Halfway Through the Year. How's It Going?

[doomdragon6]

So! We're just about halfway through the year. How's it going for you guys?

Compare it to the New Year thread about 6 months ago. What's changed? What's gotten better or worse? What complete surprises have found you?

As for me, my breakup drama got phenomenally better and I pulled out of my depression. I met an amazing girl and we hit it off for a bit. She decided against dating, as you may have heard in the rant threads, so I went through a little slump because of that (still pulling out of that). I'm working on the whole "find yourself as a person" crap that most people are done with by this point in their lives, but oh well! I've definitely been surprised by the last 6 months, as a lot of things I never expected to happen happened, and I'm excited to see what I'll be surprised by in the next six. So here's hoping!

How about you guys?

 

[Ravenpoe]

How's it going?

Meh.

 

[bhamv3]

Well, I'm coming up on two years in my current job, and I'm starting to feel burned out a bit, which is affecting my job efficiency and performance. I don't want to leave this position though, because I make approximately 50% more than other people in my industry do. However, expenses are still outrunning income, so my wife is stressing out about finding a job. I haven't had sex with my wife in a month. And I've been trying to cut down on sugar, because I was acutely reminded recently that my family has a history of diabetes, but sugar is so damn delicious!

All in all, it's been merely "all right" at best. I suppose if we look at the bright side, I still have a roof over my head, three square meals a day, and relatively good health. And that's better than a lot of folks.

 

[WasabiPoptart]

Celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.
I should graduate with honors in spring 2015.
My kids are happy, healthy, and incredibly smart and talented.
My husband's back is finally close to normal.
And on top of it all, we still live in Hawaii.

If I could motivate myself to lose weight/get back in shape and if we actually owned a house rather than living in Navy housing my life would be a 12 on the 10 scale. All in due time.

 

[Frank]

Fart noises.

 

[Cajungal]

In spite of my complaints, I feel more optimistic and energetic. I think I've learned to embrace change a little easier, and I'm more honest with people. There are still things I'd like to improve, but I feel very good. Hopeful. I'm just tired of going to funerals. Hoping for fewer from July on.

 

[Grytpipe-Thynne]

I am happy (And surprised!) to still be mobile and breathing.

 

[Hailey Knight]

Some relationship struggles earlier in the year caused the work for a foundation to a better marriage later in the year.
Financial downs, followed by some generous family donations.
Family moved away, but rats are still kicking.

Overall, it's been a mixed bag, but we're doing good and we're happy, so I've no cause to bitch.

 

[Celt Z]

Very happy so far. Aside from minor aggravations (like in Rant thread), everything has been going well. We're all healthy, Li'l Z is turning into an awesome kid, and we finally got construction done on our house we had been waiting to do for 7 years. I couldn't ask for more without feeling selfish.

(...Okay, I wish I could get to the movie theater a little more easily, but I do eventually get to see the films I'm interested in, even if it's at home.)

 

[Dave]

Ups and downs. But no real highs and no real lows, so I guess I can hang.

 

[ThatNickGuy]

Had a bad emotional breakdown. Had no choice but to move back in with my parents (which included a move to Halifax). Working a shit minimum wage job. No social life or love life. Pretty much convinced that I'm going to die alone. No clue what to do with my life and at this point, I've pretty much given up hope.

But I'm nearly done my next book. So yay, I guess.

 

[Dave]

Had a bad emotional breakdown. Had no choice but to move back in with my parents (which included a move to Halifax). Working a shit minimum wage job. No social life or love life. Pretty much convinced that I'm going to die alone. No clue what to do with my life and at this point, I've pretty much given up hope.

But I'm nearly done my next book. So yay, I guess.

I'm waiting for that moment with you where lightning strikes. You won't be expecting it. You won't be looking for it. But one day you'll meet this girl. She'll seem a bit quirky but there will be something about her. Next thing you know, you'll have been together years and you'll struggle to remember what it was like without her.

I know that seems a little too optimistic and pie in the sky, but it happened to me and it happened to more than a few friends of mine. The harder you look, the harder relationships are to find.

 

[drawn_inward]

I'm waiting for that moment with you where lightning strikes. You won't be expecting it. You won't be looking for it. But one day you'll meet this girl. She'll seem a bit quirky but there will be something about her. Next thing you know, you'll have been together years and you'll struggle to remember what it was like without her.

