What we will and won't miss about 2005

[Scott Gardener]

Well, 2005 is almost over. (It may already be over, if you're reading this several months later.) It's been a crazy year. I won't count it over until the ball drops, because for 2004, we saw the Indo-Pacific hit with a tsunami right at the last few days. But, for the most part, we're nearing the end of a very crazy year.

What I won't miss:

I won't miss all these natural disasters. We're mopping up from the tsunami, and then we've got earthquakes in Pakistan, mudslides, aftershocks, and of course hurricanes wiping out portions of the American and Mexican gulf coast, climaxing in the essential destruction of the city of New Orleans. I personally got to experience hundreds of displaced evacuees, and then I got to become one myself for a week, when Hurricane Rita threatened Houston. I then got to see what hurricane devistation looks like live and in person when I went back to the hospital where I work in Groves, next to Port Arthur, while it was still on generator power. I got off lucky, but I certainly got to meet people who didn't. Hurricane Katrina is a no-brainer for the first thing not to miss about 2005. And, I haven't forgotten about the typhoons, either.

I won't miss human-made catastrophes either. Those of you in the UK are probably still feeling the effects of the underground tube bombings in London. Over here, there were not one but two chemical plant gas leaks near Houston, and I'm still seeing patients from both. One leaked an acid gas, while the other exploded, spilling hydrocarbons, benzene derivatives, and carbon monoxide.

But, 2005 had a lot of good things to come out of it as well.

For one thing, there's all of you. I got to meet The Pack, and watch "Devoured" grow from a low-budget direct-to-video concept to the proposed major production Freeborn. I got to meet at least a few of you in person--Apharoah, Arania, Figarou, and the masterminds Anthony and Megan Brownrigg, as well as Cory Turner and the ReQuest Entertainment masterminds. I still owe you a drink--next A-Kon!

From my end, there's also a step up career-wise. For a good part of the year, I worked at least part-time at El Campo Memorial Hospital, a second ER. But then, in the mid to late summer, I started working at a work-related and personal injury clinic near downtown Houston, with a lot of hope. I'm only seeing about a third of the projected income right now, but it still looks very promising.

This year also saw the transformation of my Nanowrimo rough draft "Lycanthrope II: Revelations" into a second novel. I even have the conceptual first bits and pieces for a third one, "LYcanthrope III: Enlightenment," though it's nowhere near ready for prime time right now. Seeing Freeborn evolve has also motivated me to get out my novel manuscript and get it published.

So, I'm coming out ahead. I just wish more people could have the same prosperity and good fortune. It's been a very rough year for a lot of people, and for some, it's been nightmarish.

I'm just hoping that 2006 is an improvement, and we'll be watching the next hurricane season very closely down here.

[Set]

I'm just hoping that 2006 is an improvement, and we'll be watching the next hurricane season very closely down here.

Well don't get those hopes too high, supposedly next year's hurricane season is going to be the same if not worse than the one we had for '05.

[Leighlia]

Sometimes it double posts for me and I just can't seem to delete one of them.

[Leighlia]

I'm with Scott in not missing the disasters that plaguing the world, both man made and natural. But I know the end is not in sight yet.

On a personal note, in 2006 I will not miss boxes. Yes boxes. I've finally unpacked that last box and have us all moved in. I have grown to hate the smell of cardboard. But yet in moving and unpacking, it has given me the opportunity to realize what a packrat I've become and I've gotten rid of so much stuff that we just don't need. Why did I keep those parachute pants from my early high school days anyway? Like I'd ever be brave enough to wear them again.

2005 brought the fullfillment of our family with the birth of our daughter. I was suprised and shocked to say the least at having found myself pregnant the week after arriving in Indiana. I won't miss being pregnant, or the recovery from having a C-Section. In 2006 I look forward to getting to know her more. I will not miss being large, fat, unable to walk normally, being diabetic, taking insulin...and all that other stuff involved with being pregnant (for me anyway). Not to mention the fact that I will not miss the 42 pounds I've lost since her birth. Cool thing is that I only gained 6 total while pregnant.

I also will not miss snow. I'm from wisconsin and I'm told by family that they have plenty and are willing to share. They can keep it. Southern Indiana has a little and that's plenty. I do, however, miss the family, being over 700 miles from them now. Lets hear it for free long distance on the cell phones!

I love the fact that I found my way here. Stumbled unawares, is more like it. I knew there had to be something like this out there in the big wide world somewhere, but I just couldn't find it...except through GoldenWolfen's links one day. I never go for links on a website and I don't know what made me look that day. I'd like to pass around christmas hugs to everyone...except those that don't really care for them...*gives them a friendly christmas wave instead.* Thanks everyone, for the storehouse...wealth of information ... sense of community...not telling me to get lost and don't let the door hit me in the caboose on the way out....

[Timber-WoIf]

+ Discovered werewolf-loving community

- chances for collage screwed

-chances for military messed up

-senior year is h3ll

-BEEN GROUNDED SENSE SEPTEMBER!!!

+did kick @ss on x-box live over the summer

+got first job (at Dairy Queen)

- fired after 4 months

+ Gardener's novels

- killed them in just 1 weekend...

