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.

Oh look, this thread has rolled around again and I'm still lurking. /shrug

HI EVERYONE SEE YOU NEXT YEAR

NOT SO FAST, LURKER! What's been going on since last delurking?

hee.

Um, since last year, I have settled into the house in TX. I became unemployed, part-time employed, part-time employed again and now mostly full-time employed, but without insurance.

Mac has had a great year. We may be easing into taking him off of anti-anxiety meds.

I'm still mostly in Natter.

Yeah! If you can't fill us in, at least ... tell us a dirty joke?

We may be easing into taking him off of anti-anxiety meds

Great news, msbelle!

As for me, I'm still at [unnamed organization that fishes people out of the water], doing [weird and occasionally ridiculous job that would identify me immediately if I described it]. I should know by November sometime if I'm to be hired as a permanent employee; if not, I'll end up back in private consulting probably.

Not much else has changed in the last year: I still spend a lot of time with family, dogs, and wrangling my aging parents. Really, my one big accomplishment is that I wrote and posted a Narnia novel that I'm really proud of. And my brother opened a restaurant in Chicago that looks like it's going to do well.

If the job situation gets straightened out, I'll get the joy of selling my house so I can move to a neighborhood where people don't dump their fast-food trash in my yard and stuff their empty brandy bottles in my hedge. ::crosses fingers::

I mostly hang in Natter, Boxed Set, Lit, and Fanfic these days.

Hi everyone!

I’m resigned to the idea that I may never advance much further than the de-lurking thread, hence I love it dearly as it allows me to briefly feel slightly less stalkerish and more engaged. I know I de-lurked for the first time when the thread opened, which I think means I’ve de-lurked three times now! Is that right? I pop-up on the rare occasion in the Supernatural thread, and I wish I could keep up in a timely manner to participate in other threads, but usually I catch up after the fact.

As for me, things are much the same. I still have Monkey cat. He is no longer a foster as he was officially adopted (by me) on Valentine’s Day this year. He’s my little hypo-thyroid, allergy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy ridden Valentine. I haven’t met Bay Area Buffistas (Buffistae?) yet, but I do feel as if I should, if for no other reason than to prove I’m not a sock puppet, or at the very least that I don’t have button eyes.

I still live in the obscure berg of El Cerrito (waves to Fern) and have just landscaped the backyard. I’m trying my hand at raised vegetable beds, just a few, and fruit trees. It will probably be a few years before the trees start producing, but I’m excited at the prospect. So far, weeding seems to be my reward for this project.

My job situation, as a contractor, may be changing to regular employment. I think this is a good thing, but I’m nervous as I’ve been consulting for 15 years and I wonder if I’m cut out for staying in one place. The last five of those, I’ve been an independent contractor which was wonderfully liberating but resulted in an epic tax mess. I have learned keeping my life simple is the only road to sanity for me. LLC companies, paperwork, managing finances, are completely beyond my ken. I am fortunate to have found an excellent tax accountant who is now extricating me out of the mess of my own creation.

I want to say congratulations to Kathy on 190 lbs weight loss! I’ve followed your journey in Natter and as someone who has a lot of weight to lose, it’s been wonderfully encouraging and joyous reading about your progress. I began the year with good progress, but lost my momentum when I had a string of family visits from Europe. It’s time to get serious again. Thanks to the de-lurkers that have posted and to all the ones yet to come!

I love this thread, it’s like a holiday/new year letter to catch everyone up, even the regular posters.

are completely beyond my ken.

And all your Barbies? Sorry, kneejerk, can't help it (RIP, Andy).

Good to see you ehab. It sounds like your life is purring along pretty happily, and that's great to see.

Who me? I'm a fixture. A little less shiny than I used to be, but still pretty sturdy. Still loving the PNW, though missing friends and family back east. Still geeking over eagles and swans and tulips and mountains and the sheer beauty of my adopted state. Still settling in, as H seems to feel that structural and technical fixes to the house matter more than getting those last boxes unpacked. I hope to have banished brown cardboard forever by Christmas. We'll see.

ehap - I used to live in Downey, and often shopped at the El Cerrito Mall. So not that obscure.

Oh and went to El Cerrito Community college for a time.