What can I say, I was bored before I left work, I saw this at Jenn's and decided to fill it out too. Here you go, enjoy:

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
A bunch of things, mostly been to new places, countries, that sort of thing.

2. Did you keep your new year�s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any New Year's Resolutions, I'm sure I'll make one to lose weight, and hopefully keep it

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My brother's best friend had a kid (well, his wife, but he did his part and contributed half of the DNA), a few ex-coworkers (now stay at home moms)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully

5. What countries did you visit?
England, France, Ireland & Scotland (Very upset I couldn't complete the UK Isles by hitting Wales, but oh well)

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
More money.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Valentine's Day, no comment.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Still dating my girlfriend despite doing the long distance relationship thing for one year and one month and I'm employed.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Gaining back a lot of the weight I lost the year before.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few colds here and there, nothing major, this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I didn't buy, but leased, a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and oh I love it.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Christopher Reeves, for sticking it out to the very end.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Paris Hilton, as they said in South Park, a stupid, spoiled whore.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Car (old and new), gas, credit card companies, Apple, long distance to England, American Airlines and my Dad.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to see my girlfriend in England and her coming home.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
"Lover, You Should've Come Over" by Jeff Buckley, just discovered him this year and I'm glad I did.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter
c) richer or poorer? I made more money this year, but my bank accounts don't show it.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Sex

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Watching TV

20. How did you be spend Christmas?
With my girlfriend's family (I'm Jewish)

21. Did you fall in love in 2004?
Nope, 2003 took care of it, and despite some bumps along the way, still in love, even more so.

22. How many one-night stands?
None, ever, is that a good thing?

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Angel (before those bastards at the WB cancelled it), now its Lost, Alias (loves me some Jennifer Garner) and Smallville (I love Superman, the character, not the guy that plays him).

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn�t hate this time last year?
No.

25. What was the best book you read?
I re-read the first four Dark Tower books by Stephen King and read the final three, so as a whole they rocked.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jeff Buckley

27. What did you want and get?
My girlfriend to come home for good, a new car, an iPod

28. What did you want and not get?
An Audi A4, (It's what I really wanted but couldn't quite afford, so I went with the red-headed stepchild to the Audi, a VW)

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Way too many to choose from, but if I'm forced to pick one, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
My girlfriend booked a hotel for the night, we had a nice dinner and dessert at Cold Stone Creamery (Happy Birthday remix rocks!), and I turned 26 (The backside of my 20's begin, before I know it I'll be 30)

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not having to do a long distance relationship for 2/3 of the year, but hey, whatever doesn't kill you...

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Eddie Bauer

33. What kept you sane?
My dog, he also drove me insane some of the time.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kate Winslet, after Eternal Sunshine I was just more in love with her than ever before.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election, my guy lost.

36. Who did you miss?
My girlfriend while we were apart, now, no one.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
I became close friends with a very cool woman at work (I would say girl, but she's like 33, so I guess I should say young woman).

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.
Forgive and try to forget.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
However far away, I will always love you
However long I stay, I will always love you
Whatever words I say, I will always love you
"Love Song" by 311

Another week from hell is almost down the tubes. We;ve been working on deploying a new phone system in the office for awhile now, and we finally cut over to the new system on Tuesday night and damn its been crazy ever since. Thankfully I've been kept out of the loop on a lot of the phone stuff, so most of it doesn't affect me, but the amount of dumb problem and questions that people have in insane. One secretary asked me how to access her voice mail, when she had the instructions right in front of her. She must've got in to set it up, what changed? I have no idea. The one good thing about being so damn busy is that the days fly by like nothing. Thankfully I'm taking tomorrow off, so today, although being a Thursday, feels like a Friday and the thought of a three-day weekend is all that is getting me through the day.

