Good Riddance, 2025
Jan. 1st, 2026 09:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparrI had thought that 2024 would be the worst year of my life for at least a while. Little did I know that it would lead to an even worse 2025. For posterity...
The Good
I've been living full time with my partner Mia, and it has been a healthy and beneficial relationship for both of us.
My wife Victoria has found a musical companion and formed a touring duo, which seems to be making her happier than she has been in a long time.
The holdout tenants at Estate of Mind are gone. It took a year and a half of eviction proceedings, hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, and was a major achievement when it finally came to pass.
The Bad
I've been unemployed all year. I've made no money. Although I've still done some recreational software development to keep those skills sharp, my infrastructure skills are getting rusty.
I'm another year behind on all of my debts. I owe commercial creditors tens of thousands of dollars which continues to mount, due both to interest and to my obligations to keep the utilities on for the tenants, and to a lesser degree to keep protecting the dorm building from winter. I owe friends (still, I hope?) hundreds of thousands of dollars that I borrowed to buy and attempt to repair this property.
My divorce will be final in a few weeks. I miss Victoria, even though I know her new situation is better for her. I wish my plans to give her a space to perform and explore her passions hadn't gone so awry.
The Ugly
I'm still trapped at the Est8. The lawsuit preventing sale of the house is ongoing, and could stretch well into 2026.
The damage to the manor is now almost entirely unrecoverable. Everyone who had hopes of restoring it has been scared off by the lawsuit, and I've long since run out of money to try to prevent further damage.
I have a dozen ongoing court cases, across half a dozen courts in multiple cities.
I was arrested for being at the courthouse at the same time as my ex-tenant who has a restraining order against me, when we were both there for a hearing with each other and for another case we were both connected to. The DA has been ignoring all of the video evidence showing I never approached or interacted with her, so it seems like this will go to trial, nine months later.
The legal burdens have been extremely stressful and mentally taxing. I spent an average of two days a week in court and/or at the law library, and that's only down to one day now. Not even the holidays were a reprieve, with a dozen filings and deadlines in the last month, and a trial coming up next week. I fear that this experience has permanently impacted my mental stamina and stress tolerance.
Looking Ahead
Things are on track to improve this year. It will probably take months, maybe even most of the year, but I am hopeful that almost all of the problems above will be behind me by the time 2027 gets here. Maybe I'll even get to write a mid-year update with more positive news.
If you're out there reading my long form posts, feel free to get in touch. Some correspondence would be welcome. You surely know how to reach me if you found this.
The Good
I've been living full time with my partner Mia, and it has been a healthy and beneficial relationship for both of us.
My wife Victoria has found a musical companion and formed a touring duo, which seems to be making her happier than she has been in a long time.
The holdout tenants at Estate of Mind are gone. It took a year and a half of eviction proceedings, hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, and was a major achievement when it finally came to pass.
The Bad
I've been unemployed all year. I've made no money. Although I've still done some recreational software development to keep those skills sharp, my infrastructure skills are getting rusty.
I'm another year behind on all of my debts. I owe commercial creditors tens of thousands of dollars which continues to mount, due both to interest and to my obligations to keep the utilities on for the tenants, and to a lesser degree to keep protecting the dorm building from winter. I owe friends (still, I hope?) hundreds of thousands of dollars that I borrowed to buy and attempt to repair this property.
My divorce will be final in a few weeks. I miss Victoria, even though I know her new situation is better for her. I wish my plans to give her a space to perform and explore her passions hadn't gone so awry.
The Ugly
I'm still trapped at the Est8. The lawsuit preventing sale of the house is ongoing, and could stretch well into 2026.
The damage to the manor is now almost entirely unrecoverable. Everyone who had hopes of restoring it has been scared off by the lawsuit, and I've long since run out of money to try to prevent further damage.
I have a dozen ongoing court cases, across half a dozen courts in multiple cities.
I was arrested for being at the courthouse at the same time as my ex-tenant who has a restraining order against me, when we were both there for a hearing with each other and for another case we were both connected to. The DA has been ignoring all of the video evidence showing I never approached or interacted with her, so it seems like this will go to trial, nine months later.
The legal burdens have been extremely stressful and mentally taxing. I spent an average of two days a week in court and/or at the law library, and that's only down to one day now. Not even the holidays were a reprieve, with a dozen filings and deadlines in the last month, and a trial coming up next week. I fear that this experience has permanently impacted my mental stamina and stress tolerance.
Looking Ahead
Things are on track to improve this year. It will probably take months, maybe even most of the year, but I am hopeful that almost all of the problems above will be behind me by the time 2027 gets here. Maybe I'll even get to write a mid-year update with more positive news.
If you're out there reading my long form posts, feel free to get in touch. Some correspondence would be welcome. You surely know how to reach me if you found this.