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2011: A Year in Review

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    StaleStale Registered User regular
    edited December 2011
    2011 has been a living hell for me. Munkus and I have been directly competing for God's unblinking ire.

    Jan: Stuck in a soul-crushing job in finance. I have a sroke on New Years and lose all vision in my right eye. My cancer excellerates. "Chemo or die." I start chemo, and my insurance denies payment. I am forced to pay out of pocket. Thus is the final straw in an already over-loaded camel. My finances crumble before my eyes. I file for bankruptcy.

    Mar: Dirty-Souf PAX in Charleston. I do my best to make sure everyone has a good time, I almost drop from exhaustion twice. I black out the second night and fall down. I tell no one. I finish chemo a week after I get home. My bankruptcy is finalized a week after that.

    Apr: I get a new job, along with a 50% salary increase. "Chemo or die, seriously this time." I put it off for a month so as not to fuck up this new gig.

    May: Your nerve function is seriously degrading, we can't put this off much longer. I wait another month, because "fuck you".

    June: I start round 2 of chemo. This time it's a clinical trial for my specific kind of cancer. New job is pretty accommodating. I want to die, more than any other time in my life, I'm operating purely on autopilot and just pass out each night hoping I don't wake up tomorrow.

    July: We realize the chemo is not having the positive effects on my infiltration it should be. "You can stop now, but we are getting a lot of really useful data from your test results, this can really push the treatment forward for others." I decide to keep under-going treatment. My grandfather was a ranger and medic in WWII, "So that others may live" and all that. I know he'd kick my ass if I refused like a little bitch.

    Aug: My liver begins failing, rapidly. My kidney disease begins accelerating. I continue the chemo.

    Sept: I almost die twice, we discontinue chemo. I made it with only 2 weeks left in the cycle, they weren't going to get anything more out of me except an autopsy report. The clinic director has tears in his eyes when he thanks me. I find out I'll be considered for a new patent next year from my job.

    Oct: I get a normal head cold, my immune system is so destroyed it becomes a sinus infection, which rapidly spreads to my lungs and brain. I almost die. They are forced to run antibiotics strong enough to slow it down and stop it, it also almost destroys my liver and kidneys. I spend some time in the hospital.

    Nov: I'm strong enough now to stop using the cane around the house, I limp, but I walk.

    Dec: Doc runs new panel, my liver is nearing shutdown, my kidneys are almost rotted out, my gut is a wasteland. He orders a new insulin pump, we start discussing dialysis and "comfort plans".

    Stale on
    easysig2.jpg
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    Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    I don't suppose there's any chance they'd consider you for a liver transplant, huh?

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    Houk the NamebringerHouk the Namebringer Nipples The EchidnaRegistered User regular
    I pity the person who tries to follow that. So I'll do it!

    Uhh...I worked a lot, only kissed one girl, got a little fatter, and got to wear a tuxedo.

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    SoaLSoaL fantastic Registered User regular
    there is no past or future only the present i don't understand

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    SoaLSoaL fantastic Registered User regular
    SoaL wrote:
    there is no past or future only the present i don't understand

    who wrote this what is going on

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    Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    2011 was pretty much

    a big lump of nothing

    With few exceptions I could have gone to sleep 12/31/10 and wake up 1/1/12 and not miss a beat

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    SoaLSoaL fantastic Registered User regular
    this year I added "dig around ears with fingers" to my list of gross habits

    it combos well with "sit on hands just before farting" and "chew fingernails"

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    StaleStale Registered User regular
    I don't suppose there's any chance they'd consider you for a liver transplant, huh?

    I'm not a viable recipient, and I wouldn't take it even if they offered.

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    FutoreFutore Registered User regular
    Stale, I'm starting to cry. Thanks man, I haven't been able to in a while and I've really needed it. This year's been pretty terrible. The worst one yet, I'd say.

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    FutoreFutore Registered User regular
    I miss my mom. I miss my friends. I miss the home I was starting to make.

