Screw 2010

[Brian Rubin]

I dunno about y'all, but 2010 was mostly crappy for me. Some problems, like girls and cars, were happily resolved and improved upon. Some, like money, are ongoing. Some, like unemployment, are brand new. While there was greatness, there was also a ton of crap, so I for one will not be sad to see this damned year end.

What about y'all? How would you say 2010 treated you?

[Juan Rayo]

FUCKING A!


Wait, not, actually it was pretty good for me. Sorry man :)

[sinfony]

It was fine until I broke my ankle. Stupid 2010.

[Thoro]

At the end of May, I started getting attacks of the most intense headache you can imagine. No, worse than that. Imagine getting an amputation without anaesthesia while simultaneously undergoing several root canals. No painkillers, of course. Imagining that? Okay. It's worse than that. So, imagining I was dying of a brain tumour or worse, I contacted the doctor, who whisked me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with cluster headaches.

Since then, I've had 8-15 attacks a night, every night, of the same kind of pain. The only thing that helps is oxygen, which does nothing for the intensity of the headache, but shortens the duration from 45-60 minutes to 10-15.

Seven months of that shit.

Yeah, 2010 was not a good year for me.

[Juan Rayo]

Jesus fucking christ Thoro

[Calelari]

2010 sucked. Ongoing unemployment, relationship troubles, yadda yadda.

[Mightynute]

Wikipedia says that controlled doses of hallucinogenics are a viable treatment for cluster headaches. Just how liberal is the health care system in Norway...?

Edit: Also, yeah - to hell with 2010.

[Brian Rubin]

Yay Juan!

Ouch sinfony, that sucks. Has it healed well?

OMG Thoro, that sounds awful. :( I hope something can be done about it.

Ugh, sorry to hear, Calelari.

[sinfony]

Just happened a month ago, so still healing. Should be able to walk again in a couple of weeks. Should have full range of motion in 6-12 months. Hey, a ready-made New Years' resolution!

[Brian Rubin]

Woohoo! Hope it heals quickly!

[Matt Bowyer]

2010 was a year of wild mood swings. I'm very ready for 2011, especially since I'll be starting it waking up for the first time in my new house.

[chequers]

2010 was A+ excellent. I hope everyone's 2011 is similarly great.

[Thoro]

Just how liberal is the health care system in Norway...?

Not quite that liberal. I'm enormously hesitant to even consider the idea myself, but funnily enough, my dad, the retired cop, has gotten all fired up about it after reading testimonials online from patients and doctors who say that yes, this stuff works. He's been talking about taking it to the government and demanding to know why research into finding the non-hallucinogenic compounds in these substances that do work on cluster headaches, isn't being undertaken. It's kind of funny.

[Juan Rayo]

To elaborate:

I got my head bashed in by police, and then by army (24 stitches BRING IT!) I spent days and nights with my girl, I read a lot, I wrote a lot, I worked 20 hrs days for a month straight, I played games, I danced till dawn and got into arguments and had the last word and sometimes didn't. I drank a hefty amount and smoked and did exercise and ate tons of stuff and ran with my dog by my side every single day. I took my telescope and watched the stars while everyone around was getting shitfaced, I learned to play Harmonica and cooked lots of pasta and got sick. And got better.

I will be an uncle again and plan to really really spoil the little kid and tell her a millions stories and half of them will be absolutely made up, I will give her a wonderful damn world for as long as I can no matter how fucking shitty the real world outside is. I got to help evacuate people's homes while the river was about to destroy them.

I went to Denmark and spent days looking at Hamlet's castle and didn't have a chance to visit but I took a skinny dip in -5 c* waters just because. I went to Brussels and had chocolate and danced under my very first snow and loved it, even if I got sick again afterwards.

Then I came back and I fucking got to bash some police heads in.

Fucking Great year.

EDit: AND I am currently shitfaced myself which for some reason makes my english better.

[hong]

Then I came back and I fucking got to bash some police heads in.


You elaborated, but this needs even more elaboration.

[Juan Rayo]

You elaborated, but this needs even more elaboration.

I promise it was justified. And in self defense.

[tromik]

I finished my degree, got a real job, and lost a tonne of weight. 2010 was alright by me.

[Rimbo]

I can't compare to what Rayo or Thoro related above, but...

I spent 7 months of the year with my son on the other side of the world and my favorite football team had an epic meltdown. And then there's the family members who are all either dying or about to.

