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Post by Ryan on Dec 31, 2008 20:46:47 GMT
How do you feel 2008 has been?
For me personally - I've hated this year with a passion. If something could go wrong, it has done; but as with 2005 - it's the building blocks of better days to come. I can see a lot of good things ahead after this horrible year has come to an end - so I'll welcome 2009 with open arms when it finally comes in here.
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Post by Christopher on Dec 31, 2008 21:36:27 GMT
Aye, from what I know this year has been struck with, what I call, " Boomer's Luck" - based on the infamous TUGS episode itself. Seems like everything and everyone has been under some dark magic from the financial crisis to hundreds of major job losses. Also, for me, it's been just as bad. Not one to moan but a few lowlights were: - loosing three cats in a span of 7 months - nearly failing my final year at Uni due to "human error" - having endless nightmares with my ageing, overheating laptop However, when I look back at all the GOOD thing that have happened to me also, it really helps to balance out the negative feedback, especially since most of the bad stuff eventually turns out for the good. Thanks to a majority of crappy shows on TV this year, they helped me delve back to many other "golden oldies" that I haven't seen in years through the magic of YouTube and DVD releases. And my laptop's constant problems were a wake up call to bring in an all-in-one desktop, with tons more space and capability than my previous PCs. Other highlights for me were graduating from Uni, witnessing the very pleasing 12th series of Thomas and the SIF Wales Meeting this year. I've made new friendships but strengthened current ones, which I know will last far, far longer than space itself...and that's long So in short, if 2008 had a funeral, I certainly won't be attending. As the Guv'nor simply put, it's been as plentiful as having your teeth pulled out. But I'm sure 2009 will be brighter, better and stronger than this year altogether. Roll on Midnight!
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Post by Rusty Red Scrap Iron on Dec 31, 2008 21:38:03 GMT
For me, it was half and half.
Most of my year was dominated by my whole driving experience with five takes of my theory test, but it had a good ending with one take of the practical test. Plus since about Novembmer, I haven't really been having any good sleep. Particularly Wednesday nights to Thursday mornings during College days, I kept waking up with pins and needles in my left arm everytime; and this keeps annoying me and every night I've gone to bed I've always kept wondering whether I'll be alright or not. I don't want a repeat of this in 2009, because it's getting annoying. I had to visit the hospital in July with this, thinking I was having a heart attack as I woke-up from a nightmare with my left arm stuck in a funny position. But I was checked over and was in fine health, the nurse said it was the way I must have been sleeping. Since then, I've always been worried when I got to bed and it's not right at my age.
But it had it's good points, I saw the films I wanted to see: Indiana Jones 4 and Narnia - Prince Caspian. Plus I saw Bon Jovi near the end of June and Iron Maiden in the beginning of July, and I also wrote my first sitcom and one off tv drama in college so it got me some script writing experience. Plus, I'm getting to talk to Girls a bit more than I used to; not as much as I hope but hopefully 2009 will be alot further than I have ever done in my whole life.
Although for SiF, 2008 wasn't such a good year for some. For me, it was half and half. Half with the issue with Anti-SiF, and half with the various redubs and written adaptations I made which I enjoyed doing. But hopefully 2009 there will be no issues as there was this year, and there will hopefully be alot more SiF productions than we had this year (Not dis to those who produced great stuff, but just for those who hoped to have gotten more done than they had).
Anyway, roll on 2009 for SiF and for all.
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Post by stuart7 on Dec 31, 2008 21:43:07 GMT
For me, 2008's been a bit of a dismal year, nowhere near as good as 2007. We've lost several TV greats, undergone another war with the anti-SIF gang, I've had three grandparents in hospital and respite, as well as coping with Uni and other things. And just when you think things can't get any worse, they get worse. Not as bad as 2005's disaster's maybe, but still quite painful to look back on. Then again, like Ryan said, this could be the building blocks of better days. Let's hope he is right. Roll on, 2009.
Mind, there have been some good moments like the Didcot and Wales Meetings, so it hasn't been all bad. That, and my cousin Tom is getting married in the New Year, in Iowa of all places, so it should be fun.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Stuart
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Post by Mark Iron on Dec 31, 2008 21:58:48 GMT
I rank this year as a absolute nightmare for me. School wise it was okay. Personal life was a disaster. Quite possibly the worst year I've had since 2006 (my worst year). While there were good things (graduating high school, starting college, starting driving, getting into announcing and online competition for my monster truck game), the bad out weighed them overall.