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    StaleStale Registered User regular
    and through this entire year, I've had Monica be amazingly supportive as best she could. Even Nikki has tried her best to help me out.

    I also have to thank Dr Ziplock for listening to me bitch and moan every day.

    easysig2.jpg
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    EndEnd Registered User regular
    edited December 2011
    holy shit stale, you really do keep things close to your vest

    I knew your health wasn't in very good condition, but I had no idea the extent

    End on
    I wish that someway, somehow, that I could save every one of us
    zaleiria-by-lexxy-sig.jpg
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    fightinfilipinofightinfilipino Angry as Hell #BLMRegistered User regular
    goddamn Stale.

    fuck cancer.

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    steam | Dokkan: 868846562
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    Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    Aww man, I didn't realize the second round didn't end up doing much, thought you turned a corner.

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    OkamiOkami On the internet nobody knows you're a dog. Nobody. Land of Ports, OreganoRegistered User regular
    fuck, Stale :(

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    Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    Well, I'm going to go to NYE in Atlanta now. No question about that.

    We can share war stories again. Cause I can really relate all of that stuff right now.

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
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    CampionCampion Registered User regular
    January - My father died, making the depression I already had even worse. I could no longer work at my job, so I left.
    February - I do not complete my portfolio for the animation program, I do nothing.
    March - Begin my relationship with Mensch and get an operation to fix nose issues I've been having for 10 years. I spend the rest of the month recovering.
    April - Looking for work. Cell phone canceled, can't pay, going into debt. The operation does not fix my nose issue.

    all the interviews

    Suffer living on my mother's couch, in the same house as my awful brother.

    Become an awful shut-in
    every single interview


    November - Find work, pay cell phone bill, celebrate 25th birthday.
    December - I need to help my mother with her bills up until February when she's moving out.
    ----

    I have had better years. I think. It's hard to tell.

    4484-7718-8470
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    TonkkaTonkka Some one in the club tonight Has stolen my ideas.Registered User regular
    November=Same as it ever was.

    Steam: evilumpire Battle.net: T0NKKA#1588 PS4: T_0_N_N_K_A Twitter Art blog/Portfolio! Twitch?! HEY SATAN Shirts and such
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    WeaverWeaver Who are you? What do you want?Registered User regular
    Hey Stale
    Tonkka wrote:
    November=Same as it ever was.

    Yep.

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    godmodegodmode Southeast JapanRegistered User regular
    January-March: Finished my active duty time in the Marine Corps. Get hired working for NATO and move out completely on my own for the first time in my life.
    March-April: Work NATO, learn some things, meet lots of interesting folks, both foreign and domestic.
    June: Meet some forumers in DC for the first time. Everyone's really cool. I return home afterwards and receive a random call offering a new job with a hearty raise in a new office. I accept, interview, and get the offer.
    July: Finish up at NATO, start my new job, suffer a lapse in pay due to the time I changed jobs in relation to the pay schedules.
    August: Default on rent, go on my yearly vacation with my family, have to ask them for help and manage to squeeze by on my bills.
    September: An old friend from the military happens to be looking for an apartment, and we decide to become roommates, halving my monthly living costs. Towards the end of the month, I am diagnosed with chronic depression, recommended for psychiatric treatment, and antidepressants.
    October: Back to having a roommate again! Start seeing a girl, and things are going well.
    November: Living with excess money is really nice. The antidepressants are working. Things are looking up. It's a lot off my mind.
    December: I get my favorite watch fixed - it was a gift from my parents the day I graduated Parris Island, but broke in the line of duty back in 2008. It's nice to have it back. Later in the month, the folks are visiting from Texas, and we'll all be getting together to celebrate my nieces' birthdays. Christmas will be spent at my new place, the first time that it won't be with my family in some capacity. I'll also be working Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years' Eve, and New Years' Day. Additionally, I start counseling again (this will be the third time, though the first with antidepressants) on the 20th.

    Overall, it's been a pretty good year.