That said... there's some hope for 2011. Job is looking a lot better than it was a year go. Relationship with the wife has improved despite (because of?) the time apart. Won't be spending nearly so much time apart from them in 2011 and a lot of shit that had been on my mind is now in the past.

So, 2010, go fuck yourself. Bring on 2011.

[Juan Rayo]

I spent 7 months of the year with my son on the other side of the world

Dude, beat me handily.

[Eilonwy]

I didn't mind 2010. The good outweighed the bad. I got a promotion and got to walk for graduation (even though I was technically 2009) and I got engaged! 2011 looks like it will be very tight money-wise, but I have a wedding and another promotion to look forward to, so hooray! I can't wait.

[Hawkeye Fierce]

2010 was a very good year for me. Promoted twice, spent a happy year with my fiance, lost a fair amount of weight. Sorry to those who had a bad year, though.

[Rimbo]

Dude, beat me handily.

Yeah, that was a pretty massive ball of suck. The first week, it's fun to be a bachelor again.

Fortunately my boss has been very understanding, so I've been able to make a couple of trips over here, work remotely, etc. And Skype has been a life-saver.

Anyway, we're back together again, and we'll all be heading back to the proper hemisphere together. So that's nice. :)

[dwolfe]

2010: Mostly negative, leaving lots of room for improvement in the coming year.

Negatives: Lost my 28-yo cousin last week and my dad's mom in July. Relationship went to hell, so single again. No employment or even call-backs for interviews. Stuck back home to save $/help out the family, so unable to really pursue any hobbies or interests the whole year, and far far away from most friends. A (close?) friend arbitrarily decided we could never speak again or be friends, and I'm still not sure if I can repair that ever.

Positives: Getting sworn in as a Naval officer tomorrow, with employment starting the end of January. Lost almost 40 pounds between working out and not eating due to stress, 10 more to go. Cultivated the patience even Buddha might be jealous of.

2011 can't come soon enough.

[chase j]

I got my first apartment on my own, got a new job and through it made a bunch of really cool new friends. I met a great girl and thought I was the luckiest dude alive but then lost her due to some stupidity on my part. But, she recently contacted me so 2011 might be looking good. I also paid off all my credit cards and student loans. That was a highlight.

[balut]

My first child was born a week before my first wedding anniversary; both he, and his mother, are healthy. He is perfect. I lost my job 5 days before my first child was born. With that I lost my health insurance. Corporate screwed up their unemployment paperwork enough that I still haven't received any unemployment, after a month, due to bureaucracy. It may be several weeks before that even gets resolved. Even with that, COBRA coverage for my family costs more than the maximum unemployment payments. Even with COBRA (that I can't afford), they can't add my newborn son until we receive his social security number. I'm facing bills I can't afford from the hospital, OB/GYN, and pediatrician.

Despite my current financial misery, my wife is healthy, and recovering well from the c-section. My son is healthy, and growing. 2010 was a good year.

[Calelari]

Y'all, especially Thoro and Rimbo, certainly give me a bit better perspective on my troubles. Man guys, my heart goes out to all of you.

[Brian Rubin]

This isn't a competition folks. ;) Seriously though, I'm sorry some of y'all had a horrid year, but glad some of you had a good one. :)

[divorced]

2010 was a pretty crappy year by all measurable standards for me. Mostly it involved unemployment for the majority of the year. Living in the deep south during a horrible economy and then a massive oil spill does not equal tons of new job openings. Had a third interview last Wednesday for a pretty sweet gig, so hopefully I will get it. Relationships started horrible but ended up fine. Relationships with my two teenage daughters started fine and ended up horrible.

Sometimes you can't win for losing...

[lesslucid]

Meh, I mostly trod water. Started out on a new career, got some work, did some work at the old place, back to work in the new career again... and thinking, fuck, when did my life become all about just working? Is this all there is? One way or another, I've got to get something more out of life - or at least, find more satisfying work. I had a low patch, started therapy, it seems to help but I'm not exactly swinging on chandeliers. It's been OK - nothing to really complain about. But I'm hoping 2011 gives me a bit more, something to be a bit hopeful about.

