2004: The Year In Review

Posted 4 Jan 2005 by pedro (Staff)

2004 is over, folks. What has happened in your life in the last year that seems meaningful or memorable? What has happened in the world at large that has been meaningful or memorable to you?

2004 is over, folks. What has happened in your life in the last year that seems meaningful or memorable? What has happened in the world at large that has been meaningful or memorable to you? inkblot inspired this special with this diary entry.

well, holy cow, posted 5 Jan 2005 by GNatural » (Fixture)

Geez.... this year has been huge for me.

I had some tremendous losses (my nephew Jeremiah, my aunt Grace).

I had some tremendous accomplishments ---

finally finished my @#$@#ing undergraduate degree from Porth Nark U (yes, mother, it's true -- they don't ask you HOW LONG it took, only if you have one).

Added another human being to the domain of "People I Am Generally Responsible For" (my former girlfriend, now wife Holly). I'm trying my hardest to keep that total at 2 for a few years.

And just this week, I got my first official ministry position, leading worship at New Life Community Church. Wasn't my first choice, yet -- as God tends to do -- he brought me to the right place at the right time. Part time is better than Zero Time, which is what it had been up and til now.

This year, I also purchased the two items that tend to occupy a good portion of my attention -- my XBOX (birthday present from my wife) and my car (1996 Dodge Intrepid). I think I did pretty well, although time will tell about the car. I'm also a week away from bringing home a Roland Fantom X6 keyboard workstation, which is soon to supplant both car and XBOX in terms of overall interest level and WOW factor.

I've also had my first real job difficulty this year -- not that I haven't had problems on other jobs, but this was the first situation where on more than one occasion, with my livelihood on the line, I've had to pray to God to keep from just flat-out walking away in the middle of the day and never coming back. But God is faithful; I'm still here, and still gettin' PAID.

so yeah... besides all that... it's been a pretty humdrum year.

Baseball!, posted 6 Jan 2005 by dogmanphil » (Fixture)

anybody catch any baseball this past year? i did! a whole lot. i went to close to 20 games, cubs, red sox, brewers, white sox, and a twins play off game. i watched probaby 150 games on tv and listed to around 20 on the radio. God bless ronnie santo. it was a great baseball year.

as my sister said at christmas "if the red sox hadn't won the world series this year you wouldn't have gotton anything for christmas."

school, posted 9 Jan 2005 by neoacerbitas » (Fixture)

i went back to school to attain a secondary bachelors degree, WTF indeed? Leaving chicago though has helped put my life and many things into perspective. The one thing that sums up my existence in chicago was the last cubs game that i went to, it's a blur, and i don't remember half of it, but someone ended up with all my money and a good portion of my self-respect

what happened?, posted 10 Jan 2005 by ConeyIsland81 » (Fixture)

This year went by faster...then..um...the last two years (?). Seriously, it was a big blur...especially from September to November Some notes:

This year, posted 12 Jan 2005 by dex » (Fixture)

This year, for me, was wonderful.

* Julia came into our lives, early, teaching me the value of prayer as well as the tenacity of life * Anna is growing into a beautiful girl with a wonderful personality - she's funny and smart. She started school this year and is a bright little star there * School was wonderful - I focused my energies and really started working on my poetry, and formed relationships with my teachers and fellow artists that will be valuable for the rest of my life * My friends have had wonderful changes, marriages, births. Some have had deaths - Jay lost his grandmother last year * My brother found the woman he's going to marry, who will be a wonderful addition to our family

I was horribly dissapointed at the election. I was horribly sadded by the tsunami. I was amazed and awed at the power of nature again and again. But I was also warmed by the community I saw forming, the world community, to help tsunami victims.

I guess overall, personally, this was one of the best damn years ever. I hope they're all this good.

The year in review, posted 12 Jan 2005 by elise » (Fixture)

This past year I made another career change (my 3rd so far) from UNIX System Adminstrator to Technical Program Manager. I've been very lucky in my work life (except for that year at the KMart portrait studio), in that for my past two careers, I've basically gotten a job without knowing how to do it. Now I'm busy taking classes and reading books and figuring out how to be a project manager.

I also got to go on a bunch of great vacations with my beau last year, a trend that I hope to continue in 2005.

As far as the world goes, it was a bummer that the shrub is back for a second round. Also, the tsunami in the Indian Ocean was, of course, terrible. And today I heard a piece on NPR about how Burmese people are being treated very badly in Thailand, not being able to get aid, being arrested for not having papers, etc. This is awful. I would hope that people would be bigger than that. I am thankful that everyone in our Chennai office is safe.