    With all that said, I'm really sorry to hear about you guys who aren't doing so well. Stale, Munkus, I could not imagine the things you are going through. I wish you both find some reprieve and comfort. My heart goes out to you guys, and to all the other folks in our amazing community who are suffering, especially from health and family struggles.

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    WeaverWeaver Who are you? What do you want?Registered User regular
    Very glad that my year was mostly drama free.

    I'm semi-retired. This is how it should be.

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    That Dave FellaThat Dave Fella Registered User regular
    My year was going fine up until the start of this week.

    PSN: ThatDaveFella
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    feebsiclefeebsicle a feebs Registered User regular
    edited December 2011
    Compared to last year, my year has been pretty good. Some ups some downs. My memory is terrible so a lot of this might be mixed up.
    January: Work is slow because we're waiting for plates from the production company. I get the flu and take 3 days off work. I also fell for an old friend of mine. Good news is, he likes me too :3 Online relationship start GO

    February - April: A huge blur of working 6-7 days a week plus overtime to finish up multiple projects at work (One of them being Syfy's Neverland). I barely remember anything here. But sometime during this time, I can't remember when, I to to see a gastro-intestinal specialist to go over some concerns left over from my gall-bladder ordeal in Nov 2010. I have a lot of pain in my digestive tract and have trouble digesting food. They think it's IBS, but I need to get some tests to make sure. A colonoscopy is scheduled for August. My doctor tells me to take metamucil in the mean time.

    May: I meet my honey for the first time during a long weekend. It was amazing. I don't mean to be so cheesy, but I didn't believe in "love at first sight" until I met him. We have a wonderful heavenly 3 days together then it's back to the grind at work.

    June: More work. Dealing with some more frequent problems digesting my food. As in, food goes in...food comes out. I lose a bit of weight. The metamucil doesn't seem to be working like it should. Something feels wrong but there's not much I can do.

    I see an opera sometime with Kochi but I don't really remember what month that happened in.

    July: Work work work. Over time and more work. I go to COMIC CON with Kochi, Ten, Lexxy and Beavotron. That was fun but I was beginning to get tired very easily. Food still isn't digesting very well. I missed a day of hang outs because I was too tired and just slept in the hotel. At the end of July, I take another 4 days to meet up with my love in Seattle. OMG...we were sleepless in Seattle. Except I totally slept a lot. In fact, I was overly sleepy. Kind of a trend lately. I go to the doctor about my sleepiness and it turns out I'm riddled with infections, and he says its because of my weak gut. I have a UTI, mono, and some kind of throat infection.

    August: I'm pretty sick but I don't take time off. Work like always. Our deadlines are tight, I've already used up my sick days at the beginning of the year. I go have my colonoscopy. Turns out there is inflammation in my bowels, I don't have IBS; it's either Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis. Don't know which yet, I need to get a gastroscopy next. My doctor tells me to take more metamucil and drink more water.

    September: Work. I really don't remember September to tell you the truth. Probably just did a lot of overtime.

    October: Gastroscopy. I don't have the results yet, I need to see the doctor again in 6-8 weeks. She gives me a prescription for Tecta to help with some acid reflux I didn't realize I had. For awhile things seem to be going good digestion-wise. Metamucil is now working like it should. I have gained the weight back that I lost. Not a lot of pain.

    November: I see two operas with Kochi, and see Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer with Kochi and Ten, which was the most excellent show ever. I get all the smaller side effects from the Tecta. Skin rashes, headaches, dizziness and my skin breaks out in the worst way. I almost faint a few times, get really dehydrated easily. Diarrhea starts to come back, vomited a couple times again, and the exhaustion starts to come back. I slip up one night and eat a bunch of potato chips and some chocolate and a few other things I shouldn't have. The next day I have blood coming out of my butt. I lose my job due to a company-wide lay off at the end of the month. There are some other gripes I have about this month but I won't get into it. Despite all that is happening, my life is GOOD. Oh, and on the last day of November I got a free laptop, which was so totally sweet.

