Traditional End of Year Meme: 2015 Edition
What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
I had knee surgery. I've liked the results so far.
Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I long ago made a new year's resolution to never make another new year's resolution again. It's the only one I've ever managed to keep in my life.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not such that I remember it right now.
Did anyone close to you die?
Some old school friends did, but we hadn't really been close.
What countries did you visit?
Just this one.
What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
More discretionary income.
What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Not so much a date as a time period at the end of April through late May when I was getting through pre-surgery examinations and paperwork, then the surgery and the two weeks of recovery with my mother visiting while I worked from home and was going through a mortgage refinancing. It all kept me hopping.
Earlier in April, just as things were starting to ramp up for it, Joe moved to Florida.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Kicking a member of the gaming group out when he kept skipping games w/o so much as a "sorry, can't make it" message.
What was your biggest failure?
Not taking better care of myself.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Well, surgery is by definition an injury, so: YES.
What was the best thing you bought?
I upgraded my cellular phone and camera at the same time. I went from an old Nokia candybar to a Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (a version of the Galaxy S5 with 21 megapixel camera).
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Matthew B.'s did. We're coworkers, and he split a room at Dragon Con with me this year. He paid his share in full, in advance. Shocking!
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The little girl I mentioned last year has developed a habit of wanting bathroom doors to be open even when someone is using them, and banging hard and repeatedly on the door when it is closed.
Where did most of your money go?
The house, again. Mortgage payments and other minor stuff for it. Medical was a second.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Kings started doing well again.
Calen S. and I are planning on finally doing that Alaska trip next year.
What song will always remind you of 2015?
Waiting to Stand in Line by Mikey Mason.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
A little happier.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercising. Sleeping.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sticking needles in myself.
How will you be spending New Years?
I'm not doing much of anything. There's a hockey game at 9 PM, and a Mikey Mason online concert that starts at 10 PM.
Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Definitely my parents.
Did you fall in love in 2015?
Nope.
How many one-night stands?
None.
What was your favorite TV program?
Last Week Tonight
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope.
What was the best book you read?
I'm kind of torn 3 ways here.
I picked up Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson when I visited Houston. It had interesting concepts, but I felt the characterization was a bit thin and I saw the twist coming way, way before the end.
At Dragon Con, there were several books being given away (to Eternal Members, at least) and I really enjoyed two of those:
1) The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly, which is admittedly a lot like Jurassic Park but has way better pacing.
2) The Fifth House of the Heart by Ben Tripp, which was entirely not my usual kind of book. I'm not much for vampire books, but I liked this one.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Metricula, a foul-mouthed clown dominatrix who also filks. It was an... interesting... concert.
What did you want and get?
A new leather jacket (Thanks Mom & Dad!)
What did you want and not get?
A lottery jackpot, a cure for diabetes, a raise, and those sorts of things.
What was your favorite film of this year?
Mad Max Fury Road. I haven't seen the new Star Wars or The Hateful Eight yet.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Not much, and 43.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less turmoil at work.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
Same as it's been for years: t-shirt (usually black with white design) and blue jeans.
What kept you sane?
Being 900+ miles away from "close" family.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Honestly, I don't do much in the way of celebrity worship.
What political issue stirred you the most?
Not much, really.
Who did you miss?
My friends from other places, and the ones who were here but moved away, like Joe and Arthur.
Who was the best new person you met?
Harold C, a new coworker.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015:
If enough other folks get laid off, suddenly everyone is forced to treat you as the resident expert on all the projects that you were tangentially involved with 4+ years ago.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Our platform for real-time solutions is facing
Retribution from a government probe, I propose
That we leverage the front-end architecture from those
Infrastructures and engineer a new solution next year
That will enable us to implement the integrated
Network our engineering team has innovated
However, due to Asian market value deflation
We will undergo a massive reorganization
All the engineers will be summarily dismissed
And we'll hire two more managers to oversee this
I understand we'll be short-handed but don't pay it any mind
We can expedite the partnerships and fix the bottom line
This will drive all the B2B initiatives
To redefine the value-added metrics of the mission, it'll
Generate a killer paradigm so we can guide 'em
Through delivery of all the cross-platform action-items
Collaborative efforts for the e-market experiences
Reinvents a frictionless and synergistic variance
Allowing us to maximize the strategies that may arise
And minimize the risks to our e-solution enterprise
I had knee surgery. I've liked the results so far.
Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I long ago made a new year's resolution to never make another new year's resolution again. It's the only one I've ever managed to keep in my life.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not such that I remember it right now.
Did anyone close to you die?
Some old school friends did, but we hadn't really been close.
What countries did you visit?
Just this one.
What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
More discretionary income.
What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Not so much a date as a time period at the end of April through late May when I was getting through pre-surgery examinations and paperwork, then the surgery and the two weeks of recovery with my mother visiting while I worked from home and was going through a mortgage refinancing. It all kept me hopping.
Earlier in April, just as things were starting to ramp up for it, Joe moved to Florida.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Kicking a member of the gaming group out when he kept skipping games w/o so much as a "sorry, can't make it" message.
What was your biggest failure?
Not taking better care of myself.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Well, surgery is by definition an injury, so: YES.
What was the best thing you bought?
I upgraded my cellular phone and camera at the same time. I went from an old Nokia candybar to a Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (a version of the Galaxy S5 with 21 megapixel camera).
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Matthew B.'s did. We're coworkers, and he split a room at Dragon Con with me this year. He paid his share in full, in advance. Shocking!
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The little girl I mentioned last year has developed a habit of wanting bathroom doors to be open even when someone is using them, and banging hard and repeatedly on the door when it is closed.
Where did most of your money go?
The house, again. Mortgage payments and other minor stuff for it. Medical was a second.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Kings started doing well again.
Calen S. and I are planning on finally doing that Alaska trip next year.
What song will always remind you of 2015?
Waiting to Stand in Line by Mikey Mason.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
A little happier.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercising. Sleeping.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sticking needles in myself.
How will you be spending New Years?
I'm not doing much of anything. There's a hockey game at 9 PM, and a Mikey Mason online concert that starts at 10 PM.
Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Definitely my parents.
Did you fall in love in 2015?
Nope.
How many one-night stands?
None.
What was your favorite TV program?
Last Week Tonight
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nope.
What was the best book you read?
I'm kind of torn 3 ways here.
I picked up Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson when I visited Houston. It had interesting concepts, but I felt the characterization was a bit thin and I saw the twist coming way, way before the end.
At Dragon Con, there were several books being given away (to Eternal Members, at least) and I really enjoyed two of those:
1) The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly, which is admittedly a lot like Jurassic Park but has way better pacing.
2) The Fifth House of the Heart by Ben Tripp, which was entirely not my usual kind of book. I'm not much for vampire books, but I liked this one.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Metricula, a foul-mouthed clown dominatrix who also filks. It was an... interesting... concert.
What did you want and get?
A new leather jacket (Thanks Mom & Dad!)
What did you want and not get?
A lottery jackpot, a cure for diabetes, a raise, and those sorts of things.
What was your favorite film of this year?
Mad Max Fury Road. I haven't seen the new Star Wars or The Hateful Eight yet.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Not much, and 43.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less turmoil at work.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
Same as it's been for years: t-shirt (usually black with white design) and blue jeans.
What kept you sane?
Being 900+ miles away from "close" family.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Honestly, I don't do much in the way of celebrity worship.
What political issue stirred you the most?
Not much, really.
Who did you miss?
My friends from other places, and the ones who were here but moved away, like Joe and Arthur.
Who was the best new person you met?
Harold C, a new coworker.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015:
If enough other folks get laid off, suddenly everyone is forced to treat you as the resident expert on all the projects that you were tangentially involved with 4+ years ago.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Our platform for real-time solutions is facing
Retribution from a government probe, I propose
That we leverage the front-end architecture from those
Infrastructures and engineer a new solution next year
That will enable us to implement the integrated
Network our engineering team has innovated
However, due to Asian market value deflation
We will undergo a massive reorganization
All the engineers will be summarily dismissed
And we'll hire two more managers to oversee this
I understand we'll be short-handed but don't pay it any mind
We can expedite the partnerships and fix the bottom line
This will drive all the B2B initiatives
To redefine the value-added metrics of the mission, it'll
Generate a killer paradigm so we can guide 'em
Through delivery of all the cross-platform action-items
Collaborative efforts for the e-market experiences
Reinvents a frictionless and synergistic variance
Allowing us to maximize the strategies that may arise
And minimize the risks to our e-solution enterprise