The more you plan the more life laughs at you...

[intrigued]

So I'm back after a few month sabatical and my life has changed considerably since I've last been at C&G.

My relationship of three years ended rather suddenlty, though in reality it was heading downhill for a while. It was tough but ultimatley Kate and I ended it on good terms and after a few awkward months managed to succesfully transition ourselves to friend zone status. She is still one of my best friends and we still care deeply about eachother but our directions and goals in life were diverging. She moved out of our apartment July 4th weekend and I moved out at the end of the month since the lease was up.

I moved from Westchester county into New York City, into a converted 3rd bedroom in a highrise that 2 of my college friends had been living in for several years. Work was miserable as I had a super dysfunctional sh!t show team of attorneys that I had to prepare for trial in September (I'm a senior litigation paralegal.) I never even had time to unpack my boxes after I moved because I was working so much. I also sold my 05 Mustang GT because I couldn't justify the expense of ownership. I had it for 3 years having bought it for 15000 with 40k miles on it. I sold it to Carmax for 9000 with 85k miles on it and 7k left on the loan so at least I had something to show for it. Best car I've ever had and I miss it dearly but I couldn't justify keeping it.

Starting on September 12th I worked for 49 consecutive days. This included the 29 day trial period in Trenton NJ. I worked 351 hours in September and 345 in October. In late October when I got back from trial I found that our building management was trying to raise our rent 15 percent if we were to sign a new lease. On 3 days notice I found a 1 bedroom in Astoria Queens and moved there, I was paying 1250 a month for a tiny converted bedroom and I wasn't going to pay a penny more.

I never thought back in June that I would have ended my relationship, moved twice, spent a month in NJ and sold my car all during the second half of the year. Ultimatley I think these changes are all for the best.

I made a killing on overtime and paid off all my nonstudent loan debts, and I furnished my new apartment. My Grandmother decided to start giving money to all her grandkids (for Tax reasons, she doesn't want to waste it on the Death tax) I used the 20k she gave me to pay off my higheest interest student loan. I'm still working like a dog but I've had some recognition for my work and there has been talk about me getting a supervisor spot next year which comes with a 50 percent raise. Things are looking up even though I still can't belive where I'm at right now.

Who else has had a year like this?

[Drew Dowdell]

Nothing like this for me. In my house for 8.5 years. Albert and I just passed 4 years and still going strong. My job has lost all of its challenge and my boss and I have actively been discussing my next steps (today actually, during my yearly review). Hopefully the next year will be a career change for me, but I do like my house and my Albert.

[Justin Bimmer]

I went through a Federal trial that had 45 court days in the beginning of the year. We worked for 3 months straight without a day off. I feel your pain. On the bright side, I was able to become quite proficient in Evidence and did really well in that class (In law school).

Good luck on getting that promotion.

[knightfan26917]

Good to see you back.

That's quite a year. I'd certainly rather that than have had my 4th open heart surgery a few weeks ago...lol.

Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic

CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"May your days be merry and bright" __ Irving Berlin/Bing Crosby __ 'White Christmas'

[balthazar]

I never before heard someone say '3 months in Trenton were for the best'.

I just spent the last 7 days straight emptying a 5000 sq ft warehouse of (16) 26-foot box trucks of material, 85% of it loose. The best pay week of my life so far, but as it was a state contract, naturally it'll take 2 months for them to write a check.

Same abode for 19 years now, still love the house, but the area is continually getting more congested and the taxes are unfiltered hell.

[Chris_Doane]

Who else has had a year like this?

Me.

[ocnblu]

Jeez, now that I think of it, 2011 has been a year of minor tumult. Started off the year with a 2010 Colorado, traded in March for a 2011 Fiesta, which was totaled in an accident in August. Got an advantageous settlement amount from the insurance company and used that to get into a 2012 Cruze, which was traded on November 28th for a 2012 Jeep Patriot. In non-automotive news, I lost a 9-year co-worker friend when she took a job elsewhere, pretty much lost touch with someone I've pined for for 8 years with very little to show for it, and got a 50% raise in my monthly incentive pay. I also got robbed at my gym, eventually quit over it and joined at a different one.

[Robert Hall]

Had some highs and lows the last 6 weeks....my contract in Scottsdale ended at the end of October after 7 months..spent 2 weeks looking for a new gig--had a few interviews and offers, a couple seemed really dull..took the most interesting-- joined a small consulting firm in Tempe (neat location in a loft downtown right at the edge of the ASU campus).

Had to put my 14 yr old Westie terrier boy down last week day after Thanksgiving...his health had been deteriorating for a long time and couldn't stand seeing him suffer.

Lost my debit card yesterday. Went to the bank today, have to wait 5-7 days for a new one, couldn't get a temporary one as my account is considered out of state.

And the power driver's seat on the Jeep is acting flaky this morning...at least I have it in a good position now.

My TV starting acting flaky last week..couldn't figure out if it was the remote or the tv..replaced the batteries in the remote. Ordered another remote off eBay. Did some googling, turned out it's a known issue w/ this model, so I rebooted the tv and now it's working fine. But I was very tempted by some Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals on 70 inch LED HDTVs (have a 55 inch LCD HDTV, as well as 32 and 24 inch ones in the house).

Edited December 3, 2011 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Lets see.... Major events this year....

May 24th I proposed to my girlfriend of many years. In typical FOG fashion, it was VERY planned, pretty damn epic and even though I'm not the most romantic person in the world (I'm sure that's a shocker to you all) it was pretty damn sweet.

June -- Literally weeks away from giving up on our job searches and moving back home, I finally landed (after 2 years applying everywhere) a salaried job with an office and full benefits. Just so happens, that job is in the classic car industry and has the potential to open A LOT of doors for me.

At the same time (after a year of searching) my fiance finally landed an architecture internship and we became 'grown ups with real jobs'

One month after I started my new job, I was able to invest significant money into my classic cars for the first time in MANY years. I hope to have them completely back on the road by next spring.

One month after getting the jobs we completely uprooted from the neighborhood we loved and house we HATED to move to another house that we now hate equally as bad.

Right now I'm shopping used GTOs for a possible purchase.

My family continues to have the same terrible luck that plagues me on and off.

This year we gave away all three of our horses, and two of them and two of our dogs passed away/had to be put down within days of each other.

* Despite the numerous changes 'for the better', I can't say that I like my life that much. I'm already seeing the negative affects of stress on my body and relationships and I can't seem to stop this never ending freight train of exhaustion. But there are certainly sweet highs that balance out al of the rock bottom lows.

Edited December 7, 2011 by FUTURE_OF_GM