Highs and lows of 2013 for you?

Highs and lows of 2013 for you?

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The Hypno-Toad

12,375 posts

207 months

Saturday 7th December 2013
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Job: Was going great guns which I have to do given my dodgy financial position and then.... they worked out I was doing too well and cut my commission. So off to somewhere else because I couldn't afford a paycut and back to square one. AGAIN

Cars: Still the most reliable thing in my life. She just carries on, being wonderful and not costing me much. Needs two new rear tyres soon & it would be nice if it could run on water as sometimes I've only been able to put fuel in it to get me to work rather than have a life. The ride in an SLS was fun in the snow and even having only driven it for a while the new Fiesta ST is an amazing little car.

Relationship:tumbleweed

Health: Put back out which was agony for about 10 days. Now I'm beginning to put on weight.

Holidays: Went to see my Dad up north for a weekend before the inevitable happened. I go back for the funeral on Thursday.

Finances:rofl

Anything else: Yet another ste year. For the first time, I'm now feeling old. Most years I've looked in the mirror and seen a slightly older 20 year old looking back. Now I see a man who continues to make a total fk up of his life and is stuck in a trap of his own making, his hair greying, his eyesight failing, his face falling like ice floes off a glacier. Christmas this year seems like an irritation rather than something to look forward too. I can't even remember the last time I had a really good year. I'm tired, bored, lonely and I just can't get a break anymore.

Now here's Bob with the weather! How's it looking out there, Bob?


Well, you did ask.
getmecoat

Huff

3,174 posts

193 months

Saturday 7th December 2013
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Job: happy amongst peers in present small company for the last 6+years, no desire to change that however much I kvetch day-to-day. New and interesting projects looking forward in the near term - finally making-good on at least three years of solid graft to keep the wolf from the door and expand horizons. If I have day dreams of packing it all in and charging off in another direction - that's my problem. I do, frequently, but can't afford to - not least because I can't identify the direction to move in!

Cars: No plans to change, no interest in 'new' fo rteh sake of it, rather I'm investing more in what I have and enjoy. Even after 6 years driving the E34 540 feels like an occasion, and the R1-engined Fisher Fury is just the most communicative, pure driving joy toy.

Relationship: too many tumbleweeds in last 18months as a singleton, but I sense a change is in the air smile

Health I binned nearly 25Kgs over ~8months last winter - all 15years of post-Uni inflation. It remains lost, with no real effort. I am well and feel great. (sniffles and colds and st don't signify)

Holidays The usual 7days walking Scotland's West coast last Easter - something I've tried to do yearly the last 10yrs or so. Bliss. Missed a decent summer break for work pressure, but had some great times of family and friends visiting/being visited. And they really are what matters in life.

Finances Tight ship still being run, is remaining mostly on-course; no debts but no real pay rise in 5yrs+ either, and supporting daughter #1 at Uni guides priorities.

Anything else I find myself blessed with close friends, and that's a real joy.

P I Staker

3,308 posts

158 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: It's ok.
Cars: Been messing about with the 106 and bought a Saxo VTS for much cheapness as a wee project.
Relationship: Broke up with the girl friend a few months back.
Health: No illnesses, a good weight but pretty unfit.
Holidays: Not been abroad unless Wales for the WRC counts.
Finances: Minimum wage went up when I turned 19 so happy days.
Anything else: No really.


confused

Butter Face

30,535 posts

162 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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High: having an operation that made my life a lot more pleasurable

Low: My Grandad dying the same day. It ripped me apart and ruined my whole year, never felt so low, empty and alone in my life frown

Life is ups and downs. He always told me to take the rough with the smooth and enjoy everything life threw at you. Life is a journey not a destination.

vesparider

5,502 posts

143 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Lows: Losing both my lower legs from being hit by a car. Depression. Spending two months in a (sort of) relationship with a girl I've been in love with for seven years, only for it to end when I went back to uni in London. Losing all my motivation at uni, and basically not going in to a course I used to love.

Highs: Those two months mentioned above were pretty good. I discovered almost all my friends are amazing and I'm lucky to have them. Above all though, I'm still alive and that counts for a lot.

