I keep watching this 30 second TikTok of an ice skater under the northern lights.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 4:42 PM on December 12 [15 favorites]

I've lost 25 pounds this year.
posted by SPrintF at 6:21 PM on December 12 [27 favorites]

After losing my job in January, I found another one that is more personally rewarding.
posted by Lemkin at 6:34 PM on December 12 [26 favorites]

We have some great holidays planned over the next few months, including camping at Moogerah Dam from boxing day to 2 Jan, a trip back home to New Zealand in March for a family thing and attend Beach Hop, then a package trip to (very small parts of) the US and Canada in May. Lots of good times for the first half of what will, no doubt, be an 'interesting' year.
posted by dg at 6:51 PM on December 12 [8 favorites]

I got a new beanie. Not just any beanie, THE beanie! The backstory is that a couple of years ago I was at Plato's Closet (used stuff for teens and young adults) waiting for my daughter to finish up shopping. I tried on a couple of beanies and found one I liked, so I bought it. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just a cuffed acrylic Nike beanie. But it fit my head well and gave me good ear coverage, the material was very comfortable and non-scratchy, and I really liked the color - a subtle darkish blue that could look almost gray, depending on the light. It was the perfect beanie. The color made me feel good every time I looked at it, and it was more comfortable than any of my existing hats.

Weeks later, I lost it. No idea where. Maybe I left it in a store? Damn, I was mad about that! I liked it so much I thought I'd just order an identical new one. But that proved to be impossible. I found plenty of new cuffed beanies from Nike, but nothing in that color. I looked at used ones, even ordered a couple that I thought might be a match, but they turned out to be different. Last year I found myself thinking sadly again about my perfect lost beanie and I ordered 2 or 3 more used ones that might have been the right color. (It's very hard to tell from photos online exactly what you're going to get in real life.) I've accumulated quite the collection of Nike cuffed beanies, but they're all slightly unsatisfactory - a little too big or a little too scratchy. Various shades of blue that are fine, but don't please me in the same way as the blue of the lost hat.

A week or so ago, I got to thinking again about the perfect lost beanie and I had another look at vintage blue beanies on eBay to see what I could find. And I found one that really looked like it might be the same! I ordered it. And then I found another one and I ordered it too. One of them arrived today and it's the same beanie! The same satisfying color, the same nice fit and comfortable material. I'm unreasonably happy about it. Ironically, when I put on a hat to go out this afternoon I picked a different beanie because I was afraid of losing the new one. I hope it doesn't become the hat I love but never actually wear for fear of losing it. If the second one also turns out to be the same at least I'll have a spare.
posted by Redstart at 7:54 PM on December 12 [22 favorites]

I gained 25 pounds this year. Coincidence, SPrintF?
posted by ashbury at 8:39 PM on December 12 [18 favorites]

I paid my second-to-last car payment tonight. I owe a whole $187.07 next month. This was my first big purchase ever (student loans don't count) and I've never been late on a payment.
posted by stormyteal at 8:57 PM on December 12 [18 favorites]

Redstart, in my house as soon as you buy a replacement -- that's when you find the thing that you've lost. Have you checked all your jacket pockets?
Check again. It's some black hole magic there.
posted by TrishaU at 9:31 PM on December 12 [4 favorites]

I've checked everywhere. I was visiting my dad when I lost it, so for a while I held out hope that it was somewhere at his place even though he said he had looked all over for it. But it's been a couple of years and I've been back there more than once and looked for it myself, so I think I have to assume it's not going to show up.
posted by Redstart at 9:36 PM on December 12 [4 favorites]

I fixed my toilet. I replaced the flapper, all by myself.
posted by dianeF at 9:45 PM on December 12 [33 favorites]

I had an extremely nice birthday, actually a birthday week to be honest, and multiple people made a fuss of me. Also, I actually finished my to-do list at work!
posted by LittleLadybug at 10:00 PM on December 12 [10 favorites]

I replaced the battery in my ancient Kindle, and then I took out the battery in my old Dyson stick and replaced it with an adapter that allows me to use DeWalt batteries - both were amazingly easy to do. And then, because it's Summer and things are growing like mad, I got to use the propane weed burner around the pool paving and let me tell you - it's the MOST satisfying thing. However, next on my list is constructing the turducken tomorrow for the family Christmas party. For now, I'm sitting with some very chilled wine and trying to summon the energy to make myself dinner. I think it might be Korean cold noodles with broth which means I get to try the cute cat-shaped egg timer I bought in Daiso. I have high hopes for achieving properly "medium" eggs this time. It's been a very productive week.
posted by ninazer0 at 10:19 PM on December 12 [9 favorites]

I've booked two grown up appointments! A melanoma skin check (all good) and a physiotherapist- it's so easy when I can book online and I don't have to talk to anyone on the phone!
posted by freethefeet at 12:19 AM on December 13 [10 favorites]

This provides the opportunity to finally share something I saw recently.

