So, Why 541,753?
For those who might be new to this report post I've been doing since the first part of February last year detailing my efforts of the prior month, the reason why I say, Plankton 541,753, or now Dolphin 541,753, is because the first part is my rank in the STEEM ecosystem and 541,753 is where I am in line of all users on the platform.
So, I'm not saying there's that many Dolphins, just as there weren't that many Plankton or Minnows when I used it then.
Okay, so with that little bit of trivia out of the way, let's get on with December's report.
Quick Summary
While November was the best month of all of 2018 with regards to SP, December took a significant step back, but not so significant that I still managed (probably by inertia) to earn the third highest SP amount of the year.
Which is strange, because life got in the way, much like it did in September, and yet, despite the paltry numbers (new lows achieved!), the SP came through again.
It's getting to the point where I need to write a book to giveaway at seminars (which will no doubt be right next door to the one on house flipping and how to crypto pump and dump).
So, don't bother buckling your seatbelt on this one. Rather, this will be a leisurely stroll through some of the lowest numbers of the year.
Posts (no comments)—7
All these posts appeared within the first ten days of December, which should tell you I was all set to have a better month of posting than November (nine posts last month), and then I didn't.
Guess that's what happens when your wife gets in a car accident, your oldest son and his wife have their first child, you then have to go move said son, wife and child from Eastern Idaho to her parents' place, a round trip of 1,600 miles (said trip you unexpectedly have to do twice to get all their junk stuff possessions), and then attend to them while they spend the 10 days leading up to Christmas with you. Then there's New Year's Eve.
Did that sound like I was complaining? Just about the bad, not the good. I'll leave you to decide which is which.
Comments—141
Yes, that's right. After a 52% decrease from October to November, I managed to submarine even lower (see reason above). Twenty-three of those comments were answers on Musing.
Upvotes given—121/268
If there was a month I probably should have tried autovoting, December was it. I'm sorry to say that these numbers are even worse than my first full month on STEEM (January 2018), when I upvoted 214 users with a 621 upvote total.
I definitely plan to bring those numbers up, and barring another tsunami of major life events, I should be able to.
Upvotes received—519/874
These numbers represent big drops from November, too. No curie trail upvotes this time around. There were a few smaller trails, though, and they came more on 
With more posts and comments and answering on musing, more opportunities for upvotes. That's the plan, anyway.
SP increase—205.848
Like last month, the bulk of the SP is from musing's curated upvotes. I answered questions 23 times, compared to 88 in November. As I noted above, curie did not call this month (and with my post level so low, there wasn't much to pick from, anyway). What I'm not sure about is if I'm still eligible for curie upvotes now that I'm a Dolphin. Revving up the posts that otherwise meet curie criteria is what I plan to do.
All told, I earned 1,596.523 in 2018. I adjusted my SP goal three times, but did not make the 1,750 final goal.
I reached 1,000 SP partway through November. I have less than 404 SP to go to reach 2,000 SP. I'd like to do that before the end of January.
As long as I can keep production up, and musing continues to curate its upvotes, I'd like to try for 500 SP a month.
I've been thinking about that monthly SP goal for a couple of weeks. Now that I see it in print, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable putting it out there. I've yet to make that amount, and so many things can go wrong. I like to have achievable goals that stretch me some, but I'm concerned that this is way too much.
Still, I won't know until I try. Even earning half of that much SP a month will be a great improvement over 2018. Maybe it will keep me on point more. Maybe it will burn me out faster. We'll see.
Highest single payout—0.042 SBD/10.673 STEEM/10.796 SP
This came on a post about my wife's accident called You Never Know. The fulltimegeek bot brigade loomed large in this one, along with the C-squared folks. So, while curie did not call, there were others who did show up, and I very much appreciate it.
Self-upvotes—0
No accidents.
Contests—1
Like virtually everything else, time away from STEEM limited my contest winnings. I ended up with 1 STEEM from 
Flags given/received—0
No surprises here.
Reputation Rating—62
The decimal meter got moved, but I wasn't able to get beyond 62. It's bound to happen in January, though, so check back next report.
Investment—0
As stated last month, I didn't invest anymore because STEEM held its ground and did not dip to $0.10 USD or lower. With recent incremental gains that have been holding, I'm hoping we're at the end of the bear and ready for the bulls to take over. If not, I'll think about some more investment, but only if it goes lower than it did all of 2008.
For the year, I ended up with 4,516.526 STEEM from investments. All of it has been powered up. Total SP going into 2019 was 6,113.174.
Miscellaneous
There's probably a lot I could talk about here, but the main takeaway for me is, I survived 2018. From the early doubts about the fairness of STEEM's distribution system and the intentions of whales, to the rough and tumble of flag wars and other user tantrums, to a bear market no one really expected to be so long and so hard, to HF 20 and Steemit Inc's travails and cut backs, it's been a bumpy ride.
And yet, here I am. I'm either one of the biggest fools, or I will be rewarded for my perseverance. Right now, I feel the jury is still out, but I'm holding on for the latter.
With just about a week into the new year, hope is still young. I would love to be sitting here providing another year end report for 2019, only with STEEM sitting at least $5 USD and holding steady. That would be sweet.
Of course, I'd rather it be right around $164 USD, but I can work with the more conservative side, too.
Ultimately, despite the roller coaster ride and life hitting a little bit harder than usual, I've enjoyed sharing my thoughts and creativity with as many of you who have seen my posts and taken the time to read them. Thank you to all of you for making 2018 not just tolerable, but a pretty good year on STEEM, when it's all said and done. I know there are many who will not concur with that statement, but I'd regret not counting the blessings that I feel have come into play here.
May 2019 be better than 2018, and may we all find our way forward.
ABOUT THIS POST
While this is a report I write primarily for myself, I do hope that those of you who will read it, like 