2019: message_topic.aspx?topic=651155
2018: message_topic.aspx?topic=650451
2017: message_topic.aspx?topic=649505
2016: MIA
2015: message_topic.aspx?topic=646551
2014: message_topic.aspx?topic=643933
2013: message_topic.aspx?topic=639963
2012: message_topic.aspx?topic=632553
2011: message_topic.aspx?topic=620902
2010: message_topic.aspx?topic=605245
2009: message_topic.aspx?topic=584031
2008: message_topic.aspx?topic=552174
2007: message_topic.aspx?topic=506882
2006: message_topic.aspx?topic=447821
2005: message_topic.aspx?topic=375305

Career: B

Not exactly where I want to be, but considering this year, not bad.

Family: B

Love Life: F-

Fucking sucks, and the pandemic hasn't helped. It's really hard.

Social / Friends: C

This year has been bad of course. Getting older is weird and making and keeping friends is also weird, and hard. One of the big lessons I have learned in life and realized is that so many of our good friends are random encounters. I have met so many people who are best friends now because a computer matched them as roommates or suite mates in college. I also still talk to people I met on TWW and in classes some 20 years ago now. After college those opportunities fade and people are not as receptive to making new friends. They get absorbed by all the things going on in their life and don't really have much motivation to find friends.

Health: A-

Hey, no COVID!

Hobbies: C

I honestly thought that with everything going on in 2020 I would have more time for them ... but I don't. Or at least I haven't made that time.

Money: B

I am doing pretty good overall.

Overall: C+

2020 has been a shit year in general. I've tried to make the best of it and find the silver linings, and there have been a few. Having said that, I feel like most of the things in life have been on pause. I think more about age now than I used to and while I am glad that I am doing pretty well overall I have to say that I have lost a lot of my optimism. I hope that 2021 is better for us all, and that I have found some new reasons to look forward to the future. Cheers.

12/14/2020 9:54:24 PM

Career: B+

Where I want to be, but with Covid and budget gridlock from the state level it has been hard to get a raise or even the cost of living bumps lately. Mostly working from home has been awesome and I'm super productive. I think this experience will push us to be more flexible moving forward so I'm looking forward to that. Still have my two pain in the ass employees (firing is fucking impossible in the state system) so they are my primary work stress.

Family: B+

Mostly been okay. My wife lost her grandmother to Covid on Mothers Day. We couldn't see her when she was in the hospital and did not attend the funeral due to a ton of restrictions. Otherwise our family unit is doing pretty good in spite of spending much of the last 8-9 months at home.

Love Life: B-

About the same as last year, closing in on 18 years. With pandemic lockdown there has been almost no sleepovers or outings for the kids so that hasn't helped. Wife has been even more stressed at work for much of the year so she's pretty tired and most of the housework has fallen on me.

Social / Friends: B

Lockdown hasn't helped with friendships. There have been a few times where I've done gaming/drinking nights with some friends so that has helped. Been keeping up with friends online as best I can. Was really looking forward to go visit a really good friend in Vegas but haven't felt up for flying this year as you can imagine. Hopefully next year.

Health: B-

I'm down about 20 pounds since the start of the year. Being home has made it easier to watch what I eat and I find myself going out at lunch and working in the yard, taking walks, etc. My step count is way down from when I went to the office but I think the better eating has helped offset that and then some. Still need to get more exercise.

Hobbies: A-

With the pandemic I've done even more photography. I got another nice lens which I've been putting to work. I missed the airshows this year, and likely will have few if any next year to attend. But otherwise I've been running a couple of Facebook photo groups and had some great experiences and made several new friends from that.

Money: A-

As mentioned no raises this year for the wife and I as we are both state employees. But the big salary jumps from the last couple of years have helped us save a lot more and also pay off our only credit card. We've paid off a few other little things, but our debt is now mainly her student loans and my car.

Overall: B-

Lot more negativity this year from the outside world and others but overall things have gone pretty great for our family unit. Hopefully next year will be more positive and lockdown will finally start to ease up so we can finally get to do some travelling.

[Edited on December 14, 2020 at 11:42 PM. Reason : ]

12/14/2020 11:41:47 PM

Quote :

" It's really hard."

