

Well, "The Corbomite Maneuver" was better than I remembered it, anyway.

 

[Hermiod]

Not great, major upheaval at work for a start. The worst part is my dog, she's not been very well and now over the last few days I think she's started losing her sight. The vet said this might happen as she has an inoperable problem with one of her eyes. It's not fair on her, she's my little girl.

 

[Hoser]

The first 8 months were really good. I got promoted at work, reached my two year mark. Was almost out of debt. And then i got fired. The last 4 months have sucked. So ... i've had better years and i've had worse years.

I empathize. We were almost out of debt, had savings and were looking into buying a home. I had four years in at work, trained on a new elaborate CNC, and was looking at a promotion....then my whole area was laid off indefinitely. UI took their sweet time (didn't help that the shop messed up on the paperwork) and by the end of it, we were back in debt.

But hey, my wife's due to have a girl in 2010, so maybe that'll be a better year.

 

[Miss Chicken]

My 2008 so far

January - my brother has difficulty breathing (he is asthmatic). Mum calls an ambulance. Once in hospital it is decided to keep him for a few hours for observation. A couple of hours later he complains to a nurse that it is getting more difficult to breathe and then he stops breathing. The doctors manage to get a breathing tube down his throat, his throat is swelling badly. He goes into cardiac arrest and is given CPA and taken to the ICU. We are called in and told he might not survive the night. He pulls though. He is the ICU for 2 days and hospital for a week but the doctors never really determine why his throat swelled.

February - My mother goes into hospital for a back operation. The anesthesia causing her to have breathing problems and she has to stay in hospital a bit longer than she expects.

During her stay in hospital my sister, Vicki, arrives from Adelaide as she wants to look after Mum during Mum's recovery.

The day before Mum gets out of hospital my brother wakes up and is unable to move his legs or hand properly. Vicki who is staying with him calls rhe ambulance and this time my brother is in hospital for three weeks. Once again the doctors do not know what is wrong with my brother.

March - My aunt collapses and is rushed to hospital. She has a history of heart problems and it looks like she has had a mild heart attack.

Late March - my sister returns home to Adelaide.

April - A phonecall from my sister. Her husband has been rush by ambulance to hospital. He had a sore tooth and should have gone to the dentist. He ended up with blood poisoning.

June - ! move house for the first time in 30 years.

September - My niece who is on a working holiday in London is taken to hospital. She is diagnosed with Krohn's disease and has to have part of her bowel removed.

October - my mother who has had had breathing problems since the operation in February is diagnosed with lung cancer. She had probably had it for some time but the anesthesia back in February most likely caused it to accelerate. The doctors decide that it is useless to give my mother either radiation treatment or chemotherapy because of her age. The expect my Mum to live no lomger than a year.

November - my aunt who ihad the fall in March is back in hospital. at the very end of the month it is decided that she needs to go into a nursing home.

December - One week after moving into the nursing home my aunt dies. It would have been her and my uncle's 60th wedding anniversary on the 27th Dec. My uncle gave the most beautiful eulogy I have ever heard at her funeral.

So you can all see 2008 was a bastard of a year.

 

[Orac Zen]

^
Indeed.

But hey, my wife's due to have a girl in 2010, so maybe that'll be a better year.

Longest Human Pregnancy Ever.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

It wasn't a really bad year, some ups and downs, some bad news health-wise for my sister-in-law earlier in the year. My sister had a baby boy in August. Then we get to December and I needed an appendectomy, not a big deal for most people, but very big deal for me, then 2 days after getting out of the hospital the incision started pouring blood and I was rushed back to hospital. So now I sit here with a big open abdominal wound, that will take months to heal, with nurses coming to clean and redress the wound. Nice way to spend Christmas.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm sorry so many people had a bad year.

A few of my friends have had some setbacks this year. I have one friend whose mother is sick and dying back in Thailand; another who was diagnosed with breast cancer; and my friend who suffered an aneurysm a couple of years ago and made a remarkable recovery has now gone blind in one eye; also, my father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

For me, it was pretty good. I took a little sabbatical to work on my writing and art (and my online ventures) and started a new job. My monetary wealth has been somewhat diminished, but I'm feeling kind of refreshed and less stressed.

 

[Finn]

Many years from now, I probably would remember 2008 in such a huge contrast with the bland and uneventful 2007. It was one crazy year for me.

Last January, my life was different...very different. I was fast approaching the fourth annisveary of entering the Laboratory animal husbandry field. It wasn't a dead end job, but the direction in which my career was heading at the time was uncertain and murky even though I had signed up for a class at a nearby community college. I was growing weary of my job, the internal politics, especially when it comes to dealing with my old job position, and the mindless droning way it can be. I still had my first car, a green 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier. I still had my old sluggish computer, with the huge tube montior and low RAM speed. My finances were still very comfortable for someone like me.

BOOM! March came and I had a double whammy. My old car broke down and was in need of serious repair/relplacements (I had been thinking about a new car for some time). At the same time, due to some paperwork mixup when I first got hired to my old job, I owed several thousand dollars in state taxes (It was never deducted from my paycheck so..). So I got the gold Hyundai Elantra late that month and things started to settle down finally.

Then Boom! My old computer had a bad virus infection. So a friend from work had his brother build me a new computer which was much better, faster and sleeker last June. I had a tight budget by then but it was summertime so I was just crusing through the summer months until the end of August. I was getting a bit overwhelmed with a couple of ailments, a crazy schedule adjustment at work due to construction which would have complicated things for me due to my ailments and taking class. It ended up getting me being forced to resign.

So Fall came and I was unemployed. I looked and looked for a job. And I decided to consider going back to school and get a second BA before Graduate School in Secondary Education; Biology and Deaf Education. I was unable to find a temp job to tide me over. I ended up moving out of my apartment (nice apartment but crappy management) and I've been up in New Hampshire at my parents.

Here I am, two days before Christmas. I never have been more hopeful than I am. I've been too patient with the slow progress in my career direction for so long, especially being single. Going back to school will be the best thing for me. It also should help me get into graduate school for a M.S. in Biology as well. I've enjoyed the past few months with my dog daily with plenty of free time, someting I never had since I got him.

I think my 2009 looks brighter thanks to my 2008.