Thirteen years ago, my husband and I had an awful year marked by unemployment, health problems, appliances that broke (furnace,washer,dryer,dishwasher)and assundry other nagging things that just tend to drag you down. We went to a friend's New Years Eve party, toasted each other with champaigne at midnight and I remember I uttered the words: "here's to a new year...it can't get any worse than this year"....my mother-in-law died 6 hours later. I will never utter those words again...because obviously, it can get worse...talk about superstition....and I'm normally a very optimistic person.