So, it might be a bit premature to start the year-in-review nonsense, but given the fact that Kim Jong Il (Tha Illest) died, I think it's worthy of discussion. 2011: Awesome? Shitty? 1991 with worse music and better clothes? Let's break it down: culturally, personally, alcoholically, sexually and overall. What was it for you?
Personally- I have learned a lot from this year. I have learned what trust is, what love is and what forgiveness is. I'm sure there will be more to learn in those veins, but I know I have achieved a lot by even addressing them. (Remember, I am kinda fucked up) I feel like I am finding my stride and I feel more secure all the time.
2011 was a good year for me, it was no 2007 but it was better then my 2009. I furthered myself in my career, had what i thoght to be a good girlfriend for a third of the year, bought a new truck, had my appendex ripped out, got laid a lot, made new friends and got rid of friends in the process. Only downside would be all these women problems I've been having lately, but other then that it was a good year.
This was a weird year for me. The first half was pretty miserable, since I couldn't shake the reactions from dealing with all of of 2010's bullshit. But, I also went to Israel, so that was great. Then my roaming gnome summer was awesome, and the second half of the year has been fairly good, minus the whole getting laid off thing and feeling like I'll never find any kind of job ever. I know there are thing to be bummed about, but I'm generally happy. I live in a better apartment with better roommates in a better neighborhood. I have a lot more friends in the city (as in, more than zero), and I've gotten to do a lot of fun little things. And I have a cat! I'm feeling really optimistic about 2012 before the world ends. It just seems like things are finally, ever so slowly, falling into place.
I graduated, did a six month residency in one of he country's best hospitals that I gloss over with my superiors because of a personality conflict that made for just about the worst work environment I've ever had (and this is saying something), got commissioned, broke up with my girlfriend of four years, moved to a new city, lost 6,000 in salary because getting licensed has been going ridiculously slow, have apparently lost my heterosexual life partner after he moved in with his girlfriend, made another best friend, passed the board exams, added a shitload of letters after my name, bought a motorcycle, bought my first car, became much more functional in french, lived in three different cities, saw too many people die, saw a birth (which despite my salty exterior, watching two parents hold their child for the first time is really special), laughed about stupid questions, gave bad advice, gave good advice, maintained a professional exterior despite hearing the most ludicrous things. It's been a big year, come to think of it. Mostly I think I've become much more sociable and better at meeting new people.
2011 was trying for me. Due to the horrible houseing market I made less this year than I have made since 1997, I was fucking the shit out of my wife but could not get her pregnant so I had to go see some indian doctor (dot not feather) who made me jack off in a cup then determined that she wanted to cut my wife open and remove a few things and charge me about 6 grand of which my insurance would not cover, a few months later I was successful in my fucking efforts. A few weeks later a white BMW decided he did not like my truck so the driver hit me head on and given that was my second serious accident in less than a year I had some pretty weird stuff going on in my head PTSD type stuff. 8 weeks after my fucking efforts had succeeded the lady that tells you to look at the heartbeat on the screen cried and said there was not one, my wife decided to let nature takes its course and naturally pass it but that did not happen so had to take her for surgery. The worst part of the year though was that the albacore never really schooled up and starting eating near San Diego. With all that being said, 2011 was awesome because I got an awesome part time bartending job in Scottsdale that pays well, I had 2 very good elk hunts this year, fishing in the sea of cortez was phenominal, my reel business is good, I got to dive and fish enough keep me satiated and I settled my accident claim myself and did very well. This year, the highs were very high and the lows were very low.
2009 was probably the best year of my life so far. 2010 was still decent. 2011 sucked donkey ass like none other. I'm not even going to explain why, too depressing. Fuck you 2011. Things are looking up now and I have very high hopes for 2012. Hopefully that year kicks ass before the universe implodes on itself. Good riddance 2011, you fucking piece of shit of a year.
2006-07-08 all sucked major donkey balls. 2009 started off great and then shit the bed right at the end and into 2010. 2010 and into 2011 have turned out to be pretty good, minus the 6 month stretch in Ohio. In the span of the last 5 years, I left LA for Trashcanistan, back to Seattle, to Cincy, and oddly enough, back to LA, where I swore I'd never step foot here again. Weird. I get to meet my son in 2012, so it's looking up.
2011 would have been an amazing year for me if it weren't for one thing: my job. In the last month, two people (out of the 8 that work in the office) walked out. My office mates are now The Women Who Can't Stop Making Noises and The Youngest Head Secretary in Company History. My responsibilities have been doubled, but I'm still only allowed to work 25 hours a week for minimum wage. On the bright side, I found out the guy I've been in love with since I was 16 feels the same way, I'm well on my way to be degree in something I can get a job in, and I've found a new rogue community art project to participate in.
