Rate how 2004 has been for you PERSONALLY

[prolesunited]

As the year draws to a close, how does 2004 rank in your personal life?

Disregard war, natural disasters and who won the election and weigh in with how the year was in your individual life.

So, what were some of the joys? Sorrows? Successes? Disasters?

[short bus president]

1. Oy. Can we get a 'worst ever, but too stoned to be suicidal' option?

:D

[tridim]

11. I'd vote for that

I've never felt suicidal, especially when I know the BS that's happening in my country is beyond my control. This has easily been the worst year in my 34 years of life, but I'm not going to kill myself.

[Sabriel]

34. I'd vote for "Too depressed to actually go do it"

That's been my year-long feeling.

[StopTheMorans]

2. i think i'm the only person on this board who had a pretty decent year

figured out a lot of things in my life, and found new direction (only have a few mins before i have to leave, so no time to get into it now :D

[NashVegas]

51. Naaaah ..

Externally it's been a so-so year, but internally, a different ballgame.

From February onwards, it's been a series of eye-openers and attitude adjustments.

[stevedeshazer]

3. Among the five worst

1963
1968
1980
2001

Personal tragedy in my life followed in all these years too.

Coincidence?

[LynneSin]

4. It would have been a great year if the idiot didn't steal an election

:eyes:

[Placebo]

5. Aside from saying FUCK YOU to high school...

there was little else fab about it.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. Best year/Worst year

Got engaged, got a raise, decided to go back to school, got fired up politically and artistically-----work started to suck, lost the election, hundreds of thousands of people are dead.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

15. Congrats on the engagement!

:toast:

When are you getting married?

[amazona]

7. a very good for me personally

Too shy to say why, seems a bit like bragging.

[prolesunited]

8. Go ahead and brag

You deserve your happiness. Own it and be proud.

[mike_c]

9. among the worst since adolescence....

And that was a LONG time ago. This year I had to face the consequences of my ex-wife's lifelong alchoholism, try deal with the resultant personality disorders-- ever tried giving someone their dignity while simultaneously calling the cops to prevent them from making good on threats to kill themselves or burn down your house?--, and divorce (it's official on Dec 31). My job-- which is demanding in the best of times-- was especially tough and I've done a crappy job since my personal life melted down. My grad students are crashing and burning. I'm bankrupt, although that was actually part of the divorce and while the intermediate term financial consequences will likely suck, the immediate result is that I have more money-- a good thing since I have to buy new furniture, a new car, and etc. My favorite cat died after a long illness. One of my human friends is in a coma with a profound brain injury after being hit by a car.

On the up side, I found the Alanon recovery program and I feel more hopeful about the future than I have in a long time. I'm going to spend some time taking care of me, and getting my life back on track. I'm REALLY looking forward to that!

[auntAgonist]

41. best of luck to you in 2005! you deserve some good things.

[sans qualia]

10. Honestly, best year ever, and I'm feeling suicidal

Both for the same reason.

[hyphenate]

12. It's been largely

hell on earth in many ways. Still moving through a complete fog, trying to justify each day, trying to make it to doctor appointments without a goal other than to see a better tomorrow.

After the tsunami, there was a momentary thought of how much better things are for me, but then it dissolved into the realistic approach of one devil is just as bad as another.

It's not living--it's merely survival, by rote, without real meaning, without real concrete results.


On the other hand, there were a few brief moments of joy, mostly surrounding the DNC. I got to meet a lot of DUers, including a friend from another board who was there as a delegate from California, which was nice. That week was perhaps the shiniest spot in the whole year in many ways. It did give me the incentive to go on, as did the election, which was supposed to reverse at least a portion of the horror, but even that failed. :(

[NightTrain]

13. Better than average.

On the plus side: I got a good job and moved into a much nicer apartment, and my college radio show expanded from two hours a week to three.

On the minus side: I'm still single and by myself, and my periodic "drop off the face of the earth" phases are coming in much greater numbers and lasting much longer than they used to.

