• I survived wrecking my back so badly that I couldn't walk for a day and a half.
• I had an official job offer that I turned down because my present employer made a counter-offer too good to pass up.
• I started taking classes that interest me (Attic Greek).
• I put a roof over the head of 7 people besides my immediate family for the entire year and 2 other people for a significant portion of the year.

• I flunked the oral assessment for the foreign service, scoring only 4.9 on a 6.0 scale for which a 5.2 was the cut off.
• I did not earn a certificate in web development from the local community college as I dropped that course of study after only four courses.
• I did not sell (or even finish getting ready to sell) either Ye Olde House of Doome or The Headache House.
• I flubbed a huge IT project at work.
• I did not write anything of significance.

• My eldest daughter went on a three week tour of France, Italy and Greece as a student ambassador.
• I got sick and wrecked my first real vacation plans since 2004.
• My wife had her gall bladder removed.
• My mother almost died due to blood clots in her heart and lungs.
• My grandfather passed away.

This past year was hard and presented to me some of the most difficult personal challenges that I've ever faced. Most of those challenges will be following me into the new year. I will have to continue to work almost every weekend on the two houses I own. On one, the hope is to get into good enough shape to sell at a small enough loss that we can afford to eat it. On the other, the hope was once to sell it for enough money to pay off all of our outstanding debts including our present mortgage but is now to walk away with something, anything, and fuck my sister over at least half as badly as she's been fucking me for the past three and half years. The rest of winter and most of spring will have a grueling schedule for me as I continue my intensive Greek lessons on top of my full time job and heading up north at least one day of each weekend to work on the moneypits. Summer, if I pull together enough money for Latin classes, will be similarly grueling. And my personal dæmons will not be going away. No, they will continue to haunt me.

What I hope for in the year to come:

• To sell Ye Olde House of Doome by any means necessary that doesn't involve either destitution or prostitution.
• To continue to succeed in Greek courses.
• To apply to graduate school.
• To learn how to rock the f--- out at least a little bit.
• To learn to walk away from arguments on the internet.