[Armando Penblade]

I continued working in a job that pays better than a job in my degree would. . . and I am barely keeping my head above water. I cooked a lot of healthy food but never worked out enough, so I kept the 30lbs I gained last year. My relationship stayed stable. I bought some games and even played a couple of them. I read less books than ever before. I got a smartphone and now spend my entire life wrapped up in reddit, qt3, and twitter :(

[Nixxter]

Close the books on 2010 already - it was my worst so far in my adult life, healthwise, as I had a major herniated disk in my neck followed by two outpatient surgeries and a third surgery to fuse it and put a titanium plate in to hold it together. The pain is much less now, though I have lost a lot of the use of my left arm and it's not clear that I'll get it back.

Still, I've found things to be grateful about, i.e. it could be worse, I am closer to people in my life than ever before (I needed help to get through this and I accepted it) and I have a new appreciation for what it's like to be disabled (mildly by comparison to others). Plus, I still have my job, though it's possible that this has had a deleterious effect on my career. I'm trying to live in the moment, do the things I am supposed to be doing, and not worry overly much about the future and what is out of my control.

I'm happy for those who had a good year - and truthfully, I'm not bitter about anything that happened to me, you really have to keep a positive attitude to make it through the difficult times in life and that has helped me a lot too.

[mrmolecule88]

Sigh. I suppose breaking up with my girlfriend of three years sounds a little ho-hum in this thread. Other than that, 2010 was the year I realized I need to make some big changes in both what I do and how I do it - but was completely unable to make those changes because of what I was stuck doing.

I'm not really looking forward to 2011 quite yet, but man, fuck 2010. Fuck off and let me be you shitty-ass year, you.

[LMN8R]

Let's see, in 2010......

-Adopted a wonderful little kitten. Diagnosed with FIP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_infectious_peritonitis), had to put her down
-Adopted 2 other kittens. One diagnosed with FIP and had to put him down, the other doing great (it's not a contagious disease, just bad luck)
-Fiancee got an amazing job. Company failed to get round of funding they expected, got laid off
-Fiancee got diagnosed with Celiacs
-Fiancee thought she got two other job offers - declined one, thought she was accepting the offer, turns out it was just a horribly-worded follow-up interview letter, still doesn't have a job


I agree - screw 2010!

[Adree]

http://i54.tinypic.com/28int4k.jpg

[Murph]

Yeah, 2010 was about the worst year I can remember, honestly. Glad to see it go. Can only go up from here.

[Miramon]

2010 was kind of blah for me, really, but nothing all that bad happened to me, which is great compared to so many other people.

I expect to be laid off sometime in the coming year after the company is acquired, assuming the DOJ gets its head out of its ass. But then I will get 6 months special severance bonus + 3 months of ordinary severance pay when that happens, and my tiny little bundle of options will vest and convert, so w00t, I guess, that's like a year's salary as a going away present.

Juan Rayo is however definitely living the life.

[Warning]

Just had to put my 18 year-old cat to sleep today. She's been around longer than my teenagers. So yeah, 2010 wound up a pretty shitty year.

[Lucidvizion]

2010 was great to me. Finally settled on a career choice, and actually managed to get into the field without which would be considered the "standard qualifications". Bought my first new vehicle. Bought my first house.

I'm not going to complain.

[Erik J.]

Was a pretty good year for the most part. Got out of the retail doldrums of employment into an office job that will open more doors in the future. Met some folks, reconnected with some folks, had the gumption to get rid of people that only caused harm/complications. The only downside really is I moved back in with the parental to save some cash monies, but that has allowed me to pay off a ton of debt from college/car, thus it balances out. So close to being clean financially, I can taste it. So, that's what I'll be looking forward to in 2011.

[Houngan]

I'm not a fan of this past year, even though I'm doing better by every measurable stat. Methinks I need to get the hell out of Dodge for a few years or decades.

H.

[jerri blank]

2010 is the year I started feeling really old, like my body is betraying me in a serious way. I will look back on this as "breast cancer year," even though it's certainly not a dire diagnosis in my case. I had two minor surgeries, and I will have radiation treatments beginning in January.

Oh, and I also tore some cartilage in my right knee, which will need surgery.

I'm ready to tell 2010 not to let the door hit it on its ass on the way out, although I can already tell 2011 is going to be hard.

[MrGrumpy]

At the end of May, I started getting attacks of the most intense headache you can imagine. No, worse than that. Imagine getting an amputation without anaesthesia while simultaneously undergoing several root canals. No painkillers, of course. Imagining that? Okay. It's worse than that. So, imagining I was dying of a brain tumour or worse, I contacted the doctor, who whisked me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with cluster headaches.