Thats what he said

Career: C

Not exactly where I want to be, but considering this year, not bad. No furloughs or paycuts. Work 30 hours a week compared to about 40-50 before.

Family: A

They are alive.

Love Life: D

I don’t really try to get a good woman, mostly just look for one and done easy pussy

Social / Friends: D

Similar to love life. I don’t even try. I have such disdain for most people. And most of the people I know suck.

Health: C+

GotmCovid real early on but asymptomatic etc outside of pink eye and dry cough for a few days. Apparently wine habit caught up to me. Cholesterol 270, blood pressure like 140/100 always. Have alcoholic hepatitis in the liver. Doc got me in crestor and some triglyceride med. And I picked back up smoking most of the year although cut it out past month again.

Hobbies: B

Got into biking, reading more news, overall still learning new things

Money: C

Once things are better need a new job, tired of taking money out of IRA. But some of that I could easily rectify by lifestyle choices.

Overall: C+

Obviously this is like the worst year ever but I see better things for me in 2021

[Edited on December 15, 2020 at 12:51 AM. Reason : Joke]

12/15/2020 12:38:54 AM

Career: C-

I was employed most of the year and compensated pretty well. So there's that.

Family: C

Pretty hard to see them with a global pandemic, but except for a great aunt I didn't lose anyone so there's that.

Love Life: C+

Shit's been rough but we're doing better. Still really stressful.

Health: A-

I wouldn't mind losing 15-20 pounds but otherwise I'm doing great

Money: B

I got enough saved to feel somewhat comfortable.

Overall: C

This year sucked but it sucked for everyone. It was shitty for me in ways I didn't expect but at the same time it could've been much worse. I still have everyone close to me, a roof over my head, and a job that pays fairly well. That counts for a lot.

12/15/2020 1:38:16 AM

Career: A & D

kinda the reverse of last year for me. started the year with a job I was very excited about, but then the campaign ended in February. stuck around to help out a little while waiting to see what post-campaign organization would emerge, while interviewing for new jobs. which was really bad timing because then COVID shutdown hit and I wasn't sure how how much hiring would freeze, so I ended up scrambling a bit and just taking a job that wasn't anywhere in the vicinity of what I thought I wanted to do, but I saw potential and a challenge in it, plus the office was 5 minutes from my house (lol I've been there once to pick up my laptop). That job started out ok but after a few months I've mostly lost interest. Of the 5 coworkers they hired in the last year, 2 of them (who I thought were great) just left, and 2 out of the remaining 3 I have very little confidence in. So now I'm interviewing again and will hopefully find something more aligned with my long-term goals.

Love Life: B

Hit two years with my gf recently. Definitely see a lot more relationship challenges this year, but I suppose reality tends to set in at this point. Her kids and mine continue to get along great. Sometimes I do wonder if I'd have been happier just staying single, but when the divine madness shows up at your door, it's hard not to answer.

Social / Friends: D

Not much has changed since last year. COVID definitely made it harder to go out and meet people. My neighborhood is kinda small, and although I walk the neighborhood with the kids most days, there's hardly anybody else in the neighborhood who comes outside. I guess I mostly hang out with #YangGang on twitter

Health: C

Lost a few pounds the last few months, but I still could stand to get in better shape. Got a physical this year for the first time in a long time, everything came back good (except liver was slightly over recommended levels). Mental health has been a lot of ups and downs. I keep trying to put myself in positions that I think will make me happy, and mostly just find myself disappointed.

Money: C

In the second half of the year I finally started earning decent money again, which I can't say is true for much of the prior 18 months. After 8 years renting out my house in Charlotte, I'm due to close on its sale in January and will be able to pay off all my prior debts and obligations, which will feel nice. Hopefully the next job I take I'll be able to earn closer to what I was making in NYC but we'll see.

Overall: C

2020 was a shitty year for everybody, and many if not most had much more challenging circumstances than I did. But still, I feel overdue for a real kick-ass year in 2021.

12/15/2020 6:33:09 PM

^ yes, I expect 2021 more than ever as well.

