The final quarter of 2009 seems to be shaping up pretty well. The first 3 quarters... NSM.

I started the year determined to BE DONE with my Masters program, and I took 2 very challenging classes while working full time and just about lost my marbles. Got through it, was gearing up for graduation, when I failed my Masters Comp Exam, required for graduation. So, no graduation. Called off the party (humiliating), and the 4 years of hard work sort of fizzled out in misery and disappointment.

The summer was tough- we had no time off or vacation because we were taking a 2 week block in October, and we were both pretty exhausted and miserable.

The only thing that got me through to our California vacation was my obsessive planning for it beginning in January. It came in the first half of October and was just as wonderful as I could have hoped. We ate some amazing food, drank some amazing wine and beer, and had an amazing, amazing time. It was positively regenerative. We came home happy but disappointed to get back to reality with some wild ideas to move out that way. We'll see.

I took my comps shortly afterward and passed. Hooray. I basically just feel relieved that I avoided another humiliating failure and I can actually say I have a Masters degree. But it is certainly a positive factor of Q4 2009.

We are looking forward to our vacation in New Orleans for Christmas.

In the Will Suck for the Foreseeable Future column, no one wants to hire an administrative assistant for any higher level position even with a Masters degree under her belt. Disheartening to the extreme, especially since I am pretty bleh on my current job. Tom also is pretty unhappy in his position (which he's now had for almost a year) so it makes for pretty gloomy Sunday nights.

But the fact that we have jobs right now that seem pretty stable for now is definitely a blessing, however begrudgingly we admit it. Tom and I are happy at home with the cats and have wonderful friends and a most excellent expanding cocktail bar.

I very much hope that 2010 brings us the means to seriously explore a move to the Bay Area and for us to find more fulfilling professional lives. But those are high hopes and if our status quo continues, we will still consider ourselves lucky.

The third quarter pretty well wrecked my 2009. The year started quietly. Then in March, Hubs got a three-month detail out of town. Not the worst thing in the world. He really enjoyed the location and the time. And I got to visit for a week in early June for a cheap vacation.

After I got back, the year fell to pieces. My back went out (inflamed disk), so for more than a week I was barely able to sit up, much less stand, without a great deal of pain.

I was just starting to get over my back pain when our oldest cat, Teddy, developed a fatal case of pancreatitis -- I wasn't able to help carry the casket at his service because my back was still tender.

After mid-July, things quieted down a bit for a short time. My neck went out, but that was corrected fairly easily. Then our niece's cat almost died of an upper respiratory infection that her regular vet didn't diagnose properly. Which led to several days in the hospital for the cat. As well as major drama in Hubs's family for reasons too long to go into here.

Then our youngest cat, Rigatoni, got sick in mid-September when his ureter became blocked and his kidney failed. Just as my Seasonal Affective Disorder typically starts moving into high gear. So when Rigatoni died, I was a wreck.

The fourth quarter has been somewhat better, but has had its problems as well. Hubs wasn't able to get over Teddy's and Rigatoni's deaths before his Seasonal Affective Disorder hit high gear. Which put us both into a vicious circle of depression.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to adopt a new companion for Rigatoni's best buddy, Seamus, and came home with two cats. Introductions have been made. The fights are mainly between the two new cats, and they're much more playful fights than antagonistic. Seamus doesn't seem to quite know what's hit him, as his world has been turned upside down again. He doesn't interact a lot with the new cats so far, but he's tolerating them pretty well.

I'm ready for 2010.

2009 has been a mixed bag.

The bad: We moved my folks out from Florida this summer and it's been one stressor after another. My sister & I are carrying most of the weight of dealing with my mother's dementia--that is, after my dad. I'm sleeping less well, having a harder time eating right and exercising as much as I should, and can't bring myself to write hardly at all. All I can think about is how hard the next few years are going to be.

My dad's older sister died in October, at 86. She had 11 kids and too many grandchildren to count, and she was entirely awesome.

I've had it with my neighborhood and want to sell and move at least a quarter-mile away, but this is the wrong time to sell a starter house in a transitional neighborhood. The boss I liked, and who looked out for me, moved to Washington and left me with the MicroManager and a workplace full of unhappy people.

The good: My oldest brother's surprise 50th birthday party went off without a hitch, and it was pretty awesome. All my siblings are healthy and successful.

I got some skiing in. My job survived the reorganization. I still love telling people what I do. I have continued to run 3-5 times/week, and re-started my climbing gym membership. My baby niece & nephew are adorable and doing well. All of my employed family members have continued their employment.

I went to Peru for an awesome trip and had a lovely time hiking the Inca Trail, drinking Pisco sours, and visiting with llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and three other women I met via online fandom.

I don't have a lot of hope for 2009, other than to give me the stamina to get through it.

mmmm, pisco sours...

Sorry to delete, but thought better to not let everything hang out. I'm much more conservative in the morning, it's weird. Pretty sure my international misadventures qualify as avoiding comittment, but still. Pretty fun and good lord, I am crazy sometimes. It surprises me.

Sarameg, I am of one mind with you when it comes to travel shenanigans. Shame I haven't had any of those trips in a while. But last time was with my parents too.

Hahah! Man, it's hard to keep a straight face when discussing those trips, no?

We were sharing a hotel room! To this day I have no idea what or if they suspected.

I at least had my own room; insisted on it. Not like the shenanigans happened there. Especially not when the shenanigan in question put me in a room right next to my parents. Um, NO?

Wow, all of my shenanigans are firmly away from parents. I think they still wondered if I was a lesbian until I moved in with Dan. Despite conversations that included the words "Are you asking if I'm a lesbian? Because I would tell you if I were."

Then again, I've never traveled with my parents.