Since then, I've had 8-15 attacks a night, every night, of the same kind of pain. The only thing that helps is oxygen, which does nothing for the intensity of the headache, but shortens the duration from 45-60 minutes to 10-15.

Seven months of that shit.

Yeah, 2010 was not a good year for me.

I have cluster headaches, too, but not that bad. Longest outbreak I've had is two months, then they will disappear for months on end (thank god.) The problem with cluster headaches is that they're rare (1 in 500,000 I believe) so there's not much research; also not all people respond in the same way to the same treatments (although oxygen seems universally to reduce their length.)

If you have a chronic condition, I believe the Mayo clinic in Minnesota does some kind of surgical procedure to 'cure' them. If I had them chronically I would elect for surgery whatever the risks.

[rowe33]

My dad passed away and I got married within a three week span in Oct/Nov - so the high and low points of my life so far happened in 2010. Hoping 2011 is filled with less mixed emotions...

Best of luck with the headaches, Thoro - my migraines sure pale in comparison to that.

[Brian Rubin]

Just had to put my 18 year-old cat to sleep today. She's been around longer than my teenagers. So yeah, 2010 wound up a pretty shitty year.
Oh god, I am so sorry. My sincerest condolences. :(

[Kalle]

Unrelenting despair and misery. Just like 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, etc.

[BigRedCat]

Yeah. Screw 2010? Screw the whole decade.

[espressojim]

2010 was the year of the house sale for me. We started prep for the house sale in feb, and finally sold the fucker in october. Buying/selling property is supposed to be pretty stressful, and it was, but we survived the trip. I'm looking forward to 2011 being a bit more normal - setting into the house, figuring out what the new routine is, and getting back to all those things I put aside this year like cooking.

Given the other replies, mine was a year of minor trauma. I hope everyone has a far better year.

[JoshV]

Got engaged, got married. Sort of a high and a low, as the wedding was expensive and stressful, I could've put a down payment on a house instead. Got a new job, changed states. Exciting and stressful. Got a new dog, then she died. We loved having her ever so briefly, but we really mourned her passing.

[Lorini]

Bad news:

Gained way way too much weight in 2010. Did a great job at trying to exercise (sic). Finally had to face the fact I've got to get a decent job.

Good news:

Got my dog back.
Identified the career I could change to (technical editing/writing)
Played a lot of board games and my board game group is really really going well (miss you rowe32!)

[Warning]

Oh god, I am so sorry. My sincerest condolences. :(

Thanks Brian. In the great scheme of things it's not the worst that could happen but it's pretty fresh in my mind.

[XPav]

Good Year. First son was born, is healthy and happy. I have a job I like, they like me, and its secure My family is good, and my cooking skills improved immensely.

I think I've had a pretty good last 5 years honestly.

[Zuwadza]

Apologies to anyone who has had a shit year but mine has been amazing. Finally got a well deserved promotion at work. Got an amazing dog. My colitis has been under control for longer than it ever has. I'm in better shape than I've been since high school and it's only getting better. Went for a trip to Montreal, had an amazing time, drank great beer and ate excellent food. Bought tons of new, nice stuff. Met plenty of new people. Got rid of a stupid cat that I hated. Broke up with my girlfriend of 7 years, which on the surface sounds like a crappy thing but has turned into a positive experience. It was bound to happen, we are still great friends and I have met great women since then.

I feel great about this year and I feel even better about next year. I can't remember a time when I felt better about life, honestly. Sorry for the gloat-fest, but 2010 was an extremely good year for me.

[Jon Rowe]

2010 was the year of my unemployment. It think 2011 will be full of exciting developments.

[Rimbo]

Apologies to anyone who has had a shit year but mine has been amazing. Finally got a well deserved promotion at work. Got an amazing dog. My colitis has been under control for longer than it ever has. I'm in better shape than I've been since high school and it's only getting better. Went for a trip to Montreal, had an amazing time, drank great beer and ate excellent food. Bought tons of new, nice stuff. Met plenty of new people. Got rid of a stupid cat that I hated. Broke up with my girlfriend of 7 years, which on the surface sounds like a crappy thing but has turned into a positive experience. It was bound to happen, we are still great friends and I have met great women since then.