12/16/2020 7:50:33 AM

Career: Ending as an A but most of the year was an F

The company I worked for went through some fairly large COVID layoffs in May due to our entire pipeline disappearing overnight and ended up not having a job for 7 months. I was given a more than reasonable severance and unemployment actually paid a decent amount due to all of the additional government money. Initially it was actually a blessing in disguise. I was able to spend a ton of time with my family over the summer - went to the pool with the kids at least 5 days a week. Tons of interviews and nothing resulted in anything meaningful. Ultimately, the head of HR at a company I worked at for 10 years randomly reached out on LinkedIn and connected me to the Chief Product Officer at a company and I ended up accepting an offer there. I'm on week 2 but having a ton of fun. The team I work with on a day-to-day basis is local / boss is in Vienna / dev team in Vietnam which is causing some crazy hours but it's manageable. I took a slight title decrease but my previous title was inflated anyways so not a big deal.

Family: A+
Spoiled in so many ways here. Despite the kids being able to annoy my wife and I from time to time, they bring us so much joy. Our oldest girl is about to turn 7 in February. We put her in private school for 1st grade this year because finishing kindergarten virtually at the end of the past school year was miserable - either my kid or my wife were crying each day. We plan to put her back in public school at some point but trying to determine when that will be. Tough to definitively say we will put her back in public for 2nd grade because of a concern that the kids that are doing virtual school (our county has been virtual the entire time so far - there is a chance they go back in January but doesn't seem likely) will be so far behind where kids that were in person are. Our 5yr old girl has an incredibly big personality but is incredibly sweet and cares for others over herself most of the time. Figuring out school for her going in to kindergarten is going to be interesting with so many unknowns around in-person and virtual. Our 2yr old is the typical high energy, only plays with cars trucks and trains, physical boy. It's such a difference from our girls and despite growing up in a girl-run house he finds a way to inject testosterone wherever he goes - despite being a momma's boy through and through. If there is a downside on family it's that we haven't been able to see our parents or siblings this year outside of a few minor exceptions. We are lucky to be close (relationship / not distance) to our families and wish we were able to see them. Thanksgiving and Christmas just aren't the same but managing.

Love Life: B

Going well but nothing earth shattering here. Married 13 years. We have 3 young kids that wear us out and leave us with less time for fun. We don't have any family nearby to help with babysitting and have only had 1 babysitter since COVID hit so our dating life is pretty much non-existent. We do get to go out to lunch from time to time alone because all of our kids are in-person for school or pre-school. We've put our kids going to school in-person as a priority so we've minimized some things to limit possible exposure.


Social / Friends: B

Only reason I marked this as a B instead of an A is that I do crave to be with my friends more. I'm lucky to have a great group and we've had a number of outdoor gatherings that have been fantastic. We've done a few zoom poker nights and other random happy hour zooms that have been incredible. I'm ready for life to go back to 'normal' so we can hang out more.

Health: C

Nothing exciting here - could lose some weight but not in a horrible spot. I'm definitely drinking more during COVID than ever before which was probably already too much. Yearly physical didn't show anything overly concerning so that was a positive. Since I tore my meniscus in the left knee a few years ago I've noticed that it gets sore and needs rest more frequently after activity than before I tore it.

Money: A

Despite being unemployed for 7 months our money situation is better than ever. We have enough passive income coming in to keep us afloat. The market having a great year in addition to unemployment money kept us more than afloat and despite my wife worrying we didn't have to adjust or change our lifestyle. Life continued as normal. On target to hit another net worth milestone in the near future.


Overall: B+

Hard to say it was a great year overall but very little to complain about. Was great to spend so much time with the kids over the summer - will likely continue to be one of my favorite summers ever. I'm ready for COVID to be over and fortunately it looks like vaccine distribution beginning that it's on the horizon.

12/16/2020 10:55:05 AM

First time ever posting in one of these, here goes nothing.

Career: B+

After very unexpected mass layoffs last year from a job that I liked a lot (Automated Insights, the company that's best known for the fantasy football recaps), I ended up at my first remote job, and first company with more than 70 people (it had 17,000).

I met some really good people there, but it wasn't a good fit for me, and I really wanted to get back into a Durham tech startup again. I was lucky enough to get hired at Spreedly at the beginning of this year, which has been a great job overall. And while many companies struggled during the pandemic, Spreedly thrived (since e-commerce skyrocketed).

Family: A

Me and my wife are happy and healthy, and our two small sons (ages 5 and 3) are the great We're lucky we didn't have to go through virtual kindergarten with our oldest kid (hoping that schools are back to normal by next fall).

