HI, Joe! I think I can recall you posting occasionally in Great Write. Glad to hear things are going well.

Good luck with your new house, Una! That sounds very exciting.

I'm glad to say my life is pretty much the same as last year. This is good because it means I have a job with benefits, despite the fact our governor has tried to strip us of as many of them as possible.

Oh yummy, I forgot how much fun it is to catch up on the delurking thread.

Yay vw! I know I said it before but it bears repeating: great news!

Nice to see you again, Una. Glad to hear things are good.

Hi JoeCrow, good to meet you.

And meara, I wouldn't call that boring, I'd call it stable. Isn't stable good when it means a job and a nice house in a great city?

Hi! I'm askye and I've been around for awhile, lurking less than I did the last time the thread was open.

Things that have changed - I moved to Vermont! To be closer to SLNRLBF (Second Life Now Real Life BoyFriend) aka Will (who occasionally lurks around here).

I quit my job and moved to Vermont in April. I'm currently semi employed (working temp gigs) and trying to find more regular job.

But I'm so much happier here! Will and I are only about 60 miles apart rather than 1350 miles apart. My stress levels have dropped - I haven't been clenching/grinding my teeth. I've lost about 9 lbs without trying, I've taken up crochet again, learned how to knit. I also have insurance through the state and I've been seeing a therapist on a regular basis who is really great and helpful.

Really the only things I miss from back home are my family and the ability to get good Mexican food (it's scare here in VT) I'm going back home in less than 2 weeks for a visit and get to see everyone including my awesome nephew.

I'm just overall happier and more optimistic about life than I was back in Florida. Besides losing some physical weight I feel like I've lost about 2 tons of emotional baggage.

Oh, that's so wonderful to hear, askye! I know it was a big leap for you to make the move, but I'm glad you're happier. When it's the right thing, it's the right thing!

Joe!!! I don't think of you as a lurker! I blame other locations.

Hi Joe! If you're lurking in Gaming to watch the BSG games, please feel welcome to sign up for one.

vw! Yay!

Una and Joe - nice to see you again.

I am also living and working in the same place. Caring for my geriatric cat and overwhelming myself with knitting projects.

Hi everyone! Nice to see your pixels again, Joe and Una! And come on out, all you other lurkers; we don't bite!

Just reread my post from last year, and for an update for everyone who doesn't follow Natter:

Had my gastric bypass last Thanksgiving, and have lost 190 pounds so far. Am still employed, but just barely--my entire group was laid off 10 days ago, but for some reason, I'm still working there, just with tons more tasks and with a different boss. Am now taking my sixth library class (as soon as I finish it, I'll be halfway done, yay!).

Had a car accident several weeks ago (not my fault, and it totalled my just-paid-for-last-fall Civic damnit!), bought a new car (even with the insurance check, still had to get a five-year loan), but am using what's left over from that check and the reimbursement check that the insurance co. is sending me for my taxes and fees on the new car as the basis for a trip to England and Scotland next summer (since I've never been abroad except for an overnight trip to Nova Scotia 30 years ago, I'm super-excited!).

Oh, and I'm another one dealing with a needy cat (not geriatric, just demanding attention today--she knocked every last thing off of my coffee table) and trying to finish off Christmas cross-stitching projects so I can get them wrapped and mailed out before Dec. 25th.

and have lost 190 pounds so far

Holy cats, Kathy! I hadn't realized it was so much! Awesome!

good to see Joe and Una!

I thought I was having a stroke when this thread reappeared, but then I realized it was just October.

I'm quester, and have been since I started posting on the internet. I'm thinking of changing to my real name here. I think I feel safe by now!

It has been almost 3 years since I lost my job in Kansas City, MO and moved to Cedar Rapids, IA to be near family.

I still don't have a job, and after 2 years of living in my sister's basement I now live in a very cheap efficiency in a basement. I have no cable or satellite so I only get the CW and Fox. So I watch a lot of TV on my laptop.

I am currently working a job that I would dearly love to keep. It is for the University of Iowa, and is in their printing department. Since I worked for printing companies in KC, this is right up my alley. The pay is great but I have to commute 35 miles one way, in a car that is falling apart!

I used my credit cards to tide me over when the only temp jobs I got were part time, so I'm hoping that this current assignment at least lets me get that all back under control. I had to request another year's forbearance on my Student Loan to be able to corral the credit cards.

That's way too much about me. But, Yay this thread is back!

Hi, Una and Joe - it's good to see you here.

I have a purring cat in my arms (makes typing a bit of a workout). Harvey is being extra-clinging because his favorite human, DCJensen, has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and won't be home for a couple more. (He's getting better, but it will take time).

I still work with developmentally disabled adults, and I was grateful to receive a merit raise of $0.12. It's just enough to be a gesture, but in this economy, with the way social services are being defunded, I'm grateful they aren't asking us to accept pay cuts. I am also continually grateful to work for an outfit that values its employees, and tries to make up for low pay by treating us like we matter.