Had a baby, paid off my truck, caught a few nice fish, rugby team is in the playoffs, and I'm not dead yet. Not a bad 2011.
2011: Not that great. Classes sucked, I quit something I was trying really hard to get good at, my housemates suck, I basically stopped going out, schoolwork killed me, and my grades are pretty shit. On the plus side, it's almost over. Here's to 2012.
2004 and 2005 were both a lot fun for me (I graduated high school and started college in 2004). 2006 was the absolute WORST year of my life, hands down. Ironically, it also contained a few of the best experiences of my life, but they can't compensate for the family and financial issues that I had, and having a parting of the ways with the guy who I had been best friends with since 2nd grade. We haven't spoken since and I still don' regret cutting him out of life, but I do regret putting myself in the situations that led to it. 2007 and 2008 were both very good. I went back to school in 2007, after I had to take a year off. 2009 was miserable while I was living it, but looking back I shouldn't have been as unhappy as I was. This was the first year where I really started to feel like I was an adult and the days of being care free and being able to drink all the time were over. I also was working with a girl who I had dated for a few months in the year before, and she started dating another guy we worked with. She and I were not on bad terms but there was still the natural tension, and I let it bother me more than I should have. 2010 was kid of the opposite of 2009...I wasn't really that unhappy while it was happening, but looking back it was awful. I graduated from college in December of 2009 but all I could find was a crappy part time job in retail. I guess being optimistic helped me get through it, and on the whole it was an uneventful year for me. My assessment of 2011 is that it has been a decent year that I hope will lead to better things. I got a new job in February that was an improvement over the one I had in 2010, and in September I finally got a job that involved my college degree. For right now I am working as an independent contractor and not sure if it is something that I will be able to do long term, but I am at least enjoying it. Since my job situation improved between 2010 and 2011 I am hoping that 2012 will bring something even better. Maybe my dating life will improve, too!
2011: Not Too Shab The highlight was a classmate accidentally dropping her pencil into a cadaver's thorax during a practical exam. Or spending a week in Maui. Either one.
2009- Started off great, turned to complete shit by the middle of it. 2010- Some highs but mostly lows...wouldn't call it a good one. 2011- It's been a strange rollercoaster of a year. All of a sudden I found myself in my first serious relationship which lasted half the year, was an incredible high at first but then completely failed in what felt like the blink of an eye. Glad I went through it because I ended up learning more about myself. I had some good times with friends,and got laid pretty much more than I ever have in a single year. I shined in my Reserve unit, and made some higher ups take note of my performance but still not where I want to be yet in my career. On the civilian side of things, I found a decent job but took a hit when they laid us off. This was the year I also finally made some headway with coming to terms with my anxiety and emotional issues. This being said, I am ready for 2012..I have a feeling its going to be a great year and am very excited to be getting back in school.
2011 sucked. My grandfather died (who I was very close to), we put my dog to sleep, my parents got divorced and they sold my childhood home. On the tiny upside, I got a new job where I'm actually using the skills I went to school for. It pays mucho compared to the old job, so hopefully I'll be able to work on saving more money and actually sticking to a budget. Hopefully. 2012 looks promising considering that 2011 was such an emotional roller coaster. I feel like it can only go up. I'd really like to work on not being so lazy and being more financially responsible and even though I say that every year, this time I mean it goddammit! Cheers to 2012!
The main high for 2011 was meeting the GF. I'm not out looking at rings or anything but everything just feels "right" and I like where this seems to be heading. The low is definitely the housing market out here in CA. Customers are damn near nonexistent since my company specializes in the remodeling industry which is beyond dead. I about jizz in my pants for the smallest of sales that I wouldn't have even cared less about a few years ago.
