2008 personal year in review...

It's pretty hard to look objectively at this year, as my view is pretty much being clouded by my inability to drive without hitting stuff, as witnessed by today's accident.

My ability to drive seems to have gotten worse in 2008.

Most of the other things I'm unhappy with in my life don't seem to have gotten any better. I'm still single, and don't really see much likelihood of that changing soon, and I have yet to find some magical way to meet women who are willing to put up with me. My social life hasn't gotten any better or more active. Weight-wise, I've managed to maintain my weight, but I haven't lost any.

Financially, it depends on what you look at. I worked a lot of overtime, so I was able to save some money. I paid off my truck. My house has dropped in value a shit-ton, which isn't exactly a good thing, but I can't really do anything about it. Same thing with my 401k, which is probably down by half.

Work-wise, my job keeps getting worse and worse - I have more responsibilities, more pressure from higher ups. I'm realizing that I can never take a day off - when management is telling you you need to do more, and you already seldom take time off, the only thing I can do is never take time off. I need to work harder if I want to keep my job, and I'm not sure how. And given the economy, I can't really even consider looking for a different job or changing directions and going back to school.

My parents, as I've mentioned in a few previous posts, are starting to show their age and develop a bunch of health problems - which makes me feel bad for not being around to help them, but also stresses me out when I'm visting them. I guess it could be worse, and I'm lucky to still have both of them around and be on good terms with them.

So what will 2009 bring? I don't know. I'm hoping it's better. I'm hoping that some combination of luck and personal growth will allow me to meet the woman of my dreams, not hit anyone, find happiness with my job, and that my parents start feeling better.

This is the first year I remember where the general consensus - not just of my own life but in general, from the media and other people - is that 2009 will suck. With the condition of the economy, people aren't holding a lot of hope for the year. Instead of the optimism that most people greet the new year with, people seem to be greeting 2009 with low expectations. Maybe that's a good thing - as one of my coworkers is fond of saying, if you expect the worst you will never be disappointed. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Maybe we all will be. I hope so.