Come here. Tell me something happy.

[mollyringle]

2011, it would appear, has not been very nice to most of you. In fact, it's been cruel. Quite a few of you have lost a parent, or another relative, or a close friend, this year. Several more have had scary medical diagnoses, for yourselves or a loved one. And we won't even talk about finances.

Suffice to say, if you feel like you've been alone in your sufferings, believe me, you haven't been. There's a LOT of it going around. And aside from the "misery loves company" angle, you also haven't been alone in the sense of being unremembered. I, for one, have been thinking of you and feeling for you. And I am stepping up to demand of the Powers That Be: hey, Powers, make the bad luck leave the good people alone! Make 2012 better! Make things better NOW, in fact!

But, regardless of the answer the Powers have in store for us, we can take a moment and focus on the good things we do have. So, please, come here and do that. We can all bask in each other's good news for a change.

If you wish, you can start with the bad things ("Sucky Thing X happened this year, but..."), but you don't have to share that if you aren't comfortable. What I do want every commenter to share is something good that's happened to you lately. It can be small ("I made a pretty decent loaf of banana bread") or big ("Cushy new job with minimal hours and six-figure pay!!"). Whatever it is, we'll congratulate you.

So okay, here's mine. I have nothing grave to report from the year, thank goodness. My two little guys keep bringing home illnesses to set us back, but they've all remained at the nuisance-but-not-serious level; and though the kiddos annihilate my free time, they're intelligent and cute and hilarious and affectionate, and on the whole I'm very lucky. Plus right now I'm re-reading Middlemarch and watching Downton Abbey for the first time, both of which cast a lovely glow upon my life. And I'm making some delicious Southwest corn and sweet potato soup this evening.

Now you!

Comments

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

In a year with family deaths and stresses, getting a job at one of the world's best universities has been a major high point! :)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yes! Go you! You are awesomely high-ranking now and I am absurdly proud.

[girlspell.livejournal.com]

I lost a beloved cat. But health wise my whole family is doing well. Our jobs are stable, and we are happy.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Sorry about your cat! I include pets in the losses, as I know several people who've lost the family dog or cat this year, and that's always so sad. But well done on the stability otherwise! That helps a great deal. Keep it up. :)

[kali-kali.livejournal.com]

Five weeks from now I'll be asleep in my own apartment in Riga, Latvia! I'm going to Latvia to complete the last component of my college program, by doing my internship at the museum that was the whole reason as to why I took the Applied Museum Studies program in the first place. While there, I also hope to have a number of genealogy clients, make contacts within the culture and heritage sector, and have fun all around.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yay! That is super cool. You'll have a blast. Post a few pictures when you get there--I'm all about the vicarious travel!

[mikailborg.livejournal.com]

I just finished filming a very silly bawdy slapstick video that makes me giggle every time I see it. I had fun, the cast had fun, the crew had fun, and everyone involved in the production wants to know when we're going to do another. Trailer's up on YouTube, and we've already sold a few copies.

I'm doing this solely for the entertainment of my models and myself, but wouldn't it be *cool* if someday I made decent money doing this?

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Oh, post the link! I want to see it. That sounds like great fun. I bet others will too. Theatrical/film productions are some of the most fun I've ever had, so I get the appeal, definitely. Keep at it!

[mikailborg.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! YouTube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS8JJKRL-EI Any feedback is enormously appreciated by all of us!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Haha! Oh, you guys must've gotten quite messy making that. Looks like fun.

Did you know there are actually fetishists who are into throwing pies at each other? I think you've just made their year.

[mikailborg.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's exactly the note we were trying to strike, so it's quite cheering when we hear the response.

As for the fetishists? Really? Gosh! *whistles innocently and unconvincingly* ;-) Seriously, even though we keep it all PG-rated, that's where we make back our production costs! I'm not even sure there's any other paid market for homemade slapstick.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

LOL. Okay, this day and age, I shouldn't assume innocence in anyone. I myself hadn't heard of the pie fetishists until Dan Savage got a call about it in his podcast once. The poor pie people probably don't get a lot of porn made for them (or even PG-rated material they can enjoy), so you're doing a good turn for them. :) Heck, if you went through all the different fetishes Savage has talked about, you'd have fodder for endless films!

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I got to go to England for the first time, learned how to do china painting and sumi-e, danced with one of my absolute favourite hyper-kinetic dancers (and physically keep up with her and athletic dancers a couple of decades younger than I), and levelled up significantly in health and fitness. This year has been pretty good to me. If next year is even better, that's awesome!

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and I wrote a play and had it produced, too. :D

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Great stuff! Glad to hear it. Isn't England marvelous? At least, we UK-philes sure think so. And what a rush to see your own play produced! I hope to do something like that one day.

[notemily.livejournal.com]

I love Downton Abbey so much. And the way you feel about your kids is the way I feel about my foster kittens--they take up all my time, and caring for them might be stressful sometimes, but at the end of the day they curl up and purr on me and I feel lucky to have them.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hurray for kittens! It's so easy to be cheered up when they're around.

I foresee needing to download season 2 of Downton Abbey soon. I'm almost through season 1 and it's so darn good.

[wildecate.livejournal.com]

I passed both my piano exams this year with distinction.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Well done! Performing for others can be quite nerve-wracking, but a rush when it's done and you succeeded.

[kirstenfleur.livejournal.com]

Good: my son Ian arrived on 26 August, beautiful and healthy.
and he was joined by his cousin Michael 4 days later, and another cousin India, the month after that.
It's been babytastic around here.

Bad: Michael wasn't meant to turn up till 26 November. He clocked in at 473gms, Ian was nearly 10 times heavier.

Good: but he's coming good and has sailed through laser eye surgery and is putting on weight (Ian's only about 6 times heavier now.)

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hurray for babies! The best kind of news--if also something a stressor. :) These days, the early babies tend to end up just fine, so I imagine Michael will continue to eat and grow and soon maybe even outweigh his cousins. Take care!