Two weeks ago I was sitting in the western courtyard of our apartment complex when I heard a familiar cry overhead.

I looked to see two bald eagles circling counter-clockwise around each other. They were having quite the conversation at a height of about 300 feet, well under the length of a football field.

Their wings were so HUGE and they were so loud as they fussed at each other. And my phone was on charge back in my apartment. Which was all to the good, I think-- instead of fiddling around trying to take a picture, I could only gape in awe and take it all in. And what a racket they made. They slowly drifted north while they squabbled until they passed from view and hearing.

The ancient Greeks practiced augury, orthinomancy as it were, which was the divination of the future through the analysis of the flight of birds. I have chosen to take the sight as a good omen. Or so I should hope.

But still, it was the most amazing thing to see and hear.
posted by y2karl at 12:58 AM on December 13 [30 favorites]

I have a bidet now and it is amazing! My house may be mostly 15 degrees colder than I want it to be, but it makes it even better for the toilet seat to be warm.
posted by Eyelash at 3:42 AM on December 13 [8 favorites]

Kindly kindly, leave the grar elsewhere.

Yes! If you have grar that is in a manifesto-format, and you have the urge or need to share it, then there's a post for that.
posted by Wordshore at 3:44 AM on December 13 [8 favorites]

Losing 20 pounds in only a month is what convinced me I had to eject myself from a SERIOUSLY toxic job. My last day is Wednesday; I have nothing lined up, but I have three recruiters who are working on me (one of which is a senior recruiter at a major agency who is a personal friend of one of my current co-workers).

But my roommate is also heading out of the country for three weeks starting tomorrow, and I have a dealable amount of savings, no debt, and a full pantry; so I am determined to use the next few weeks to rest, heal, and refocus and generally get my head right so that I can choose the next job way more wisely. I was a tiny bit unsure about this job when I took it, but I needed the money and was kinda railroaded into it; I think that if I'm a little more stable I can avoid that next time.

So the future's a little uncertain but I'm in the right frame of mind to meet and cope with that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:49 AM on December 13 [21 favorites]

As of this morning, I've read 61 books, 4 comics, 1 art book, 2 plays, and 6 picture books this year. 17 of those were rereads, which I've historically done a lot of. I've decided to try to slack off on that, barring a few beloveds or reading-for-a-purpose-not-just-pleasure, and my last reread was back in June. I'm happy with my current pace & what I'm reading, which is everything from horror to humor to classics, from authors old and new.

(Not counted in the above are various kinds of reading for work)
posted by cupcakeninja at 5:05 AM on December 13 [8 favorites]

I tried Botox for migraines and it didn’t work for the first 3 weeks but now it’s been 6 days without one, and over the last six months I’ve averaged one every two days so this is big! Fingers crossed it continues. Thank you for a non-grar MeTa thread, much needed.
posted by ellieBOA at 5:52 AM on December 13 [22 favorites]

So a bit of bad news and a bit of good news to follow up -

* Toxic job didn't pay me for Thanksgiving (even though the office was closed) because I technically am still on probation and as such am not eligible for paid holidays, apparently. All the more reason to GTF Out.

* So 20 years ago I was in an apartment in Manhattan and was on friendly terms with our neighbors down the hall, occasionally sharing cab rides to work with one of them. They even gave me their couch when they moved out and I've had that couch for 20 years (it has attained legendary status among my friends because even though it looks AWFUL it is INCREDIBLY comfortable). The guy I shared a cab ride with is now a senior-level banker in Midtown, and when I reached out to alert him I was looking for work, he offered to keep an eye out for me; I sent him my resume this morning with some notes about what was up. So now I'm up to three recruiters and one personal connection to a financial firm looking out for me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:58 AM on December 13 [17 favorites]

We took the doggo to the vet yesterday to take a look at a bump on his leg, and when the vet tech asked where it was, my husband said, "Rear passenger side," and I thought that was pretty cute, but the office LOVED it. We could hear the staff chatting behind the door right before the vet came in, and there were numerous people enjoying the phrasing.

