2008 Year in Review

January
·         Got to see the look on Michael’s face when Grant and I gave him a brand new laptop
·         Resolved to have sociopath free New Year
·         Had to see Grant off to Iraq again…
·         Mourned with Mom over Jocelyn, who died without warning on a basketball court at SLMS
·         Started one of the hardest semesters of my life
·         Lost 25 lbs since August ‘07
·         Officially changed to my married name
February
·         Spent Mom’s 45th with her in Houston
·         Caught a raging stomach virus – still had to attend classes, after 2 Liters of IV Fluids – but lost 8 lbs… 300 calories in 3 days… that’ll do it.
·         Sociopath pops up with request for the “camera” which has been gathering dust in Mom’s closet for over two years, then holds Grant’s bin of stuff she has at her mom’s ranch hostage until I agree to see her again
·         Missed Grant for the 3rd Valentine’s Day in a row
·         Dad, in moment of pure stupidity, tells me “where I am at, is that I have had enough of the anger and enough of the lies you and your mother believe. When you get past that we can see about doing something.   Your "anger" is actually an illness. There are no guarantees in life and I gave more of my life to support you while your mother was sabotaging the family than you will ever live long enough to give to anyone else. I’ve gone too far and done too much to waste any more time with your "anger." Get over it and then call me.
·         Re-diagnosed as bipolar… for the nth time. You’d think they could just read what’s already in the bloody chart…
·         Started new drugs: Lamictal & Klonapin
March
·         Closet collapsed—had to repair by myself because I had a husband in Iraq and a maintenance man who’s about as useful as tits on a boar.
·         Allowed the sociopath back into my life—allowed guilt and tears and promises of change to cloud my judgment…
·         Continued incredible workout routine with Kyle, personal trainer, and continued to lose weight
·         Continued to miss Grant… to the point where it became numbing and mindless.
·         Oscar-look-a-like (cat) shows up – rescue & find home in 2 days!
·         Spend 2nd anniversary without Grant
·         Sister attempts to sabotage major college presentation by being a general bitch
·         Found out VIRGINIA is the “new” state. 1300 miles from Texas. Frucking joy.
April
·         Apparently, my college group members think I’m a bitch… oops.
·         Grant flies home from Iraq—but American Airlines decides to cancel a fruckload of flights… and his from Dallas to Austin is one of them; he has to rent a car and drive home in the rain.
·         Remember the four years since the passing of a good friend—RIP Matt
·         Bought a Jeep Liberty
·         Packed and moved a 4 bedroom house
·         Finished college semester, less finals
·         Moved out of apartment and into Faye’s house
May
·         Lived with Faye and Jonathan, I stayed in one bedroom of their home with two cats.
·         Took final exams
·         Had huge graduation party
·         Said “Done.” to sociopath after failure to appear at said party—am really sick of bullshit.
·         Talked to Dad on phone 2 days before graduation. Got a “congrats”… sister got a trip to Italy, but I’d be called immature for comparing…
·         Drove 25 straight hours to Virginia with 2 cats in tow; collapsed on air mattresses in PERFECT apartment… fell asleep to ocean like sound of wind through leaves
·         Began job hunting… no job for me…
June
·         Continued job hunting… no jobs…
·         New SLR with Grandpa’s graduation present (apparently he views sister and I as equally deserving)
·         Finish unpacking apartment
·         Visit from Mom
·         Visit Virginia Beach – lost wedding ring… bought replacement.
·         Drive through Shenandoah Valley
·         Found out old secrets sociopath “let slip” … bullshit. Knew she was on the way out or didn’t have enough attention focused on her… whatever the case… let slip my ass.
July
·         JoAnna’s Stock the Bar Engagement Party
·         Sociopath is passive-aggressively contacting me through MySpace.
·         Sociopath is deleted from MySpace, Facebook, and Yahoo. Blocked as well. D.O.N.E.
