Jan. 1st, 2010 12:01 am
Yearly life tally
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textualdevianceAs before, my annual tally of the year past, and a look ahead to the year to come. (Last year's for reference.)
Doing this a couple days early (though post-dating it!)
Career:
-Sat around the house, bored out of my mind while waiting to hear back about various jobs/contracts I applied for. Finally got something--more or less my old job--in July. They're doing contracts differently these days, however, so I'm stuck hoping for continual extensions instead of being more confident in a full 12-month contract. Still, the six months I've been here so far have helped greatly with the expenses of the move.
Family:
-Gave up on the bio-kid thing, after the previous year's failed attempts.
-Added a furbaby! DarlingSatan Otter came home in January.
-Kept my marriage intact during the massive move! We bickered here and there, but we got through it quite well. Also, it was 15 years ago this week that we originally started dating (the false start). Amazed that I've been with someone that long.
-Had my parents over for Halloween weekend, so they could see the new house and help out a bit with the nest-feathering.
-Started reading through some great life stories my dad's been sending me. I always wanted him to write up a small biography, and he finally got around to it, and it's been utterly fascinating. He's led an amazing life.
-Welcomed a new niece, M's sister's kid.
Friends:
-Got our D back! It's so great having him part of the household again.
-Finally moved closer to a bunch of our friends, so we can actually have a social life again
-Watched K's oldest get married. Weird, weird, weird.
-Loaded up Facebook with a ton of old friends I haven't talked to in years. It's been interesting to see where everyone is, now.
Domestic:
-Nothing major. Just moving twice in six months while we sold the old house and bought a new one. No big deal at all. Also, I'm not a very good liar.
Travel:
-Umm. Drove around Whidbey Island for my birthday? Sad, I know. First year since at least 2000 (and probably beyond) that I haven't been on a plane at least once. It's very weird.
Misc:
-Watched a lot of TV. Cheap entertainment, and about the only thing we ever had enough energy for in the evenings between work and house hacking.
-Worked more (mostly research and outlining) on my Great Novel Project. It's taking shape, and I'm looking forward to having all the groundwork laid so I can just sit and write the thing when I have some free time.
-Lost M's car to an accident, and replaced it with a 2004 Santa Fe. First "new" car we've had in seven years.
Career:
-Finish out this current contract. I'm hoping for at least one more extension, because we need the money, but I'm guessing I'll be done within a couple of months. And then I'll probably have another months-long wait for the next one. The thing that worries me the most is that media jobs are extremely hard to get these days, so moving on from where I am now isn't going to be easy. I just have to hope that I can keep cobbling together contracts and freelance work enough to keep my resume full while I look for the elusive full-time, intellectually satisfying Real Journalism job.
Family:
-Begin the Road to Adoption. We'll probably wait a little while to get our financial picture settled a bit more (adoption isn't cheap!), but I expect to start talking to attorneys by spring, at the latest. I admit that I'm thoroughly dreading it. It's like the worst job hunting process in the world. I want what's on the other side, but I'm annoyed as hell that I have to go through that gauntlet to get there.
Friends:
-Virtually the entire reason we got the house we did, where it is is so we can constantly drag people over and ply them with food and games and movies and such. So I will. Oh yes, I will.
Domestic:
-Finish the last bits of hacking necessary on the new pad. It doesn't need much, really, but I'll feel better when we've finished furnishing the offices and done paint touch-up and such.
-Start hacking at the back yard in a few months, when it's warm enough to do so. There's not a ton I can do, because of the HOA, but I do want to put in a small food garden and get a nice outdoor living room space set up. I want to have some fun summer barbecues back there when the time comes.
-Get our debt paid down to a manageable level. Ideally, I'd like to get rid of everything except the mortgage, but I don't see that happening unless I get steady employment.
Travel:
-Go somewhere. Anywhere. With the debt paying, house hacking and adoption expenses, we may not be able to afford much. But I'll go stir crazy if we don't do at least something, especially once we're in a holding pattern with the adoption.
Misc:
-Get various physical tuneups. I'm well overdue for the dentist (since we need a new one) and also need to see a podiatrist and get reevaluated by my sleep doc to make sure I'm still doing OK with the CPAP. I also have some other stuff I need to get checked out. Also, when it starts warming up, I may do a bit of walking around the park across the street, when I'm feeling good enough for it. Sitting all day messes me up, and I can't do real workouts (for various reasons), so I'm hoping I can at least get a bit of a stroll in here and there.
-Finish the novel, if time allows. It'll be a good way to keep myself busy if I'm unemployed and doing the hurry-up-and-wait stuff with the adoption.
-Get back into some of the video games I've missed
-Finish the stack of books I have sitting around
Overall, I'm looking forward to a relatively calm year. I expect the adoption process to be the most crazy-making, but beyond that, I think we're over a major hurdle, now, and ready to move on to the next phase.
