Happy new year! The first month of 2015 has been so terrible that I'm declaring a re-do as if it never happened. 2015 really starts now as far as I'm concerned.

Kelly was laid off from her longtime job, and received a smaller-than-promised severance pay. She had already been sad about not receiving any art awards in her hobby group in all seven years that she's lived here and made tons of crafts and designs for people, so the new feelings of worthlessness in her professional life made the depression worse. Last weekend was the group's big winter event, and she was promised two awards that never materialized, and awards were handed out like candy to lots of other people. When she said online that she was sad about this (without challenging the decisions), the people in charge of awards circled the wagons and said really harsh, awful things about her. She now feels miserable about both her career and her hobby.

Me, I'm gaining weight and can't manage to stay on diet. I got over a cold, but I still have recurring pericarditis that feels like a hot knife stuck in my ribs for hours at a time while I'm trying in vain to sleep. Four times now I've gone sleepless all night with intense pain, which leaves me wrecked and useless the whole next day. The medicine and advice given so far by the doctors have done nothing. But what I'm going through doesn't compare to a beloved friend of ours who was just diagnosed with a catastrophic illness, and who doesn't have much in the way of insurance.

There have been plenty of other lesser nuisances, from car trouble, to unexplained damage to our home, to a dear close co-worker who informed me that he's leaving. The whole month of January has just plain sucked, and I want it stricken from the record. Here's hoping that the next eleven months are much better.


Six Replies to House of Pain

Steve West | January 31, 2015
So sorry to hear about the troubles you've both been experiencing. I've had a similar month with regard to illnesses. Got the flu to start the year and as soon as that cleared, I shared a stomach virus with Olivia (she started it). I missed several days from work just before my annual review. It seems that because of my MS, every illness seems like pneumonia and it takes weeks to recover fully. I demand a do-over as well. I think your crafts are outstanding Kelly, BTW.

Evie Totty | February 2, 2015
Oh my gosh :(

Chris Lemler | February 2, 2015
Sorry to hear about all the troubles that are going on around your house so far. It will get better for the both of you

Scott Hardie | February 3, 2015
Thanks, all. I'm sure things will turn around soon. We spent Sunday in Gainesville attending a renaissance faire with friends, and it was nice just to have a simple fun day out with no problems.

Steve, I've heard a friend describe MS similarly. It sounds miserable. I'm glad you're getting over what ailed you in January too.

Scott Hardie | February 5, 2015
The "new" 2015 is already off to a good start: Kelly was just hired today at a new firm. I'll spare the specifics but let's just say that the new job seems better than the old one in nearly every way, so this layoff turned out to be a lucky event for us in the end, as I suspected it eventually would. I'm glad that she's back to work, and sooner rather than later.

Chris Lemler | February 9, 2015
Glad to hear it Scott


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Lars and the Ripoff

I'm sure that Lars and the Real Girl is a good movie and that Ryan Gosling is Oscar-worthy, yadda yadda. But will the bloggers out there spreading the word please stop acting like it's such an original premise to have an adult treat a life-size doll like a real person? In the past few years alone, I've watched indie movies May and Love Object cover the same ground, with Dummy skirting closeby, and those are only a few examples; plenty more exist through the years. Go »

Silly Caucasian Girl Likes to Play with Samurai Swords

I heard that a teenager was questioned by the Secret Service after she posted an icon saying "Kill Bush" on her myspace page. My companions were up in arms over it, saying that's a violation of free speech and how dare they scare her, et cetera. I don't see how she was charged with any crime or how this how this disrupts anything but her school day. Go »

What We Kept

One winter in the mid-1970s, my grandfather Donald was hospitalized with a serious infection in his foot. Being diabetic, he went out of his way for years to avoid any infections or other hazards, but his luck had run out. On Christmas Day, he was informed by the doctors that they would have to amputate his foot the next morning. Go »

Crash

Some days are so bad, you feel like you've been the only driver in a demolition derby without a car. Go »

Happiness, That's My Livelihood

Somehow I've agreed to teach HTML & PHP classes on Friday mornings. Two down, at least two to go. I enjoy teaching, and you know I enjoy making websites, but the getting-up-before-dawn-at-the-end-of-a-long-week part is agony. Go »

Heart Burn

The recurring pericarditis that I mentioned elsewhere is now believed by my primary-care doctor to be heartburn or possibly an ulcer. The latter explanation is possible I suppose, but I'm skeptical about the former since it feels less like an acidic burning than like a sharp localized lower-chest pain such as a knife wound or bullet wound. Either way, it still keeps occurring every few weeks, it still hurts like a son of a bitch and keeps me awake all night, and I'm way beyond sick of it happening. Go »