MethylatedSpirit

1,906 posts

138 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: Enjoying running the coffee shop, makes a nice change from the high pressure design engineering. Only temporary until I finish uni then back to designing aircraft bits.

Cars: Year started with two cars being written off by a bus that hit them whilst parked. I missed an exam because of it. And the company hired by first bus to repair my car tried to sue me but that deserves a whole thread of its own.

Sold the TVR frown

Relationship: Still going strong after 6 years. She's not at uni anymore so we spend much more time together.

Health: Nothing much. My eyes were quite red and irritated last month which for reasons I don't quite understand was caused by my asthma. Anyway, eye specialist was bang on and it's cleared up.

I'm hovering around 8 stone, which is fk all for a guy. I've always been like that. My girlfriend is worse, she's 7.5 stone.

Holidays: No holidays aside from a trip to "sandy balls" with the family. Big plans for next year though.


Finances: I have money stuffed away to buy another TVR, just a matter of finding the right one. Managing to put away a decent amount every month, we're not really interested in having the latest car on the driveway or a bazillion channels on cable TV.

Anything else: I canoed up the whole of Loch lomond. That was awesome.

Chim

7,259 posts

179 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: Got back home for work for the first time in many years last January, really enjoying being home every night. Took a big drop in Money but its worth it, chasing the dollar is not all its cracked up to be. On the down side of work, the job is not great and getting very bored with it. The only thing keeping me there is being home each night

Cars: Been a quiet year on the car front, have finally made a move though and pick up a new (ish) Jag XKR on the 20th of this month, really looking forward to it.

Relationship: 26 years and counting, all good

Health: All fine, getting older and stiffer, aches and pains tend to pop up all over the place. Could do with being a lot fitter, next year I will hit the gym, been saying that for 20 years now though smile


Holidays: Venice, Dublin, long weekend camping with my lad which was really good, also got a new place in Spain this year, great to escape to and chill out

Finances: Big pay cut means I have been a bit more frugal this year. trying to get into a mortgage and debt free position within the next two years as well

Anything else: Fairly undramatic year, highs and lows but no real big lows, was a bit down mid year for no real reason but good now and looking forward to Christmas. Can see me changing jobs again next year though.

Edited by Chim on Sunday 8th December 08:32

papa3

1,420 posts

189 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: Always entertaining. I work part time for the Police (who here are responsible for Fire, Prison, Immigration, Vehicle Licensing and inspection and sea rescue) where I am a public protection officer within HMP and a trainee auxiliary fire fighter. I do 3 days a week H&S for a large employer and this year was appointed chairman of the utilities company board. Good year, very diverse and always interesting.

Cars: Roads here are biased towards 4x4 or trail bikes. Looking for a new car and bike just now but shipping to here is a bh.

Relationship: 13 years, never been better.

Health: Fit and well, torn ligaments in my ankle a few months back hindered me for longer than I would have liked. Now dieting as the training for work in the new year will really need me to be fitter.

Holidays: UK, Cape Town, Mauritius. Looking at Italy and Mozambique this year.

Finances: I dropped a great salary when we emigrated and local wages are very low. Mrs does ok. We are 5 months from being debt free but alas also asset free after a bad turn on our last house.

Anything else: Some rough periods in the work I do with offenders, Mrs had a stressful few months. All in all life is great, more time with the kids, lovely weather, seldom work weekends beyond call outs.

Mashedpotatoes

1,344 posts

150 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Started the year having been taken for enough money to buy a house in some parts of the uk by an unscrupulous client. After lots of hard work have managed a profitable year.

Mum diagnosed with very aggressive cancer but doing very well with the therapy so far so good.

Celebrated one years anniversary camping in Cornwall with my wife and friends good times. Sadly still no little ones.

Weight is piling on due to spending all my time sat in the office or car. Need to get that sorted in the new year. And my friar tuck bold spot is getting ever bigger.

Bought a Lexus 4x4 on an 01 plate believing a jap 4x4 was less likely to suffer mech fail than a rang rover or sim. Turns out the valve oil seal are munched and beyond economic repair.
Got out for a race at Castle Combe in the mr2. I was very slow but great gun.

