I can say without reservation, 2011 was the happiest year* to date of my adult life. I’m highly pleased with finally coming into my own career-wise, and pushing forward on a bevy of ambitious side projects. I am still intoxicated enough from last night’s VIL-sponsored revelry –case in point, I just walked my troublesome puppy completely around the block, barefoot, pre-dawn in January. Why?– to indulge in some numerological nostalgia, and thank key people that made this past year a stirring success.
Christina: You are a badass piece of womanhood. You don’t have long to wait. You have made the unattainable fantasy of a zero-stress, supportive, harmonious relationship a reality. Much love.
Jake: Although I would still hesitate to describe you as a mature adult, your past missteps are forgiven. Your loyalty means a lot to me, and you have been a remarkably productive lieutenant these past 3+ months.
Gregg: You have perfected the role of one the masses love to hate, but I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather go out of my way to have a conversation with.
Jesse: You have a lot of fans, deservedly so, but I honestly think the world is worse off that we did not cross paths years ago. In the ~10 months I’ve known you, I’m certain I have gained a staunch ally.
Josh: Circumstances completely prevented us from hanging out 2011Q4, but I really can’t imagine a plausible sequence of events that would lead me to stop considering you among my closest friends.
John: We’ll always have strikingly different personal utility preferences, but there’s no other peer-aged male who’s respect is more important to me. Lets kick ass and make money in 2012.
Goals for 2012:
-StLCenCom chairmanship
-Rental income surpassing current salary
-Quit day job
-Unthinking proficiency with center-fire rifle
-Long-term household in order, both infrastructure and personnel
-post here once/week
*Since moving out of the ancestral domicile, I would, on the spur of the moment, rank my years of independence:
1. 2011 – Launched my political career, worked harder than I ever have in my life getting my real estate business off the ground, and my circle of friends doubled at least. Lived latter half in my customary voluntary poverty with good friends.
2. 2005 – The height of Ogres 1.0. Gained considerable recognition playing Magic, and was for the first time, completely in charge of my world. Lived whole year in a condemned office building!
3. 2004 – Met many of my current friends, took my first large self-directed financial risk, played magic 6+hrs/day. Good times.
4. 2003 – Summarily disowned my experience at SLU, and spent most the summer in Costa Rica, earning some choice anecdotes. Moved back to Ucity in fall and picked Magic cards back up. Acquired some obscure geek cred, being an early and enthusiastic adopter of wikipedia, and publishing a fairly high volume of firebrand political articles.
5. 2010 – Lived with Josh for the second time and started my second personal business, while simultaneously making major contributions at grandma’s office, to the point I was confident I’d become a legitimate professional, and not just a nepotistic beneficiary. Severed my marriage for all intents and purposes, and met a marvelously superior replacement.
6. 2009 – first 5 months were disastrous, generating most my gray hair, before I finally ejected all-encompassing source of misery from my home. Business life began to have a semblance of organization, that inspired me to care. Mid-09 was the turning point that led to my current situation.
7. 2000 – Recovering from traumatic WashU expulsion, spent the spring backpacking through southwest desert for 3 months. Summer and fall worked in Science Center design dept, which was most fun I’ve ever had at salaried position.
8. 2001 – Lived in UCity, working part time at menial position in family business, plus some freelance CAD work. Social life consisted entirely of internet political forums, and my brother’s high school friends using my apartment as escape from chaperones at every opportunity.
9. 2002 – The Months of Leisure. Lived in Ucity. Longest continuous period I was neither employed, nor in school. Spent 16hrs/day watching Napster movies and writing anarchist diatribes. Had lots of ideas for higher-aiming projects, but faced inertia of personal indecision. Eventually returned to school at SLU in fall, which was highly aggravating.
10. 1999 – My first foray into higher education went spectacularly poorly. I did enjoy the novelty of running my own schedule, but did so inefficiently to say the least. Poor timing to develop a lust for vodka. During this period, came to realize, despite being a central member of my group of high school friends, I really had an unrecognizable life-strategy to their perspective, and thus no reason to maintain contact. I was quite socially reclusive for like the next 3-4 years.
11. 2007 – Returned to work for family business, first as just manual labor, but got promoted later that year. Meanwhile sporadically desiring to murder my live-in girlfriend. Slogged through final credits of econ degree at WebsterU. Felt highly disconnected socially.
12. 2008 – Spent unbelievable amount of time and money on irreparably self-destructive individual. Spent most my work-weeks on futile tasks, slowly watching my grandfather’s legacy crumble.
13. 2006 – My mother, an uncle, and two emotionally-close grandparents all died. My first business folded. Failed half my classes. Spent 4 months unemployed, dabbling in recreational pharmaceuticals, making no particular effort to seek work. Destructive relationship dominated my thought process. The one and only time I’ve ever been displeased with my body. Inactivity, plus in-house cook, got me up to relatively flabby 175lbs.
Good post. We kicked 2012 off in a pretty dramatic and good way.
You should do a breakdown of your life by days next.
Quite an interesting entry, in particular the parts where you talked about the emotional lows of wasting energy on your doomed relationship, etc. Most people don’t have the courage to be so honest about their mistakes.
Minor side note: it’s kind of odd to hear you describe yourself as having been a “flabby” 175 lb.s. In the bulletproof vest entry, I noticed you were kind of tall and skinny but had you at around 6’2, 170ish. Far off?