For 09, not making any resolutions. Every time I make plans for a year, they don't turn out so I'm not this year. I'll just be glad this year's done. That's all I know.
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Post by edwardblue on Dec 31, 2008 22:23:37 GMT
Well, 2008 did seem promising on the outset at the beginning, but things rapidly deteriorated. The economy was bad, as was pointed out we had wars with anti-SiFers, Proposition 8 was passed in California (Though I know it's going to be repealed.), we lost some great people: Heath Ledger, David Mitton, George Carlin and Eartha Kitt to name a few, and I had my own troubles to deal with. Family cat dying in September, Internship woes (due to said economy), and a new boss at my job who is an absolute tyrant.
However, 2008 did have its positive moments for me. For instance, being able to take part in my school's fall production of "The Wiz" in November, moving into college for the first time, and realizing where I stand on the issue of gay rights (supporter, and I even joined the HRC(Human Right Campaign) in November.
So here's hoping to a brighter, better, and much happier 2009!
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Post by Metamorphical on Dec 31, 2008 22:29:18 GMT
2008 was a mix for me with its ups and downs:
-The year actually started off with a fantastic Jan and a new car, an 08 Nissan Altima.
-Then out of the blue in Feb, I was laid off from my previous job. as a Technical Support Rep for SanDisk when the company moved their call center from Orlando Florida to Manilla in the Philippines.
-My grandmother died.
-Family drama with my 19 year old sister eloping.
-I was without a job until October simply unable to find a job in my feild within my area with my 'fresh out of college' lack of experience. I ended up finally finding another phone support job with AT&T Wireless, which I currently have.
-Somewhere in the middle of that time I worked with a friend (Corwin a.k.a. Bloodinator) on creating the shiningtimeu.com fansite and building forum.
-I joined this very forum which was definately a positive moment. I love it enough to want to put up money for a Vbulletin or IBP (Invision Power Boards) liscense, hosting if needed, and would help install/code if there is interest in 09.
-I also enjoyed posting fanfiction and will continue to do so in 09 mostly to see how long I can stay interested and keep an audiance.
-I love notebooks/ laptop computers and enjoy helping others choose there models. Yet I bought a lemon myself in July of 07 after always hearing the Asus Ensamble lines were among the best. My Asus W7 failed in July of 08 after the Nvidia Go 8400m G failed 10 days outside of warrenty.
-I also watched my hangout notebookreview.com's forum get sold with the rest of the technology guide websites to techtarget and loose a bit of its charm as me and the other moderators there find ourselves under different management without much control over the forum as advertising and money have become the driving force (we recently were told we could not edit the subforum layout in the Dell forum because Dell had made a contract with NBR to run targeted ads against the current layout until end of 09!). NBR has had many trials over the past year.
-I did get a new laptop a Lenovo (Formerly IBM) Thinkpad T400 which so far I love and is perfectly stable.
-I got a new cat named Wally
-Although I did not get to see her this year. my favorite steam locomotive Nickelplate Road #765 is operational again, the Fort Wayne historical society has sorted stuff out. Hopefully in 2009 I'll get to see her on an excursion in 09.
-My personal life if back on track and I have money again, so woo-hoo! 09 looks like its starting well enough, although the next 10 days may be pretty rough.
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Post by Aidan on Dec 31, 2008 22:38:39 GMT
2008's been a bit of a rough year for me. For one thing, I managed to fail my algebra class, which really made my blood boil. Another thing was the lack of funds and budget cuts preventing me from trying to find a part-time job. Aside from the anti-SiF crap, there was also my aunt's death back in November due to liver cancer, and, as was mentioned earlier, the economy went downhill.
Some of the positives I can think of are regaining my cashier position at the Virginia Museum of Transportation and being able to see Series 12 for the first time.