Anyway, he's having it removed and analyzed this morning. Vet said monitoring would be fine too, but out of an abundance of caution and him admitting "that's what I'd do for my dog" (when pressed), we decided to move forward.
posted by obfuscation at 6:25 AM on December 13 [13 favorites]

It's a shame to have your husband's phrasing removed, but good to have it analyzed. It's what I'd do for my dog as well.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 6:49 AM on December 13 [18 favorites]

My family's been Going Through It in several ways but my husband and my kids and I are really being a team and just - I don't know how to put this - really appreciating each other's capacities. It's pretty amazing when people have each other's backs.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:09 AM on December 13 [21 favorites]

my husband said, "Rear passenger side,"
stealing that!
posted by Glinn at 7:14 AM on December 13 [4 favorites]

We’ve had a DYNAMIC year. We spent the first six months variously supporting two close family members and one close friend through their hospice journey. Immediately out of that, we bid on a house and to our surprise, OUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED, and suddenly we were moving and it just about broke my brain. But we’re moved in now and the house is great. I’m unhappy at work but so happy with my home and family. And, we may have a third kid next year if things work out in the near term, which feels like a productive choice as I’ve felt unable to any decision making (waffling only!) for much of the year. Also, we don’t expect anyone to go into hospice in the next six months either. Things are looking up!
posted by samthemander at 7:21 AM on December 13 [12 favorites]

A cat joined the household. He showed up on the porch which is no place for an 8 mos cat in December in Alberta, he'll need his right eye extracted (vet appt Mon) due to extensive damage but he gets around fine with a single eye. Bootsy, because he's black like a boot and has Bootsy attitude (though Lefty crossed my mind)
posted by ginger.beef at 7:56 AM on December 13 [22 favorites]

lol Honestly my husband's phrasing could use some in-depth analysis at times.
posted by obfuscation at 8:10 AM on December 13 [4 favorites]

I started a law firm in October after 15 years as a public defender. All my business projections were wrong , and 2 1/2 months in I have to stop taking new cases because I already have so many clients. Hooray!
posted by Happydaz at 8:23 AM on December 13 [35 favorites]

I just gave permission to check my references to be permanently hired into the job I’m doing as an interim. My interview Wednesday went amazingly well, even though my car battery died driving between locations. I did also collect a laundry list of things everybody wants this role to do, but I’m mostly excited about them. Should be at least a 30% raise and I’m thinking of other things to negotiate for. My most important funder has been a huge mentor/advocate, which also feels amazing. I’ve been underemployed for about eight years, now I get to use my degree and brain meats!

Also, I have two second dates this weekend! I haven’t dated in years and this is semi-accidental but exciting.
posted by momus_window at 8:30 AM on December 13 [14 favorites]

I saw the Northern Lights twice this year. I won two short story prizes. I went to Ireland. I stayed in a castle. I went to Colorado and stayed on top of a mountain in Telluride so I got to have coffee in a hot tub in the morning and watch the mountains turn all kinds of colors in the sunrise. I saw Pulp finally. I saw the new Jez Butterworth show on Broadway. I bought at least two of my all-time favorite dresses, in cluding an evening gown I literally purchased while sitting on what felt like the top of the world in Arches National Park. I think I improved my watercolor skill. I made an absolutely killer cassoulet. I hosted a thanksgiving potluck for 52 people. I have a new nephew as of ll days ago. I've met a bunch of new friends. I read about 105 books this year, mostly novels, but plenty of short story collections and non fiction as well. My camellias have never been prettier. I got a pretty big promotion. I discovered that my low level "am I dying/losing my mind" worry over the last 4 years was mostly attributable to menopause and holy crap, HRT is a gamechanger. I just bought a pair of bright right Adidas to wear. I gave a bunch of money away. My friends and family all survived a catastrophic hurricane mostly unscathed. My cats are the best. This is a great year for spy shows. I often feel overwhelmed by the beauty of the world and the extraordinary people I meet every day who live in it. That sounds cheesy as hell, but it is true.
posted by thivaia at 8:55 AM on December 13 [26 favorites]

