2013 is nearly over - how was it for you?

[PorkChop]

This year has probably been one of the most up and down years of my life, and therefore one of the most memorable.

To start with the negative stuff, I lost one of my grandparents this year - but it was probably for the best. My nan was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1997, and fought it for all these years. She had been deteriorating quite a lot over the last 18 months and peacefully went in her sleep over the summer. Her funeral was on my birthday which sucked, but I wasn't too upset that she'd passed as she'd suffered long enough.

I also broke up with my girlfriend that summer (it was a pretty rough summer, haha) which I was gutted about - she had a one year old daughter from her previous partner who I absolutely fell in love with and treated as my own. She broke up with me over Skype, which I'm still kind of mad about. We're still friends though, and I'll always have time for her and her daughter.

Positives -
I managed to get some fairly good grades at uni and made some new friends. I'm on target for a 2:1, which I'd be over the moon with. I've also put on a healthy amount of weight, and I'm training for an Iron Man race for next year - I'm probably in the best shape of my life. I feel that this year I've got my life in order, which I'm happy about.

I watched my best mate get married to his girlfriend of 10 years and went on my first stag do - we went go-karting and clay pigeon shooting. Good times were had. Considering I'd never shot a gun before, I thought I was pretty nifty at shooting!

Another positive of the year was that there were some insane happenings in the sports I follow. It's been a great year to be an MMA fan, and whilst it hasn't been such a great year to be a Villa fan (or and England fan for that matter) I can't say that it hasn't been entertaining. Plus this place was created

So yeah, up and down, but for every bad thing that happened, something good happened following it. Been a wild ride.

[Everlong]

This was the best year I've had in a long time.

I was able to audition for and get into a production of Les Miserables, my favorite musical. The cast was incredibly talented and wound up being professional-level quality. Through that show I met around 50 new people, some of whom have already become great friends.

The Les Mis experience got me back into theatre and acting, so I was in two other performances as well and have met many more great people from there.

I completed my first full year of singing with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, which has been a blast and a truly fulfilling experience. I also helped a friend start up a brand new chamber choir in the area, and we just had our first concert for that the other day. It was an amazing experience to see this thing that a group of friends came together to create have such immense success, and we're only just starting.

Both my younger brother and younger sister got engaged, and my older sister announced to us on Thanksgiving that she's pregnant with her first child.

Took a vacation up north to the Boundary Waters, my first time being up there in several years.

Best of all, met a fantastic girl and have been dating her for about 4 and a half months now, and I think this one's going to stick around

So yeah. The year wasn't 100% perfect, but it was about as good as I could ask for, and I'll count myself lucky if 2014 can match it.

[AkydefGoldberg]

Negatives:
2013 has been another miserable year for me. Until October, I was extremly down, depressed, low morale - everything. It completely sucked. Not having a job, not having any idea where my life was going to professionally and personally and took advice from doctors about anxiety. I was lost. I had many things going around in my head stressing me out and some aspects still do but trying to be more calm and strong. Job hunt's been frustrating as usual, money worries and general doom and gloom.

Positives:
Around July time, one of my best friends who'd left town to move to another place came back and visited me after ten-long-years! He comes regularly and we, alongside, another friend, try to meet up every few weeks and its been brilliant. That was a big turning point in lifting my mood. We chat often so that's awesome and hang out.

Around October, after speaking to someone who did volunteering and got work, it inspired me to do volunteering myself. I've been doing it since November and absolutely love it. It's helped me become more optimistic about professional opportunities and I'm writing more truth in my covering letters than being vague and writing BS. People have been welcoming and supportive and the job I do makes time to quick - and that for me, means I really enjoy it. I'm going to the Xmas party tomorrow which I'm nervous about but slightly more calm about it.

These last two months have lifted me more than the preceding ten. Hoping it gives me some momentum in having a more happier 2014.

[Locke]

Hmm, well to be honest, 2013 has been a complete shit hole for me and a total loss. I'm not terribly superstitious but I'll be happier than a kid in a candy shop to see that mother fuckin' 13 bouncin' off my damn calander.

