How was 2019? Plans for 2020?

[durbster]

It's nearly over. How was your year?

2019
I bought a new (to me) car which I agonised over for months because I was pining for something fun but constrained by having a caravan. I needed a heavy diesel that could tow and as most of the time in it would be spent commuting - crawling in traffic - I went for an automatic.

Then a few months later we sold the caravan and I got a new job which I don't drive to, so I could have just bought what I really wanted. Oh well

We had a holiday where we didn't have to do anything which was a bit of a revelation. We've tended to either do big trips covering loads of miles and winging it, or we've been away in the caravan which requires a fair amount of work. This time we booked a week in a nice hotel near a beach in a hot country, and didn't have to cook or do anything at all. It was extremely pleasant.

The new job is a step up in many ways and marked the first time I didn't stay for years in the wrong environment out of a misguided sense of loyalty and optimism.

2020
I went karting a couple of months ago for the first time in years. It made me realise how much I miss that feeling so I'm itching to get back into sim-racing which probably means a new PC, maybe a VR headset, a decent chair and god knows what else

I've also realised that now we live in a house built almost 100 years ago, I'm going to have to learn a lot more DIY (and earn some good man points).

And I'm hoping to organise a big trip somewhere next year; possibly Namibia, Botswana, or even Australia.

[w00dsy]

I'm struggling to think of anything positive that's come out of this year even though it's not been the worst year I've had, so I'll just give a quick run down. At the start of the year I found out my sister has been slowly taking money from my disabled pensioner father's super annulation, totalling 140k. That's pretty much split the family, I've only seen her once since then and avoided seeing her for Xmas.i can't stand the sight of her or hearing her voice.

Did counseling again and found out I had bipolar 2 which was both a blessing and a curse. It meant I could get more appropriate medication but also means I'm stuck with this forever.

Had 1 week off over Easter and did a quick driving holiday with the family up to Sydney and back which was my first holiday since 2010. I'm now working through Xmas because funds are a bit tight so I'm only getting a couple of days off over the Xmas break. I'm even breaking my own rule about never working on a Sunday, but I gotta do what I gotta do. The last couple of years I've had the 2 weeks off to slightly recharge, unfortunately not this year, the joys of being self employed. Oh well maybe next year.

Got a new work can which my son lightly crashed 4 weeks later.

Got a dog.

Apart from that it's been an ok year.

[norbs]

2019.

has been a pretty good year for me. But the people around me have struggled. The wife was in hospital twice. In ICU for 2 days. She has been down looking after her mum after hip replacement. And then one of her brothers died just before Xmas. Plenty of my mates have struggled, which is a bit shit. I know a lot of guys on here have struggled with one thing or another, I hope things get better for you blokes.

Oh, and Durbs, that business about holidays and sitting around doing nothing. We went back to the maldives again this year and had 10 days of sitting on my arse and swimming with turtles. I am now a convert. really, sitting on my arse is my profession.

[nutty]

2019 was weird, As a whole when I look back I feel like that we are in such a great position and im really enjoying myself, but there is this thing hanging over my wife and I thats just bringing everything down.

I had a job for the first half of the year that paid really well but was fairly toxic, I used the money from that to travel a bit again, pay a chunk off the house and for the first time in my life we are just super comfortable. Then around June I got poached to another company, who paid me more again and have a great culture which has made that side of my life almost perfect.

But hanging over our head was the big challenge. We spent most of 2018 trying to get pregnant and it finally happened right at the end of last year, then without getting too much into it the first rounds of tests went tits up, so it put a lot of stress and pressure on my wife and I and we had some tough decisions. Its been awhile since all that and are still struggling to conceive again. Im maybe not as excited/into the idea of having children as my wife, so often its seen as a lack of empathy which is causing problems (not massive ones, but enough).

So looks like 2020 will be a tail of two sides, work/financially we are rock solid.. just that one thing..

[Big Kev]

2019
Don't remember much about the first 6 months because in June I had a milestone birthday and then 2 weeks later unexpectedly lost my dad to heart failure and pneumonia. That dominated the rest of the year really sorting stuff out and visiting my mum a lot more to help with things.

That also partly spurred me on to join a gym for the first time in 20 years. I've been going since the end of September. I don't enjoy it but it's in my routine now and it's good for me. I go 7-8am twice a week and I've lost 9lb (4.5kg) so far. Not quite as much as I would like but it's a long game and all of the graphs are all heading the right way so far (the smart tech is great for motivation).

2020
No real plans except to carry on at the gym and lose more weight.

[Exar Kun]

2019

Add me to the club of people who have lost someone as my dad died in Feb after a 7 month fight with cancer. It hit me a lot harder than expected and feels weird to have no parents left at what I would consider a young age (but I'm not really young anymore). Sorting out the estate seemed to dominate the next three months. It brought my brother and I closer though. Also paid off the house and cleared all debts.

On the plus side the rest of my family is well. Work is great - spoke at an international conference this year and watched our little firm that I helped get off the ground (but have no ownership in) grow and grow. We started with 3 people in May 2018 and finished 2019 with 22.