I have no big plans for New Years. Elena and I were supposed to go to her cousin's new house, but her cousin's husband really want to go to his brother's that night, so that's what they're doing. They invited us as well, but both Elena and I are feeling antisocial. So instead we're just going to stick it out at home with my parents and their friends. We're both not big fans of New Years. Hell, last year she passed out before the ball dropped. I had to wake her up, pathetic, huh?

In other news I'm almost done putting together plans for Elena's birthday, which isn't until March. She wanted to go see Wicked on Broadway, but its sold out on the day of her birthday, conveniently a Saturday. Turns out my mom got tickets in June to go see it for my Dad, Grandma and Aunt and pseudo-Uncle (he and my Aunt have been engaged forever, but never married and I think they're common-law by now). My mom grabbed Elena and I some tickets that night too and my brothers and cousin as well, so it'll be a whole big family outing, complete with dinner at Carmine's, one of the best Italian places in NYC. So instead, for her birthday we're going to see Avenue Q which is supposed to be really good. I just know it had Muppet like creatures in it, should be interesting. Then we'll be staying the night at a hotel close to the theatre. All that's left is to find a place to eat at and we're done. Nice to have that load off so early in advance. I think I'll pick up the soundtrack for her while I'm at it, just so she can get to know the tunes beforehand. I know thats what got her hellbent on seeing Wicked, the soundtrack caught her eye at Best Buy one night and she listened to it all the next day when she sat in her car as an extra for War of the Worlds.

So thats about it on this front. Hope everyone has a happy and safe New Years, if this is the last post of 2004, see you in 2005!!!

Another year and another Holiday Season down the tubes. All thats left is to get smashed on New Years Eve and ring in the New Year in a drunken stupor. Now that's what I call fun. So a wrap up of the past few days is as follows:

Office Holiday party was Thursday afternoon and a good time was had by all, at least in my department, because we basically kept to ourselves and tried to limit our interaction with the rest of the company. I know that sounds antisocial but we had a good time and thats all that counts. I didn't win any prizes this year, but oh well, there's always next year. They were giving out a lot of tickets to Broadway shows, which would've been nice to win, since that what I'll probably do for Elena on her birthday, plus a night at a hotel in the city.

I didn't do much on Christmas Eve, except get a haircut and my car washed. That was about it. I was supposed to go to Elena's house when she got home from work, but she told me not to come since she wasn't planning on waking up early on Christmas Day like a little kid, so I stayed home and slept in my own bed. Then on Christmas Day she called at about 8:30 and told me to head on over since her family woke her up.

Got some good stuff for Christmas. Elena's mom got me a new wallet, a nice Eddie Bauer duffel bag, a huge Polo towel, and some shirts I wanted from Eddie Bauer. Elena got me undewear (yay!), a tape adapter for my iPod for use in my new car's tape deck, a replacement for my lost Pearl Jam "Ten" CD that somehow just disappeared, and my favorite gift, by far (kidding, it was a gag gift) was Lindsay Lohan's CD. Woo hoo! Can't wait to listen to that one all the way through.

Christmas was nice at Elena's, I had to go home in the middle of it all to walk and feed Keyser since my family went to my Aunt's in Connecticut for the day. I got back to Elena's, had dessert and got drunk. I then passed out in her room at like 10 PM, and she tried to kick me out sometime later, because she was feeling sick, but I wouldn't budge. She passed out in the guest bedroom and that was it.

I went home early on Sunday morning, since Elena wasn't feeling so hot (too much alcohol and food), I did a little shopping and hung out at my house most of the day. Seth and his girlfriend stopped by to say hi for a bit. They're leaving for Dublin today and originally Elena and I were supposed to go with them, but backed out due to money. I watched the Jets get slaughtered, and watched Shaun of the Dead (very funny). And that was it.

I trekked my car through the snow this morning to get to work only to find it dead here, and it probably will be all week.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Adios for now!

I just got a call from the vet and the sample I dropped off yesterday came back totally clean. No protein, no inflammation, nothing. So the combination of the antibiotics and diet knocked whatever was wrong with him right out. So Keyser's OK and I can breath easier. What a nice present for the Holidays.

