2011 Your Year in Review

[SnakeEyez]

Same premise as last year's thread (http://foxkei.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1452): look back over the past year and give everyone a brief overview of how you spent 2011. Did any major life changes occur? Did you get a new job? Finish school? Make a noteworthy purchase? If it happened in 2011, feel free to talk about it here.

Work
Yup, I still work at Web.com as a copywriter. It's still a difficult job to talk about since it's so mundane, but it pays the bills and it doesn't drive me crazy, so I don't see myself leaving it anytime soon. One thing to note is that the copywriting team has grown tremendously over the past year. About a year ago, I was one of only nine copywriters on the team. Now there are more than thirty copywriters on the team. The business has really grown over the past year, and our team has grown with it. Since I'm one of the crusty veterans now, I've been doing my part to train all the new people so they'll survive in the ultra-competitive world of ad copy. I've been helping out on QC as well, so I feel better knowing that I have some flexibility on my side. Aside from a few minor complaints here and there, it's been pretty smooth sailing at work this past year.

Crossing Another Entry Off the Bucket List
I have my Master's degree! I picked it up in the early part of the year, framed it, and hung it up on my wall right next to my Bachelor's degree. Feels good, man. I think I'm done with school for the time being. I don't foresee myself pursuing any higher degree in the near future. Let's see just how far I can go with a Master's degree in English.

Writing the Last Chapter of the Tournament League
The Anime Tournament League (http://foxkei.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39) and the RPG Tournament League (http://foxkei.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=40) wrapped up over the summer. I know that only a small handful of you care about this, but for me, it was kind of a big deal. The Tournament League was an idea that has been floating around in my head since high school. It's been something I've wanted to do before I even fully understood what the Internet was or how it could be used to bring this pipe dream to life. When I joined 1up.com in the latter part of 2004, one of the very first things I did was create the Tournament League (although it was called something else back then).

It lasted for a full 7 years, which really makes me proud. It had its ups and downs, and arguments inevitably broke out as we all asserted clashing opinions, but I was very pleased with it overall. Seeing it end brought a tear to my eye, but I'll always remember the good times I had with it. I'll always be able to look at the League with pride and think, "Yeah, that was something that I did. I made that."

Video Games
Now that college is no longer an albatross around my neck, I have a bit more free time on my hands. I've spent some of that free time diving into my backlog of video games and finishing a couple of them that have been sitting in my collection for a very long time. According to my Backloggery history, I have beaten or completed a total of 30 games in 2011 (listed in chronological order):
* X-Men Arcade
* Shantae
* Super Smash Bros. Brawl
* Cube Droid Saves the Galaxy
* Professor Layton and the Curious Village
* Action Fist!
* Borderlands
* Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
* Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
* Borderlands DLC: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
* Borderlands DLC: The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned
* Borderlands DLC: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution
* Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
* Portal: Still Alive
* Final Fantasy XII
* Psychonauts
* Gyromancer
* Yoshi's Island
* Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
* Overlord: Dark Legend
* Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
* Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
* Zombies Ate My Neighbors
* Super Castlevania IV
* Wild Arms 3
* Portal 2
* Braid
* Pokemon White
* Metroid Prime
* Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir

And just for shits 'n' giggles, here are all of those 30 games listed in order of favorite to least favorite.

1.) Portal 2
2.) Borderlands
3.) Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
4.) Super Smash Bros. Brawl
5.) Yoshi's Island
6.) Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
7.) Pokemon White
8.) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
9.) Portal: Still Alive
10.) Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
11.) Psychonauts
12.) Professor Layton and the Curious Village
13.) Metroid Prime
14.) Gyromancer
15.) Borderlands DLC: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
16.) Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
17.) Borderlands DLC: Claptrap's New Robot Revolution
18.) Super Castlevania IV
19.) Action Fist!
20.) Zombies Ate My Neighbors
21.) Borderlands DLC: The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned
22.) Shantae
23.) Final Fantasy XII
24.) X-Men Arcade
25.) Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
26.) Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
27.) Cube Droid Saves the Galaxy
28.) Braid
29.) Wild Arms 3
30.) Overlord: Dark Legend

Living Arrangements
Still living in the same apartment as I was last year. I like this place, so I hope I get to stay here for a long time. My rent went up by $60 a month in June, but I'm also making more money at work, so it's not a big deal.

Health
I've been making an attempt to stay healthy, but when you have a job that requires you to sit on your keister all day every day, it's kind of difficult to stay slim and active. I bought an exercise bike in July and have been peddling away on it almost every night since then, so at least I'm not a total slug. I experienced some sort of persistent back pain near the end of the year around Thanksgiving. I thought it was my kidney, but I got an ultrasound at the hospital and it determined that there's nothing wrong with my kidneys. I'm still not quite sure what caused it, but some muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory medicine seems to have done the trick.

