How has 2003 been for you?

[gas4544]

Well, here we are, less than a week from Christmas and another New Year closing in fast. Before we know it, its gonna be be 2004.

Looking back on 2003, how has the past year been for you? Wonderful, challenging, exciting, difficult, ho-hum? Have you reached any milestones? You know, big things like getting married, new babies, buying a house, finishing up with school, setting up that new reef tank?

For me the biggest milestone of 2003 was completeing my Mechanical Engineering degree. I finished my last class earlier this week. Woohooo! Now I have the time and energy to find a reef-friendly wife, buy a house with a dedicated tank room, and set up the cube tank. Ahhhh, the American dream...

How about the rest of you?

[Jerry W]

Great idea for a thread!
I enjoyed this past year a great deal. Some good things to look back on;
Celebrated 20 years of happy marriage
Oldest son received his Eagle Scout Award, and just got accepted to the college of his choice.
Work went well, and our department saw growth and profit. My wife got full time after several years of part time and this will help out with expenses. The timing was such that we have two new cars so it's nice being under warranty for awhile.
The really important things like good health, continued good friendships, etc..were ongoing blessings. It's the type of year that's good to reflect on and hope for another similar to it for next year.
I am truly grateful for all of these things and hope others enjoyed the same.
JW.

[gas4544]

JW,
Sounds like 2003 has indeed been a good year for you and your family.

Sometimes we do not realize just how good life is until we start counting our blessings.

Gary

[JBM0676]

sucked

[otolith]

Wow, I was going to post something nice about how great of a year it was for me (had a few down times in there as well), but after JBM's post, I think I'll keep them to myself.

Wishing JBM0676 a better 2004.

[Angel 1]

Canadian beef farmer.... need I say more.

[dc]

Had a few ups and downs, but compared to 2002, where there were so many deaths of people close to me it's been a decent year for me.

[sammystingray]

It had a few good points, but all in all, it was honestly the worst year of my adult life, so many things went wrong. :( Hopefully this coming year will be better.

[Melody]

This was a horrendous year for me. As low as it could be...well maybe not....6 ft under would of been the next and final level. See how cheerful I am?:( 2004 is going to be better, it has to be!

[CrystalAZ]

GREAT YEAR!

I got married in April.

I went to Hawaii in August.

I started a reef tank in September.

I have a good job. My hubby has a good job.

I have a great family that I love very much.

I have nice things and the ability to buy things for myself and those I love.

We are trying to add to our family now (wish us luck!)

It was a good year, but then other than things out of your control like dc having a year where a lot of people passed on, whether something is good or bad is mostly due to your perspective on the situation.

Here's to a great 2004 for all of us! :beer:

Crystal

[grostanzo]

Ups and downs here. Lost my mother on mothers day.
Went to the outer banks for summer vacation. Got to go deap sea fishing for the first time. Loved it!
Work, have had crappy days and good.
My daughter found me a couple of weeks ago and we are going to Indy next thursday to meet her.

So, this year could of been better but, all aside wasn't bad.

[Josh125]

Like most everyone's, ups and downs. Overall one of the better years. Has anyone else had one year ( prior to this year ) that it honestly couldn't get any worse - - without going into it - - - . I had one of those 3 years ago, make me appreciate everything now.

[dendronepthya]

crappy economy

[jun41]

I think that this year is probably one of the better ones that I've had.

I started my tank, kind of.

I think I myself have matured a whole lot (10th grade). Not in the growing up physically sense, but the growing up intellectually and intelligently sense. I find myself thinking before I do something I would rather not. I really try and get stuff into my head during school instead of in one ear and out the other.

For the most part, school is great. I have great teachers this year and will most likely learn a whole lot and get some good grades. I'd like to move into the honors classes next year (hopefully).

Sadly, I've grown out of skateboarding. Great fun, but it just got a little old (2 and a half years).

And on a final note, I will have been playing bass for a full year on Christmas day!

Yeah!, I hope 2004 will be even better.

[Steve_B]

It would be much better if I had $750K.

[madman01]

really sucked for me as well hopefully 04 will be better

[skippy2]

My brother died May 2. That was just one of the worst things I have ever had to go through. I have to keep reminding myself that he was sick for 10 yrs.
Everything happens for a reason. I think my parents finally have figured out they needed to move back home. They are in their 80s. Now, instead of being 1200 miles away (15 yrs. in Florida) they are only 8 miles away. They still drive( she shudders) so every day they need to go somewhere I convince them the roads are to bad and I will take them.
My daughter and son-in-law bought their first house.
My son has a job that he likes.
We are all in resonably good health.
My tanks are doing great.
All in all 2003 has been good to my family and I am greatful.

[DJ88©]

GARY!!!!

You are back!!!!! Wohoooooooooo! Now I have to get back to Seattle soon. ;)

Buddy!

Glad to hear you finished school. About time. was wondering when you'd reappear.. :) :D

My 2003..

Lots of climbing, New reef tank. Climbing. Moved in Sept. Lost all fish, broke tank. Climbing. New reef tank in the wings. School almost done. Just biding my time till the real life starts again.. Did I mention climbing? ;)

[jimroth]

Mostly bad, I'm afraid. I am holding out hope for a better 2004!

[wee-reefer]

Well, lost 2 aunts to cancer (pancreatic and lympho.)
Found a really nice guy to go out with, he dumped me.
Celebrated my 2 year anniversary at work.<---only good thing.
Lost my pet iguana Einstein in January. Miss him lots!
Just a bad, terrible, horrible year.
Too much bad s*** to list.

[scobi1]

Join the club, brutal year , heres to 2004

[MWehr76364]

Been an awesome year for me.