In other news, only an hour and a half, or so, to go before the office Holiday Party. Everyone root for me to win a nice prize, like a big screen TV, or a digital camera. Those would be really nice. I just have to watch my alcohol intake. Can't get trashed like last year, especially not with a brand new car.

I'm out, Happy Holidays in case I don't post until after Christmas!

I love it! Its awesome, I can't wait to leave for the day to drive it again on the way home. Granted I'll probably be stuck in traffic for most of the ride home, but it'll be fun driving it. Since its a much smaller car than my old Grand Prix, it'll take a little while to get used to the lack of space in it. I fit comfortably enough behind the wheel, I just don't have as much wiggle room as I once had. I figure its good incentive to lose weight and keep it off. But other than that, its awesome. Its got some pep to it, thats for sure. I'm glad I went for the top of the line with the turbocharged engine.

In other news I need to collect a sample from Keyser to bring to the vet. Hopefully all will come back clean and the diet will continue. He hates the diet and barks constantly when its time to eat, after he eats, and basically whenever he wants. Its really annoying and his crate time during times when people eat has increased, but eventually he'll get used to it and start to behave. He's just so driven by food and his nose, always has been and I'm sure he always will be.

That's about it for now. Check you later!

I'm heading out of work at about 12:30 to head home and grab my old car, drive it on down to the VW dealership and proceed to pick up my new one! I can't wait! No more bumming rides to work with my brother and trying to find someone in my office to give me a ride back to his! No more trying to borrow cars in order to go anywhere! It'll be great and the next two hours can't fly by fast enough!

Nothing else of note to report. Christmas on Saturday at Elena's house which should be fun. I just remember getting plastered on champagne last year at her house and that was fun. Office Holiday Party on Thursday afternoon so there's another half day. I just have to make sure I don't get as drunk as I did last year, don't want to risk anything stupid with the new car. So that means no Long Island Iced Teas for me. Oh well. Friday I'm off and I may try to take Monday as well since I have only one day off remaining. I figure I might as well take it.

Thats about it. I'll report back on the new ride as soon as I can! Wish me luck!

I kid you not. Elena is insane about Netflix. Mostly, she's insane about keeping the queue moving. I guess she feels that if she gets the movie and watches them quickly so she can get new one's promptly that she's getting more than her money's worth. To an extent I agree. With the way Netflix works, the more you watch the more you're getting for you money, but she takes it to a crazy degree sometimes. Take for example today. We watched Collateral (very damn good movie, I highly suggest it). I went to throw it in the mailbox but the mail had already been picked up, so it would have to wait until Monday. No she says, she'll drop it off at a post office on her way to work tonight. OK, crazy, but not too crazy. There's a movie we just got that I wanted and she's already seen. She's giving me until Monday to watch it or it goes back in the mail on Monday. Insane I tell you. But I'm watching it now, and its a short movie, so we'll be OK. I can escape the Netflix Nazi's wrath.

So the deal is practically done with the car. They offered me about $800 less than what I owed on my car, but they're going to roll the difference into the lease and it only amounts to about $10 more a month. Now all I have to do is call the guy at the dealership that handles financing, hammer out a deal on an extended warranty and find out about insurance and whatnot (haggling about the deductible I can have on my policy) All signs point to hopefully getting the car on Tuesday. I may even try to take the day off work and go get it and spend the day being lazy and driving it around. I can't wait.

Need to decide what to do for dinner because I'm starving. Have a good rest of the weekend people!

It's about time. I picked up my old piece of crap car at the transmission place today and the good news is I made it the 2 miles or so home without it dying on me. The only driving I will do in it between now and when I get my new car is to get it watched, and to the dealership for an appraisal and when I drop it off for good. Thats it! I'm not risking anything! I want my new car so bad I can taste it. Hopefully I can get it by Monday. We shall see, all depends how tomorrow goes.