LDS, jr. was accepted by his first choice college. It's not a particularly selective school, but he's disproportionately thrilled about it and who am I to burst his bubble?
The final day for yard waste collection in our town was last week. Our neighbors tree sheds its leaves very, very late in the season, so I urgently needed to rake and bag them. The wooden handle on our rake broke, I didn't have any appropriate sized replacement handles and it was rapidly getting dark. I wound up installing the rake head on the far end of broom handle (creating a tool with a broom on one end and a rake on the other.) It was pretty cold and I also couldn't find my beanie hat- the only thing I could find was a hand kit elf hat Mrs. LDS made some years ago. So, there I am, out in the yard, raking in the dark with my broom-rake hybrid tool while wearing an elf hat.
Doing my part to hold up our reputation as eccentrics in the neighborhood!
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 9:03 AM on December 13 [20 favorites]

Update: Doggo is out of his procedure. Originally scheduled to go home at 2:30pm, but husband just got a call at 11:30 saying "While he's not being bad, he's very sad and would like to go home." Awwww.
posted by obfuscation at 9:27 AM on December 13 [16 favorites]

So much new. I quit my terrible teaching job, was offered a position closer to the MA border, put my house on the market, closed on a much smaller and perfect cottage 5 minutes from the new school, did a massive cleanout, am getting ready for my first Xmas with my NEW GRANDSON and the rest of the family.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 11:19 AM on December 13 [21 favorites]

getting ready for my first Xmas with my NEW GRANDSON and the rest of the family.

Oh hey - you and obfuscation have reminded me that this Christmas I will be getting to meet my brother's new puppy!

My niece and nephew had been asking for a puppy for years, but my brother resisted (he and our Mom have had Lyme disease and he was worried about ticks hitching a ride on any pets). But his family's also had such shit luck this year that back in August he decided "you know, this family needs a puppy, dammit."

"Weston" is a doodle that is the spitting image of the cockapoo we had when we were kids. I got sent photos of my niece and nephew holding him with huge grins - and the one with my nephew looks hauntingly like a picture of me at his age holding OUR family dog. I'm going to try to find that photo and bring it with me.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:29 AM on December 13 [8 favorites]

I saw all 3 plays that I set out to see over the last week; all of them are follow-ups to Pride and Prejudice written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. I was blessed with good weather and timing. This weekend is going to feature freezing rain in the exact area I was driving through last Saturday and Sunday.
posted by soelo at 11:36 AM on December 13 [3 favorites]

May I suggest, EmpressCalllipygos, that if you add a GoFundMe button on your profile page, I am sure that many many fellow members here will step up to help you make ends meet for the duration. I know I will.
posted by y2karl at 11:52 AM on December 13 [4 favorites]

Oh gosh.

Let me think about that. I am not really at a point where I need the help yet; but the fact that you offered is tremendously moving. Thank you, y2karl.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:57 AM on December 13 [3 favorites]

And please forgive me for misspellling your name.
posted by y2karl at 12:11 PM on December 13 [2 favorites]

We won our variance hearing with the planning and zoning board, and will finally get to build a little home office/guest room above our garage!
posted by saladin at 12:17 PM on December 13 [12 favorites]

Just ordered and sent the butt napkins sign to a friend thank you.
posted by phunniemee at 1:15 PM on December 13 [3 favorites]

I found the password for our home wifi.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 1:48 PM on December 13 [20 favorites]

I've been learning how to ice skate and I saw two tiny children pretending to have a hockey fight on ice; it was amazing.
posted by catcafe at 2:31 PM on December 13 [10 favorites]

On another note, I am tempted to post the recent Jimmy Kimmel opening monologue below as Do Not Open Before Christmas but jfhc! for obvious reason, I will post it as

Please Do Not Open Now!
CW: TakeMyWordForIt! 0h god,YouHaveNoIdea!! NoIdeaAtAll!!!

See also Icelandic Phallological Museum

Which ought to give you a hint...

The thing(s) that can prevent a person from scuba diving...
posted by y2karl at 2:41 PM on December 13 [2 favorites]

This year, I finally gathered the courage to start selling my art. I don't make a lot of money at it, and I'm still figuring out how to balance making things because I love them and making things because I think someone will buy them, but a couple of months this year, I made enough to cover my rent from that art, and I'm really, REALLY proud of that.
posted by xingcat at 3:34 PM on December 13 [20 favorites]

Super cool xingcat! You should have a site where we can see it and buy some in your Mefi profile under website :D
posted by Glinn at 4:12 PM on December 13 [3 favorites]

The adult parts of my teaching job are more and more untenable each year- I am at year 24- but the majority of the kid parts this year are….pretty good? the best they have been since 2020, at least? and on the days that I get to just close my door and do my job it’s kind of great.

