2006: Classic or Dud?

'06 better than '05 though, much better. I hope '07 will be better still.

Dud: Judy in moderate depression for about 2 months now. Working on adjusting meds, but it's slow going.
Total physical isolation from friends resulting in my own low level depression. I basically spent November sitting at my desk, refreshing the New Answers page.

I'm calling '06 a wash. 2007 has promise, though, with Amsterdam trip coming in Sept. If the money's there I'd like to go to Chicago or NYC sometime this year too. Kiddo is going to London for four weeks for school, and Judy may go to Seattle area to visit interweb friends. If finances allow, we may start some house repairs/renovations.

Work/financial situation has improved exponentially. At the start of the year I was exhausted, stressed and working long hours in a job I hated, and in a big financial hole at the same time. One quick change of career later I've found something I'm very good at, have paid off all my debts plus more. Plus my new boss asked me to manage his new business which is incredibly flattering if nothing else - if that goes well, 2007 and onward could be even better. If nothing else, I feel like I know where I'm going in life, maybe for the first time ever.

Apart from a few well-documented moments when my life unexpectedly turned into an embarrassing last scene from an episode of Peep Show, 2006 has been classic on almost every level. Best year of my life, no question.

In general, OK. Not much progress, not much lost. 2006 has been a holding-pattern of sorts. Next year and 2008 will be the deal-breakers.

...but it was all largely a prelude to 2007, which -- if all goes according to plan -- will be the wildest year in my whole life. New job undoubtedly, new child hopefully (pray for no war on the Horn of Africa, so I can leave North America for the first time in my 40.5 years on the planet), new opportunities.

Concur that the Santorum resigning pic pretty much balances out any/all negatives.

Personally is always more fun though! 2006 started out with a breakup that was clearly inevitable on New Year's Eve, continued to see all my friends pair up so I finally went "fuck y'all, I'm going to Siberia" in February (okay, I was going to anyway), wavered between homesick and drunk in the snow for two months, got in touch with my Armenian heritage, fell in love with Russia. Things went up from there. And at some point - I don't know when - stopped thinking of myself as a wannabe-Christian-who-just-couldn't-cut-it and started trying to be a real-Christian-with-serious-doubt-issues. Personally: less across-the-board wonderful than 2005, but way more exciting.

(And to kool dudette Jody Bet'hoven: häid jõule ja ilusat uut aastat!)

- met an amazing girl at--of all things--a saint etienne show
- a new, steady job w/benefits and respect and cool co-workers
- a new car on the horizon
- my brother got engaged last week
- not as much debt as a year ago
- several new, great friends

- actually get new car
- get raise
- clone girlfriend
- get steady dj gig
- attend FAP

also györgy ligeti, stanislaw lem, anna politkovskaya, sven nykvist, james "belt" van allen, floyd patterson, can tiit confirm lennart meri was one of the good guys? if so, him etc etc.

2006 was decent. Learnt/managed not to get involved in more stuff than I could handle more or less comfortably; home & work life slid along ok; redecorated summer house kitchen and at the same time got promise that next summer be totally redecoration-free; did well internationally in hobby competitive pursuit; no mortal enemies as of the yet.

he truly was.

Personal reasons:
- New job that doesn't involve people asking me why I'm stealing their money
- EMP hijinx
- burgeoning movie geek interest via Netflix + new flatscreen HDTV (A Touch of Zen is the shit)
- Getting to see Rakim, the Hold Steady & Gogol Bordello live
- lots of good times with friends (concerts, Halloween, beer-tasting parties, etc.)
- more frequent + lucrative freelance writing work
- debt drastically reduced

Other reasons:
- lol @ Santorum
- Twins getting new stadium, also Mauer + Santana + Morneau pwning everyone
- The Departed
- Bully, Guitar Hero II, Gears of War
- Pinochet = dead

Thought so. :) :(

Btw in s-american dead ex-dictators subthread, I suppose Alfredo Stroessner should be mentioned as well.

This might be my resolution for this upcoming year, but we'll see. All I'll say is that I just *love* seeing the prices continue to fall, and that my old large-size Trinitron is holding up still...

gear, be careful wot you wish fo' ;)

Best astronomy nerdy event this year: after the body provisionally known as Xena was renamed Eris, in compensation its moon was called Dysnomia, the Greek for "lawlessness", as tribute to Xena actress Lucy Lawless. :D

met wonderful $girl (x2)
got wonderful jobz (x2)
got wonderful new home (x1)

D:

ruined it with wonderful $girl (x2)
nights spent homeless (x46)
lost wonderful job (x1)
massive debt (x$70,000)

let's see:
-got thru and over most of my anxiety
-got a much better job doing things I like and a v. supportive environment w/ a much better boss
-got rid of my leased middle-class sportsy sedan for a far more affordable grandpa car
-working on improved social bits
-found a very nearby gym where I work out regularly
-finally beginning to get the finances caught up
-found more folks in portland to do social things w/

-oh yeah, and as of three days ago, I am now an uncle.

Milosevic croaked, too.

cons: made dumb decisions at work; in debt; one friend killed in motorbike accident, two others left the country.

summary: more dud than classic.

(a.) Got major work promotion.
(b.) Purchased my first "I own this" home (I still can't believe it).
(c.) Got to communicating with some of my favorite personalities.
(d.) Further established some friendships.
(e.) Actually liking my work colleagues now.
(f.) I gave up on compromising and started on being true to only myself.

Bad parts about 2006:

(a.) Now I have to wake up at 4 am to get to work on time.
(b.) Old house still not sold; market slowly getting colder.
(c.) Communicating with one's heroes not completely all its cracked up to be.
(d.) Woke up to the fact that some of my "friends" weren't.
(e.) Trying to fight some of my impulse to isolate myself from these lovely new work colleagues.
(f.) This uncompromised me has alienated some people.

Oh, but I only had one bout of bronchitis this year, and my early summer surgery was an inadvertent impetus for the change in my work situation, and now I know I can handle surgery with just a local, and I've got other health issues under control.

"it's my belly button ring in a box"
― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 27 December 2006 20:38 (7 years ago) Permalink