So the week from hell is finally over. I figured my office would be dead with the holidays fast approaching, but that was not the case. It was nuts and for some reason extra nuts just for good measure. Thankfully the new kid starts on Monday so we'll no longer be shortstaffed and he can handle all the crap calls I've been taking, like people that don't know how to enter their time so they can get paid. I figure, if your salary depends on it, you'll learn how to use it, but that doesn't seem to phase the employees at my office. Nope. Or, there's one woman who I have constantly walk through how to download files from the Internet, and then open them and print them. I kid you not. No more though, thats going to be the kids job!

Plans for tonight? Elena is on her way over and we're going to see Spanglish since she's a huge Adam Sandler fan. I don't really care about the rest of the weekend, as long as everything goes smooth with the care. Its all about the car.

The damn mechanic is still waiting on this one part before I can get my car back. Of course at first he was hoping to get it to me yesterday, then of course today and none of those happened, obviously. I just talked to him before and asked him, realistically, when I'll be getting my car back, because I need it (I just didn't say why), and he said realistically by Friday. That just sucks, big time. I want to be done with the damn thing already and I want my new car, NOW!

This sucks, end of story.

I knew this was going to happen. I want my new car so bad I can taste it, and granted all the money I need to pay for it won't be in my account until Thursday morning, but my exisiting piece of crap car still isn't fixed and the best estimate the guy can give me is tomorrow. I want to get my new car by the weekend, and this is severely hampering the operation. All I can say is that when I finally do get my car back, it better run and run reliably long enough for me to get rid of it, because if it doesn't, I'm going to blow my top, seriously.

I guess if the VW dealership calls and asks what's up with not producing my car to be appraised for a trade-in I can blame my brother or something. Say he took it out of town for a week on vacation or business and he couldn't take his car because he leases it and he's already way over his mileage allowance. That works! I just want my new car so badly. Plus, I'm sick of bumming rides and borrowing other peoples cars. I had to get a ride in with my brother today and I have to depend on Elena picking me up after her voice lesson. Both my dad and my brother will be at their firm's holiday party tonight, so they're a no-go for a ride home.

I just want this whole car fiasco to end because the annoyance of it has been killing me for four months and now that there is an end in sight, there's got to be a major holdup. Damn you transmission!!! Damn you straight to hell.

Alright, enough venting, back to work and reading VW's website for the billionth time about my car.

Woo hoo! I posted all about this on Saturday at some point but it seems to have mysteriously vanished, oh well, I'll rehash it out here, again. So I went down to the car dealership with my dad after work on Friday and signed a deal for a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLI, in black, with a spoiler! Its really nice, small, but nice. I fit in it and it was comfortable to drive, so I'm happy. The only thing holding me up from actually getting it is that I have no car to produce for a trade in, as its still at the transmission place. I need to call the guy and tell him to step on it when it comes to fixing it. I want to get my new car by the weekend, and can't if I have no old car.

So we made the deal on Friday and I put $100 down so they'll hold the car for me, and I took it for a spin on Saturday and I'm happy with my purchase. I decided to lease instead of buy as its cheaper, so I have a three and a half year lease, with 25,000 miles a year, which is plenty. The best part, its about $30 cheaper a month than what I'm paying now. I like saving money.

Saturday night my parents had a little holiday get together with about 25 people, some their friends, some mine and it was a good time. Drank way too much wine and was definitely paying for it Sunday, but its not like I had anything to do, so it was OK. Now its Monday, back at work for one more week of hell before the new guy starts and my job can get easier. Can't wait. Hope everyone has a good Monday.

In the meantime, check out my new wheels!

After almost a year and a half of free web hosting due to a glitch in which my credit card was never charged, even when my renewal was up, I've finally been found out. Got an e-mail today from my host saying that I had to pay them $50 by Dec. 15 in order to keep my space. I paid it, what the hell. I like writing in this thing, gives me a spot to vent about all the stuff that goes on everyday.