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Davey
Goods Engine
V
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Post by Davey on Jan 1, 2009 0:07:01 GMT
Despite the fact that 2008 has caused quite a lot of grief throughout the world, for me personally, its actually been a good year. I've been getting some very good grades at college and have been in three successful productions, as well as being paid for being in a film for the first time. I've also applied to Uni and Drama Schools, and have already had my first audition, which I feel went fairly well. I've learnt an awful lot on my course this year, and am progressing fairly well. Also, I went on three holidays in the summer which was a very good chance to relax after the work I'd had on my plate. While one of them was less good than I expected (the one with my college mates), they all had their merits and I enjoyed the chance to be more independant as two of them were with people who weren't my family! I also turned 18 and have therefore been able to have a more active night life in a sense, and I've been going to more pubs and clubs with mates (although personally, the latter of which I don't enjoy as much) and I've been getting along better with the people on my course. I also passed my driving test at long last in July and this has given me a wealth of new freedom! Its not been all rosy though. Sadly, towards the backend of this year, I've been feeling increasingly disillusioned about college, and have enjoyed it a lot less due to the amount of pointless subjects that we're doing this year. Also, in wordly news, the economic downturn, Watford's sh!t league position and the passing of people such as David Mitton, George Carlin and Heath Ledger has been a matter of sadness. Also the fact that many of my better friends are off at Uni and I now see them less and less. However, all in all, I won't forget 2008 in a hurry. And altogether, it is a year where I feel I have developed and grown as a person. Its been a positive experience overall for me, and I'm hoping that 2009 can improve my already good fortune. Anyway, as I was writing this, its gone midnight, and the fireworks have started. So, to all on SiF: Happy New Year!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2009 0:20:21 GMT
2008 wasn't really the best year I've had (That award would go to 2001, closely followed by 2005) but I still managed to have some good times such as the whole of January, my holiday in Weymouth during September, Michael Angelis staying on to do another series and going to see a few theatre shows.
Things haven't been too good for the forum this year either, as I can see from it suffering several bashings from Anti-Sif fans along with the deaths of two people much loved by Thomas followers everywhere for their contributions to the television series.
I hope 2009 won't turn out as bad a year as or worse than last year for both me and the forum.
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Post by blopesthebee on Jan 1, 2009 1:49:13 GMT
It was a wondiferous year for me! I can't hardly remember anything that happened, but it couldn't have been that bad, i guess. I learned how to draw. I found SIF. Obama was elected. The world didn't end. I think it was pretty good!
(Anti-SIF war? I hate that internet/special olympics analogy, but hot-damn.)
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Post by driveus on Jan 1, 2009 5:41:17 GMT
For me 2008, just sorta passed me by, nothing interesting (bad or good) happened to me. Though I did make a pro's and con's list (of both personal and global events).
Pros: *Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne, The Game, T.I., Ludacris, T-Pain, G-Unit and Nas all released albums this year. *Barack Obama won the election. *Improved my social life.
Cons: *Earthquake in China. *Lil Wayne and G-Unit's albums were complete let-downs. *Dr. Dre's Detox didn't come out. *Bush still remains in office until some point in early 2009. *Gas prices increase. *Stock market drops. *Middle class nearly extinct. *Israel attacks the Gaza Strip and kills over 300 people.
Yeah, more cons than pros I see. But regardless, hope 2009 turns out better then 2008 did.
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Post by Jim on Jan 1, 2009 7:19:20 GMT
I really don't know what to think of 2008 as it seemed to have burned away too d**ned quickly for me. The year was a blur regarding my personal and work life. Only thing that really impacted me was the high petrol prices and the stress and repercussions caused by the breakup of my ultra-chauvinistic brother's short marriage. Forum-wise we took quite a few knocks that can be said on-and-off the record, but dammit, we're still here ;D I'm not going to say that 2008 was a total write-off as the year did provide a few positives, but just the same I'm glad to see that last grain of sand trickle through the hourglass of time. So goodbye 2008 - hello 2009!
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Post by Kate669 on Jan 1, 2009 9:58:06 GMT
Let's see...
- I got out of New Mexico and into Georgia, which puts me somewhat closer to my boyfriend and our goal of a house together in North Carolina.
- I was able to find a job with relative ease, and eventually became a Certified Trainer, and a sort of "head waitress". It's both a plus and a minus.
- The economy and petrol prices were bloody awful over the summer, so the job was (barely) enough to pay my bills on, but not enough to save money for another move.
- I lost my two-year-old kitty Fiyero to complications from epilepsy/fleas/chlamydia. My parents also lost two cats - one died at six months, and one went missing one rainy night and never returned.
- Once the petrol prices started to go down, I was able to make money again. It's still a ways to go, but with things looking as they are now, I should be out of my parents' house (complete with pets) by April. We'll see...
