How was your 2008?

[FG Lurker]

Well, with two weeks to go, 2008 is drawing to a close.

For me personally it has been a really shitty year, both in business and in my personal life.

How about everyone else? How was your 2008?

[GuyJean]

.. How about everyone else? How was your 2008?

One of the shittiest, but not as bad as it could've been..

GJ

[amdg]

2008 was better than a kick to the balls, but not much better. ;p

[kusai Jijii]

Well, lets see...
I don't live in North Korea. And I don't have motor neuron disease. My kids are healthy. I have about 3 decades left on my home loan, but I don't sleep in the streets. I'm not in jail. I can walk. Talk. Wipe my arse by myself. As I write this, I'm stuffed as a pig, and a wee bit drunk. I've got a job. That's gotta count for something these days, right? According to Charles, I'm gay, which is no skin off my nose either way, because, although I am not atracted to men, I have nothing against homosexuals. I just had my annual health check, apparently I'm grossly overweight but alive none the less. My wife wont 'chop it up' like she used to, but I have internet porn. All in all, I've got it better than many.
So, you ask, what was the year 2008 like? Just another lap on the Roller Coaster that is Planet Nippon.
Seasons Greatings,
KJ.

[james]

i've been very lucky, not trying to gloat but in fact 2008 was a really good year for me. the first few months i hung out with a very fun and cool person, my second school grew and i've made some headway financially for a change. my wife and kids spent the summer in canada and the kids' english improved immensely and i had six stress-free weeks. overall it's gone well and i can't complain at all.

kj has the right idea though. counting his blessings. it's only when we lose things that we realize just how well off we are.

[GomiGirl]

Awesome year!!

Got engaged
Saved a boat load of cash
Things great at work
Had a bunch of fun with fab friends
Travelled heaps
Became an Auntie both in blood and in spirit (Love being an auntie)
Family all really well, mentally and physically

So can't complain really.

But then when things were really crappy for me, things seemed to be great for everybody else so it is really just swings and roundabouts. I am not unsympathetic to those who have had a bad year as I have been there too.

I know it is trite but to those who have had a bad year, this too shall pass.

[Mike Oxlong]

Worst. year. ever. Happy fucken holidays...wopidy fucken doo!

[sillygirl]

Absolute bollocks.

Dog died
Boyfriend made redundant
Sister murdered (heavy but true)

[AlbertSiegel]

This year was crap... The year started off slow and got worse. I was working at one of the largest newspapers in the U.S. for two and a half years. They started with the layoffs in January and continued every three months. I got my notice in September on the third round.

Since then it's been difficult to find work in journalism or anything other I can do in Miami. I can't move at the moment due to personal reasons, so I must do what I can here. I now work as a freelance photojournalist and while the money is not quite what I would like it to be yet, it's better than working a low-pay job with crappy hours. The part that hurts a little more is the financial investment I had to make in equipment for this line of work since I am no longer able to use company equipment. Oh well... at least I do something I like.

I hope things will go better in 2009 for me and the wife..... and well... everyone. I have no idea what to expect next year, but I will do my best to reach my goals.

I need to take care of some things here the the next six months. After that I a free to move. I might take off to New York or even... gasp... back to Tokyo depending on where I am in photography and journalism.

I hope all of you have a better 2009! Happy Holidays.

[wuchan]

blah.....
same place.
same pay
same schedule
trust fund barely made profit
stocks made zero, but no loss (thank god)
no "special" girls came along
still going to retire at 50, shit, no earlier for now.

so ya, a blah year.

[IkemenTommy]

Absolute fuckin shit.
Just can't wait until the 2009 arrival.

[Iraira]

Things as they stand now...fairly good, but I'll give you all a detailed 500 page report at 11:59:59 of December 31...yeah right.

Still 14 days for disaster to strike.

[AssKissinger]

Sister murdered (heavy but true)

Damn. Sorry to hear that.

[GuyJean]

Damn. Sorry to hear that.

Yeah.. Everything is relative. Can I change my vote?

GJ

[kurohinge1]

Sister murdered (heavy but true)

Damn. Sorry to hear that.

[quote="GuyJean"]Yeah.. Everything is relative. Can I change my vote? ]

Ditto & ditto.

[Blah Pete]

Absolutely FUCKED.
My wife died at the end of 2007 in an accident. Dealing with all the related issues in Japan has made Asahi beer stock go up.
My company is on the edge right now and I have to move back to the USA at the end of this year (haven't lived there in 20+ years). They have laid so many people off that my job is almost safe because there is no one left that can what I do.

[Adhesive]

Sister murdered (heavy but true)

My wife died at the end of 2007 in an accident.

God damn, sorry for everyone's losses. I apologize if it's inappropriate to ask, but either of you care to share some of the details?

[Yokohammer]

A confusing mix of good and bad.

It has been, for better or worse, the busiest year I have had in the last ten or more. Not bad financially up until now, but the global meltdown is already knocking at the door. The short-term future is a big unknown.

A couple of personal letdowns – i.e. people who I trusted turning out to be untrustworthy (silly me ... quite common around here ... should have known) – have cast a bit of a pall on the upside.

But all in all, no major losses and health seems to be as OK as it can be at my age, ignoring for the moment the need to lose about 20 kilos.

My sincere condolences to those of you who have experienced personal losses.

May 2009 be the best yet!

