Laura, me too and for the same reasons. I feel bad but hopefully can enjoy everyone else's fun presents.

This is so small, but my current Christmas joy is our tree. I was expeecting to pay a lot of money because the trees have to be shipped here from the US. When they started seeling them in late November, I found out that even the big 7ft. ones were only $45. Then, when we went to buy ours on Saturday, they were 50% of so we paid only $22.50.

This tree is huge - it's almost as wide as it is tall. The house smells so good. And, since last year Ellie was in the hospital from Dec.8-18th, this year is already a huge improvement over last year.

I suppose I would like to say "Fuck you and good riddance" to 2007, but I can't really blame the year. Most of my angst and misery has been my fault.

I chose to move to a state with the second-highest unemployment rate in the country. I was the bone-head who didn't pay his tickets in California and, as a result, will have a real hard time getting a license in Michigan (who the hell knew there was a national DMV database? Probably everyone except me.)

My back is the result of something I did to myself a decade ago and is coming back as it does at least once every year.

All in all...I'm not a fan of 2007, but, again, not exactly the year's fault. I'll just have to leave 2007 thankful that I still have my wife and my daughter and happy to get out alive.

i'm not sure i've ever particpated in Secret Santa here, but i hope one day i can. a year where my pay doesn't get docked for taking more than my allotted paid sick/vacation days. i'm hoping that's next year.

I love reading what everyone else has gotten though.

Pictures from Suzi's Secret Santa Day!: [link]

Suzi with Fun Stuff: [link]

Slounging!: [link]

Toes: [link]

2007 was pretty much all about Write A Book. With heaping doses of New Baby, and a soupcon of Emmett Kicks Ass At Baseball.

Matilda proved to be the most delightful baby in the history of ever. So while the sleep dep and poop checks are undesirable, there were many compensatory moments.

Emmett pretty much went out and conquered baseball this year, culminating in hitting a grand freakin' slam to help his all-star team win the district championship.

And I wrote a book. It was my third book but the first I wrote entirely myself, which turns out to be a completely different experience than co-editing a book with some written contributions.

It was terrifying and extremely difficult and incredibly satisfying and felt like the biggest mountain I had climbed. I completely understood how graduate students can get stuck in a perpetual place of all-done except for the dissertation. I did not feel like I had exhausted the subject at all, and the only reason I finished was because they pay you when you turn in your manuscript.

Hence, all graduate students should get a hefty chunk of change to finish their dissertations.

I think JZ's year was very different than mine. More stressful in some ways, learning how to be a parent. We definitely scraped by financially so I'd have time to write. But it was time I needed to have. I have a lot more insight into what it takes to finish a book than I did before. That it's not (as Richard Russo put it) "something you can yank out of your forebrain." I think I understand how novelists take wrong turns at the end now. How they commit those what-the-fuck errors so obvious to the reader. How mysterious the whole process can be when you're in it. How difficult to trust that it will come to you.

Also felt like I understood all those short careers. Those second novels never written or flummoxed for years. It's so fucking hard. And my book was relatively short. But still, it was a long trek.

Like Hec's, my 2007 was pretty single-minded. For me, it was Teddy's kidney failure.

We learned of it during the second half of March. Regular visits to the vet (eventually, daily visits) because Teddy wouldn't let us give him his sub-Q fluids. Three rounds of IV fluids. Being told at least twice that he diidn't have long to live. Finding out on the third round of IV fluids that, contrary to what we were told during the second round, he wasn't too old for a transplant after all.

Spending much of late October and the first half of November driving to, and staying in, Philadelphia. (Though I did enjoy staying on the U of Penn campus.) Giving Teddy his immune suppressant at 6:30 every morning.

But we have Teddy back. He's up to 7.25 pounds and as feisty as ever. And that makes it worth it.

As a side note, this is also the year that Hubs started to travel regularly for work. Which has its own pluses and minuses.

All in all, I'd take 2007 over 2006 anytime. My dad has had zero stays in the hospital since New Year's, which is a vast improvement over last year's inpatient-palooza.

I'm not entirely thrilled with the circumstances surrounding my move, but at least I got a new apartment that really suits me. Being back in Jonesboro will let me crawl back out from under the debt that the 3 hour/day commute put me in over the last few years, and I can sleep later and still get to (and off!) work an hour earlier. The big bonus is being much closer to and more available for my folks on a day-to-day basis.

Hence, all graduate students should get a hefty chunk of change to finish their dissertations.

I heartily support this idea.

My 2007 has been not great. Medical issues kind of clouding everything else these past few months. Hoping that 2008 will bring a doctor who can actually figure out what's wrong and what to do about it.

I've been waiting to post (not very long evidentally since the thread just opened).

This year has been up and down. I wasn't made permanent at my job, but that's okay I don't want to stay there.

I started back to school all full of vim and vigor, only to have my enthusiasm ground down by a bad teacher but I'm getting a B in the class so yeah! I'm all registered for next semester, I'm taking one class again and probably will for at least another semester with 1 class before moving on. I have a bunch of classes I have to retake to get the F's replaced, but I started this semester with 25% of my AA done (which is more than I thought) and even if I don't have a solid goal for a Bachelor's I know I want a MLA so that's good. (I'm inching my GPA up so it will be high enough for financial aid, which I don't qualify now).

As for 2008 -- More school, I plan on a new job and hopefully I'll be able to get to the F2F, but who knows. I hope by this time next year to be looking at 2009 with a full time job and planning a real vacation with actual leave time I've earned from a job.

In retrospect I really dunno what to make of 2007.

I lost my beloved dog Cassie. But up to her death we had a lot of good days lying out in the yard on sunny afternoons. I was able to be there when she passed and had her cremated with her 2 favorite stuffed toys. I've still not been able to bury the ashes. I miss her.

My birthday was a high mark this year. Despite not being involved with her anymore I spent it at a lake house with a girl I know. I drank lots of beer, floated in a lake, ate cake was doted on and happy.

I got a better paying job. I also found out that at my old job, the store manager that hated me quit rather than accept a demotion. Sadly to say he got what he deserved. Even sadder to say, it made me the least bit happy. Still dunno what to make of that.

Next year will be a good one. I get to visit Philly for a wedding. One brother is moving closer to home. My other brother's wife is having a baby. My best friend's wife (my other best friend) is also having a baby. I'm going to be an uncle twice in the same month that my near-sister is gets married and I hit the big 30.

I've made progress but it never seems like enough. There is still so much more for me to learn so I can head where I want to go. Part of it involves actually learning where I want to go.

Oh and I did made invisible internet friends and try to be nearly as amusing as I find a majority of them to be. Thanks people!