Week in Dubai not bad as we could only squeeze a week due to wife's work commitments. No comparison to Maldives/Thailand.

Just realised after writing this that I have more of a dull out look on life than I thought I did.




andy-xr

13,204 posts

206 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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2013 was/has been a bit of a realisation year for me. At the start of the year I was laid off from a job I was slowly getting tired of, with a nobhead boss who had weird agendas and was out to prove himself at my expense. Being let go from that one hurt me a lot financially, so much so that I ended up moving back in with the folks for a month, other side of the country.

I picked up a new job, started seeing my family more, appreciating them having been away for around 10 years, and realised what I'd been missing. In the new job I met and fell in love with an amazing girl, we've been together for around 9 months and never had the kind of happiness before. Work wise, the job I picked up turned sour, I was let go again and financially hit a record low, wiped out everything I had

With family and friends around me I've picked it back up, found a new job that looks to be much better, I start tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it.

I've realised that

1) Work isnt everything, being happy in what you're doing makes so much difference
2) Having the love and support from my o/h and family means more to me than I realised
3) Being materialistic is for wkers
4) Karma does exist - two dhead bosses who'd made my life extra hard to make themselves look better got found out and sacked.

George7

1,130 posts

152 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: Still working as an IT tech at a law firm; a job which I enjoy, but is quite badly underpaid. I'll be requesting a proper pay rise soon, and if I don't get it, I'll have to look for a job elsewhere.

Cars: Won an MG ZT 190 on eBay at the beginning of the year, sold my trusty Focus which was my first car (and a bloody excellent one). I've enjoyed the MG so far, but my mum has recently offered me her 2010 Ford Focus (both of my parents are retired now and have pretty much decided that they don't need a car each), so I'm currently considering switching the MG for that. I don't 'really' want to, but it's quite difficult to turn down.

Relationship: Bugger all. Considering signing up for match.com or some such next year.

Health: I seem to have gained weight recently. Planning on some sort of diet after Christmas.

Holidays: Iceland in February, which was bloody brilliant, Japan in April which was good and Yorkshire with family in may which was a lovely break and gave my MG a good run. Unfortunately that was my whole holiday allowance at work used up by May and now I'm itching to go away again!

Finances: Living at home and paying a fairly nominal amount in rent, so despite my low wage, I do quite well.

Anything else: Going to try getting back into photography properly, as I really enjoyed it when I was properly into it and going on little day trips to take photographs.

Captainawesome

1,817 posts

165 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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JOB - Not worked much at all this year. I Work ad-hoc so can pick and choose times. Worked hard last year so have pretty much taken the year off.

CARS - Bought 2 x Evo's 2 XM3's (11 supercharged) and 2 x audis A4 and A3

RELATIONSHIP - Got married and had my first baby girl.

HEALTH - Perfect

HOLIDAYS - South of France and various UK trips and weekends away

FINANCES - Won a million quid on the lottery at the start of the year so better than ever

ANYTHING ELSE - Bought my first house outright! No more rent ever!!!!

No lows really apart from a blown head gasket on my supercharged M3. All fixed now though.

knotweed

1,984 posts

178 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: It's been a busy year, but no real change from last year. Certain aspects of it are starting to get me down. It's definitely time for a career change, but into what, I don't know.
Cars: Sold my Fabia vRS that I'd owned for 5 years and bought a run-of-the-mill Focus. I thought I might regret this, but I haven't.
Relationship:Been together 3 and a half years, living together for 3 months. All is well.
Health: All good.
Holidays: Spent a week camping in Caernarfon. Walked up Snowdon, which I've been meaning to do for years, and did a one-day tour of the Yorkshire Dales on the way home. It was a brilliant holiday. Also went back home for a weekend in March to surprise my grandma on her 80th birthday and showed my boyfriend around some of the Peak District.
Finances: Yes.
Anything else:I've done a lot of reading this year, a lot of writing, and some knitting. Fell out with my dad, but I do that every year. Made my first ever chocolate cake. It's been a good year overall, it's just a shame about work issues or it would have been one of the best.