The rest of my family, most back in Asheville, is doing great, too.

Love Life: B+

Two young kids that wear my wife and I out every day, and randomly come into our bedroom at night, don't help with this. But overall it's very good. It's been tough finding her a suitable sister wife due to the pandemic, though.

Social / Friends: C+

Virtually, I've hung out with plenty of great people. I was able to host a Super Bowl party luckily right before COVID went nuts. Hanging out with people through video chats is not the same at all as in-person.

Health: A

Working out once more. I do miss having a treadmill desk (not enough room in my at-home office).

Hobbies: B-

Most of my time has been either work or taking care of kids. Not a ton of time/energy left over for hobbies.

Money: A

Doing pretty good, could probably be doing better.

Overall: B+

2020's been a wack year, but I've been way luckier than most people (job that handles remote work great, healthy family, no little kids having to go to school online).

12/19/2020 9:58:07 PM

Quote :

"It's been tough finding her a suitable sister wife due to the pandemic, though."

12/20/2020 12:58:49 PM

Career: F

Management has been going out of its way to make life unpleasant for years now, including announcing that there was no possibility for promotion for anyone in the organization. That eventually drove one person on my very small team to quit; another got sick of all the other bullshit and retired. Neither of these positions were backfilled, so every departure just means more work for everybody. Also, I genuinely liked those people; my rapport with my coworkers and the opportunities for travel were the best things about my job. Well, with COVID, I don't see my colleagues and I don't go anywhere, so now my day is basically just conference calls and e-mail chains. You know, the worst parts of the job.

Family: C

COVID killed my uncle; my Dad is old but refuses to admit it, resulting in some stupid risks on his part; my Mom is being extremely dramatic, I think because she's about the age her mom was when she died, so she thinks the end is nigh. None of that is pleasant. Plus side, wife and dog are OK, and wife's resistance to having kids shows signs of cracking.

Love Life: A

Locked in for 9+ months and haven't killed one another yet, I'd say that's pretty good.

Social / Friends: D

Zoom don't fucking cut it. The only thing keeping this from an F is that some peripatetic friends have finally settled down in the DC area and we see them fairly often, maintaining some degree of safety by sitting outside around a fire.

Health: A-

Pretty much perfect, except for the occasional hemorrhoid. I even lost a bunch of weight early on in quarantine; exercise went down, but not as much as beer consumption and lunches out at work.

Hobbies: B

I definitely did not make the best use of my extra time (though working from home didn't leave so much of that anyway). But I've seriously ramped up my handyman skills in the new house, had a moderately successful garden for the first time, and broadened my culinary skills significantly.

Money: A

I don't really like my job anymore, but can't complain about the money. I finally have enough to invest, give regularly to charities, and occasionally buy a thing without agonizing for two hours about the cost.

Overall: C

A lot of my individual scores are quite high, but I'm hardly looking back fondly on this year.

12/22/2020 8:50:38 AM

Career: B
Finally got some heads at work, launched a new product and absolutely killed it but at great personal cost. 3 months of 60 hour weeks wears on you. My boss is pretty bad at managing up so we'll see if can make good on my demands. I got to hire the 2 guys I asked and waiting to see if I get the rest of the heads I need.

Family: A-
Everyone is healthy and safe. New nephew is doing well. Brother in law and dad are fighting which is less than ideal. Added some dogs to my family Sad I didn't get to see much of my family all year


Love Life: C
mostly going through the motions

Social / Friends: D-
Never made a ton of friends locally and traveling mostly didn't happen. Had a couple fun car related road trips, but not much. Was starting to meet folks with some activities but stopped all of it in feb.


Health: B
Did whole30 and lost 20lbs, but haven't been to the gym since feb. Hikes and dog walks don't really cut it. I've added ~4.5 back since getting off it about 4 months ago.

Hobbies: C
Bought a lot of cars and have been enjoying mountain driving but largely been working so much the time and energy for hobbies isn't really there. I don't know if home renovations count as a hobby, but I've done a fair bit of those if that counts.