I lost my cat in March to some unheard of incurable heart condition about 3 days before my birthday, he was only 5 years old.

In April my grandpa lost his mind from Alzheimer's and went into a home. He was a genius jet mechanic and now he shits his pants and eats newspapers.

In July My wife's grandmother who was as good as my own grandmother passed away (which incidentally has changed the entire course of our Christmas and the way we traditionally did things).

In August my brother-in-law (who was as good as a brother to me) was sent to jail on charges of molesting his 14 year old son's 14 year old girlfriend, throwing a huge rift into my family, partially destroying my sister's life, changing my innocent perfect nephew's behavior from angel to rebel, turning my nine year old niece into a raging bundle of anger with separation anxiety and severe daddy issues, and my sister into a very stressed single mom who's trying desperately to finish her PhD so she can afford to pay all these bills and have somewhat of a life.

In September I was involved in a car accident that broke my wrist and caused severe nerve damage, which to this day I'm not sure if I'll ever recover from it (mentally I'm a terrified driver, physically I'm always in pain and the pain causes me nausea and sickness sometimes).

The pastor of my church who is a good friend has announced he's leaving for a new church, and if anyone knows one thing about losing a church pastor, it's that you have a 90% chance of him being replaced by some boring old crone that kills the congregation (of which is filled with fantastic youth, so hopefully this doesn't happen).

I think (I'm sure) I'm forgetting something here or there, and there are still 11 days left of this shitty year so who knows what else could happen.

Good things: I still have my lovely wife and child, and a good supportive family. I got a really sweet car and a really low car payment out of the accident situation, which financially should help stabilize us. Oh, and I got a Nintendo 3DS, and got to make PubTalk.

[ShaneOfan]

The Good:
-My sons came home from the hospital. They are twins who were born early (December 26th) and had to be in the NICU until Januay 5th.

-At 25 I had my first birthday party ever.

-Got my first and second tattoos.

-Was able to get a picture of all three of my boys with myself, my dad, and my grandpa. I know it may not seem like a big deal, but my grandpa is 94 and his best years are long behind him. Not many people can say they have pictures with their great grandfather but my boys will always be able to do that.

The Bad:
-My dog of 16 years died last night. I will always love her but she had a great run and was a real friend. I'lmm miss her always, but I am glad she no longer has pain.

The Ugly:
-Lost my job a few weeks ago.

-My best friend, a man who is like my brother, got his girlfriend pregnant. She claimed she was on the pill, but she just wanted a baby. She expected white picket fences and living happily ever after. Thing is before he found out he had decided to break up with her. He still did after finding out, saying he was not in love with her but that he did love the baby and wanted to be there for his child. She would have none of it. She claimed her religion wouldn't allow it, her family would look bad at their chruch. She wanted a family and basically told him it was all or nothing. Even as he kept trying she wanted marriage and that was it. When she realized he wasn't going to come around she made up so bullshit, took things out of context, and had him arrested for "threatening her". The poor guy just wanted to see his child but because of the mother can't. It will be at least 2-3 years until he can meet the child now.

[Everlong]

^Damn man, that's a couple heavy blows within a few weeks. Sorry to hear.

[Kein]

2013...

Not much bad has really happened for me this year. But I also don't remember a lot of what went on either...

Feeling a little more alive.
Traveled out of the country for the first time, and ended up doing it 3 times this year.
Something something something...
I became an uncle, I am very indifferent on the subject though.
Joined a gym, and I guess I am aesthetically the best I have ever felt about myself.
Learned to not give a shit about many things that I shouldn't give shits about.


On a side note, does it piss anyone else off that women can seemingly go to authorities and get a guy in trouble with little to no evidence? It really fucks peoples lives up...

[Locke]

^ YES

My brother-in-law that's in jail is accused of all of this stuff happening but there's no proof, and Verizon's records don't match the records being used that are from her phone and only her phone, and it turns out she uses an app that lets you change your name back and forth to -anything- without registering it. So she could have made this whole thing up, but he's still been in jail for 6 months and likely will be another 6 more before the trial even begins.

