(no subject)
2015 in review. Compare and contrast with 2014, 2013, 2012, 2009, 2008, 2007 or 2006, if you really want to.
Yeah. So….
2014 was pretty down. 2015 has been sort of absurdly successful. I went from being stuck in a friend’s parents’ basement struggling with PhD thesis corrections, and leaving bed, to helping get one of my best friends into Parliament, then getting a job in Parliament with the best political party.
Which, bizarrely, was actually to plan. Except this isn’t the sort of plan you expect to succeed
And, somehow, along the way, roughly got comfortable with medication in a way I never had before.
What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
Um. Wow. I probably did something in the first three months. Got a letter published in WicDiv? Was a paid tutor. Moved home. Spend five weeks volunteering near full-time on an election campaign. Got one of my oldest and dearest friends into parliament, as a young mother of two who doesn’t have a degree. (She’s really smart.)
Did you keep new year's resolutions and will you make more next year?
I made eighteen here.
Completed PhD corrections, sort of (1), Definitely found a goal and pursued (2), made a good effort at getting out of bed (3), unequivocably succeeded in not failing as badly as last year (10) and succeeded in 11-14 totally, failed at 15 (health), and got people into parliament (16).
I didn't read the Anatomy of Melancholy. I don't know if I learned something. (I mean, I learned much, but I didn't gain skills in the way I hoped I would. Still gained skills, so it's a win.)
Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, actually. Though my little sister's pregnant.
Did anyone close to you die?
No, for the second year in a row.
What countries did you visit?
England, Scotland and the USA.
What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
Work-life balance.
What dates from 2015 will remain etched in your memory and why?
1st of April. Moved back to Aberdeen to campaign.
6th May. The election. The sheer exhaustion of having to stop counting for a moment because “my eyes and legs hurt”. The feeling of the win. The attempt to balance the emotions of the statements “Kirsty is the MP for X” and “David Cameron has won a majority”.
21st July. I got a job.
9th November. My birthday. Good day, with a big bill.
Friday 13th November. Saw someone I hadn’t for too long.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I got a job. I got a friend into Parliament. I reconnected with ex, and went to the states to catch up. Was something.
What were your biggest failures this year?
Several horrendous work mistakes will haunt me a long time.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Myriad finger and tendon injuries. Have been off climbing since September.
Also, tweaked some hip tendons because I’m an idiot. Yoga’s going well, though.
What was the best thing you bought?
I really didn't have much income. Women's XS skinny climbing jeans? Books?
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Team Kirsty. Greg (the bit where we moved into a flat which I’d never seen was great). Dave Miller (I forget how close we are).
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
David Cameron, mostly.
What did you spend most of your spare cash on?
Comics, books. Didn't have much.
What did you get really, really excited about?
The general election. Getting a job in Parliament.
What song will always remind you of 2014?
“Now I look at you, you’re a mother of two, you’re a quiet revolution”.. (And the “she put out her arm and she touched me when I was in hell”/“told me to leave that vision of hell to the dying” ‘couplet’ is great.)
Compared to this time last year are you happier or sadder?
Happier, a lot.
Thinner or fatter?
Fatter. Will get better.
Did do 20 press-ups every single day, which was proud of.
Richer or poorer?
Just richer.
I really need to do something about that.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Being competent.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being too tired.
What was your favorite TV programme?
Steven Universe
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not quite.
What was the last book you read?
“Ongoingness: The End of a Diary” - Sarah Manguso. 85th of the year.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
I spent the start of the year mostly listening to Nicki Minaj and Arab Strap, before switching into mash-ups and Kanye later in the year.
What did you want and get?
Kirsty elected. A job in Westminster.
What did you want and not get?
A job. A PhD. A future. Lasting Love.
What was your favourite film this year?
Star Wars.Not sure I actually saw any others...
What did you do on your birthday and how old are you?
I'm 29. Had a meal with friends the day before, enjoyed having people around my new flat. Spent the evening itself watching parliament. Two days later flew to NYC to see old friends. It was good.
What one thing would've made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
As with last year: Stability. Non-loss of friends. A stable partner.
But also: greater competence. More knowledge I’m pushing myself, the idea that I had skills.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Start of year: leather jacket and blue jumper over women's XS skinny climbing jeans. Afterwards, suit, black shirt, tartan tie.
What kept you sane?
I mean. I don’t think it did.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None, really?
What political issue has stirred you the most?
Um. So. I am now a parliamentary researcher? The issue of EVEL was big, professionally, but the continued deaths of those on benefits and the continued incredibly bad way of handling Daesh are probably the most moving. Refugees in general.
Who did you miss?
Someone from 2013 I shouldn’t. Dave R, Dave M, being close to Will. The fact that both Al and DLM were returning to the UK but ended up not doing so hurt. Weird stuff with Ewa. Who I must move on from.
Who was the best new person you met this year?
There are a lot. Tamsin, from the start. Then, well, let's just go with John, then a lot of the group. PG and MF v good.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.
“Winning’s easy. Governing’s harder”*
We’re grown up and we can change the world. Good people can really succeed at times.
And thousands of people believe in someone who likes me so much that they really dislike an ex of mine because said ex, who they never met, hurt me so much.
And it’s good that a plan of getting a friend elected so they could come to London and hang out with me has resulted in some really nice dinners.
There are bad people out there who’ll defeat you a lot. We lose, a lot. The rise of fascism is scary.
*This is a horrible anachronism, as a result of writing this as a delayed thing. Hadn’t listened to Hamilton in 2015.
What I need to do in 2016: Be discrete, confidential, without letting myself get locked in myself, managing to keep talking to people. Slightly failing there.
