Are you ......

In the summer of 2008, I turned 23 and lived a woefully unfulfilled existence about 5 hours from my friends and one set of parents, and about 10 from the rest of my family. I worked at a place where my immediate boss didn't help me progress at all as a writer, and where *the* boss seemed to hope/wait for me to leave so I could be replaced with someone he liked more. I was broke often and hadn't really started working my way out of a self-inflicted debt caused by accepting a credit card offer when I was 20. It was the dawn of my prime with the ladies, but I remained single for another year or so yet and often felt lonely.

Now I live 3 1/2 hours away from my friends, 1 1/2 from one set of parents (who relocated in 2009), and 3 1/2 to 4 from the rest of my family. I work at a smaller paper, but make more money and make my own decisions, and *the* boss actually thought highly enough of me to pick out stories I should enter for contests. I'm still broke quite a bit, but that's after buying everything I need, and I have no debt (save about $100 on a JCPenney card). The ladies who loved and left have been replaced by one who makes me feel complete; she truly is my best friend and my soulmate.

So I guess take that as you will.

 

Yes, without much doubt. I don't know that I would have said I was all that bad off four years ago, but there were some things that in retrospect were absolutely not right.

I weigh less, I make more money*, I'm not in newspapers and I live in a different country. Life ain't perfect, but it never will be. I'm generally much happier and much better off.

*-Even accounting for the far-higher cost of living in said different country.

 

Yes.

Since we must be judging Leap Years.

 

Not no, but hell no. I'm not talking in terms of politics.

 

Immensely better off, financially. Just bought a "new" used car and paid cash for it, something I never could have done in 2008. And next week, I'm supposedly getting a 4% pay hike.

I've been very fortunate.

 

Much to my surprise, yes.

Survived waves of layoffs at my old shop. Finally jumped ship to what I hope is a safer harbor in a MUCH less expensive part of the country. Got married to a wonderful woman. Sold my house for a $90,000 profit, bought a bigger one with more land for $70,000 less. No mortgage. No car payments. No debt of any kind.

My tennis game still sucks. But I am one lucky SOB.

 

I'll answer the thread question (which I wish would have been put, in its entirety, in the headline space so I didn't feel like I was being made to open it if I wanted to know what it said) with a resounding yes.

That said, things were really bad four years ago.

 

I should clarify that I too have been very, very fortunate in ending up where I am now, physically and metaphysically. That I'm in the place did require a bold and active step on my part, but I was fortunate to be in the position to make that decision and fortunate that it turned out so well.

That said, life is about what you make of the breaks, good and bad.

 

Yeah, but you don't get to hang out with me as much

 

You were gone by summer, buddy.

 

Yeah, I seem to have blocked out that part of my life.

 

I did it that way because I didn't want people to start going political on the thread.