I know that seems a little too optimistic and pie in the sky, but it happened to me and it happened to more than a few friends of mine. The harder you look, the harder relationships are to find.

This.

I didn't meet my wife until I was in my 30s. Dating never worked for me. I bet you identify with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I know I did. It felt like someone was reading my mind with that script. When I met my wife it was just like Dave said. There was no thinking about it. I knew she was the one. It was much different from the infatuations that I had before. It all clicked. Don't give up on meeting someone, but try not to obsess about it either. Chin up, sir! Remember, loads and loads of dudes (and dudettes) have gone and are going through this. People are very good at faking it.

As for my 1/2 year, I haven't posted much here since N_R passed. Even though I didn't interact with him much. I lurk(ed) a lot here. That and GB's news hit me hard. Harder than it probably should have. That plus moving across the country, starting a new job, having a newborn = no spare time. The good news is that I love my daughter to bits. I cannot imagine life without her. So much so, it has caused me to go off the deep end a bit about my mortality and how long I will get to be around for her.

Anyhow, just wanted to say that I like you guys and miss hanging out here, and wish you all the best.

 

[GasBandit]

Maudlin as hell. It's been a rare day I don't find myself crying at some point, and up till this point last year, I could have counted the times I cried as an adult on one hand. I try to keep it together, but it's tough when nearly everything you see and do is tied to a memory of who you've lost.

 

[Bubble181]

Blergh. It seems like my life hasn't changed at all. All of the things I should've been trying to change I still need to change, all the nagging problems in the back of my head are still there. I'm pretty definitively "grown up" and not "a young guy" anymore, and I still haven't achieved anything, done anything, gotten anywhere, made a change, or in any way have an idea of where I'm going, where I want to be going, what I want to get out of life or how to get there. It's been almost 7 years stuck in a dead-end job I was certain I wouldn't do more than 2 years out of college - by now I've wasted "my best years" there with nothing to show for it. Girlfriend got a job and lost it this year, so nothing's changed there. We still argue because I'm a hot head with anger management issues, we still both do far too much weed to spend any time on constructive things, but if and when I do, it never works out the way it should and ends up just giving me more of a headache, makes me want to crawl into a ball on the sofa and not do anything with anyone ever again.

All in all, the first 6 months of this year might just as well not have happened as far as I'm concerned. Life is passing me by and I'm stuck in the same rut I've been in for years, terrified of getting out of it and frustrated by being in it.

 

[DarkAudit]

Could be better, could be a hell of a lot worse. Thanks to my work schedule my social life is nil. Even when I go out to record shop, everyone I see is as a customer. At least I have this place and a couple of audio forums to hang out on.

But yeah, I'd have to say I'm doing okay. And I'll remind @ThatNickGuy that he's a big part of that.

 

[Dei]

My life has basically been the same. Lately I've been thinking that I'd rather be a derby ref than a derby player.

 

[HCGLNS]

Went on a vacation to the Dominican Republic! I invented bacon toast! More active in scouting! My Lego and Scotch collections continue to grow! I co-won the Halforums hockey pool! I saw a cat beat up @Dave repeatedly! Orphan Black had a great sophomore season! My five-year old can make meatballs! My daughter can dance and use a Mac better than me!

 

[Celt Z]

My Lego and Scotch collections

???????

 

[DarkAudit]

???????

 

[MindDetective]

One handed reply, working backwards:
Second child born
Sprained my ankle terribly while playing softball
Moved into a newly constructed house, with floorplan of my own design
Received a promotion to Associate professor effective September
Dramatically revamped one of my classes with, I think k great success. Reviews still unopened.
Designed a new retention program in collaboration with many colleagues, begins in the fall.
Spent a week at spring training with my family
Presented seven research projects at two conferences, both of which allowed my wife and I time away from our son simultaneously for the first time.
Many ongoing projects unfinished, and a heap more added since the new house has no landscaping at all.

To be continued...

 

[Tinwhistler]

Been a busy year.