Went to NZ for 9 days which was amazing but pretty frantic. Still, stunning country.

Drove an Exige around Pheasant Wood Circuit and a Radical around Wakefield. Both were pretty awesome.

Topped off the year with one of those do nothing holidays - used some of my dad's money to rent a big holiday house with my brother for Christmas and finally lay my dad's and my mum's ashes to rest.

2020

No big plans. Work will dominate. Wife is keen on knocking down our house to build the dream which will throw us back into debt but I guess you only live once.

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[richo]

2019

Got diagnosed with a very rare lung disease ( abbreviation is PPFE a type of interstitial lung disease) which isn't filling me with joy but it is better than lung cancer the docs first thought it was . So got to be happy with that I guess.

2020

Enjoy life as much as possible .

[w00dsy]

Is that why you had the collapsed lung issue a while back?

You're not kidding about it being rare. 'Until 2017, only 100 cases of PPFE were thought to have been identified, although it is increasingly being recognised as a condition in its own right.'

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[w00dsy]

Wife is keen on knocking down our house to build the dream which will throw us back into debt but I guess you only live once.

A dude I work with was in a similar situation in the last 12 months. He got an inheritance and paid off his house and had about 100k left over and was sitting pretty. His wife convinced him they should knock down the house and build a nice new one. Now he's got a 300k mortgage and had to have 3 months off work because of a hernia so he's all stressed out.

[richo]

Is that why you had the collapsed lung issue a while back?

You're not kidding about it being rare. 'Until 2017, only 100 cases of PPFE were thought to have been identified, although it is increasingly being recognised as a condition in its own right.'

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Yes the collapsed lung was from the doctor yanking the drain tubes out too early , that was a fun day ..

[durbster]

Blimey. Sounds like I got off 2019 pretty lightly then.

We did lose my grandma this year but the truth is, we'd lost her to dementia some time ago. The main thing about reaching the end was releasing my mum of the responsibility. It's no way to go, that.

Anyway, I'll raise a glass to a better one for all ARSEs in 2020

[Santaria]

2019:
Started off pretty decent. Job was good (although boring) kids were good, got away in the caravan pretty often. Lost some weight, traded the sports bike for a cruiser to travel longer distances and the wife to be more comfy on the rides. Had to slow down anyway, the sports bike definitely had me doing 300km/h more often than I ever should have, lol. Got into aquaponics (I'm not allowed to eat the fish now, they're "pets" according to wife and kids).

Then in August I got fired from my job for something they had no proof of in any way. Got an email in the morning and was fired the next day. Took them to fair work and got a nice little pay out which helped pay off some debts, buy some toys and let me sit back for a month. Ended up depressed as shit and put all the kilos back on and more. Apparently sitting around for 2 months sinking piss every day does that. Topping it off with an iron deficiency, sleep apnoea and issues with my heart.

Applied to a job that I never thought I would get and got it. Now a Service Delivery Manager for Southern Cross Support Services for the NDIS and Child Protection. Something I have wanted for a long time. Good coin, big job satisfaction so happy at the moment.

2020:
Not sure yet. Wife's 30th in April so we're off to Monteville without the kids for a few days and probably more caravanning. Building the business in my area so I can get a pay rise and an offsider. Getting my fat arse back to what it was before I decided to near kill myself, lol. Hoping to get more dick pics from Woodsy and Hz.

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[w00dsy]

Ask and you shall receive.

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[Bails MacKenzie]

Had a great 2019, then caught gastro twice in three months and kinked a nerve in my right testi, spent two weeks in absolute agony.

Fingers crossed 2020 is just as good!

[w00dsy]

caught gastro twice in three months

A few months ago I had a stomach issue on and off for about 6 weeks, the low point was trusting a fart at work. I now carry spare jocks in my car.

[CLP]

2019 was mostly okay for me. I can't really think of anything especially terrible that happened. Compared to some, I certainly have little to complain about.

Work-wise, things have been ticking along pretty well. Apparently water and the River Murray is important at the moment. Who knew?
There's always the threat of my contract not being renewed, so late in the year I applied for a permanent position that was offered. Got to the interview stage, but ultimately didn't get it. Maybe a little disappointed, but the guy they chose certainly deserves it, so I can't really complain. Miss V got herself a promotion into a leadership role which she's absolutely brilliant at; but that sometimes means there's a little bit extra stress at home as a result as she gets accustomed to the role and responsibilities.

Contrasting with some of the do-nothing holidays, V and I took on a fairly active holiday in May which was on our to-do list, namely cycling the Mawson trail (~900km total). I think i enjoyed that more than expected, so we've made loose plans to do it again next time it's offered by BikeSA (in 2021).

2020 is probably looking to be much more of the same. Job security at the moment looks okay, but it's never 100% guaranteed in a government department.
I've signed myself up for a big bike challenge in March; Revolve24, which is 24 hours (solo) riding around The Bend circuit. So there's likely going to be a bunch of preparation and maybe last minute training going into that. I'm quietly panicking.

[Sarsippius]

2019 has been a pretty decent year, the job role has changed for the most part to project management of remote community housing construction projects, consulting to the territory government which has been a good change. I've been studying a diploma in PM in support of that which I'm almost finished.