And now, onto the ongoing saga of my car. It sat in the parking lot of my dad's office all day yesterday and never got towed to the transmission place. They're coming today, they just called my dad for directions. It would've been nice if someone tried to steal it, but they wouldn't have gotten it very far, since it doesn't work. Trashing it would've been OK, even gutting it would've been fine with me, the only thing I'd miss on the inside is all my Pearl Jam CD's, but those are replacable. The thing is a certified POS right now, and I just need it running so I can hopefully trade it in.

My dad and are still going to take a look at the Volkswagen tomorrow. My dad sat in one of his partner's Jetta and even though I'm taller than my dad (He's a little wider if you get my drift, but you didn't hear that from me) and he said he fit in it. He said it was small, but honestly, I never lug a lot of people around, just Elena and Keyser sometimes, but never at the same time. If not the Jetta, then the Passat, but I like the Jetta because its much sportier, and has more horsepower in the engine, but the Passat is bigger. I guess I need to see both of them before I make up my mind. If I even can.

Keyser so far is doing OK. He's able to keep down his new medication which is good. Having a dog that constantly vomits is not a good thing, trust me. The weather's been crappy so no chances for walks, but I've given him a good workout throwing around a new toy rope my mom got him for Chanukah. He tries to destroy it, so I grab it from him and throw, he chases, I grab it from him and throw, he chases... you get the point. After about ten or fifteen minutes of it he's panting like crazy and breathing heavy, so exercise complete. Week and a half to go before he's done with his medication and I get him retested.

Thats about it. Looking forward to the weekend. Having a bunch of people over on Saturday so that should be fun. I'll report back with even more tales of car woes and shopping.

OK, so on top of all the crappy things that've happened lately, mainly Keyser possibly being sick, my piece of crap car continues to plague me. Its been in and out of the transmission place since August and the guy still can't get it to run right. Now, it doesn't move at all. It was fine when I picked it up on Tuesday, ran fine all day running errands and it was OK Wednesday morning when I went to work. Wednesday afternoon was a different story as it started to seriously flake out on me. By Wednesday night when I went to go home, it was unmovable. Let me rephrase that, I managed to get it out of the parking garage and almost onto the mail road that leads to the highway, but that was about it. The car was in gear, I was hitting the gas, but it went nowhere. One call to AAA and a couple attempts to move it and I had the car towed to my dads office, where it now sits in the parking lot waiting for the transmissions guy's tow truck to come pick it up so he can attempt to fix it once again. All I need from him is to get it to a point where I can trade it in, so basically I just need it to run, for about five minutes.

Last night my options where limited in a replacement. I want an Audi A4, but its way too much money. I think I'm going to have to settle for the Audi's red-headed step-brother, the Volkswagon. I'm looking at the Jetta and the Passat. I really want the Passat because its bigger and can have All Wheel Drive for the snow, but the Jetta is cheaper. We'll see. As of last night I had no money for a down payment and was basically looking to break even on the trade in versus what I owe the bank for my car, but I just found out what my Holiday Bonus will be this year, and it should be enough to make a down payment on it, so that'll help my monthly payments. My dad and I are going to try to take a look at the dealership on Friday night or Saturday, we shall see what they offer and go from there. I really need something that runs, because my car is getting ridiculous.

The other thing that was crap last night was that I came home to my mom telling me that Keyser puked in his cage. Nice, just what I need to come home too. He puked Tuesday night too after the vet gave him his anitbiotic. So I called the vet and he said that about 5% of dogs can't handle this one medication, and vomiting once is just a coincidence, but twice and he can't take it. So I had to run down to the vet and swap out his medication and give him his first dose since he puked up the one I gave him in the morning. Fun stuff.

So thats it. I'm curious to see what this transmission guy says is wrong with my car now and I'm highly curious to see what kind of deal I can get on a Volkswagon.