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Sodor18
Branch Line Engine
Always ready to lend a helping arm
Posts: 1,279
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Post by Sodor18 on Jan 1, 2009 10:24:11 GMT
2008:
Real Life
The Good:
Getting a DVD/VCR player for my den The release of The Tales of Beedle the Bard Finally having Series 1-7 of Are You Afraid of the Dark? on DVD YouTube extending the Favourites limit from 500 to 650 Completing both my Ranma 1/2 DVD and graphic novel collection Getting Daniel Craig to sign a raffle ticket Meeting a girl on RSVP (We're currently arranging to see Yes Man together) Collecting Doctor Who DVDs from the UK before their release in Australia (Battlefield should be here tomorrow) Attending the world's largest speed-dating event Big Brother finally being axed Introducing the world of Ranma 1/2 to my cousin, Oscar Hanging out with Jarrah White My holiday in New Zealand R L Stine writing a new Goosebumps book series
The Bad
The death of my pet rabbit (I'll miss you, Flora) Finding out that I'd have to wait a bit longer to see the next Harry Potter movie The death of Ralph Rene (Jarrah was very upset)
Thomas and Friends & SiF
The Good
Producing Rusty 1/2: There's Something About Mighty Mac Series 12 (I was very impressed with the graphics) Becoming a co-writer and voice-actor for Ranma 1/2: Ranma's Declaration of Motherhood Becoming the head writer for the next two Ranma 1/2 productions (A Day in Furinkan & The Shape-Shifter) Seeing The Great Discovery Not getting a single warning this year
The Bad
Failing the ERS Evaluation Test....again The deaths of David Mitton, George Carlin, and the "model" series of Thomas and Friends Not finishing Rusty 1/2: There's Something About Mighty Mac on time The stress I went through during the production My ERS volume failing the evaluation My rank going down Having to postpone my Doctor Who fanfiction series'
Happy New Year, everyone.
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Post by OJ on Jan 1, 2009 13:36:59 GMT
For me 2008 has been a good year. I've fainaly got a job which I start on Tuesday plus it couldn't have come at a better time which this credit crunch. For me personaly there wasn;t any negatives well not that I can think off. I stayed out of the Anti SIF war but was still sad to see it happen. Best thing to do was ignore it
The Best of 2008
1) Best movies Iron Man, Dark Knight (honourable mention goes to Heath Ledger best Joker ever) and Step Brothers (really funny) 2) Thomas series 12 was good. Best HIT series. Loved the CGI faces they looked good. Welcolme back Duck and Oliver 3) The Great Discovery (best Feature Length. Look forward to Hero of the rails)
Also a honourable mention also goes to George Calin and of course David Mitton
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Post by sillyevan on Jan 2, 2009 9:09:36 GMT
2008 was a mixed bag of nuts... and I keep pullin the peanuts with the d**n skins on 'em that keep sticking to the roof of my mouth. The Excelent-- Wales. Pure and simple. Meeting 12 absolutely amazing folk and getting to know them more in one week than I have in my 6 years on the forum. (13 if you count Fox via phone!) To see some of the greatest little engines and railways in Great Britain was also beyond words. -- Musical Compositions. Very people know that I'm a composer, and this year I finally finished and had performed my first original composition. What absolutely had me high as a kite was the fact that my newfound college friends and my best mentor, my old band teacher, were there with me. Music has been so important in my life and I've finally made a contribution to perhaps my greatest passion. I've also made a fantastic Christmas arrangement and started work on brass piece. Very musical year. The Good-- Performed extremely well for my Trumpet final. I love playing my trumpet and I'm very happy how far I've progressed and grown in my abilities. -- Meeting up with Dmman33. Ok ok it isn't in the Excelent list, but it was still a really good afternoon -- Going to my first Anime convention. This was a weird experience but really worth it. Lots of fun. -- Voice-Acting Workshop in NYC. Had the great pleasure to work with one of my industry idols for 8 hours learning the basics of voice-acting, in particular for dubbing Anime. Invaluable experience and loads of fun. -- Being elected Vice Pres of my college's Anime Club. It's good to be in a position to bring people fun and make things happen. The Annoying-- My favorite Sci-Fi show Stargate SG1 ended its run, though the two movies were fairly awesome. That was back even before 2008, however, more shenanegans are afoot. Stargate Atlantis has also been canceled (set to end after Season 5) and a new series "Stargate Universe"... which has "Star Trek: Deep Space 9" written all over it (i.e. FAIL). This series is falling fast, and I'm really anxious about it. I don't want such an amazing concept to die from poor sequels (unlike Back to Future, the only original movie to not suffer from "the sequel effect"). -- My 2nd favorite Sci-Fi show "Eureka" got stopped in the middle of its season.... wtf. The MEH and Bad-- Gas Prices, Bad Economy, and Love. Had bad experience with all of the above this past year. Gas prices absolutely sucked up until late Fall. Bad economic times