The wife coaxed me (I didn't need much convincing) into a week in Vietnam for New Year in February and then we had two weeks in Japan in March which was great.

The wife's plan to have a baby all went pretty much according to plan, almost down to the day and we had a little girl at the end of October so she's just 10wks old today. This meant we had to sell the 86 although it's still in the driveway as the brother in-law bought it and we got a brand new Civic RS in July.

@nutty I'm sorry to hear the issues you've had, I can empathise a bit as I wasn't really into having a child either, neither was the wife until she got near 30 and the baby rabies started to kick in. At 41 I was secretly half hoping I might have been shooting blanks lol but no it only took a few tries hehe. The first round of screening indicated the little one might have had down syndrome which made for an anxious couple weeks till further tests showed everything was ok. Even now I'm not completely head over heels in love like most fathers seem to be but that's just my nature, the wife calls me a robot.

2020 I'm expecting will be much the same on the work front, there will be a couple weeks in Vietnam, maybe March or April so the family over there can see the new bub (they're all just about foaming at the mouth at the moment) and I guess settling into parenting.

[r8response]

Even now I'm not completely head over heels in love like most fathers seem to be but that's just my nature, the wife calls me a robot.

Give it time. Once she starts running around and jumping onto your lap (crushing what remains of your balls) you'll never want to let her go.

[Santaria]

Even now I'm not completely head over heels in love like most fathers seem to be but that's just my nature, the wife calls me a robot.

Give it time. Once she starts running around and jumping onto your lap (crushing what remains of your balls) you'll never want to let her go.

r8 is pretty bang on. Mum has had 9 months to grow attached. Given it time. It took me a few months to develop that bond that is unbreakable now for my 2. Before then they were crying lumps of flesh that latched into my wife for a lot of hours of the day. It's easy to feel left out also, be sure you keep communicating with your wife how you're feeling as well.

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[Sarsippius]

Yeah that's pretty much what I figured, right now she's still like a blank slate without any sort of personality yet but it also is just my nature like I said. I don't think I experience love the way most people do but maybe she will change that.

[GXTracker]

I went karting a couple of months ago for the first time in years. It made me realise how much I miss that feeling so I'm itching to get back into sim-racing which probably means a new PC, maybe a VR headset, a decent chair and god knows what else

A few weeks ago I picked up a Samsung Odyssey Plus to go with Project CARS 2 - Talk about a rabbit hole to go down... There is no going back to non-VR sim racing for this guy now!

2019 brought the birth of 2 nieces for me, which is nice considering we aren't having kids. I like kids as long as I can give them back.

Other than that, 2019 has been a shit year for me. Definitely one of the worst I've ever experienced and we didn't even have a death in the family.

Wife was constructively dismissed from her new job last January, and the abuse gave her PTSD. our home life has been pretty walk-on-eggshells, especially watching her struggle with depression and other self-destructive actions. Last spring she went through a "spiritual awakening" and things lost control a bit. long story short, there has been a lot of therapy - both individual for the both of us, and couples therapy to work through some changes and issues that have come to light since then. The therapy has been beneficial for me though, as I'm going through my own transition now - have even come to some of my own realizations about my own family and upbringing that weren't quite healthy that need to be addressed pronto. I can see the potential to come, just need the time and work to get there.

It didn't help that I went through a big transition at work during this whole time as well. lots of layoffs and changes. workload for the last 8 months has ramped up to a level I've never experienced in the entire 8 years I've worked there. One of my old supervisors has been off on stress leave since last September with no sign of him coming back. I now have a new boss who's clearly never managed people in her life (thankfully though she seems to have some compassion for us) and she has zero technical ability around what we do, so not only are we buried in extra work, but now we have to train our boss how to do her job. Never a fun scenario to be in.

If 2019 was the collapse for me, then 2020 is going to be the rebuild. last year was certainly humbling so this year im looking at things through new lenses. working on the things that make/made me happy - Auto racing, both sim and real life, sports, relaxing and taking care of myself. Cheers boys here's wishing you a great 2020!

[durbster]

I went karting a couple of months ago for the first time in years. It made me realise how much I miss that feeling so I'm itching to get back into sim-racing which probably means a new PC, maybe a VR headset, a decent chair and god knows what else

A few weeks ago I picked up a Samsung Odyssey Plus to go with Project CARS 2 - Talk about a rabbit hole to go down... There is no going back to non-VR sim racing for this guy now!

I feel like I'll either end up with some kind of expensive sim-rig, or a real life Caterham 7. Mid-life crisis ahoy!

If 2019 was the collapse for me, then 2020 is going to be the rebuild.

That's the kind of attitude that makes things happen.

[CLP]

I think i might revise my 2020 plans now. I might spend a bit of time at home.

[durbster]

I, on the other hand, am still thinking of getting a racing-sim setup

Just holding off spending too much until we know whether we're going to have a full mad-max style apocalypse or not. I might have to spend that money fortifying my toilet paper.

[Big Kev]

I reckon our lockdown will be 5-6 weeks to be honest.