[Kyle]

The first half was about as bad as it could get but the last few months have been very good.

[AkydefGoldberg]

On a side note, does it piss anyone else off that women can seemingly go to authorities and get a guy in trouble with little to no evidence? It really fucks peoples lives up...

^ YES

My brother-in-law that's in jail is accused of all of this stuff happening but there's no proof, and Verizon's records don't match the records being used that are from her phone and only her phone, and it turns out she uses an app that lets you change your name back and forth to -anything- without registering it. So she could have made this whole thing up, but he's still been in jail for 6 months and likely will be another 6 more before the trial even begins.

My sibling experienced this 3 years ago, and it's absolutely horrendous. Stressfull for the whole family seeing a loved one stuck in a police station for a bogus crime. It sickens me to think some women make up strong accusations just for their own ends or to score points on their spouse.

That woman got away scot-free without any recriminations and sadly it seems the law ain't that bothered. Frustrating that she used the police on countless occasions yet they failed to pursue any charges when they were time-wasting charges.

[Viazon]

2013 been a bit of a strange year for me. As some people may know, my dad was involved in quite a serious road accident this year and at one point, we almost nearly lost him. He is out of hospital now and me and my family have had to help look after him as he recovers. This was the first time I have ever come close to the fact that one day, my parents are no longer gonna be here. You don't want to think about it and you can't ever imagine a time when you parents won't be there, but it's gonna happen. It really made me think about a lot of stuff.

Apart from that, it's been a pretty standard boring old year.

[VaderBomb]

2013? Awful year. Worst of all time.

I went on a great road trip with my girlfriend and best friends to go see my favorite recording artist of all time: Brian Wilson. Also managed to see Goblin on their first ever American tour. Both shows were excellent and extremely memorable for not only the music, but the wonderful people that I shared the experiences with. My favorite wrestler of all time Bryan Danielson is finally getting the respect and money that he deserves in pro-wrestling, so that's awesome and makes me very happy. I saw a bunch of great new films this year. To The Wonder, Upstream Color, Before Midnight, Spring Breakers just to name the more recent ones and managed to catch up on dozens of classics that have been evading me. My local television show has been a big success and I'm almost ready to start shooting my first serious film. Christmas was also a success, got some great stuff for my girlfriend and was surprised to receive some very nice gifts.

Why was it the worst year, you ask? Listen to this shit... So I had this little rubber Ewok figure that stood on top of my TV next to a little rubber Yoda figure. Here's the kicker. I can't find the Ewok. I know he's here somewhere, probably under a couch. But seriously? Why me????????

[DeadpoolAlpha]

It's been a kind of roller coaster for me, honestly. It's been one of those growth and development years.

For instance, I quit working at my job of three years and entered into a management position elsewhere. Going forward, I have the means to support myself, which is great. Being said, that happened after I hit rock bottom money wise. I was living on my own for over a year and had to bite the bullet and move back in with my parents. Positive there is that my time away from them helped me build a better understanding and appreciation for them, so living here again hasn't been a hassle at all. Another positive is that my good (and responsible) friend who I couldn't move in with last year is now free to move in with me, so we're renting a house next year. Probably spring.

Meanwhile, I broke up with my girlfriend at the beginning of the year, which sucks on its own...but we've been doing this weird cat and mouse game all year where we won't give each other up, so we wind up doing bad things and then not talking to each other for a few weeks. We're not giving each other time to get over, so we're not and we aren't able to be emotionally available to others. That's even worse than just breaking up, IMO.

My grandma, who pretty much raised me, is getting pretty sick too. She's been going downhill for a while, but I'm at the point where I'm worried about it. Not just for her sake, but for my brother's sake too. She's been caring for him since he was little, but I'm worried what would happen to him in a worst case scenario kind of situation.

In any case, 2014 is going to be an interesting year for me. I hope to reconcile a lot of my negatives (I've not posted a few, just the bigguns) and make it a great year.