I think that's the year for me.

this year, posted 13 Jan 2005 by blvdgirl » (Fixture)

I had my heart broken in a completely non-romantic-love-kind-of-way--it's been the kind of experience that turns the world up at the corners and lets it fill with the rain. Even swimming, I still feel as though I'm drowning... My just-sixteen sister is pregnant. (What a great way to share the news, right?) And, I don't have the words to express the enormity of all of the racketballing emotions of this new ride that I, through no fault of my own (maybe), am now riding.

What is there besides this great, fearful shadow? I know that there should be so much else... I live my days. I am busy. I am busy busy busy. I haven't been so busy since my last semester of college. I work. I coach. I lead. I minister (maybe). I tiptoe around the edges of new stories that I begin but never complete. I contemplate solitude, friendship, love, meaning, the absence of meaning, and God. I read. I watch tv & movies (probably too much). I continue to attempt telepathic communication with my cats to little effect. I teach. On a daily basis, I make students laugh in spite of themselves. I try to define myself as a person--why do I need to do this? Don't ask me, I'm probably just neurotic. I feel sad that "leadership," "organization," and "professionalism" are accolades that my colleagues would use to describe me-- this isn't the me I dreamt of at eleven...

I'm sorry. I know that I've just sabotoged the tone of this special... I've enjoyed reading the summaries and the lists above--my heart celebrates for all of your victories and your gifts. I feel for those of you have lost this year. I am amazed by the men and the women that we're becoming through God's grace... Those of you that I know, I love well, and those of you that I don't, I feel like I do... But, I don't know how to reflect on my year. Most of it seems nothing more than a blur compared to the last few months... I've been pondering this entree for days (weeks? has it been here for weeks yet?).... I don't know. I know that time heals and that it is usually only the passage of time that we can recognize miracles. Maybe next year at this time, I will have enough perspective to see the beauty of the story that I am now living. I pray that this will be so.

somehow appropriate that I should write next, posted 17 Jan 2005 by andronicus » (Fixture)

2004 will from here on out live in my mind and heart as the year my daughter Anja was born. The bulk of the year was spent preparing for her, enduring and enjoying Christy's pregnancy. Our relationship continued to grow, to deepen. The climax came in December with a whirlwind of a night that resulted in the birth of a beautiful little girl.

blvdgirl, I can't imagine all fo the fear and uncertainty that is bound to a teenage pregnancy. I do know that there is a pure joy in a baby. Whether your sister's baby will be cared for by her or a family member or put up for adoption, a new person will become alive. A new person, this baby, will be able to experience. That is a very rich thing.

Not much really..., posted 18 Jan 2005 by smax » (Fixture)

Lets see, the spring of 2004 was mostly spent realizing the college lifestyle does not always end at college, but it probably should. Once summer hit I bought an old motorcycle and decided to learn how to fix them. I wouldn't say I failed at learning how to fix them, I just ran out of time. I ran out of time due to my moving to Utah, buying a place and not changing much else. I do ski less and play less pool, but I climb a lot more and I have running water and heat (kinda nice to have). Oh, I also live alone (but there are always visitors) and I do miss the dogs around, but not waking up to a band warming up in the middle of the night is kinda nice.

2004 , posted 3 Feb 2005 by pedro » (Staff)

...has been a great year for me, although not without it's challenges. The best and most obvious thing is that I married the love of my life, known to most of you as alh (now alhp) and moved. That and other events catalyzed many changes, including preparing to quit my job at NPU (this coming summer), leaving Chicago, going back to school, and putting redvinegar on the "farewell tour" path. It's been a hard year, learning how to be married and having to further learn to manage my time. I've also lost a lot of my personal free time thanks to Calculus and that makes me feel very strange, since the things that make me feel most like myself (making music and doing random computer projects) have often either been marginalized or tightly scheduled (or irresponsibly done anyway, committments be danged!) and while being financially responsible has it's own rewards, it also means some personal denial... which has never been my strong suit. That and actual discipline, whether it be in work, in school, or in life. I do well because I can, not because I made it happen with sweat and elbow grease. I don't even know how to grease an elbow. In some ways, I have refused to grow up for the last 5 years and this year, in many ways, has been a real learning experience in that regard. But I feel very blessed through it all, and grateful for the life I have been given... and I look forward to the new paths and journeys that started this year and will end who knows where or when.

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