[terrya]

14. The highlight of 2004 was meeting the Chicago DUer's.

They are a terrific group of people. I'm glad I've had the opportunities to hang out with them. :-)

The rest of year sucked in a tremendously huge way.

T

[Blue-Jay]

20. Especially me, right?

SAY IT, DAMN YOU!

[terrya]

22. Ok, OK...ESPECIALLY YOU!

Damn you!! You got it out of me!!

Of course, now I'll be a pariah to everyone else at the next meetup. :-)

T

[Blue-Jay]

23. Thank you, Terry!

You're very kind.

oh....and don't worry about being a pariah. You'll get used to it after a while.

[terrya]

26. Well, you're very kind, Jay

As I recall, you got me to go to the Labor Day meetup. And the rest, as they say, is history. :-)

I guess I can handle the pariah stuff. As long as you guys wave at me every so often...at the table...by myself...at Moody's..I'll be.."sniff"...ok...."sniff"

T

[Blue-Jay]

29. Hah!

I tried to get your address, so that I could forceably drag your ass to Moody's if you didn't show up. Good thing you did, eh?

[MissMillie]

16. Some pretty high highs, pretty low lows

my mother being diagnosed with cancer was a big low (she's doing fine)

Attending to my own health problems is a big high. I've not felt this well in years.

[supernova]

17. Best year out of the last few

I'd say best out of five years. I started out unemployed, but wound up with a great job that I love. I'm making more $$$ than I ever have. So, on that score, life is good.

I intend to ramp up the pleasure principle in 2005. :D

[arcane1]

18. politics and world events aside...

best

year

ever

:bounce:

[prolesunited]

37. Amazing what falling in love

can do for your outlook. Hope 2005 is even more spectacular for you.

[Cuban_Liberal]

19. About the worst ever.

2005 can't help but be better.

[Skittles]

21. worst ever

friend killed on his way to work by someone running a red light, was laid off, that moronic piece of garbage was reinstalled into the White House, brother drank himself to death, continuing quagmire in Iraq, tsunami. IT SUCKED.

[prolesunited]

35. I'm sorry

I know you've have a hard year. :hug:

[fluffernutter]

43. sucked is an understatement, i'm sorry

:hug:

[jmowreader]

24. Highs and lows...

Highs:

Got dismissed from a job I fucking hated and was on the verge of quitting anyway
Went full-time at Home Depot (yes, this is a good thing; I actually like this job)
Got free Maine Coon mix
Took trip to the Pacific Northwest

Lows:
Rather massive pay cut
My favorite cat died (the Titty Boy)

[sandnsea]

25. world events aside, better than average

My daughter got married and it was beautiful and now she's pregnant. Although it wasn't my preference, it's all good. Youngest went to state in track, now in college. Bills are paid. Met alot of wonderful people. Better than average.

Iraq, tsunami, Bushelsofshit, awful.

[sendero]

27. This was not a terrible year...

... but definitely in the bottom 5.

For the heck of it - I would be interested in seeing which years were bad for those of you with bad years to report. It would be cool to see if certain years were bad for a lot of people.

Here are mine:

1964
1977
1996
2004

for good measure, here are some of my best years:
1979
1984
1997

:)

[RFKHumphreyObama]

38. I'll play

Worst years
1994
2002
2004

Best years
1990-1991
1997-2001

Actually all the above best years were as good as each other. Life just seemed to be getting better and better by the year

[buddhamama]

28. average

some highs some lows, it was an OK year.

[fluffernutter]

44. average here too.

[Forkboy]

30. first half was ok...second half has been crushing

[greendog]

31. Not the worst year, but not very good, either....

...worst years were late 20's / early 30's.

The highlight of this year was getting sacked from a (potentially) great job on Dec. 22nd.

[AccessGranted]

32. It really stunk, but I'm hopeful

Maybe 2005 will be a better year. I wish you all the best for the upcoming new year. Love and peace.

[Amaya]

33. Good and bad for me

There were some great times and some terribly sad regrets.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

36. Among the five worst

If you take out the summer (July 5th-August 20th), this was definitely one of the worst years I've ever had.

