End Of Year Meme Thing
1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before? Visited Auschwitz.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Didn't make any, never do, so no and no.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No
4. Did anyone close to you die? My next door neighbour. He went within four month of being diagnosed with cancer in a haze of morphine. I've missed him more than I thought I would.
5. What countries did you visit? Poland.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? More spare cash, more time to spend with my friends.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? A few days, minutes and hours, but no dates as such.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Winning the pay dispute with an excellent deal for the low paid.
9. What was your biggest failure? I seemed to fail most of my blood tests. Still here though.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just the same endocrine woes as usual.
11. What was the best thing you bought? As it turns out a soft toy shaped like a giant broccoli stalk, my friend's son loved it..
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My Mother has been a star this year.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? HR at work for acting like you'd expect HR to act, the government for being shameless cunts to the point where they made even Blair look guileless, a certain surgeon who still seems unblessed by humility.
14. Where did most of your money go? Just getting by, food and bills and stuff.
15. What were you really, really, really excited about? A few days in York with my friend and her family, it turned out to be a lovely trip.
16. What song will always remind you of 2011? Fireworks, Katy Perry. There were fireworks at the wedding of two friends, one of their other friends had brought fireworks, the bride had put Fireworks on the evening do track list and neither knew what the other had planned. It all came together beautifully.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) Happier or sadder? More content.
b) Bigger or smaller? Bigger heart, I hope. I'm dragging less mass around.
c) Richer or poorer? Still skint, so whichever it hasn't made much difference.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Drinking. I'm off the booze and it's not out of choice. Ho hum.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Lots of hard work covering for other people's lack of organisation.
20. How did you spend Christmas? Quietly with my mother on the day, more noisily with friend's children on Boxing Day.
21. How many one-night stands? None.
22. Did you fall in love in 2011? No.
23. What was your favourite TV programme? Rev.
24. How will you see in the New Year? Sober and alone.
25. Do you hate / dislike anyone now that you didn't hate / dislike this time last year? I dislike David Cameron and George Osbourne more the longer they're in power.
26. What was the best book you read? Parisians, Graham Robb.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Benjamin Britten's Jubilate Deo. Never really paid it much attention in the past but I've been mainlining it for the past few months.
28. What did you want and get? Some idea of what to do with my career.
29. What did you want and not get? Greater financial reward for the work that I put in.
30. What was your favourite film of this year? I haven't seen any of this year's new films at all.
31. What did you do on your birthday? I can't remember, so not much.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Someone to share the stress and joy of life with.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? The clothes that I've been waiting to lose some weight so that I could get back into them again.
34. What kept you sane? My friends, my mother, reading and cocoa.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I quite liked the fighty Hugh Grant at the Leveson enquiry.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? The anti-Keynsian hobbling of the economy.
37. Who did you miss? My Dad, more than for may years past.
38. Who was the best new person you met? Alison, a trombone-playing special needs teacher.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. There are some things that I can't do , never will be able to and it's best to let other people get on with them.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: Whoops! there goes another rubber tree plant.