Money: A-
The only thing preventing this from being an A+ was fat fingering a trade during the flash crash and getting stuck with 30k in the settlement period when I could have bought TSLA at $400. That 30k would be like 240k right now. I've done great everywhere else and my grants at work will probably work out to 5x their current value when they vest.

Overall: C
Professionally I kill it, but personal joy and happiness are mostly fleeting or not there this year and as good as I ended last year and started this year on my fitness journey, covid destroyed that trajectory. Energized by GA going blue, several vaccine options, and getting to hire my friends, I'm hoping 2021 is much better

12/24/2020 7:58:10 AM

Career: C

Spent a lot of time scrambling this year responding to COVID to do work that was well overdue. Grateful I did not lose my job and seem to be in a relatively safe position, but there were times this year where I wasn't so certain. Now, after essentially a year of churn with thankfully stable leadership, the powers that be decided to push out our President, who was a beacon of light and an inspiring person to work for. It makes me question the direction of the company and if I want to continue to be there. Some of the moves they've made are either 1) callous and petty attempts to rid the company of his influence or 2) attempts to position our division for external sale. Both are pretty cynical views, but the lack of transparency we've had since his departure is both striking and disconcerting. I've found my niche in this industry, am a Director-level employee, and it would suck to have to find a new place to work, potentially in a new industry.

Family: F

My sister in law lost her mind over my disdain for Trump and texted me some of the most vile shit anyone has ever said to me. I told my brother that I would never speak to her again and that I would never forgive her - I never want to be around her and she's not welcome to come anywhere I am going to be as a result. I'm actually relieved that I no longer have to put up with her, but it has strained my relationship with my brother and means that I will have less exposure to my niece, who I love. My father's currently recovering from COVID because he thinks he knows everything. It was touch and go about a week ago.

Love Life: B

My girlfriend and I haven't killed each other despite being cooped up together all year. That's always good. But it wasn't a remarkable year, otherwise.

Social / Friends: D

I miss my fuckin friends, yall. I miss playing soccer. I miss going into the office and talking with coworkers. I miss grabbing a beer when folks come into town. I hate that I'll probably have a negative association with all of this stuff for the rest of my life now because of COVID.

Health - Physical: A Mental: C

I lost 25 pounds and worked out every day for the first 6 months of the year. I'm not going quite so hard now - maybe 4/5 out of 7 days a week now - and I've hit a plateau where it's hard to lose anymore weight without getting really serious about changing my diet.

Mentally.... between the family shit, the COVID shit, the worry about losing my job at points, the political shit, the racial justice shit.... this has been a REALLY FUCKING HARD year. Luckily I do have some stable constants, and I have battled depression before and have healthy coping mechanisms and outlets to help. If I didn't know what I know about myself, mental health would be a D or F, for sure.

Hobbies: D

I spent a lot of time playing Call of Duty. I got really good at it. But it's not a hobby that I'm particularly proud of or would like to continue post-COVID.

Money: A

I can't complain about my revenue streams. I get paid well in my day job, it's been a banner year for my investments, and I feel like I have invested wisely for the future when opportunities arose.

Overall: Low C

Man. Fuck this year.

12/25/2020 11:34:26 AM

Felt like an unexpected power cycle

12/27/2020 10:17:19 AM

reboot

1/31/2021 10:28:19 AM

TWW is a blog.

1/31/2021 10:29:22 AM

Career: D

Started a great job at the end of 2019 but in December they announced a realignment/reorg so I went through a new boss each quarter in 2020. Ended up getting laid off due to COVID RIFs in November and have been struggling to find something good since.

Family: B

Family is about the same. My mom went to the ICU for COVID and I thought I was gonna lose her, so that wasn't fun, but she's pulling through.

Love Life: F-

Fucking sucks, and the pandemic hasn't helped. It's really hard.

Social / Friends: F

It's been a year since I've seen a lot of friends due to COVID or whatever else. I'm a very social person and it's pretty much killing my soul to be this isolated. Friends who are in relationships seem to have retreated into each other's company and friends that were single have found other people and no longer hang out. I've had a lot of other friends move away as well. Between being unemployed and not seeing friends the days just seem to blur together, it's miserable.