·         Find job at small construction company in the middle of Richmond
·         Face plant due to high heels and stupid 1X4s right in front of boss on 2nd day. Fabulous
·         Job is a freak show! Boss is nuts! Housekeeper is insane! Half the guys are on crack… who the hell are these people???
August
·         Built a website for the company… am beginning to understand the patients more… am DEFINANTLY running an asylum
·         Dad and I are starting to speak again… and more frequently… planning to see each other at Thanksgiving at Grandpa’s house in Alabama
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in”>·         Boss in motorcycle accident – broken ankle with cuts and bruises…
·         Boss – while hopped up on pain meds – managed to scream at me and call me incompetent and useless. Luckily, I managed to stifle my need to hurl things at people who scream at me.
·         CL (woman who had my job before me) files lawsuit against boss for assault – because she can’t file for sexual harassment in a company of less than 15 employees – for grabbing her ass.
September
·         Start swim classes – confirm I am good swimmer, husband is horrible teacher
·         Interview with Phillip Morris makes me consider changing from small company with meaningful job to large company with better benefits… I stayed meaningful.
·         Incredibly boring concert with Scott & his friend after lovely BBQ at Scott’s house (Grant’s work friend) … next time, I pick the music.
·         Gained most of weight lost back… at least back to married weight
·         Ian is officially given over to Mom and Michael… and I feel like I have an official brother.
October
·         Celebrate husband’s birthday together!
·         M (lifelong bookkeeper from CPA firm who occasionally comes to help with our books) insults my degree… calls it useless… Boss has the nerve to ask if perhaps it is useless… does he want to keep his website?
·         Visit the Funny Bone for Date Night. Spent over $400. Have the best night ever… better than honeymoon!!
·         Sociopath continues to post about me – am hearing through noisy grapevine – enough. Delete my MySpace and Facebook account. Too busy anyway. If she’s reading OD, she deserves any rotten feeling she gets… she’s not invited here. Bugger off, sociopath. D.O.N.E. 
·         Extreme pain leads me to the Emergency Care Center… and then to having my wisdom teeth out… a month later, it was an infection, you idiots!
·         I go back to work 28 hours after surgery to run payroll. Yet, a few weeks later, my boss is questioning my loyalty… wtf?
November
·         My teeth still hurt
·         First time I’ve ever seen the leaves change colors… cool. May have to stay in Virginia for a while…
·         Voted!
·         Addicted to pain killers
·         First birthday Grant got to celebrate with me!
·         Still in massive pain from teeth
·         Passed out of the floor when trying to go to work… had to take the next 3 days off.
·         Finally off pain killers… detoxing is a bitch.
·         Worked 12 hour days for the week I went back after taking off… boss still expects more. Fruck.
·         Went toe to toe with Boss. Won. Cool shit.
·         Boarded kids over Thanksgiving — $300. Ouch.
·<span style="font: 7pt ‘Times New Roman'”>         Thanksgiving… overhear Grandpa and stupid bitch wife saying horrid things… leave two days early, but gracefully, and without a scene. Never even let them know I’d heard them… Southern Grace and all… assholes.
·         Finally wrote the letter I had been putting off… to sociopath… Done. For good this time.
December
·         A new member of our family, who was abandoned by his old one, is newly named… Chester.
·         Threw blender at husband who deserved it completely… husband bought me a new blender
·         Made a new friend – Hummingbird – whom I went to lunch with
·         After finding an inch of standing water in my car after it rained –AGAIN—we bought a new Dodge Journey.
·         Despite the “non-commercial Christmas” we’d all agreed to… sister happily accepted a new digital camera and a new Mac laptop from Daddy Dearest. I got three books on how to improve my mind and a bottle of Tony Lite. He said it wasn’t a reflection of how he felt but of where we (sister and I) were in our respective lives… and I’m sure he would add, had I dared to compare, that it would be immature to compare…
·         Went to the company Christmas party… watched everyone else get toasted. Always great fun.
·         Mom, Michael, and Ian came for Christmas
·         Took Grant to the Emergency Care Center on Christmas morning – severe asthma.