    December: I'm taking this month off. Going to see my doctor again soon, find out what to do next. I don't know if things are getting better or worse, it comes and goes in waves. I still don't even know what exactly it is that is causing me this pain and trouble with digesting, but at the same time it's totally manageable. As long as I don't fuck up and eat a ton of shit again. Despite what is going on in my insides, I feel pretty good.
    My skin is still terrible, and the dizzy spells are kind of scaring me, so I'm going to ask the doc if I should keep taking the Tecta. But other than that I am content, and excited for this month. My honey comes to visit me for the first time on Dec 19th, and I am extremely excited about it. He is staying until February :)

    feebsicle on
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    Mr FuzzbuttMr Fuzzbutt Registered User regular
    This year was pretty good for me.

    Uneventful, but good.

    broken image link
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    Romanian My EscutcheonRomanian My Escutcheon Two of Forks Registered User regular
    Stale wrote:
    Dec: Doc runs new panel, my liver is nearing shutdown, my kidneys are almost rotted out, my gut is a wasteland. He orders a new insulin pump, we start discussing dialysis and "comfort plans".

    What the fuck?

    Just...

    What the fuck?

    [IMG][/img]
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    ShortyShorty touching the meat Intergalactic Cool CourtRegistered User regular
    what happened this year

    early part: I finish community college on the dean's list and begin the process of wearing my nails down to nubs as I wait to hear back from the universities I applied to

    middle part: get accepted to the UW, spend most of the summer goofing off in celebration

    later part: work at a used bookstore in Pike Place Market for a month or so

    now: university is so good

    this is all punctuated with team fortress 2, writing, and reading a lot of Harlan Ellison

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    bwaniebwanie Posting into the void Registered User regular
    edited December 2011
    january - august: Nothing big, except the wife seems to be less happy.
    september: My wife has a nervous breakdown and i am left taking care of our little girl. My laptop from work gets thrashed in a sudden storm as my window blows open. Somehow this, combined with me being overexhausted from doing everything at home, snowballs into into termination of my contract.
    oktober - december: laywers, financial stress, interviews and a new job. Wife has started treatment and is doing better gradually.

    fuck 2011

    bwanie on
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    Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    Stale wrote:
    May: Your nerve function is seriously degrading, we can't put this off much longer. I wait another month, because "fuck you".

    Stale I rather love you right now. <3

    Oh brilliant
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    The Black HunterThe Black Hunter The key is a minimum of compromise, and a simple, unimpeachable reason to existRegistered User regular
    I am making progress to being less shit.

    I am closer than ever to being happy with myself.

    I'm stronger than I could have thought possible after a lifetime of being at the bottom of the pile, I'm finishing uni in the next couple of weeks, I am developing actual social skills, I can talk to people now, strangers even.

    I have a debt to my parents which weighs heavy, but otherwise I'm OK.

    Except for the fact that of the last 7 people I've asked out, one was a turd from the offset, one had a boyfriend. and five were leaving the city or country in like a week's time. Five of them, god damn. It's slightly ludicrous :P

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    HyperBalladHyperBallad A ball of vivid colour and barely contained emotions Sydney. Lost in time and space.Registered User regular
    The HB year.

    January- Have fun at beach with parents and Gatsby. Miss him sorely while he is off partying with the other Auspaxians.

    February- Start my course, and already am bored with it

    March-July- Bored bored bored bored bored.

    August- My 20th birthday passed with little fuss. Gatsby and my 1st anniversary

    September- Diploma starts- oooh boy, is cataloging ever a bitch!

    October- Africa trip with family.

    November- Am tempted to give up on course, but decide to stick with it.

    December- Summer again!

    Steam: poetic_gecko.
    2DS/3DS Friend code 0361-7385-2366
    Twitter: @PoeticGecko
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    That Dave FellaThat Dave Fella Registered User regular
    January - March: Nothing of note
    March: PAXEast, one of my favourite times of the year. Seeing forum people is always a highlight of my year and the time we get to spend together is always so short.
    April - October: Nothing of note, turned 22, didn't do anything.
    October+November: Spend 3 weeks in America. Blizzcon and hanging out with the most awesome people. Go to Texas and meet more awesome people. Go back to California and hang out some more with awesome people.
    November - December: Bad stuff happening to me at work, bit of a downer for the end of my year.

