2002: A Year in Review

Heh, no word of a lie, 2002 was probably THE busiest and probably the most GROUNDBREAKING years of my life so far!  So let's take a look at one of the most memorable events of 2002, shall we?

 
Overtime becomes a regular thing at work

Perfected my Martini-making technique

Started dating Dena

Gave up control of the FAQ for alt.binaries.emulators.nintendo, then soon retired from the "scene"

Started my web site!

Bought my first Macintosh computer for $5 at a garage sale, WITH MONITOR!

Got hooked on eBay

Got hit on by the (gorgeous!) auditor at my company's annual inventory

My 1986 Chrysler Daytona died for the final time :(

Won a total of SIX awards for my uninteresting web site (people have TOO much time on their hands, I tell ya!)

Overtime ends around June 1st, marking 6 straight months (about 200 Hrs accumulated) of work, with only three full weekends off.

Bought my house! It has Central air conditioning! (My Daytona is now stored in the garage, awaiting resurrection)

Adopted my cat, a 12-year old Maine Coon named Cane!

Had a wicked housewarming party, and got acquainted (and reacquainted) with some of Dena's friends (CJ's Note 5/26/2014: One of whom was Jillian, my future wife!)

Got my PC-Engine Duo R game system (YES! FINALLY!) (CJ's note 05/26/2014:  It still works, twelve years later.  I now have over 300 games for the system)

An old friend got hired on at work, and my other co-worker got fired two months later!

My first Hallowe'en at the house...$80 worth of candy, 12 kids...I was eating leftover candy for weeks thanks to Dena's overexuberance.

Adopted a second cat, a four-month old part Himalayan kitten named Morrigan!
(One week later, Cane and Morrigan could be in the same room with each other)

Remembered how much I love cooking

Had a birthday/Christmas/going away party for Dena and played a whole lot of Mario 
Kart 64 & Mario Party 3

Dena left for the Dominican Republic for a Christmas Vacation

Gave up alcohol altogether on Christmas Eve

Got Phantasy Star Collection (Gameboy Advance) for Christmas

Spent New Year's Eve with a good friend, and had a wonderful time.

 Doesn't seem like much, does it?  Well, it was, believe me...I just didn't want to go into detail, and unfortunately, the brief descriptions don't let on how I was feeling at the time...
  

CJ's New Years Resolutions (Updated 1/12/04)

Heh, even I fall into this trap every year.  What self-respecting cynic DOESN'T make a bunch of New Years' Resolutions they know they'll probably never keep?  Well, I thought long and hard about it (which took all of five minutes), and came up with a list I know I can keep!  Without really trying!

PERSONAL RESOLUTIONS:
    Remember to stay true to myself
    Be nicer to people
    Keep in touch with friends
    Update my wardrobe, staying true to my own sort of style
    Get in shape (not that I'm too far off at the moment)
    Take up drinking again, although keep it on a social level!
    Spend more time playing with my cats!
    Get finances in proper working order  ;)
 

COMPUTER RESOLUTIONS:
    Learn HTML
    Learn some Javascript
    Become more proficient at using my 68K Macintosh systems
    Become more proficient at using Linux
    Try to do something useful with my Amigas (IE Graphics work, HTML work)
    Ditch Windows (and Microsoft) once and for all!
    Recruit more Thugs!
    Get the Sparcstation working!
    Get the Envizex working!
    Stop buying computers and use the ones I've got!


OTHER RESOLUTIONS:
    Take work more seriously, and turn the heat up on the other guys!
    Write that damned novella!
    Renovations to the house!
    Brush up on my Japanese
    Play more video games!

See? Nothing TOOdifficult for me!

UPDATE 1/12/04:  I KEPT THEM ALL!!!! 
 
CJ's note 5/26/2014:  God only knows what happened to that novella.  I think it was on an old laptop that eventually suffered hard drive failure.  Haven't been able to find it, but haven't really looked for it, either.