[anonymousdemocrat]

39. Got over CFS, met the love of my life & my other best friend

Have never been happier...

:toast:

[fortyfeetunder]

40. Family illnesses dampened the year

I burned airline miles and driving my car around to visit most of my family members. Though I did finish my master's degree program with weeks left to spare!

[auntAgonist]

42. congrats on the Masters!!!!

[The Zanti Regent]

45. How would you feel if Bush killed your only child?

2004 was the worst year of my life.

Nothing can heal the hurt that your only child was brainwashed by Jesus and killed by Bush.

[prolesunited]

46. I'm so sorry

That is the most horrible thing that I could imagine. I really wish we had been able to stop this madness.

May your grief give way to the memories of the happy times you shared.

:hug:

[benny05]

47. Mixed Feelings

Career-wise, this was a very good year for me in that I had more personal responsibility and guided my team well. Personal front, stronger bonds with my companion. Reconnected with some old friends from Boston.

Accomplishment: toy drive for the Hurricane Kids in Florida. Very successful and appreciated by the organization, Christmas Kids.

For many colleagues, not so good. Many of them ill or had cancer, or lost 2-3 relatives. Probably worse for many who are awaiting word about loved ones in South-east Asia or those fighting a senseless war in Iraq.

Politically, it was great to meet John Edwards and hear his vision of One America. I had not really participated in an presidential election before nor had I blogged before this year. But to quote the front page headline of the Guardian of the UK: How can 59 million people be so.. :dunce:

[Coventina]

48. 2004 great for me personally, horrible year globally

2003 sucked horribly, and I got horribly drunk last new year's eve.
So 2004 didn't start out very promising!

But: I got accepted to grad school in Feb.
The SO and I decided I could quit my job and go to school full time, so I quit my job in May.
Started school.
SO and I got married Nov 3rd. :loveya:
I passed my foreign language exam!!! :toast:
New hubby and I just bought a house this month. It's a run down fixer-upper, but we hope to have it ready to move into by late January.

I almost feel guilty that my life has gone so well this year, when I know so many are hurting. Believe me, I've been there.
I was clinically depressed from 1996-2001 and have been slowly recovering from that. Those years are mostly just a blur of pain.
My mother suffered an extremely long terminal illness from 1995 until her death in June 2003. So it's been a long time since I've felt this good about myself and my life.

Globally, though, 2004 has been one disaster after another.
:-(

[Susang]

49. Horrible, with no signs of stopping

The party I was supposed to attend tonight (as a surprise to my friends, who were hosting it) had to be canceled, as my friend's father suddenly died from Alzheimer's. :-(

It just doesn't seem like anyone I know can catch a break. As soon as things settle down from one misfortune, another one seems to occur. I hope things start to change and soon.

[prolesunited]

50. Damn, that truly sucks

Michael should be there soon, right?

[SarahB]

52. Life-changing.

I can't say bad because honestly I believe my marriage ending is the best thing for me in the long run because we haven't been happy together in years and I know in my gut we just weren't meant for each other. I'm glad we can work together though. It could have been a lot worse and practically speaking anyway, we're doing alright as individuals here.

I don't know where 2005 will lead, but it doesn't matter. My life will be busy, but it's time for a fresh start in a number of areas.
Bring. It. On. :D

[Padraig18]

53. Second-worst year of my life.

2005 can hardly NOT be better.

[loudestchick]

54. Personally, it was pretty good.

I sent my youngest off to full day school...I went back to college..4.0 gpa, Wooo Hoooo!...I campaigned and felt like
I was doing something...I escaped a round of layoffs...I started a new garden last spring...It hasn't been half bad on a personal level.

[bloodyjack]

55. Barring the disappointing election results...

Why does it seem that 2004 was the year of teh suck for the majority of DU

It's strange, but rarely does anyone ever look back fondly on the past year. And I can only assume that each year gets progressively worse

Or maybe people hate life and they only hate it more the nearer they draw to death

I don't know