What's Next in 2012?
Hell if I know.

[ChukoLiang]

Work: Had a job, got pnemonia from the mold at said job, said job refused to accept that there is mold, I quit pretty unceremoniously.

School: Graduated high school. Still no plans set to go to college.

Health: Have been dropping weight for awhile while doing nothing thanks to the magic of being hungry all the time while not having enough food to not be hungry. In the very last weeks of 2011 I got more food in my system so that was helpful. Muscles have been atrophying pretty badly from doing just about nothing. Tried to lift a small CRT TV a few months ago and felt like I ripped my abdomen open doing so. I have only gotten more physically feeble since.

Gaming: I totally owned the shit out of a lot of games, but have even more I have yet to play. I also picked up Steam and now have a huge assortment of games for it. Steam is awesome. It's how that should work. By itself, steam has saved PC gaming for me.

Living Arrangements: No ability to drive means no job means no income means I still live here.

In 2012: Trying to fix the most pressing issue, as in my horrible and crippling terror at driving. When that is fixed the rest will be slightly easier.

[Umbrae]

School
I have taken all required courses to graduate, but I decided to stay in school for another semester since I got financial aid this year. It also helps me bring up my GPA. So this is my last semester at SFSU.

I have applied to dental school this semester and I am currently awaiting replies. I have received a number of rejection letters, but I'll keep my hopes up.

Work
I got a job working at Starbucks. It's a good job, but I still like working at Apple better. It had much better pay and it was closer to home. And I never had to wake up at 5 A.M. to go to work.

This is not really work since I wasn't getting paid, but I did find a volunteering position at UCSF this semester. It was more of research/lab assistant position. It lasted for about four months after which I decided to resign. It was a good experience and the reason why I resigned is so I can find another volunteering job where I can work with patients.

Personal
I met my girlfriend this year and we broke up right before Christmas. It wasn't a bad breakup like the ones you hear. We are still friends and we're still hanging out. Reason for the breakup was our priorities (between a relationship and school).

Video Games
I have bought much, much less games this year due to my schedule. I have also realized that sometimes I buy games just for the sake of buying them. This has cost me a lot of money since I'd play it for a few times and then trade it at GameStop for half the value. So I decided to only purchase newly released games that I really, really want. Games like Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, and Tekken Hybrid.

Other games I've bought are: Batman: Arkham Asylum, , Enslaved, and The Saboteur.

I have also started to finally purchase games off Steam. Grated, they were all on sale for a really low price. I believe I've paid less than $40 for my current collection:


Bit.Trip Runner
Counter-Strike
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion
Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto II
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Portal
Portal 2
Super Meat Boy
Trine
Universe Sandbox


What's Next in 2012?
I don't like to list my goals and plans as it gives me a false sense of accomplishment. So I shall keep those to myself and report back next year for the next thread.

[Heiae]

WORK:
Put in a couple of applications at places this year. Didn't hear nothing back from anyone. Never had a job before. Don't really need one at the moment. It'd be nice to have some extra pocket money and some ~work experience~. Didn't stress too much.

SCHOOL:
Finished up the first semester of my 3rd year in college. Still working toward that English degree with a focus in Creative Writing. Did well - managed to pass Grammar with a fuckin' B! That is an accomplishment - don't hate. GPA is still a 3.4. I'm not an overachiever. Just want to keep my scholarships.

PERSONAL:
Made some new friends. Kept in touch with my closest ones. Crushing hard on a girl I can't even reach. Something about her.. Never will reach her, probably. Circumstances, you know? Not the type to be depressed. Just disappointed. Not in myself or her but the situation. Maybe one day? At least she doesn't get weirded out by my.. uhh.. flamboyant personality. Or does she? Hah!

Video Games:
Good year! Lots of great stuff came out. I can't even remember what all I played this year.. Or what I bought. Other than what I just got over the past few months. Didn't really play much until after Summer ended. I was in a weird mood and had some funky health things going on that distracted me. I was not in a gaming mood. Still, I tore through stuff over the past few months. Skyward Sword, Peace Walker HD, Arkham City.. Why did I waste so much time on Dragon Age 2, though, a couple months ago? God, that game was so fucking terrible. It was like I couldn't pull myself from the trainwreck. At least I can say I know true horror. Wish I could get that time back.

HEALTH:
Learned to not be so lazy. Catastrophic constipation over the Summer thanks to a shitty diet and little activity. Went overboard with fiber and water trying to get better and ended up making myself get all bloated and sick. Being more active fixed everything. I felt like a lazy idiot. Learned my lesson. Only took 20 years. Never again. Always gotta boogie. Boogie = good health.

2012:
MORE SCHOOL! I don't really make goals and shit. Just gonna keep doing my thing.

PEACE!!!