+ inspired to give a shot at writing

- Iraq

+Iraqi elections

- hurricanes

- tsunamis

-earthquakes

- terrorists

- gas price hike

+ Saddam trial

- Saddam's lawyers

+ Doom movie

- it sucked

+ somebody wanted one of my half-@ssed art assignments?

+ scored 96 on ASVAB

- have to go back on aderal

- statistics = the devel

+ finnaly got to have fun with sticky notes in school

- my family doesn't know what it wants for Christman

- i don't know what i want for Christman

+ Christmas will be easy this year

- Christmas break is only 1 week long

+ i'm not grounded over christmas break

hmm... i need to something else now.

[Shadow Wulf]

well thanks to you guys and this forum, 2005 was one of the most memoriable years of my life, werewolf lovers just like me, what more can I asked. What I also loved about this year is when I was working over the summer and finaly getting job experience and making money, I love making money but at the same time I wasnt in a hurry to spend it really. I finally got a descent computer that can run most of the games out there, and all with out the help of my dad(well he helped a little bit). I remember every day when I worked at KFC I couldnt wait to get back home just to talk to you guys and I got out between 10pm-11pm sometimes and still talk to you guys right away, I love you guys for giving my all these great links to werewolf stuff. What I want miss about 2005 is the natural and unatural disaster.

[Kzinistzerg]

Well

+ bionicle FINALLY got some good pieces this year
- all aforementioned natural disasters, amnmade diasters, and such
+ bush is back in! (DO NOT COMMENT, kep thread free of debate)
- first reportcard= not that good
+ began writing my own long story, and it's a good one!
- thje people across the street got a cat, and i didn't. *pouts*
+ figured out some cool stuff about the mechnics of fligt and all this summer
- Wasted my summer playing Warcraft
+ didn't wase it playing morrowind
- can't reinstall morrowind
+ i jumped ahead ALOT in my art skills
- tape all over my walls
+ house is getting fixed!
- house is getting fixed
+ just got my PSAT scores back today, 94th percentile. oh, yeah. *does a happy dance*

[Akugarou]

My best friend, and my pet cat (16+ years old) both died this year. While I won't miss the grief.. I will still miss them dearly.

[Terastas]

The big thing on my mind that I know I absolutely will not miss is the one-year lease agreement I signed with my brother. I got up at 4 a.m. to take the train to college three days a week for four months in the semester beforehand instead of answering roommate applications because he promised me that he was serious about going to BSC and that he promised he would pay half of the rent. A full year later and he hasn't contributed squat. I can't continue at college in the Spring because I'm $5800 deeper on the hole than I'd expected to be (two years of savings up his nose).

And I'm probably going to miss all the stuff he's taking with him. . . Especially the stuff that I payed for.

What I am going to absolutely looooooooove about 2006, however, is that my brother is moving to Vegas. Presumably he's lying about taking college seriously once again and he's going to do to his friend exactly what he did to me, but at any rate, that means I won't have to put up with him for at least as long as I'll be living at home again. I plan on returning to Bridgewater in the Fall, so even if he does get kicked out for drinking, smoking pot and refusing to pay his rent, he'll be coming back the same time I'll be going back.

I could go on for hours about all the things I'm not going to miss that were results of his presence. The sound of PS2 gunfire at three in the morning, the smell of marijuana smoke wafting out into the halls, his annoying girlfriend, his football gambling, the mysterious downloads on my computer, the way he yells "SUCKER!!!" when I announce my departure as "bye, I'm off to improve my mind," his constant bitching about how I'm not contributing enough (even though, as stated above, I'm contributing 100%), the way he can watch the same DVD a hundred nights in a row even though there's a stack of DVDs right by the TV that he's never seen once in his life (especially when the DVD he watches over and over again is one that I recommended to him -- it took me four months to get him to watch Boiler Room instead of Fight Club (another movie I'd recommended to him), now I can't get him to watch anything else). . . The list is endless, I assure you.

My dark side aside, I'm also going to miss BSC, but hopefully that won't last for the full year. Hopefully I'll be able to go back in the Fall, unless of course, something absolutely wonderful happens (like a phone call from Anthony Brownrigg or Comedy Central). . . Or unless my brother goes way out of his way to #### with me.

[Grayheart]

Since I had to suffer a lot of bad things this last year as well as some really good things (- break off with my boyfriend after three years, suicide of one of my roleplay-mates/ + new appartment, rescue of the friendship between my now ex-boyfriend and me, finally finding a way to my 'true-self' and of course, finding this site) I wish that the next year is a little bit calmer and more moderate than this one.

[Nishah]

What I won't miss is the grief of a breakup after 6 years with furniture and car and accounts to divide and spluttering on - like grayheart says - to try to save some semblance of a friendship..... swiftly followed by my bosses acted-upon urge to get me fired....

2005 has been the year of healthy self-relativation....

On the plus.....lemme think...
I found a nice new appartment, smack in the middle of the city near all the good pubs
but mostly....
I have kept my good friends and made some new ones....
I'm easy to please that way