All things considered, 2011 has been pretty sweet for me. I spent the first 5-6 months in India, chilling out and drinking myself stupid in Goa for 3 months and then wandering around the rest of it for another couple of months. Spoiler I can't even begin to explain how much good it did me. Having spent the 3 months prior to leaving going through a messy breakup with a girl I worked with at the bar and generally being a miserable piece of shit, full of self loathing, bitterness and negativity. I had turned into a shadow of my former self. It was one thing to get massively depressed, the worst thing was I gave up trying to get out of it and just let myself stay in the depths, in the belief that things will never get better, so why bother? I needed to remove myself from everything that enabled my depression, from all the things that reminded me of my ex, my previous mistakes and honestly, my life back home. So I ran away to Goa. I had managed to get some work in a bar over in Calungute, spent my days chilling out on the beaches reading books and my evenings stood by the bar drinking and eating under the pretense of work, before going out into the main strip where I'd get incredibly drunk and chat up some women (occasionally successfully) before going home and doing it all again the next day. For three months. The sad thing was, that didn't really help me much. I was enjoying myself to an extent, but I couldn't get it out of my head that I was essentially doing the exact same thing I would be doing at home minus the awesome weather and the beach. The only difference was that I didn't have my friends from back home to enjoy it with. Goa is amazing, it is a wonderful place that you can just chill there indefinitely but it was nothing new, I would even go as far to say that for the first 6 weeks, I was in an even worse state of mind than when I had left. The same urge to run away from everything, including myself was ever present From then on, I did things differently. I booked a load of train tickets taking me to the very bottom of India, to all the way to the top to the base of the Himalayas and then back again to Goa over the course of 2 and a half months. My only plans set in stone were those trains. I'd barely even looked at a guidebook, because, well, fuck guidebooks. I didn't want the same experience as every other fucker with a copy of the lonely planet. This was my trip and I wanted to do things my way (which was "how far can I get around this fucking huge country with nothing but luck"). Leading up to going to India I wasn't scared, excited or nervous. Honestly I was quite ambivalent towards it. I knew it'd do me good to get away, but for actually doing it?.. that was met with a big resounding 'meh'. I knew I'd be fine, I had places to stay sorted, a job waiting for me and a support network of friends (well, people who knew my mother), I didn't have to worry about a thing. However, getting on that first train I was so nervous, excited, anxious, scared even. Here I was about to go on a journey that would take me all around India and all I had was my backpack, a pocket guidebook which basically said that "India is huge bro" and a phone (which I lost in the first few weeks). There were so many things that could go wrong, I could get ill, get mugged, lose my money, lose my train tickets, not be able to find somewhere to sleep, get so lost I couldn't find my way out, get sold into slavery. Yet for the first time in nearly 6 months, I had stopped worrying about what was behind me and started focusing on what was ahead. Even though I was still worried about what could go wrong, I accepted that if it did, I would have to deal with it. I wouldn't have a choice as I could only rely on myself. No friends, no family, no guidebook. Just me and my smile. I loved every minute of it. Going from place to place, only knowing the barest of facts about where I'm going. Getting off the train, finding my bearings and playing a game of guesthouse roulette with the rickshaw drivers, seeing how long it was before seeing another whitey (1 week was the record), walking around the cities and towns I was in, purposefully not going to the touristy areas but just walking and seeing India for what it really is. A gigantic, sprawling, chaotic mess that somehow works. I learned how to cope with being on my own. To realise that I wasn't half the fuck up bastard I thought I was and that I am capable of a lot more than I ever thought. No matter what India threw at me or how tough things seemed, I knew I had to be tougher and man the fuck up. Even when I got sick towards the end and started shedding weight by the kilo, I was still as determined, if not more so. I accepted the situation and not let that I couldn't eat or drink without immediately shitting it out get in the way of anything. It got the point where the same apprehension I felt for going away on my own, I had started to feel for going back home. All of the things I ran away from and left behind I would have to eventually have to deal with it. But this time, I knew that I could. I may have returned from India weighing 50kg, looking like a holocaust survivor with a tan. But in truth, I had never felt stronger. The rest of the year wasn't too bad either, had a great time at Glastonbury, saw primus, Squarepusher, DJ Shadow twice, finally got myself a job (that admittedly I hate at the moment but just glad to be working), I've got my weight up to the highest its ever been and I'm in the best shape I' The bad? I'm on my own this christmas. Got no family near me - my mum is over in India, my brother (who lives in the same apartment building as me) hasn't spoken to me for the best part of a year and refuses to acknowledge my existence. So I'm pretty much facing christmas day on my own until my friends are finished with their family stuff. That bit sucks, however I intend on getting so drunk on Christmas eve, I wont want to wake up until boxing day.
Bring on 2012. 2011 blew. The divorce fucked with my head. My beloved cat dying in my bedroom suddenly fucked with my head. Family bullshit drama. Adjusting to a culture that's a polar opposite of what I was raised to be. On the upside, I fell ass over teakettle in love with the most unexpected of people and I helped him through what was also a horrid year. I have a job that I enjoy. I learned how to shoot my Glock in 14 weeks and passed my firearms qualification with a relatively high score. I'm back to my high school weight. Despite the good things that happened this year...I'm ready for 2012.
At the end of 2010, I quietly asked myself how any year could be worse. 2011 showed me. 2012 is looking to give 2011 a run for its money and I'm only partly joking when I say I'm looking forward to the coming cataclysm at the end of next year.