[Phoenixx]

School:
After a extremely lengthy absence (2004) I went back to school in January. I passed my Effective Speaking class (with an A) :) This in itself deserves recognition because I had failed it 2 times before, thanks to my lovely anxiety disorder that I refuse to take meds for..I finally just sucked it up and said "do or die"..kinda like teaching myself to swim when I was 12..Some good did come out of Corey's 14-month layoff in 2009/2010 because that allowed me to get all kinds of financial aid this year (along with my double scholarship award) so I could go full time this year. As long as everything goes as planned, (to be continued at end of post)..

Work:
As stated before, after working half of my life (EEK!) in the restaurant business, I left it all behind me and got a job as a secretary for a property management company. Completely different ball game, but I totally love it. There really is no complaint I have about my job. Yea, one could say I'm everyone's little "bitch" around here, but my bosses don't treat me that way at all and I kind of like not being the boss. If a tenant starts screaming at me on the phone, I can hang up on them and not worry about losing my job (whereas in the restaurant world, I had to take it, even if they were saying the sky was green and the grass is blue). Plus, there is room for advancement (maybe sooner rather than later, but not worried about that right now).

Personal:
Well, along with volunteering at the kids' schools when needed, I also decided to be a cheer coach. That's funny because I hated cheerleaders in school. Maybe this is my punishment for the way I acted towards 99% of them, lol..But they (for the most part) are great kids, except the one I call Tehya. Totally kidding about that, I know this will sound completely biased, but she's one of (if not the) best ones on her squad. I also do charity work with some other direct sales people. I have to say, it is rewarding, especially since our quarter raffles benefit local charities. Corey and I are great, we celebrated our 10th anniversary in April. If he's lucky we'll celebrate our 11th next year;) bahahaha..

Video Games:
Well because the above topics have consumed much of my life, there really hasn't been much in this category. I might have played Bayonetta, but I think that was 2010, not 2011. I play Bejeweled Blitz and Words With Friends on my iPhone (if that even counts, lol).

Health:
OK, like SE, I have a desk job. So that coupled with the fact that I am getting older (holy shit I actually admitted it, in writing even!) so my metabolism has slowed down. I've put on some weight:( Not that I am fat, hell I could have used some meat on my bones, but I'm a little softer in places than I prefer to be, so starting next week I am going to be hitting the work outs again, and maybe adding to them. I have completely eliminated pop from my diet, cut way back on the fast food, and I am still smoke free:)

2012:
As long as everything goes as planned, I will have my Associates Degree (Accounting) in June (yep, 13 years for a 2 year degree). I would like to go on to get my Bachelors, but that's a wait-and-see thing. I plan on doing a lot of work around my house now that we are finally caught back up on our bills stemming from Corey's layoff a few years ago. We are also planning on taking a vacation around my b-day/christmas time, probably Disney World.

I hope everyone has a great 2012!!

[ReverendHobo]

Work:
Got a seasonal job at Hastings, the second real job I've held. It's alright, a bit boring at times but nowhere near the torture that was CVS. Recently though, they've cut my hours to 7-8 hours a week. I'm not sure how to take this. On one hand, it was a seasonal job and I understood that it would probably only last until Christmas, but I'd actually like to make decent money. On the other, they could have outright fired me, and at least I'm making some money. I think I'm gonna ask for more hours though, see what happens there.

School:
Still going to college. I've finally declared a major though, History, but I'm still just slogging through the basic courses before I can get to the real learnin'. Also, it's tuition time and my cut hours aren't helping any...

Personal life:
I'm still a lonely, lonely bastard... But I've still got some great friends and an awesome family. Can't really complain much.

Video Games:
You know, this year has been really forgettable in terms of games. On New Year's Eve a friend of mine asked the group what our top 5 games of the year were, and I could only think of 3.
Portal 2, Saints Row 3, and Batman: Arkham City in that order.
Maybe it's just me being forgetful, but no other games really jumped out to me.

Health:
Still asthmatic, still fat. I really gotta start working out, but I just hate it so much.

2012:
Fuck, I don't even know. Keep on schoolin' I guess. Hopefully I can find a job what pays well and can move out of my parent's house. I love 'em to death, but I gotta need to strike out on my own, man.

[Grand_OoF]

School:

Doesn't really apply, but I have been weighing the option of finally going back for a Master's degree. An option I'm certainly not pleased about, but it would certainly be more beneficial in the long run.

The only thing is, I'm not sure if I want to go back for Disaster Management (which I picked up a taste for during my time in TX, would give me a nice, cushy federal job and could relate to my PR degree) or go back for business (which has even MORE opportunities and better connects with my PR degree, but I have little interest in it).

Work:

Well, for the first part of 2011, I was still working/volunteering at the VISTA AmeriCorps postion with the United Way of Weld County. ...And I pretty much hated it.