I teach middle school orchestra and my beginners are *exploding* with excitement about their concert next week- like, so much so my old ass is approaching excited as well.

Yesterday, a student told me that he counted and in one of our pieces 96 of 149 notes total are Es and in his opinion that is unfair/too many Es; in the future he requests a larger variety of pitches. Fair, my dude.

Also yesterday, I was working with a different section and heard, loudly, from the same student’s neighbor, “what do you MEAN you ate a TARANTULA???” Truly: I would pay for this kind of entertainment.

A different kid sorted all my tiny ducks- there is a schoolwide tiny duck thing- by color and gave them “nests” in my piano keys at lunch and I let them rattle around there the rest of the day.

Today, I asked a few kids to reorganize the cello/bass binder storage and they were so outraged at the state others had left it in that they insisted on taking a picture of their work, going to the library to print it, and taping it above the former mess to help others understand the error of their ways. My kind of people, you know?
posted by charmedimsure at 12:50 AM on December 14 [28 favorites]

I turned in fall semester grades yesterday!
posted by hydropsyche at 3:49 AM on December 14 [9 favorites]

i'm happy :)
posted by HearHere at 6:34 AM on December 14 [6 favorites]

there is a schoolwide tiny duck thing
probably we need more of this!
posted by Glinn at 6:43 AM on December 14 [1 favorite]

We have a campus-wide tiny duck thing, too! I have found them on the chalk rails in classrooms, in the plastic pocket thing on my office door, and (this was the best) in the pocket of my lab coat.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:49 AM on December 14 [7 favorites]

My sister broke up with her trashy boyfriend and our parents start partying
[0:04, charming]
posted by Glinn at 8:45 AM on December 14 [10 favorites]

I signed up for 4 months of B&W darkroom rentals, along with lessons, taught by a very enthusiastic-sounding guy. I have 100 sheets of 8x10 paper on the way and am about to load up the Canon AE-1 with a roll of Kodak Tri-x. I’m all at once really excited and scared to death and having decision paralysis and all the things that go along with a huge new adventure.

I’ve been shooting black and white off and on again since the early 2000’s but I’ve been paying someone else to develop it, and making inkjet prints. My hope is that these 4 months get me grounded enough to finally build the darkroom in my garage I’ve been making noise about for 10 years.

I start next Friday!
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:45 AM on December 14 [15 favorites]

I saw two tiny children pretending to have a hockey fight on ice; it was amazing.

This made me think of a friend, their son is in his 2nd year of hockey and his team was invited to play at Rogers Arena in Edmonton, home of the Oilers. Such a big deal to these kids. The opposing team from a larger centre must've had a much more.. robust training regimen. I thought I misheard the final score but no. Either 60 or 80 to 1. Our team took the puck into their end and shot on net once, and scored. The entire rest of the game was the other team just dumping pucks in our net.
posted by ginger.beef at 10:24 AM on December 14 [4 favorites]

charmedimsuremusic teachers are the BEST and I promise you at least some of the kids' parents appreciate all the work you're putting in. My child is in his school choir and might do orchestra in future, and the amount of work the two music teachers in a school of 2000 kids have to do to pull this together is INSANE.

This year has been hard in some ways, great in others, and there's more hard stuff to come. In the spirit of celebrating small wins, I got my Roku stick working - it was giving a "low power" warning even though it was plugged into the wall, and it turned out the USB cable it came with was not working. Switched it out and now we can get the apps that the ancient smart TV can't handle.
posted by altolinguistic at 10:28 AM on December 14 [9 favorites]

well, I had a hysterectomy on thursday and the surgery went very well!! I'm feeling so much better than I thought I would afterwards. taking it easy, of course, but the recovery is going well. goodbye 13cm fibroid baby!
posted by supermedusa at 10:38 AM on December 14 [24 favorites]

A cat joined the household.

