Top Ten Plus One Equals Eleven It Was Like A Bad Year

The year 2020 was a bad year for many people. These people the 2020 bad year was beyond their control. It was nobody's fault. They were a victim of circumstances. Bad luck. Bad timing. Life flowed against them.

Everyone experiences bad years. Everyone experiences bad changes. Unfortunately, some people experience more bad years beyond their control. It's life. The dice rolled more one's than six's. I make my own case I experience more than my share of bad years beyond my control.

I exclude stupidity and ignorance from the top ten list. The stomach flu is not stupidity and ignorance. I got the stomach flu in Dec 1990. I didn't attend a party my family was invited by an Apple executive. I stayed home lying down on my bed recovering and being depressed. Here are the top ten plus one equals eleven it was like a bad year:

11. One Month Sickness (May 2014). It was a miracle I needed one day off when I worked at a retail start-up. Fatigue, fever, coughing, and sore throat were the symptoms of my throat infection and, unrelated, a bacterial eye infection. Two infections were horrible. Recovery was immediate when I stopped drinking water from the Brita. The full details are blogged Me Versus My Throat Infection And Eye Infection on Aug 15, 2014.

10. Anime Expo 2000 (Jun 30-Jul 3, 2000). One of the worse anime conventions in the history of anime conventions. Some convention attendees said the convention never happened. Disneyland staff was mostly blamed.

9. Graduated At Another High School (1992). The economic recession in 1990 caused my high school district to close two schools permanently due to budget cuts. One of the two schools I attended from 9th grade to 11th grade was chosen to close. I attended my senior year at another high school. The students from different high schools didn't get along. I never attended a school for four years or more from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Side note: The second high school reopened in 1997 because of district overcrowding. The year opened with 9th graders and 10th graders.

8. Manager Changed Overnight (2004). It was a flip of a switch. One of the managers at the retail start-up changed overnight. He treated all workers from the second store and a worker from the first store like dirt. My co-workers and I from the second store agreed it was stress.

In addition, the company hired a new beer buyer in May 2014. The end of his first day he submitted his two-week notice. He witnessed mismanagement. He was correct. Also, the full-time store manager at the second store was fired in Aug 2014. He was the fall guy being blamed for poor store sales.

7. Family Gatherings (Various Dates). I should be grateful for family; however, I disclose most family gatherings are boring. I lose my intelligence. I waste my time. My immediate family has few stories to share.

6. My Sister's Ex-Boyfriends (Various Dates). I disclose I had nothing in common with the ex-boyfriends. I rarely engage with them one-on-one. She brought them to almost every family gathering. There is no loss at the end. All of them were losers. All was well which ended well from my perspective. All future boyfriends are losers until proven otherwise. I lost my intelligence when they spoke. I wasted my time when I listened. Being quiet sucked.

5. Selected De Anza Classes (2009-2011). There were four classes which either didn't meet my expectations or taught poorly. Fortunately, I dropped two classes of the four which were Japanese I and Advanced Accounting. A sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, I should have dropped the two other classes. The first class was Beginning Singing. The instructor was legitimate. My expectations didn't match the instructor's expectations. I should have dropped the class instead of wasting one night a week. The second class was Cost Accounting. The instructor was lazy. The class was overcrowded. I should have taken my chances hoping Cost Accounting was offered in a future academic quarter.

4. Depression (Various Dates). Human beings suffering depression is proof you're human. I recognize my depression in 10th grade, year 2000, Aug-Sep 2008, and Dec 2018-Sep 2019. I'm fortunate I recovered from all depressions with life lessons learned.

3. Soiled My Pants (Aug 2013). I soiled my pants driving home from a weekend river rafting trip at the Russian River in the Northern California wine country. Enough said.

2. Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis (Apr 2, 2017-Apr 6, 2017). I experienced stomach flu like pains which happened the first time on Mar 5, 2017. The second time stomach flu like pains were severe. I coughed the entire night two nights in a row. The next day I went to the emergency room at a local hospital on Apr 2, 2017. I was admitted as an in-patient. I required two surgeries. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder.

1. Four Days In Barstow, CA (Aug 2004). My brother and his wife's family vacationed in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. There was a fatal car accident in Barstow. My dad and I flew to Ontario, CA to pick up everyone who survived. The first day flying to Ontario and renting a van is still the longest day of my life.