But nothing was worse then what followed, being unemployed for about four months. I can't imagine what endless madness it's like for individuals who have tragically been unemployed for longer then that. But it was one part insane and two parts depressing for me. My heart goes out to them.

Fortunately, I found a job with First National Bank. It's by no means a dream job, but it pays pretty well, has full benefits and to be honest, it's not terribly stressful. So, for the time being at least, it's a reasonable job to fill in while I look for/work toward something better.

Personal:

In regards to my friends and family, there's nothing new to really report. Some drama here and there, but it was pretty boring and I have continued to stay close (or in contact) with my friends and family.

The most note worthy thing, which I've pointed out already, is that I met a girl. Those of you who've known me for a while also know that for most of 2010, I was hitting the dating scene. And as my belly aching no doubt proved, I both sucked at it and hated it.

But there was one girl.

We met back in the summer of 2010, and as stupid and cliched as it sounds, I loved her from the moment we met. We had two dates, which were fun and generally went well, but I was shy and awkward and she was shy and working through some other things, so it didn't go well enough to continue. I got put in the dreaded "friend" category, and assumed that would be that, and she would just be yet another pretty friend I have because I have 0 luck with women.

Then, when she came back from school for Christmas 2010, I figured I would meet her for dinner and just hang out. And I don't know what happened, but it was amazing. No longer was I shy and stumbling over myself, but I was now being charming and fun. She picked up on that.

Maybe we just needed time to be friends first. I don't know. But either way, early 2011, it came out she did in fact have feelings for me, and wanted to give it a go again. This time with much more success. We hit it off and became "Facebook Offical" back in May, and I asked her parents permission to marry her back in November. Four weeks ago, as you all know, I asked my best friend to be my wife, and she said yes.

Video Games:

Back at the start of 2011, I said that other then Pokemon White and Marvel vs Capcom 3 (which at the time, I had already pre-ordered), I would swear off video games until I had enough money saved for a car and was back out on my own.

...Well...that kinda worked out. Sort of.

I made it to about July before I caved. But, to be fair, even though I didn't get a new car or move back out on my own, I have been pretty frugal with my money spent on gaming. It certainly helped that I needed to go back and beat all of my Xbox games since my account more or less crashed.

Most of my games purchased this year were either off Xbox Live Arcade or Wii Shopping Channel. Either that, or they were games I rented. A few notable exceptions here and there, but for the most part, I just played demos for a while until I finally decided "I MUST HAVE THE FULL VERSION".

That list includes:

- Raskulls (XBLA)
- ilomilo (XBLA)
- Shadow Complex (XBLA)
- 'Splosion Man (XBLA)
- Sonic CD (XBLA; bought with Christmas gift from work)
- Portal (Still Alive version; XBLA; bought with Christmas gift from work)
- Castlevania: LoS Reverie (XBLA; DLC)
- Castlevania: LoS Resurrection (XBLA; DLC)
- Jam City Rollergirls (WiiWare; bought with Wii Points card)
- Final Fantasy III (Wii VC; bought with Wii Points card)
- Warhammer 40K: Space Marines (360; Rented)
- Shadows of the Damned (360; Rented)
- Alice: Maddness Returns (360; Rented)
- Transformers: War for Cybertron (360; Rented)
- Captain America: Super Soldier (360; Rented)
- Portal 2 (PS3; Played at a friend's)
- PoP: Forgotten Sands (Wii; Rented)
- Sonic Generations (360)
- Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (360)
- Batman: Arkham City (360)
- Muramasa: The Demonblade (Wii; bought with Amazon gift card)
- Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii; bought half with Game Stop gift card)
- Solatorobo (DS; bought most with a different Amazon gift card)
- Radiant Historia (DS; gift from a friend)

So, again, I'd say I was pretty good about the money I spent on games.

Health:

Nothing really big to talk about hear. I've been making a pretty good habit of working out before bed, and other then some recent lower back pain, I'm generally pretty healthy and I'm all the more blessed and happy for it.

2012:

Well, the biggest event of 2012 will be my wedding, which right now is set for September 1, 2012. I'm excited, to say the least. Nervous too, sure. But only a little.

This will come with a lot of big new changes. I'll be ditching my car (the '95 Honda Civic I've had since high school) and be purchasing something with a little newer and with a little more horse power, appropriate given the winter we've had this year (it hasn't been the worst winter ever, but my car sucks in snow). I'm also going to be moving back on my own, and also intend to get my own cell again.

So, in other words, it's going to be expensive.

But that's okay. Even if my wallet is going to take several blows (the addition of a steady relationship already did that anyway), I am happy with where I am right now, and eager to walk into whatever awaits me, good or bad.

Here's to 2012. May it be happy and wonderful for all of us!