Bless your heart, ginger.beef. That anecdote is a credit to your character. Bootsy is in very good hands.
posted by y2karl at 4:41 PM on December 14 [7 favorites]

Delighted to report that the Daiso cat-shaped egg-timer worked perfectly and I had dinner with a perfectly cooked medium egg. It was a couple of dollars well spent.
posted by ninazer0 at 4:47 PM on December 14 [4 favorites]

We get Christmas cards for former tenants a lot. This one seems to have time travelled from the 1980s.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:41 PM on December 14 [5 favorites]

What's the postage on the other stamp Fiasco? Is it a 65c card or a 1.50 regular letter cost?
posted by freethefeet at 5:48 PM on December 14 [1 favorite]

45¢. Same as in 1981.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:52 PM on December 14 [2 favorites]

Thanks y2karl, of my many faults turning away a stray in need is not one, so far. He's on the counters raiding food at night and we will have to start using the cupboards, and the speed with which he figured out the 2 big dogs is remarkable. I fear for all of us at this point, exactly now I hear him fussing with something in the kitchen
posted by ginger.beef at 9:06 AM on December 15 [6 favorites]

Girding my loins for the last 3 days at evil job. I've gotten most of my Christmas shopping done, and all the cards are addressed; I'll try to get those written tonight so they get out.

I dug out a couple basic decorations and I'll put them up at some point this week. But tonight is Christmas cards, some wholesome soup, and then watching A Charlie Brown Christmas.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:25 PM on December 15 [6 favorites]

My kid comes home from college tomorrow for winter break! I get him for 20 days!
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:44 PM on December 15 [12 favorites]

The former housemate is now completely out, so I can finally take stock of what’s still here and what I need to replace. My silverware set was “too boring” so most of it got donated away and we’d been using hers. There’s enough of mine to make it through a few days, but I decided I was going to step up my game. Behold, sableware. Black, with mirror finish. They’ll look good with my dishset, which is deep blue.
posted by notoriety public at 12:58 PM on December 15 [5 favorites]

It's chilly in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas here in southern Spain, and my apartment building is apparently not insulated at all. So, despite my mighty little butane heater, my cave-like apartment, whose windows all face east, is still dank and cold by default.

(I wouldn't change the eastern views for anything tbh, especially not in the summertime. The sun comes up over the foothills and the sunrises this time of year are spectacular.)

FORTUNATELY I'm in far better health than I was this time last year, thanks to better nutrition and treatment for SIBO earlier this year. So what was positively painful last year is simply a minor annoyance this year. Alhamdulillah (praise God).
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 1:11 PM on December 15 [9 favorites]

Mmm, yeah, forgot to mention... my household moved in October because we bought a house!
Had an amazing half year speed-running through Habitat for Humanity requirements after being approved for a home that was nearly complete - someone else had dropped out of the program at the last minute, to our great fortune. (And hard work - I was literally sitting there refreshing the page on the day applications opened, and managed to get ours in very first... it was first come first serve, compared to regular rounds of applications where the order is determined by lottery. )

It's 1700 sq ft, 5br, so we each have our own room for the first time ever, our mortgage is the same as our rent was in a 760 sq ft, 2br apartment, and it's OURS, which we've never had. We can paint, and nobody can decide what color they want their room... we are not used to the choice.

I'm relieved, because rent in that apartment had been going up $150-200/year, and it was on the cheaper end. Now our costs will be much more stable... and I think we're going to need that these next four years.

Now, if we could just find a decent couch and dining table that don't cost an arm and seven legs...
posted by stormyteal at 1:17 PM on December 15 [21 favorites]

After a longish period of art lassitude, I made myself go to a museum late of the O’Keeffe & Moore exhibition at the MFA Boston. Wow! Now that I no longer work in the museum world I’ve become very lazy about getting my butt to shows, but art is a balm to my brain and I’m so grateful I made the effort.
posted by mollymillions at 5:03 PM on December 15 [7 favorites]

Tonight was the last day of my first exhibition ever, of art i created from October 2023 to October 2024. It was, If i say so myself very successful. Now i am so tired but also full of adrenalin...
posted by 15L06 at 5:03 PM on December 15 [12 favorites]

*happy sigh*

So years ago the theater that was my "home" started a DELIGHTFUL tradition - a sort of karaoke approach to a play. They printed up a bunch of copies of the screenplay to IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, dragged all kinds of props and costumes out into the theater for people to grab, and then opened the doors on a given day. If you wanted to be in it you drew lots to see who got what part; if you wanted to just watch you could do that too. The artistic director was on sound effects and soundtrack, and the rest of us read along in the scripts and when it got to your part (for whoever you were playing) you jumped up and onstage, and when your part was over you went back into the house. It was PROFOUNDLY goofy, especially since the casting was completely by chance and so you had, like, 8-year-old girls get to play Clarence the angel or such. (I played Zuzu one year; I was Mr. Potter another year.)