over the Spring and Summer meant no job for me, and I didn't get hired this Winter either. So a trickle of cash flow. Tried asking out a girl I've had a crush on and got rejected... so much for ending that loner streak. -- My dear olde computer broke down. Apparently from the bloody anti-virus program! I'm so incredibly frustrated with this as I never want to lose what I've got on that machine. There's stuff from 2002 on that machine from before SiF. Stuff you cannot find anywhere on the web PERIOD FULL BLEEDIN' STOP. Irreplaceable. Hopefully it can be repaired and then the parts replaced with new ones (in time). -- The end of a Car. My vintage 1995 Plymouth Neon has finally become too unsafe for me to drive, so my parents got me a new car. A beautiful '06 Subaru which actually climbs hills. The old car, I've never driven anything else, will be donated and I will have to quickly adjust to this new car. Problem being (and this keeps it from being on the "Good" list) that on the way from the dealership something blew up behind the dash board... so now that's got to be repaired. -- Academics. I'm thankfully doing well in college, but this past year was tough to the point of breakdown. I'm trying to keep my GPA above a 3.7, but I've slid down to a 3.6 which is causing me much stress. I'm taking courses in my major that I don't particularly like (blasted law and business classes). The Worse-- Thomas going Digital. The TV series is just about completely dead for me. Should I ever have children I'll have to question whether or not I'll let them watch the series. It's perhaps the 2nd to last nail in the coffin for me as a viewer, a fan, and a person who might want to go into childrens entertainment. Surely the full-CGI series will be the final nail. -- The passing of David Mitton and George Carlin. David Mitton I've only recently (see: last few years) come to know thanks to the technical discussions here on SiF about the Thomas TV Series and TUGS, so I was sad to see such a mind expire. But when I heard George Carlin had died I was absolutely devastated. He and Ringo were the voices of my childhood and since high school I've begun to appreciate Carlin's comedy too. The announcement hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest.
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Post by Jarrah White on Jan 2, 2009 10:45:02 GMT
How do you feel 2008 has been? For me personally - I've hated this year with a passion. Ditto. Ralph Rene died, my grandfather died, Ash Sowerby turns against me and then libeled me after I tried reaching out to him, two of my hard drives crashed, the propagandists make my life a living hell over an honest mistake regarding playback speed, god only knows how many projects have been delayed, several third party pricks claimed the audio content of various music videos I posted, I was nearly hit by my sister's boyfriend's car, my internet connection has forced me to resort to internet cafe computers - putting me up for hundreds of dollars in cafe fees, David Mitton has died, George Carlin has died, and Thomas has well and truly been killed off with dreadful CGI. While this year did have some good times, such as myself appearing on Whispers Radio, spending days out with Tim, and my videos getting added to SiF - the bads have been so frequent and so severe that they effectively overpower any good 2008 brought.
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Sean
Goods Engine
Posts: 470
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Post by Sean on Jan 2, 2009 12:27:35 GMT
On the other hand, we've got friends and family that love us, we're going to be swearing in as president a man who, a hundred and fifty years ago, might very well have been considered property, and Paris Hilton and Britney Spears - bless their curiously malformed little hearts - are still working their butts off making utter and complete bozos of themselves for our amusement. Life could be worse.
Personally, pretty big year for me: gave blood for the first time, got my learner's permit (getting license in 23 years), graduated high school, turned 19, voted for the first time (guy I voted for won), and I got my first job (buh...).
So now I look into starting my "career"... Hoping I'll eventually become the stand-up comic of tomorrow...
2009... And the crowd goes wild..... yay?
Oh! And I got a Doctor Who scarf for Christmas! Whatup? ;D
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Warrior
Passenger Engine
Posts: 915
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Post by Warrior on Feb 1, 2009 15:48:54 GMT
At last, the nightmare's over...
The good: Finally getting in here after 6 years of waiting(I was on TV tome at age 7(Jim522 wasn't paying much attention I guess(I know it was wrong, and I'm sorry for it, cause I got permanently banned when John caught me in the members lounge...))
The bad: Obama winning(Do NOT get me started...) Leaving the church we had been a part of for 4 years(Refer to the Safety Valve for that story), My best friend losing his family's house and later his grandfather to a heart attack(God that sucked...), the sudden loss of Mitton and Carlin, the announcement of full CGI(I liked the faces, but FULLY? Ah, no.)
Meh. 2008 endith... 2009 beginith... Here we go again...
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