I feel great about this year and I feel even better about next year. I can't remember a time when I felt better about life, honestly. Sorry for the gloat-fest, but 2010 was an extremely good year for me.

You don't need to apologize for having a good year. It's not like your good year came at the expense of mine, right?

[Calelari]

Obviously you've never studied the Laws of Happidynamics... first of which states "For each and every instant of happiness, there is an equal and opposite instant of unhappiness."

But yeah, no need to apologize. We need someone to cheer for!

[spiffy]

"For each and every instant of happiness, there is an equal and opposite instant of unhappiness."

This pretty much sums up my 2010.. travel, interesting job opportunities, my father had a heart attack, sold all my stuff, moved into and out of mouldy apartments, weeks of living out of suitcases, met new people and friends and exciting new city, girlfriend's mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer, girlfriend gets laid off, gets paid generous severence ... all over the place. But I don't like upheaval, so yeah, I'm ready for 2010 to end.

[Robert Sharp]

It was a very average, almost forgettable year for me. It feels like it just began last month and is now almost over. I honestly can't remember much about it. That's not a good sign. I suppose it isn't a bad sign either.

It is, however, the year that I purchased the two best guitars I have ever owned: a PRS Swamp Ash Special (named Lydia) and my new Gibson True Vintage Southern Jumbo acoustic. Both were costly, but both were worth every penny.

I also just got back from a Xmas trip and was able to reconnect with my family a good bit. I only see them once a year now.

[Two Sheds]

My sincere condolences to those who had a bad year. Really, I mean it.

I had a pretty good one. I moved into a new apartment at the end of 2009 that actually has sunlight and ceilings higher than 7 feet. No more basement! Business picked up a lot--enough that we hired a new person for a few months, and we were all kept busy. Much better than 2009, where I spent 1/3 of the year working less than full time. Better than no job, I know, but it still sucked. This year I even got a raise! In August I finished the last of my exams and got my license to practice Architecture. I spent a long weekend in a cabin in Colorado Springs with all of my best friends from college. In September I got married, and we spent two wonderful weeks in Paris and Dijon.

The end of the year was marred by some sadness when my wife's grandmother died and, the week after we came home from the funeral, a good friend of mine at work killed himself. In an office of 5 people (now 4), that really hurts. It's like family. We're starting to get back to a semblance of normalcy now, though, and I think the fresh start of the new year is going to help with that.

[extarbags]

I got married this year. I got my first HDTV. My job situation went from "why bother?" to (hopefully) getting on track for a decent career. Fallout: New Vegas came out. I liked 2010, for the most part.

[Ex-S Woo]

I killed myself this year working on a highly stressful project, gained weight, MET ALL THE DEADLINES and was still told that I won't be getting a promotion after all.

My parent's car got stolen and I chipped in 5k to buy a replacement.

I also decided to apply for a MBA for next year and already got rejected from my dream schools.

Fuck 2010.

[Strato]

Nothing much bad happened, nothing much good either, mostly same shit different day syndrome for me. I was bored most of the year. I hope I can change something in my life next year.

[Creole Ned]

2010 was a year of sweet and sour for me.

Sweet: Finally landing a job before year's end.
Sour: Hating said job.

Sweet: Meeting my current SO.
Sour: Losing my 17 year old cat.

Sweet: Entering this year's NaNoWriMo contest after 2009's triumph.
Sour: Burning out halfway through November with only 22,000 words written.

Sweet: Running over 600 km.
Sour: Hurting my leg.

Sweet: Getting Oblivion to run smoothly even as I haphazardly added a billion different mods to it.
Sour: Having a million other unplayed games taunting me from The Stack™.

On balance I can't say I will miss 2010. Despite some very nice things happening, overall it was a fairly dismal year for me.

[chequers]

Half of those negatives look like fake negatives. You have a ginormous backlog? What pain! You only wrote 22k words in thirty days? How lethargic!

[Creole Ned]

Yeah, the backlog is not a real negative, more like a room full of treasure I haven't had time to properly loot. The 22k words in 30 days is worse in my mind because I actually wrote that in the first two weeks of the month then came to a complete and utter stop, not unlike the proverbial smashing into a brick wall. It made the failure all the more frustrating because I had plenty of time to finish and just could not find a way to do it.

But 2011 will be better!

[Rimbo]

Yeah, the backlog is not a real negative, more like a room full of treasure I haven't had time to properly loot.

I LOVE this. :)