That theater company folded a year and change ago when the artistic director retired. .....But - just yesterday all of the old crew got an email that he was bringing back the IT'S A WONDERUL LIFE act-along via Zoom this year.

(This year I'm George and Mary's son Tommy - the one who has the single line about having burped.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:14 PM on December 15 [7 favorites]

I fixed my toilet. I replaced the flapper, all by myself.

Flap off! Flap on! The Flapper!
posted by y2karl at 8:21 AM on December 16 [8 favorites]

on top of a mountain in Telluride so I got to have coffee in a hot tub in the morning and watch the mountains turn all kinds of colors in the sunrise …

Well, those mountains are part of the Sangre de Cristo range, aren’t they? I spent a summer in that area working for the Forest Service a long time ago.
posted by jamjam at 10:16 AM on December 16 [2 favorites]

Just found out that the imgur link cuts off after a few seconds. If you want to see more, this Dropbox link works better (video ist 4:50 minutes long)
posted by 15L06 at 12:40 PM on December 16 [2 favorites]

POV you have no furniture at your house... but you at least have 8 banana beds [yt 0:16]
[Might be loud. TW: dachshunds]
posted by Glinn at 5:21 PM on December 16 [2 favorites]

I knew tonight was going to be a little challenging, my first day coming home from work to the roommateless house. I carefully hoarded a little bit of willpower all day, and deployed it when I got home to cook dinner. Very minimal effort stir fry with chicken, carrots, and asparagus. Didn’t even bother with the rice cooker, just a Costco microwave rice bowl, one less thing to clean up after!

The vibe in the house is not so great. So I am changing it.
posted by notoriety public at 5:50 PM on December 16 [16 favorites]

I carefully hoarded a little bit of willpower all day,


Love this Idea!!! Thanks for sharing
posted by 15L06 at 5:16 AM on December 17 [4 favorites]

Congrats DianeF on fixing the toilet flapper. Truly is one of gods little annoying inventions.
posted by OneCrateGuy at 10:47 AM on December 17 [5 favorites]

This morning while walking the dogs I saw a sun-dog rainbow and when I told my wife about it later it turned out she'd never seen one or even heard of it before so then I got to excitedly tell her all about them. My dad used to point them out to us whenever we were on a road trip and he saw one. (my dad is still around, but I haven't been on a road trip with him in a long time)
posted by jermsplan at 1:49 PM on December 17 [8 favorites]

In case someone else is in today's 10,000 along with myself and jermsplan's wife: sun dog

Things have been rolling hills for me lately, gentle ups and downs. Here is a fun video someone sent me to cheer me up this week: learning spanish
posted by the primroses were over at 4:14 PM on December 17 [4 favorites]

In case you were going to ask, like I was, where is the dog?
it apparently dates back to Greek mythology. As legend has it, when Zeus walked his two dogs across the sky, the two bright spots on either side of the Sundog, or “false suns,” symbolized Zeus’ dogs.
posted by Glinn at 4:21 PM on December 17 [2 favorites]

Today is my last day at evil job (throws confetti)!

The boss took me aside yesterday "in case I don't get a chance on your actual last day" and....THANKED me. She said that she was planning to pass me through to full employment once my 90-day probation ended, and she acknowledged things had been not TOTALLY perfect but she'd decided she could have "lived with it". She thanked me for always being professional and acknowledged that the job was "stressful" and that I'd still been helpful.

....At no time did she say anything about how the reason the job was stressful was because she is under the impression that an EA is actually a personal assistant whom she felt free to phone at 9 pm to ask if I'd called her dog groomer to update the credit card on file.

I just thanked her politely for saying that and privately thought "why didn't you say any of this when I resigned" and then got back to work.

She said she hoped I'd "learned things." Oh, I learned things, alright....

I'm taking the rest of the month to rest, then the first few days of January will be relaunching the job search. It took me only 3 months to find THIS job all on my own by hitting up Linkedin and Indeed, THIS time I have two recruiters and a connection at a bank in my corner. (And one of the recruiters is someone who tried to place someone in my role before I came along but quit in frustration becuase my boss is THAT RIDICULOUS, so he gets why "I worked here without punching her" is telling.

