Things That Sucked In 2008

For every Yin there is a Yang. So with all the things that were great in 2008, there has to be things that sucked in 2008.

Here are my Bottom Ten of 2008:

1. Death - I was very fortunate that no one close to me died this year. Some of my friends and family were not so lucky. My only contact was around famous people dying. But I will say Tim Russert's death hit kinda hard. I was a huge fan and watched Meet the Press every week. I miss watching him.

2. The Economy - It went from worrying about "will my job be here tomorrow" to "will the industry I work in be here tomorrow". Again I got off lucky. My company last year was sold to a company that went out of business, but my company as bought back by the guy who had it initially. So my job was saved... for now. My girlfriend works for a soup kitchen, and they survive off donations, but donations are down. She may not have a job in a month. My writing partner lost her job last month and my sister got her hours cut at a job she's worked at for almost ten years. On the upside my girlfriend and I bought a new mattress. We plan to stuff our money in it.

3. Indiana - Yes the state. Maybe not the whole state, but certainly I-65 over Christmas. We drove to FLA and sat in traffic for 4 hours because apparently no one in Indiana knows how to drive when the temperature drops below 30. You are like a special retard if you drive a truck in Indiana. Over 24 hours on Dec. 23rd, like 4 big rigs jack knifed. Totally ridiculous. The State is dead to me.



4. Prop 8 - What a stupid law. To say I find all of this beyond ridiculous is an understatement. The people who supported Prop 8, and voted for it and pushed it to happen are all on the wrong side of history. Gay marriage will happen. It will happen because history has already proved it. 50 or more years ago the marriage that produced our current president elect was illegal. The arguments used to "justify" it, many of them were the same. But basically it boiled down to racism, and people eventually saw that. This is the same situation. There is no reason, other than homophobia, why two consenting adults, who love each other, are willing to build a home and family together, who pay taxes, and just happen to be the same sex should not be legally allowed to get married. There just isn't. One day, people will realize that.

So good news is... eventually people will wise up, and gay marriage will get passed (again). It just sucks that it took such a huge step backward on a day when the country moved so far forward.

5. Award Shows - Don't get me wrong, I love to watch them, but the biggies this year just blew. "No Country For Old Men" swept the Oscars, and that was such an over-hyped piece. (My girlfriend was pulling for Transformers). The Emmys were so mind numbingly boring to watch. And my favorite, The Golden Globes didn't happen because of the writer's strike. Let's get it together Hollywood.

6. Tivo vs Digital Cable - I had such a sweet set up. My Tivo recorded two channels at once, and I could watch a third show while I was at it. But then RCN moved to Digital cable. Apparently you can not split a digital signal. So now my awesome Tivo only does one channel at a time. I spent many a night cursing at the TV in 2008.

7. My snoring - It has apparently gotten worse. I don't know this first hand, I just know this because I wake up some mornings with my loved ones sleeping on opposite side of the house. I have tried sleeping on my stomach, breathe right strips, my girlfriend punching me to stop. Nothing works. Sorry Baby.

8. Chicago Winters - They were particularly bad this year. Last February it snowed like every day. It would melt in time for a fresh batch. Snow is not so bad, until it turns to ice and then your douche bag neighbors don't shovel their sidewalks. I fell 3 times, one of those pretty badly. Let's get it together Mother Nature.

9. Mamma Mia: the Movie - Have you seen this piece of crap? Its awful. And I like musicals. I liked Chicago, Moulin Rogue, Assassins, Sweeney Todd, Camelot. Christopher Plummer playing acoustic Edelweiss in Sound of Music makes me cry. But this piece of shit. And Pierce Brosnan?!?! He can't sing. He just yells. Why this movie was even a remote hit is beyond me. Just awful. See for yourself.




10. The Number 8 Halsted CTA Bus - I am not alone in this one. The Red Eye, 2 years in a row, named it the worst bus in Chicago. I have had to ride this bus every day for the last 3 years to get to work. It is just awful. It is ALWAYS late, ALWAYS crowded, and SLOW. Every time I ride it, I do a cost benefit analysis to see if it would be cheaper to get a car. Its just awful.