[Samurai_Jerk]

Mom died unexpectedly at a young age at the end of '07 and dealing with the aftermath totally drained me. That (and the shitty economy) lead to poor sales at work which lead to my base pay being substantially reduced after finally having moved out of the rabbit hutch and into a nice place. Now I can barely afford the rent and I'm not saving shit. But, hey, at least I didn't invest

[canman]

I too offer my condolences to those of you struggling with family loss this year. It has been a pretty good year for me. Busy as hell and next year seems to be even busier. Salary increasing and made a few good decisions, reworking my housing loan etc. My son was accepted into Ritsumeikan university, which was a shock for me and the misses. My daughter is ranked in the top ten in all Tokoku for high school students. Family is healthy and happy, with much stress for the entrance exams, but on the whole a pretty damn good year.
But I have had worse and know they can come at any time.

[Big Booger]

As of tomorrow I will be debt free, heading toward financial independence. My mortgage was paid off this year. I have no savings basically because I used it all to pay off debt. I foresaw the shit hitting the fan economically back in 2005 and decided to pay off all my debt, and once that was finished to start sacking my salary into savings and investments.

I lost about 120-130 pounds in weight. (I was a big sum bitch). I used Billy's Fucking Boot Camp to do so. It works so for any of you fat fuckers who want a way to trim the gut and get the body in shape, it will do it.

I became a lacto-ovo pescetarian. In doing so I saw my blood pressure and cholesterol return to normal.

Life's getting better slowly. But there have been setbacks.

My wife's father sunk himself in the stock market, stole money from many people including his goddamn village and all kinds of shit. He's basically been the black hole of this year. I told my wife I want to whip his ass and then tie him up and throw him in front of a fucking train. But logic prevails unfortunately.

I have several family members who are in and out of the US prison system. Their lives are turning into complete and utter shit.

The wife got a negative review at her job and came home last week in absolute fucking tears because she pours her soul into that job.. So she's looking for a new position.

I think there are ups and downs every year.

The only thing that I wanted from this year that hasn't happened was to have a baby. I have been trying like hell, but no kid yet. Hopefully 2009 will see a little booger come to fruition.

Sorry to hear about the deaths and tragedies from the members on this board. I know how depressing it is to lose a loved one. It rips your heart out and then tears you to pieces bit by bit. It never gets better, I don't give a shit what people say. You always have a hole in your soul from those experiences.

[FG Lurker]

I didn't really elaborate on my year but I may as well contribute...

Ended 2007 in Canada having a great time with family. Spent far too much -- times were good.

Started 2008 with news that my mother-in-law's cancer was terminal and that she wasn't expected to live more than 2 months. She ended up making it to June and saw her second grandchild (brother-in-law's first child) but as is often the case with cancer it was terrible to see her deteriorate. It isn't something I would wish on anyone.

In July I decided to leave a secure and very well paid IT job to focus full time on my export business. After getting through the drop in the dollar at the start of 2007 it seemed that I would be able to pull through and that the business was going to be profitable and flourish. I had seriously big plans for 2009 onwards.

The world economy has since imploded and the dollar is near historic lows. Sales have plummeted and profit has all but disappeared.

Things looked up slightly this month with a promising job prospect but I heard about an hour ago that it is not going to work out.

So now I face 2009... I am considering selling the car and trying to sell the house. If the house doesn't sell I'm not sure exactly what I will do. Financially I can probably make it through to the end of 2009 but after that is a massive question mark.

Sorry for the depressive post. It is great to see that some have had good 2008 though, and I hope we all have a better 2009.

[AssKissinger]

Pete and SJ, condolences.

[dimwit]

Okay year. My father died too, but at the age of 88. He'd been very ill for a few years so in a way kind of a relief. On the plus side we move into our new house and was able to modestly increase my income (due I think to the decrease in competition as all the former NOVA teacher have left the country as their visas expired).

[canman]

Wow Big Booger, I thought I had done well last year losing 40 lbs, but 120 that is amazing. Congrats to you. Makes you feel great doesn't it. I keep wondering what the hell I was doing being so heavy for so long.
Lurker I hope that in '09 that things will turn for the better for you. It is amazing how fickle fate can be.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Shit BB. I put on 15 kg this year. And that's on top of the 20 or so I've gained since mid 2001.

[gkanai]

I cannot complain this year. Work has gone very well. Family stuff also going swimmingly. I could loose a few kgs. Ok, 10-15.

Financially I've been mainly in cash (not much but) for a few years now, just terrified of the market. I feel very lucky about that. The key for me is trying to figure out when and how to get back in (to the market.)

[gkanai]

My wife's father sunk himself in the stock market, stole money from many people including his goddamn village and all kinds of shit.

Hey, that reminds me of this guy in NYC, Bernie Madoff?

[sillygirl]

My sister - she was 38 years old.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Forest-Fields-murder-Accused-courtarticle-347726-details/article.html

Pretty horrific story really - she was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend fresh outta the slammer. He then stuffed her body down the cellar for 2 weeks - taped the doors so no smell would escape - and looked after her 2 year old daughter during that time. Neighbours alerted police after smelling something dodgy and ....

2 days before the funeral, my stepmum left my dad after 31 years of marriage (sister was their daughter) so that also had a massive impact on me and siblings.

Had police presence at the funeral and gawd, it was pretty heavy shit...

My brother now has custody of her daughter.

The murder trial has just been referred to March 09 cos his lawyers now want a pyschiatric report...

Well fucked, eh?

Let's hope that 2009 is a bit more decent! And my condolences too, for those who have lost someone...

[gomichild]

I'm sorry for everyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one. I lost both my parents in 2004 (and almost a brother) so after that nightmare of a year the only way is up.

This year I did something I never thought I would - I had this little guy:





This whole Mum thing is hard - but I have a crazy healthy little guy and I think I'm pretty lucky.