    PSN: ThatDaveFella
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    FAQFAQ Registered User regular
    I'm still kicking

    month bleeds into month but sure what harm

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    GatsuiokiGatsuioki Registered User regular
    Shit Munkus, glad things are starting to look up a bit.

    July-March : WOOOOOOORK. (Built my super bitchin' computer in that time and bought me a Xiphos).

    March-Onward: Quit work, school, trying to find another job and will probably end up groveling back to my old job.

    TDOT on Man vs Discovery Channel
    "Alright fuckers, I'm in charge now.

    From here on, every week is Shark Week."
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    LarlarLarlar consecutive normal brunches Moderator, ClubPA mod
    Campion wrote:
    January - My father died, making the depression I already had even worse. I could no longer work at my job, so I left.
    February - I do not complete my portfolio for the animation program, I do nothing.
    March - Begin my relationship with Mensch and get an operation to fix nose issues I've been having for 10 years. I spend the rest of the month recovering.
    April - Looking for work. Cell phone canceled, can't pay, going into debt. The operation does not fix my nose issue.

    all the interviews

    Suffer living on my mother's couch, in the same house as my awful brother.

    Become an awful shut-in
    every single interview


    November - Find work, pay cell phone bill, celebrate 25th birthday.
    December - I need to help my mother with her bills up until February when she's moving out.
    ----

    I have had better years. I think. It's hard to tell.

    Aw man. The operation didn't do anything? That's retarded.

    Also, it's time we concoct a plan to frame the cell phone companies for the murder of your brother.

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    THEPAIN73THEPAIN73 Shiny. Real shiny.Registered User regular
    holy shit stale

    holy shit fuck cancer

    anyways

    I proposed to my lady, she accepted, we have started making wedding plans, went to Gen-Con and it was amazing. I worked a bunch. Made some new friends. Was denied a raise but life happens. I attended two funerals this year, which is up considering the last time I went to one I was 9-ish?

    2012 will be a good year. I'll get married and then we can really start saving for our house. Right now we are in saving mode for the honeymoon, which I found out I am paying for, BUT her parents are paying for the wedding so it's cool.

    Facebook | Amazon | Twitter | Youtube | PSN: ThePain73 | Steam: ThePain73
    3DS FC: 5343-7720-0490
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    StaleStale Registered User regular
    Thanks everybody <3

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    BroloBrolo Broseidon Lord of the BroceanRegistered User regular
    Stale wrote:
    Thanks everybody <3

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    damn stale

    you're looking good

    and perhaps... single?

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    StaleStale Registered User regular
    Now I'm tempted to buy one of those shirts and take a beefcake picture just for you Rolo.

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    STATE OF THE ART ROBOTSTATE OF THE ART ROBOT Registered User regular
    edited December 2011
    January-June: Uneventful millitary life
    Late june: get orders to deploy
    June-Aug: Get ready to deploy
    Sep-Dec: Deployed, making cash, playing Eve to distract myself when I can.

    STATE OF THE ART ROBOT on
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    CptKemzikCptKemzik Registered User regular
    Despite all of the shit that has been going on in the world, 2011 was actually a banner year for me. It marked a year + relationship with MY GIRLFRIEND (which continues to go pretty swell). I had my last semester of college, which yielded my best grades yet, and gave me some TA experience, the chance to present a research paper for one major, a small award for the other, and then I graduated. Finally I managed to get into some fulfilling (but not high-paying) work fresh from graduating via americorps which I've managed to set up until June 2013 through some proactive searching and applying the past few months. There were some bad things like my maternal grandpa dying and my grandma getting into a severe incident that was initially misinterpreted as almost dying; but this was more a period where I was emotionally supporting my mom. I really don't have too many legitimate problems or things to complain about.

    In fact things in general have been pretty well since that point where I transferred schools in college back in 2009.

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