Doing this a couple days early (though post-dating it!)
Career:
-Sat around the house, bored out of my mind while waiting to hear back about various jobs/contracts I applied for. Finally got something--more or less my old job--in July. They're doing contracts differently these days, however, so I'm stuck hoping for continual extensions instead of being more confident in a full 12-month contract. Still, the six months I've been here so far have helped greatly with the expenses of the move.
Family:
-Gave up on the bio-kid thing, after the previous year's failed attempts.
-Added a furbaby! Darling
-Kept my marriage intact during the massive move! We bickered here and there, but we got through it quite well. Also, it was 15 years ago this week that we originally started dating (the false start). Amazed that I've been with someone that long.
-Had my parents over for Halloween weekend, so they could see the new house and help out a bit with the nest-feathering.
-Started reading through some great life stories my dad's been sending me. I always wanted him to write up a small biography, and he finally got around to it, and it's been utterly fascinating. He's led an amazing life.
-Welcomed a new niece, M's sister's kid.
Friends:
-Got our D back! It's so great having him part of the household again.
-Finally moved closer to a bunch of our friends, so we can actually have a social life again
-Watched K's oldest get married. Weird, weird, weird.
-Loaded up Facebook with a ton of old friends I haven't talked to in years. It's been interesting to see where everyone is, now.
Domestic:
-Nothing major. Just moving twice in six months while we sold the old house and bought a new one. No big deal at all. Also, I'm not a very good liar.
Travel:
-Umm. Drove around Whidbey Island for my birthday? Sad, I know. First year since at least 2000 (and probably beyond) that I haven't been on a plane at least once. It's very weird.
Misc:
-Watched a lot of TV. Cheap entertainment, and about the only thing we ever had enough energy for in the evenings between work and house hacking.
-Worked more (mostly research and outlining) on my Great Novel Project. It's taking shape, and I'm looking forward to having all the groundwork laid so I can just sit and write the thing when I have some free time.
-Lost M's car to an accident, and replaced it with a 2004 Santa Fe. First "new" car we've had in seven years.
Career:
-Finish out this current contract. I'm hoping for at least one more extension, because we need the money, but I'm guessing I'll be done within a couple of months. And then I'll probably have another months-long wait for the next one. The thing that worries me the most is that media jobs are extremely hard to get these days, so moving on from where I am now isn't going to be easy. I just have to hope that I can keep cobbling together contracts and freelance work enough to keep my resume full while I look for the elusive full-time, intellectually satisfying Real Journalism job.
Family:
-Begin the Road to Adoption. We'll probably wait a little while to get our financial picture settled a bit more (adoption isn't cheap!), but I expect to start talking to attorneys by spring, at the latest. I admit that I'm thoroughly dreading it. It's like the worst job hunting process in the world. I want what's on the other side, but I'm annoyed as hell that I have to go through that gauntlet to get there.
Friends:
-Virtually the entire reason we got the house we did, where it is is so we can constantly drag people over and ply them with food and games and movies and such. So I will. Oh yes, I will.
Domestic:
-Finish the last bits of hacking necessary on the new pad. It doesn't need much, really, but I'll feel better when we've finished furnishing the offices and done paint touch-up and such.
-Start hacking at the back yard in a few months, when it's warm enough to do so. There's not a ton I can do, because of the HOA, but I do want to put in a small food garden and get a nice outdoor living room space set up. I want to have some fun summer barbecues back there when the time comes.
-Get our debt paid down to a manageable level. Ideally, I'd like to get rid of everything except the mortgage, but I don't see that happening unless I get steady employment.
Travel:
-Go somewhere. Anywhere. With the debt paying, house hacking and adoption expenses, we may not be able to afford much. But I'll go stir crazy if we don't do at least something, especially once we're in a holding pattern with the adoption.
Misc:
-Get various physical tuneups. I'm well overdue for the dentist (since we need a new one) and also need to see a podiatrist and get reevaluated by my sleep doc to make sure I'm still doing OK with the CPAP. I also have some other stuff I need to get checked out. Also, when it starts warming up, I may do a bit of walking around the park across the street, when I'm feeling good enough for it. Sitting all day messes me up, and I can't do real workouts (for various reasons), so I'm hoping I can at least get a bit of a stroll in here and there.
-Finish the novel, if time allows. It'll be a good way to keep myself busy if I'm unemployed and doing the hurry-up-and-wait stuff with the adoption.
-Get back into some of the video games I've missed
-Finish the stack of books I have sitting around
Overall, I'm looking forward to a relatively calm year. I expect the adoption process to be the most crazy-making, but beyond that, I think we're over a major hurdle, now, and ready to move on to the next phase.