Got Married in June
Wife found out we were going to have a child next year.
Started a new Reef Tank
Got a new job that I really like and pays pretty good.
My family is healthy.

All in all it has been a great year for me. Had its ups and downs just like any other year but the good definatly out weighs the bad.

[BigBird]

2003 started bad & ended OK

I graduated from law school in May and lost the whole summer studying for the bar examination. 1 day after the bar, my mother had a severe heart attack that was just a sliver shy of fatal, which left her suffering from severe memory loss.

Worst part: during my mother's hospital stay, someone in the family stole apprx. $50,000 worth of jewlery and other items from my mom & stepdad's house.

Then, the wait for my bar results. The stress from my mom's heart attack aside, this was the most agonizingly miserabe three months of my entire life. I'll probably never be able to fully apologize to the wife for my bizarre behavior.

But, it got better. I passed the bar, I found out on October 31, 2003 at 7:00 am. About a week later, my employer offered me a full-time job as an attorney. I was sworn in on November 10 and started work on November 12:D :D

Very happy that 2003's over.

[thrlride]

Pretty good year for me.

Got a promotion
Started a reef tank
Most importantly, had a little girl, picture inserted and to the left.

[daclozer]

I made more money than I ever had in one year. (good, until the tax man comes).. Closed on a personal injury lawsuit that I have been dealing with for 4 years (more money, more good).. Was sick or in periods of intense pain from an auto accident much of the year (see lawsuit) ( bad, very bad). I would trade all of the money I received in the lawsuit to be the person I was before the wreck and live without pain or more surgeries. My kids and family are healthy (good). My relationship with my girlfriend is excellent (very good). The goods definitely outweigh the bads this year.

"May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Merry Xmas Happy Hannuka Happy Kwanza And a great new year..

p.s. and I forgot, I am leaving in 3 days for the FLorida Keys for the next 10 days (it is like in the 30's here)

[this is me]

2003 is the year where i'm broke almost everyday.

[bulldale]

I hear that, I have been broke way too often this year, hopefully economy will keep getting better, still waiting for that promotion was promised....

Hoping better for 2004..I guess it could have been a lot worse though

[gas4544]

DJ88,
Yeah, I'm back. Its been a long year away away from reefing and RC, but I needed a break. Next time you are down here, give me a ring. Maybe I can even come north of the border for a daytrip.


More comprehensively, this past year have been one of many other changes as well. In January, I moved into a small place of my own after living with a couple of roommates for over eight years. A variety of circumstances combined to convince me to move out. One of them was that my office moved north and I ended up with a longer commute, so I shortened it a bit by moving. But mostly, it was the "accumulation of grievances" between me and my landlord over time. Not major things - it was just time for a change for both of us. But then, the inadvertant poisoning of my reef tank when he sprayed Diazanone in the garage to kill ants was pretty big. That was very difficult for me to deal with, but I survived. Unfortunately, the tank did not.

In March, my friends threw a great party for my 40th birthday. It was great to celebrate that milestone with my close friends and with some people I had not seen for awhile. You know, forty aint so bad. :)

In April, I flew out to Maryland to visit Toni, my best friend. We were engaged four years ago, but we ended up not getting married. Since parting ways, we maintained a good friendship and acknowleged that we may end up together after all. The purpose of out trip in April was to explore the possibility of re-uniting. We had a good weekend together, but a couple days after returning home, Toni called me and told me that she did not see us together again and asked for some space. We did not talk for eight weeks. We now talk maybe two or three times a month. I love her dearly and want her to be fulfilled and happy. She's a great gal and is going to make some guy very happy some day.

In May, I registerred on eHarmony.com and jumped into the online dating arena. This has been quite the experience for me. After a four-year self-imposed exile from dating, I decided that it was time to make myself available. Since May, I have met nine gals face-to-face. I even flew to Albuquerque over Labor Day weekend to meet one gal. NOw I am currently hanging out with Julia, a wonderful local gal who is showing interest in reefing. Woohooo! We are currently building the foundation of a good friendship. Nothing blatantly romantic has happened yet, but we have been having those relationship definition talks lately. If I'm not careful, I'm going to have a girlfriend on my hands.

Other significant happenings include weathering a very difficult project at work over the summer, having to retake an expensive class at school - my last class, and finally finishing my schooling. I am also ready to set up my next reef tank - the tank that I designed for my Senior Design project class (that last class). There were probably a couple of other big things that happened along the way, or perhaps they seemed big at the time. But overall, this has been a pretty good year.

I am anticipating some continued blessing in 2004 - setting up the new reef tank, re-establishing discipline in diet and exercise (gotta lose that extra 20 pounds), and maybe even participating in an exclusive, committed relationship. I'm ready to take on the next round of changes in life.

Merry Christmas everyone! And thanks for letting me ramble a little.

Gary

[montepora]

The glass is either half empty or half full. It depends on your perspective!!

2003, the glass is half full for me and I hope it gets fuller in 2004.

Happy Holiday to you ALLLLLLLLLL!!!

[gas4544]

I like to look at the full pitcher next to my glass.

And sometimes the glass itself is more important that what is in it at the time.

[Newreeflady]

Great!

1) Learned to skydive and have made almost 100 jumps in only 5 months, bought my own equipment, and learned to freefly.

2) Overall gpa has improved and i'm now an honors student.

3) Found a great guy to spend my freetime with, who also likes to throw himself out of planes with me. :)

4) Learned to make an awesome chocolate mousse pie.

5) Still have my job, which is very easy and leaves me lots of study time.

There's more. It's been a good year:)

Angela.

[O'Man]

Started out hoping for better, but I am thankful it was not worse.