- Being fired for being honest and also refusing to greet a rapist in the hallways. I mainly attribute this one to 2007 since that was a shitty year and this was supposed to be my year end evaluation that our boss was doing a month late for everyone.
- Losing the past 10 years in pictures, e-mails, and MP3s when I was shitcanned, despite it all being on MY OWN HARD DRIVE. Again, more of a 2007 incident even though it happened this year.
- That thing recently discussed elsewhere.
- Not going out of town to see family for the holidays due several groups changing plans and not getting together.
- Helping get the other guy who was fired a new job within a month that included a 5 figure salary increase where he plays video games all day as part of his job, gets his phone bill (with full Internet rates) paid, financial support and flexible hours for school, another 5 figure salary increase, and a promotion consideration within 7 months of his hiring date.
- Sharing the above info with our friends from our previous job, who so predictably raved about his good fortune to each other outside the boss's door.
- Taking my first trip overseas since '95, where I finally got to see some of my land and found out I own half a mountain on our way to take a swim in a volcano. Over two months of island fun that I couldn't have had while working despite having that much PTO.
- Getting a prescription filled for some pills I've been trying to get since the mid 90's.
- Getting a foreign Driver's Licence and my Open Water Diver certification.
- Going back to school and scaring people with how well I'm doing (honestly figured I'd gotten dumber over the years).
- Sending photos of my vacation and nearby parties to the old office to piss off the ex-boss again.
- Getting a call with a job offer from someone up in Dallas that pays more by the hour than my old job. Remote work, no interview needed. Turns out a guy I saved from losing his car and apartment due to financial issues a few years ago now owns a network maintenance/security company that has contracts with several businesses in the D/FW area. Kinda ironic that he's stable now that the economy is in shambles, but that's awesome.
- Seeing the MV Princess of the Stars leaving port in Manila and finding out that it capsized the next day because of the typhoon.
- Visiting a large plantation for lunch and finding out during a pool party that rebels invaded later in the month.
- Meeting a 10 foot sea snake on the ocean floor. Locals describe them as being so venomous that an unlucky bite will kill you before you reach the surface. My cousin took a picture and it lunged between his legs. On a different dive that same day in strong current, we lost him and didn't see him when we surfaced. We searched for 10-15 minutes and met up with the other boat. Didn't see him. Turns out he had surfaced immediately upon losing sight of us, and was on that boat - he was just in the head. Scared the shit out of me, thinking he'd been swept away.
- Not really feeling like a student; don't really feel like doing my homework when I should be, resulting in lots of all-nighters. Hmm. OK, maybe I'm acting like a student, but I just don't feel it. I just feel like I should be working during the day, so I'm restless.
- Getting tech support calls on my personal phone/e-mail/IM from people at my old job; they know I don't work there, but I was the only one they trusted to actually fix their problems instead of just closing the tickets for number padding. This includes the President/CEO's area.
- Being unable to drink while on these pills I've been trying to get for over a decade. I should be able to get drunk in March, but my tolerance has dropped so much that I will probably only be able to down one or two drinks (had a 4 beer hangover before I even started the pills).
- Going back to my room at a semi-large hotel in Corpus Christi, only to have an elderly couple stop me to ask where my main dining room was... I apologized for the confusion and told them I didn't work there. They looked surprised, and told me that they assumed I was the owner because I was walking around like I owned the place.
- One of my friends, on the same trip, saw a hot Meskin woman accidentally drop a $20 on her way out of the pool area as she walked past him. He immediately grabbed her arm to stop her, and she turned to look at him in surprise. While still holding onto her, he bent over and picked up her 20, then handed it to her. The fucked up thing is how he describes the incident to people. "That hottie we saw by the pool? I got to touch her. And paid her for it. With her own money."