So Keyser's visit to the vet yesterday has me somewhat worried. They analyzed the sample I dropped off Monday night and could tell that there was inflamation and a lot more protein than there should be in it. They gave him a shot of antibiotics and I have to give him some pills every morning for the next two weeks. Once two weeks is up I'll bring in another sample for them to test and see if he's all clean. If there is still a lot of protein in there, they'll have to run some more tests to see where its coming from, and it could be kidney disease, which doesn't sound good to me. On top of all that, he's overweight, by at least 8 pounds or so, a quarter of his weight. So now he's on a strict diet, getting no more than a little under a half cup of his food twice a day and no extra food, treats or anything. I also hope to take him on a walk every night when I get home from work for exercise as well. We both could use it. I asked my mom (who has been an office manager at a family practice for more than 30 years and has picked up a bit of medical knowledge along the way) if an infection could cause protein in the urine and she said it was possible, and it could also be because of his weight, so I'm taking his new diet seriously.

So thats about it. I'm worried about him. He was definitely out of it last night and I think he may have puked and peed by the front door last night, possibly from the anitbiotics. So I'll just keep giving him his medicine, watching his food intake and get him some more exercise and hopefully he'll get better and no need for extra tests. Poor guy. I feel bad because the fact that he's fat is probably my fault since I give him food to keep him quiet sometimes, like edible bones and what not.

Thats all thats new here. Hannukah started last night and I got a nice new pair of pajama pants from Elena, the new Ultimate Matrix DVD set from my brother and a nice shirt and tie for work from my parents. Back to work, adios for now.

So I think Keyser is a little sick. Saturday night he was whining and scratching at the door to go out constantly, as in every half hour to an hour. Sometimes he would go to the bathroom, sometimes he wouldn't. So of course I thought bladder or urinary infection. I watched him closely on Sunday, and he seemed fine. I went to Elena's for dinner, came home, went to bed, dog and I slept soundly until I had to get up and go to work. I get up and find out that he was doing the same thing last night, just not as much. So instead of letting whatever is wrong with him linger, I decided to contact the vet today. Of course they asked for a urine sample. What fun! My plan was to pick up a sample cup at my moms office, go home and get his pee straight out of the crate after being in there all day. I pulled up to find my dad still home and of course, he walked the dog and the lawn got his urine instead of my cup.

I then proceeded to chase the dog around the house, trying to get him thirsty and out of breath so he'd drink some water. The thing was, I had to get the urine down to the vet before 7:30 so they could have the lab results when I bring Keyser in tomorrow afternoon. I got home around 6:15, and didn't get him to pee until about 7:00. Let me tell you, trying to get a cup under a dachshund while he pees is quite the challenge, especially in the dark. Thankfully I got enough to give the vet, and $30 dollars later I'll know whats in his urine. Have I mentioned how much fun this all is? Oh, and of course, aside from the pee that had a slight tint of green in it, the doggie has been fine tonight, no extra trips outside needed.

Thankfully its Thursday and the weekend is almost here. I need it, even after a long Holiday weekend extended by a day with my day off after my birthday. Even a 4 day week has been killer. It was crazy here on Tuesday, but thankfully its died down, but still. Damn.

Anyway, nothing big planned for the weekend. Elena has a voice lesson by my office late tomorrow afternoon, so once she's done she'll shop to kill some time then pick me up and we'll get some dinner. No real movies I want to see this week, plus we have like 3 form Netflix to watch, and Elena wants to rewatch Oceans 11 and the Blade movies in preperation for the sequels on their way. So looks like I have a lot of movies to watch. I need to stop into work for an hour of two Sunday to do some things, but thats about it. Sorry not much more to report.

But, I will mention this, my favorite moment of my birthday. Elena and I were driving from the restaurant to get some ice cream and she grabbed my hand and said she was really happy that her time in London didn't break us up. I said I was glad too and asked if she was ever worried that it would. She said she had as she's never done a long distance relationship before, whereas I had. She also said that she was sorry for hurting me while we apart because she knew she had. I accepted the apology and told her that yeah, it did hurt, a lot, but I forgave her. So its all good.