1. We finished furnishing the inside of the new house, more or less. All of the rooms have pictures/art/decorations of some sort, as well as a bed, nightstands, and dressers. Next year, after tax season, we're tackling the outside: fence, deck, a couple of fruit trees and re-working the landscaping that came with the house.
2. #1 is a good thing, because we've had my wife's mother and aunt come visit a few weeks ago, her long-time friend from Reno is visiting next week, and my daughter in law's mother and a couple of friends are visiting a couple of weeks after that. Everyone will have a place to sleep. Whee.
3. My son has finally worked his way through the year-long waiting list at Kennedy Krieger Institute, so hopefully we can get him help and more coping mechanisms than we have been able to figure out on our own. The downside? $$$ (sigh)
4. My wife now weighs less than she did in high school, and is down to a size four (depending on the brand, of course), so she's been running me ragged because she has so much more energy
5. Related to #4: the wife and I have been doing a lot more out-of-the-house stuff lately. Tooling around Gettysburg, going to the Virginia Wine Festival, etc.
6. My youngest step-son got accepted into the Virginia State Police and leaves for the academy in May. He and his wife are pretty anxious to move out before that happens (and really, who can blame them?). Luckily, they're willing to listen to advice, since I've managed to find them decently priced apartments in Thurmont, MD--a sleepy little town with a crime rate in line with the national average. Before, when they were looking at price only, they had a list of extremely high-crime slum areas closer to Baltimore. Yikes!
7. I just got a raise at my job that will net me about $200/month more than I'll lose from the kids' rent when they move out. Between the cheaper water/electricity/food bills, I'll make a nice net gain.
8. My wife got a job at Michaels to help keep her busy. About 3 months on the job, she got moved to the management team, so she's proud of that. I'm glad she's not sitting around the house bored (which leads to depression), and also happy that I can leave her credit card bills on her desk for her to pay
9. I've decided to get back into active martial arts training, and found a Gracie Jui Jitsu school close to work that's very affordable. Probably start there next week.
10. Been trying to get the third book in my series finished, but it's been a real bear, and I've been in a bit of a slump. I'm about half-done, and imagine I'll kick into gear and work it out soon enough.

 

[Bones]

Im not dead...yet...

 

[GasBandit]

Im not dead...yet...

You're not fooling anyone, you know!

 

[PatrThom]

Margins are uncomfortably, painfully thin.
We are holding our own.

--Patrick

 

[Dave]

Im not dead...yet...

Uh...You being dramatic?

 

[Bones]

Yes. Im not dying of anything. Just the normal mental shit. I keep expecting to feel suicidal but it never happens. My doctors say everything is fine. But I just feel grouchy and angry constantly. Normal human condition stuff. In retrospect I shouldnt even talk at all my life is fine.

 

[Dave]

Yes. Im not dying of anything. Just the normal mental shit. I keep expecting to feel suicidal but it never happens. My doctors say everything is fine. But I just feel grouchy and angry constantly. Normal human condition stuff. In retrospect I shouldnt even talk at all my life is fine.

*whew* I'm glad, man. Not trying to make you feel bad.

 

[blotsfan]

I was waiting to post this. This has been an amazing year. I graduated college and got a good paying job that I really like.

And none of that holds a candle to finding out my girlfriend's test for skin cancer came back negative today.

 

[Gared]

All in all, things have been going great so far this year. New apartment which is awesome, job is still awesome, wife is still awesome, have an adorable new niece. On the other hand, my job is about to get a lot more stressful.

 

[Krisken]

This year looks amazing. Temping at a job I love, pay has gone from non-existent to we can pay the bills and get our own place, wife got a full time job she likes in the same area as my job, cats are healthy. All in all my life is looking fantastic right now. A little nervous and hope I can keep this up!

 

[Bowielee]

I went from freshly graduated with no real prospects to getting ready to start my master's degree program, so all in all, things are moving in a positive direction.

 

[Frank]

Well, got dumped really hard by my live-in girlfriend of almost two years. That's been more than a little devastating. On the other hand I'm studying to take my corporals exam so that will be fun to become a plain clothes member.

 

[jwhouk]

So much for that 1% raise I was supposed to get.

EDIT: Yeah, thanks, Krisken. You know the reason why, I bet.

 

[fade]

This has been a status quo year so far. Which, I suppose is a good thing. The only bad thing is the staleness of my marriage, but that's a story for another thread.