Reflecting on 2004

Well, another year is almost through. Time to look back on 2004:

WHAT WAS GOOD:

1. Getting married to Dr. J.
2. Living in Sewickley, in a cool apartment in The Village.
3. Visiting Adrian and Noah in the Bay Area.
4. Having my Dr. Father-in-Law around after a bad car accident.
5. Honeymoon in Sonoma, Napa, and Paso Robles!
6. "W" being re-elected.
7. Meeting Rich Brandt.
8. Champagne moments with Nicole.
9. Getting to know Arlene and Joey.
10. Making my confirmation.
11. Borders. Language. Culture.


WHAT WAS BAD:

1. Recovering from mold sickness caused by our Bellevue aprtment.
2. Being called a "moron" or "religious freak" because of how you vote.
3. Having to emotionally prop up too many people at the same time.
4. Discovering that parents can screw up. Badly.
5. Unexpected wedding costs.
6. Being in a bad SUV accident with your husband. As if the accident isn't scary enough, the sheer emotional terror of being in separate ambulances, and separate hospital rooms, is far worse than any physical pain you may feel.
7. Dealing with insurance companies. That's always bad.
8. Office politics and game playing.
9. Moving 3 times within 6 months. Especially when it involves a spiral staircase.
10. Not being able to reveal what hurts.
11. That damn black cloud insisted on following me around for another year.


WHAT I LEARNED:

1. You have to tell people when you need them. And how you need them.
2. Getting to know God helps. Alot.
3. There is great evil in the world. Sure, I already knew this, but I learned it again.
4. Having friends at work to confide in is essential to survival.
5. The "Bourne Supremacy" is a fine movie.
6. My capacity to forgive, even extreme wrongs, is greater than my well-known ability to hold a grudge. This shocked even me.
7. Nothing irritates me more than being told "Everything will be fine."
8. Executive Defensive Tactics has very intense self-defense courses.
9. If at 15 I had the confidence I have now, my life would be drastically different.
10. Resiliency is a quality I greatly admire.
11. Some days you are smarter than you thought; and some days you are dumber. It just depends.