Picking up a couple things on the way home to go into a VERY indulgent slow cooker dinner tomorrow. I'm sticking around my neighborhood for the day, with one low-key errand to a post office being my only journey out of the house.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:29 AM on December 18 [12 favorites]

Last month I drove halfway across the country with one of my brothers and one of my nieces, and we -- along with a heavy cargo -- arrived safe and sound. I fully expected the contents of the trailer (a big lawn tractor) to fly off on a few of the rougher stretches of interstate, but somehow it held on.

The only problem was that his car stereo randomizes the MP3s it plays, after stubbornly playing this one Van Morrison song first. And it's a great song, don't get me wrong, but we stopped every couple of hours for gas or to tighten the tie-downs, so we'd get to hear that same damn song again.

Anyway, I got to try Culver's for the first time plus I got to chat with my brother: a total win-win!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:24 AM on December 18 [8 favorites]

We paid off our house - 10 years early!
posted by bwvol at 9:46 AM on December 18 [12 favorites]

I'm so excited to be free tomorrow that the "one errand to the post office" has turned into "post office then two libraries and then a cute cafe I didn't know existed".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:29 PM on December 18 [4 favorites]

There are a few more details than this, but a few weeks ago I had a random thought about a music festival I went to in the year 2000 in Dresden (Germany), so I googled its name and the name of one of the bands that played.

One of the search results was a reddit post, in which the poster asks "Can you help me track down this guy I met at a music fest in Dresden, Germany in the year 2000? I know it's a long shot, but hey, it's the internet". As I read further through the details of the post, it became apparent that HE WAS TALKING ABOUT ME. I WAS THE GUY.

I hadn't thought about this event in years. The fest was in 2000. The reddit post was made in 2023. I think I'm still reeling a bit.

(we got in touch and have been emailing and exchanging photos)
posted by deadbilly at 9:02 PM on December 18 [19 favorites]

I got back on the tennis court this fall for the first time in more than a decade. I've been playing social doubles with my friends and just signed up for a singles league that starts in the new year.
posted by Kwine at 8:05 AM on December 19 [2 favorites]

omg deadbilly, that is wild - please provide more details if available.
posted by Glinn at 10:42 AM on December 19 [3 favorites]

I also fixed my toilet and replaced the flapper all by myself (and YouTube) for the first time! Felt like a big accomplishment! Way to go fellow toilet-fixers. 🙌

My circle of friends feels larger and more solid than it has in a long time and that feels really, really good.
posted by Goblin Barbarian at 1:11 PM on December 19 [6 favorites]

I got a little holiday gift bag from my closest work collaborator that had a bunch of things but, most notably, a multi-color pen!

You see, our workdays start with a daily meeting, and I use different colors to take notes on which tasks are mine and which are hers. I had a bag of multicolor pens for this purpose before, but they all broke or got sucked into the office purgatory where lost pens go. But co-worker knows my patterns at this point, may have noticed me taking three different pens to morning rounds, and acted accordingly.

We had a bit of a rough start when I first started at this job, but we’re in a good rhythm now and I appreciate the pen so much.
posted by ActionPopulated at 7:42 PM on December 20 [2 favorites]

Still pre-Christmas, not quite end of the year I know, but this sublime cortex classic from a few years back just gets better and better with time and has been buoying me more and more through the past month+. I'm thrilled for each of your joys and successes large and small, and am particularly pleased you've made it Another Year.

Thanks for this gold cortex.
posted by riverlife at 1:06 AM on December 21 [1 favorite]

I, too, have joined the toilet-flapper-fixing multitude today!
posted by notoriety public at 4:17 PM on December 21 [3 favorites]

Clair de lune debussy with sleepy guinea pig.
posted by Glinn at 8:04 AM on December 24

I’m on two weeks of actual vacation with no family health crisis / eldercare responsibilities, the first time I’ve been able to do this in over five years. We leave tomorrow for a trip to Finland, including a brief stay in Helsinki, where I studied abroad as a graduate student, followed by a Northern Lights tour way up by Utsjoki, where I’ve never been. For the latter, we’d been planning to bring a twenty year old digital camera of mine — our phones are too cheap to offer the kind of control that night photography requires — but we discovered last night that our attempt to clean up some minor corrosion on the battery contacts had been unsuccessful and the camera is toast. So today, Christmas Eve, we found ourselves stopping into a real camera store and begging for advice from a very nice staffer. We walked away with a used camera and two lenses right around our budget, one general purpose and one with an even wider aperture than we thought we’d find. This could have gone much more poorly. Traditional Christmas Eve pasta bar tonight, this time with friends.
posted by eirias at 2:58 PM on December 24

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