Year-end post… (if I’m that lazy in the next few days)

Whew! 2008 is finally over.  It has been a tough rough and tumble year for me personally (more on that later). However, I had some bright spots during the year that I would call the TOP 10 BEST MOMENTS of 2008!

 

 

 

10. I noticed a drop of telemarketing calls for refinancing and loans. (Yehey!)

9.  My best friend Chubax visited me on my birthday. (and I got to visit him and Jong in Vegas on August 2008 – plus a Zappos Tour)

8.  I discovered Twitter! (and social networking is never the same… for me at least)

7.  I lost 15 lbs so far from the lifetime high of 240 lbs (more on the weight gain)

6.  I read more books this year than the books I read from 2003-2006 combined.

5.  Comic book movies did not suck (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Dark Knight, etc)

4.  I paid off my credit card bills (and I have a few month’s worth of expenses in the bank)

3. My financial misery of 2007 was over

2. Barack Obama won the US Presidential elections

1. My personal and love life survived a year’s worth of ups and downs.

 

I’m sure I left out tons of great moments but what is a list if it is not exclusive?  Perhaps I will tackle more of that as soon as I remember them.  Now, with every New Year, most people tend to make New Year’s resolutions.  I’d rather make New Year goals.  At least with goals, I’ll fight harder to achieve them than resolutions.  In addition, having a deadline can add more pressure to complete these goals.

 

TOP 10 GOALS for 2009:

 

 1) Pay Off Car Loan – I’ll be done by Feb 2009

 2) Open a ROTH IRA account – I should do this before 2008 ends

 3) Increase emergency savings to at least 18 months of expenses by 12/31/2009

 4) Clean up and organize my feeds, links and bookmarks by June 2009

 5) Read 20 new books by 12/31/2009

 6) Organize photos, videos and music files by 06/01/2009

 7) Save for an iMac (yeah, I already have 2 linux pcs and 2 windows pcs but an iMac would complete the circle)

 8) Weigh 200 lbs by 04/01/2009 – and be healthier

 9) Organize and clean up the Apartment once and for all – get rid of boxes and junk

 10) Make major life changes by 12/31/2009 – Academic, professional and personal

 

These are my best moments of 2008 and goals for 2009.  It may not be as grand and challenging as President-elect Barack Obama but personally, I have a huge challenge on my hands come 2009.

 

Stay tuned for updates.

Filed under: About me, 2008, 2009, apartment, Barack Obama, best friend, Canon Powershot camera, chubax, clean-up, clutter, color, comic book movies, dark knoght, deadline, Disorder, election, emergency fund, exercise, exercise ball pump, family, financial, fitness, games, goals, health, hulk, imac, iron man, jong, lazy, linux, loans, movies, multiply, new year, Obama, personal, photo, pictures, President-elect, refinancing, resolutions, roth ira, savings, social networking, telemarketing, tour, twitter, vanguard, windows, year end, Zappos, zappos.com

Friday Relief

Tis Friday at last

A week’s worth of working late

Ends with me in bed

 

TGIF.

 

The letters above stand for Thank God It’s Friday.  It is more than just a restaurant chain’s logo and caption. It’s a prayer of millions of office drones, blue collar ants and scholarly creatures the world over.  It is a sigh of relief for people who managed to survive another week of dodge office politics, the occasional backstabbing, the bruising of already weak egos and mindless routine tasks that would rival a nearby bee hive.

 

Although one couldn’t complain much because of the global economic crisis adding the official coming out of the economy from the recession closet.  So, with looming lay offs and bankruptcy filings, the regular Joe Six-Pack who still earns a living should be thankful.  However, are the still employed any better off than the depressed unemployed?

 

Unlike the depressing reality of the unemployed facing starvation, eviction and humiliation (wow, they rhyme..), the survivors face far bleaker future in their current position.  Some survivors experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the stress of waiting for the dreaded “pink” slip (are they still Pink?) and the pain of watching fellow co-workers pack up their personal belongings.  After PTSD, the drones switch to Paranoia.  They fear that one false step would be the death of their professional career.  Although some of their fears are exaggerated, the current trend the past couple of decades have given these worker bees enough basis and precedence for their fears. 

 

Given these possibilities, one could imagine the state of mind of the person who coined TGIF (who did?).  Did the person experience a jobless? Did he/she survive downsizing? Was he/she forced to closed down his/her business?  God only knows.

 

So the next time you stop by the local TGIF on Friday night (Which should be their Happy hour/night right?), be thankful that you a job/biz that stresses you out to say: TGIF.

Filed under: Haiku, Opinion, Bee, blue collar, closet, Disorder, Drone, economy, Friday, God, Joe Six-Pack, pink slip. recession, Post, PTSD, Stress, TGIF, Traumatic, unemployed