HD Adam

5,154 posts

186 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: Had a good year so far. Always busy in the Oil Biz and apart from one trip to China, I've spent most of the year in the USA,
Cars: Still got the A8 for daily duties, rode the bike a bit when I was home in the summer and blew the engine up in the truck racing at Santa Pod.
Relationship: Had our 30th Wedding Anniversary this year.
Health: Still powerfully builtbiggrin
Holidays: We don't really do holidays anymore as I travel so much but Mrs HD did join me in New Orleans for 2 weeks this year.
Finances: Doing ok. Gave the oldest daughter the deposit for a house so that she could get a mortgage and move out.

Anything else: No, it's all good. Looking forwards to Xmas at home with the family.

Fattyfat

3,301 posts

198 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: I have my dream job.
Cars: The D4D Yaris is still on the driveway and now my daily again (60 mile commute) after the missus used it for 2 years. She's using one of my Saab 9-5s now.
Relationship: A few blips this year not helped by the amount of time I've been away. All good now and our 2nd child is due next April.
Health: Fitness level down and weight way up, too much else going on and I'm paying for it now.
Holidays: Not really, managed a long weekend away back in May. Will be similar next year due to my work.
Finances: 40% tax so...
Anything else: Wouldn't know where to begin! A vintage year in some ways, an utter bd in others.

Ilikebeaver

2,983 posts

183 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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JOB - I changed jobs this year and am a lot happier. Have finally got out of sales and into what I have wanted to do for a long time.

CARS - Swapped Z4 3.0 for Z4M, had a E30 318IS for a short while, Corrado is being sold, and am now awaiting for a Nissan Juke

RELATIONSHIP - Our 1st year Anniversary was earlier this year.

HEALTH - All ok. I hurt my back on a horse earlier in the year, and then broke my toe which stopped me playing squash for a while and never got back into it, but going strong with the hiking at least.

HOLIDAYS - Driving holiday through Europe in the Z4, then a week in Lake Garda, plus a week in The Lakes and a week in Cornwall.

FINANCES - Not too bad

ANYTHING ELSE - Our new puppy will be arriving on 20th December. Very excited smile .

Overall 2013 has been a good year. (Not as good as Captainawesome'S, but that sounds hard to beat! smile )


Edited by Ilikebeaver on Sunday 8th December 13:15

scottlotus111r

49 posts

127 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
quotequote all
Captainawesome said:
JOB - Not worked much at all this year. I Work ad-hoc so can pick and choose times. Worked hard last year so have pretty much taken the year off.

CARS - Bought 2 x Evo's 2 XM3's (11 supercharged) and 2 x audis A4 and A3

RELATIONSHIP - Got married and had my first baby girl.

HEALTH - Perfect

HOLIDAYS - South of France and various UK trips and weekends away

FINANCES - Won a million quid on the lottery at the start of the year so better than ever

ANYTHING ELSE - Bought my first house outright! No more rent ever!!!!

No lows really apart from a blown head gasket on my supercharged M3. All fixed now though.
What??!!!! Won congrats.

How did you invest what you didn't spend?

Captainawesome

1,817 posts

165 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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scottlotus111r said:
What??!!!! Won congrats.

How did you invest what you didn't spend?
Yup on christmas day last year but didn't get it till 2nd jan this year.

Gave away 200,000, bought house, cars, the rest is invested with a bank but is getting pulled out because I don't like the way the RBS group seems to be heading. Gonna buy a few houses and rent them out instead.

2013 wasn't unlucky for me.

scottlotus111r

49 posts

127 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Surely better to split it up a bit....

Do they act quite different toward you when they see how much cash you have sitting?

James_N

2,981 posts

236 months

Sunday 8th December 2013
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Job: Same old st working nights.
Cars: Not even had the shed serviced this year! Going to have to get it sorted early 2014.
Relationship: Same as the last 29 years - single biggrin
Health: OK
Holidays: Two weeks in Nice including the Monaco F1 was awesome. Amazing weather smile plus a week in Le Mans as usual
Finances: The advantage of working nights is you spend very little, so all good.
Anything else: I also lead a boring life biggrin