Health: B+

Health has been up and down. I was doing well with diet and exercise and had a really bad break in my cuboid (foot/ankle) that left me basically bedridden for 6 weeks. All of the gains I'd made from the first half of the year were gone and I still can't run. I did get really into cycling and that's been a lifesaver for getting outside and now that it's too cold to go outside, using Zwift to stay in shape. 2021 is looking up health-wise. I haven't drank and have lost 15 lbs since Christmas via Zwift cycling.

Hobbies: B

Cycling is going well and my dissertation is moving along well enough, although I'm so ready to turn it in and never look back at academia. Hopefully I'll finish in May/June

Money: B

I made a shit load of money in 2020 and got a nice severance, but it sucks dipping into savings and seeing it whittle away while unemployed.

Overall: D

COVID sucks. If I thought life was getting tougher as I've gotten older, COVID has only made that more apparent. It's scary how few people I really have left and when your parents are sick you realize how alone you'd be if something were to happen. It's very difficult to stay motivated and positive during this - it's extremely isolating.

1/31/2021 8:52:59 PM

It was mainly about surviving from the COVID and the economic recession causing by it. Pretty rough.

[Edited on February 24, 2021 at 10:36 AM. Reason : add another note]

2/24/2021 10:34:04 AM

Career: A+

Doing great. I love my job and my job seems to love me.

Family: A

My family has always supported me. I talk with my parents regularly and we're good friends. I also chat with my younger sister - we're in the same industry and we like the same bad horror movies. I have connected a bit more with my other sister during this pandemic, too. I want to work more on that.

Love Life: A-

I'm married. My spouse and I love each other. We sometimes have conflicts but we sort things out.

Social / Friends: B

I wish I could fucking see them. Soon, though. Soon.

Health: C

I have high blood pressure and sleep apnea and other diseases of fatness. Sorting that shit out.

Hobbies: B

I wish I had more time. I want to start painting little ceramics. That sounds relaxing AF.

Money: A-

I don't understand money but I seem to be earning it now. I fucked up and over paid capital gains last year. I'm just not a good money manager. I wish I had someone to handle all that shit for me. I pay my bills on time and never wonder whether I can afford something or not but I also live modestly.

Overall: A-

[Edited on March 23, 2021 at 5:01 PM. Reason : -]

3/23/2021 5:01:25 PM

fuck you people and you people's nice life. its 5:11am im posting thing.

3/24/2021 5:12:34 AM

Career: D

I was beginning to get bored with my job at the beginning of the year, then COVID happened and that boredom rapidly accelerated. Eventually got fed up at one point and applied for a job, but bombed the interview because of anxiety that rapidly kicked in and my mind went blank on every question that was asked. Had to get them to repeat the question a few times, and I still couldn't process everything they asked. Never have had that happen, and I've been trying to seek counseling on why.

Family: C-

Immediate family is good, especially with the wife. I've seen my mom a handful of times, but not being able to see the rest of the family because of COVID has been awful. I've been talking with my brother a lot more since we've picked up the basketball card hobby again! Luckily I'll get to see some family this weekend since just about everyone has been vaccinated (that I'm aware of).

Love Life: A

Life with the wife is great. Every now and then we need our space, and hopefully the vaccine will open up some more opportunity to do things to blow off steam from being stuck inside a lot.

Social / Friends: F

Haven't seen anyone, and haven't really talked to too many. I'm awful at initiating conversation.

Health: B

Been working out regularly in the home gym, but could lose some lbs if I ever decide to track calories again. Have eaten relatively healthy though. I've had a total of a half of one beer since the middle of October.

Hobbies: B

I've learned to love blue collar work, by either yard work or inventing new ideas to construct or fix something at the house. I've also picked up basketball card collecting again, and that's been a breath of fresh air. It's also helped me reconnect more with my brother, as we both share what we've found.

Money: A

Haven't struggled to much since we haven't traveled anywhere to spend money. I've paid my truck off, cut satellite radio, cut gym membership to open up funds. But the wife is going to school, so that hurts funds to use for updating things around the house.

Overall: C-

FUCK COVID

4/12/2021 12:04:02 PM

The engine in my Porsche died (FWPs)

My dog of 14 years passed

I broke up with my girlfriend

Wasn't a great 2020

4/16/2021 11:30:02 AM

I suppose everyone's 2020 is awful, it's about surviving from this pandemic happening only once in a century

4/16/2021 11:35:38 AM