Yeah. So….
2014 was pretty down. 2015 has been sort of absurdly successful. I went from being stuck in a friend’s parents’ basement struggling with PhD thesis corrections, and leaving bed, to helping get one of my best friends into Parliament, then getting a job in Parliament with the best political party.
Which, bizarrely, was actually to plan. Except this isn’t the sort of plan you expect to succeed
And, somehow, along the way, roughly got comfortable with medication in a way I never had before.
What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
Um. Wow. I probably did something in the first three months. Got a letter published in WicDiv? Was a paid tutor. Moved home. Spend five weeks volunteering near full-time on an election campaign. Got one of my oldest and dearest friends into parliament, as a young mother of two who doesn’t have a degree. (She’s really smart.)
Did you keep new year's resolutions and will you make more next year?
I made eighteen here.
Completed PhD corrections, sort of (1), Definitely found a goal and pursued (2), made a good effort at getting out of bed (3), unequivocably succeeded in not failing as badly as last year (10) and succeeded in 11-14 totally, failed at 15 (health), and got people into parliament (16).
I didn't read the Anatomy of Melancholy. I don't know if I learned something. (I mean, I learned much, but I didn't gain skills in the way I hoped I would. Still gained skills, so it's a win.)
Did anyone close to you give birth?
No, actually. Though my little sister's pregnant.
Did anyone close to you die?
No, for the second year in a row.
What countries did you visit?
England, Scotland and the USA.
What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
Work-life balance.
What dates from 2015 will remain etched in your memory and why?
1st of April. Moved back to Aberdeen to campaign.
6th May. The election. The sheer exhaustion of having to stop counting for a moment because “my eyes and legs hurt”. The feeling of the win. The attempt to balance the emotions of the statements “Kirsty is the MP for X” and “David Cameron has won a majority”.
21st July. I got a job.
9th November. My birthday. Good day, with a big bill.
Friday 13th November. Saw someone I hadn’t for too long.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I got a job. I got a friend into Parliament. I reconnected with ex, and went to the states to catch up. Was something.
What were your biggest failures this year?
Several horrendous work mistakes will haunt me a long time.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Myriad finger and tendon injuries. Have been off climbing since September.
Also, tweaked some hip tendons because I’m an idiot. Yoga’s going well, though.
What was the best thing you bought?
I really didn't have much income. Women's XS skinny climbing jeans? Books?
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Team Kirsty. Greg (the bit where we moved into a flat which I’d never seen was great). Dave Miller (I forget how close we are).
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
David Cameron, mostly.
What did you spend most of your spare cash on?
Comics, books. Didn't have much.
What did you get really, really excited about?
The general election. Getting a job in Parliament.
What song will always remind you of 2014?
“Now I look at you, you’re a mother of two, you’re a quiet revolution”.. (And the “she put out her arm and she touched me when I was in hell”/“told me to leave that vision of hell to the dying” ‘couplet’ is great.)
Compared to this time last year are you happier or sadder?
Happier, a lot.
Thinner or fatter?
Fatter. Will get better.
Did do 20 press-ups every single day, which was proud of.
Richer or poorer?
Just richer.
I really need to do something about that.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Being competent.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being too tired.
What was your favorite TV programme?
Steven Universe
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not quite.
What was the last book you read?
“Ongoingness: The End of a Diary” - Sarah Manguso. 85th of the year.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
I spent the start of the year mostly listening to Nicki Minaj and Arab Strap, before switching into mash-ups and Kanye later in the year.
What did you want and get?
Kirsty elected. A job in Westminster.
What did you want and not get?
A job. A PhD. A future. Lasting Love.
What was your favourite film this year?
Star Wars.Not sure I actually saw any others...
What did you do on your birthday and how old are you?
I'm 29. Had a meal with friends the day before, enjoyed having people around my new flat. Spent the evening itself watching parliament. Two days later flew to NYC to see old friends. It was good.
What one thing would've made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
As with last year: Stability. Non-loss of friends. A stable partner.
But also: greater competence. More knowledge I’m pushing myself, the idea that I had skills.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
Start of year: leather jacket and blue jumper over women's XS skinny climbing jeans. Afterwards, suit, black shirt, tartan tie.
What kept you sane?
I mean. I don’t think it did.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None, really?
What political issue has stirred you the most?
Um. So. I am now a parliamentary researcher? The issue of EVEL was big, professionally, but the continued deaths of those on benefits and the continued incredibly bad way of handling Daesh are probably the most moving. Refugees in general.
Who did you miss?
Someone from 2013 I shouldn’t. Dave R, Dave M, being close to Will. The fact that both Al and DLM were returning to the UK but ended up not doing so hurt. Weird stuff with Ewa. Who I must move on from.
Who was the best new person you met this year?
There are a lot. Tamsin, from the start. Then, well, let's just go with John, then a lot of the group. PG and MF v good.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.
“Winning’s easy. Governing’s harder”*
We’re grown up and we can change the world. Good people can really succeed at times.
And thousands of people believe in someone who likes me so much that they really dislike an ex of mine because said ex, who they never met, hurt me so much.
And it’s good that a plan of getting a friend elected so they could come to London and hang out with me has resulted in some really nice dinners.
There are bad people out there who’ll defeat you a lot. We lose, a lot. The rise of fascism is scary.
*This is a horrible anachronism, as a result of writing this as a delayed thing. Hadn’t listened to Hamilton in 2015.
What I need to do in 2016: Be discrete, confidential, without letting myself get locked in myself, managing to keep talking to people. Slightly failing there.