End of the Aughts
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
+Got a real adult job.
+Learned how to (sort of) play the clarinet (thanks, Larkin!)
+Learned how to crochet and knit.
+Practiced yoga and tai chi.
+Bike rides (although I have done this before as a wee lad, I took a 10-year hiatus from doing so)
+Bought a brand new car (2010 Honda Fit)
+Adopted a cat from the animal shelter
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I had to look back at this, but I am pretty sure my 2009 Resolutions were:
+ Learn how to play the clarinet (Which I took lessons fora little while, but then stopped because my schedule was f__ked. It was very challenging and I really appreciate clarinetists now)
+ Learn how to knit/crochet. (DONE. I am much better at crocheting than knitting, though.)
+ Lose weight, feel great. (I joined a gym towards the end of 2009, so I didn't gain any new weight)
+ Send at least one hand-written letter to somone every month. (I did this for the first few months, but then stopped when I realized I only had two people I was sending letters to and while that was fine, I really had other people I wanted to write to but couldn't.)
+ Read more books in Italian (FAIL.)
+ Go to Italy and England. (Didn't happen this year because of lack of money/time. Hopefully next year, but I'm not too optimistic. I'm okay with that, though.)
+ Get some professional certification in something. (Didn't really happen, unless you count becoming Emergency Management Certified through FEMA...)
+ Try to figure out how to practice Kendo again (FAIL. Oh well...)
+ Flâner xhardxcorex. (COMPLETED.)
+ Road trip to Florida this summer. (Didn't happen, but mainly because my brother moved back to Kansas earlier this year)
+ Watch the complete filmography of Steve McQueen (so close...I need to visit Liberty Hall Video more to complete this, since they have the movies I am missing.
+ Learn how to make artisan bread. (I STILL don't have a dutch oven. But I did make a lot of homemade bread earlier in the year)
+ Blog more (FAIL. I sort of suck at this.)
+ Get curtains for the living room. (FAIL. But we got the curtain rod installed - gotta count for something!)
2010 RESOLUTIONS:
+Keep on going to the gym.
+Write more handwritten letters.
+Road trip to the Grand Canyon with Andrea.
+Be happy.
+Learn how to adjust to adult life, namely, don't give into sedentary habits.
All the resolutions that were made the previous year and not completed will rollover to the next year.
3. Did someone close to you give birth?
My sister-in-law gave birth to Ray gun and a former co-worker had a little boy.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My friend Shane died this year. And I had an uncle die.
5. What countries did you visit?
None. I don't think I left Kansas but twice this year - once to go to Nebraska and the other time to Missouri for the Whaley Family Reunion. Hopefully this will change next year, but I say that every year.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A better friendship base (graduation this year upset that); stability; opportunities for personal growth.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don't remember exact dates, but I'll remember meeting my niece for the first time; celebrating five years of being with my husband; buying my first new car; learning how to play the finding-a-job game; all the friends I've loved and lost; getting my cat
8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
jobby job (of course); learning lots and lots of new things; surviving the plasma center without resorting to homicide
9. What was your biggest failure(s)?
There was a snafu earlier this year involving a newspaper that made me very, very depressed and crushed, but other than that, I don't fail a whole lot.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. I got a little cold when I started working at the plasma center, but I didn't get the Swines or anything else. I sort of hurt my back due to bike rides this summer that has since caused my legs/lower back to hurt at times, but that's no biggie.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Probably my new car and we bought a 32" LCD TV earlier this year. And our kitty! KITTY!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Anthony for surviving the winter semester. Fuck that semester!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Humanity in general. I have very little hope for the collective future of mankind; however, that doesn't mean that I'm not quite excited about MY future.
14. Where did most of your money go?
The Honda Fit.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting a real job.
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Probably something by Lady Gaga. That's how highly I think of this year.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? poorer in savings, richer in income.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Movin' around; going downtown and sitting in coffeeshops (I basically halted that once college ended); reading for pleasure; artsy things; dancing; being outside; taking pictures; writing/communicating with family members; being more gracious; meet new people; traveling; practicing my Italian. (yes, the exact same thing as last year.)
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Letting politics of life get to me, being really pissed off at stupid people (which, in turn, made me pissy most of the time) yelling at my husband, doing nothing on the computer, doing nothing in general, eating, sitting, not cleaning my house.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Snowed in at my parents' house.
21. What was your favorite month of 2009?
Spring and Fall. Spring because I spent a lot of time outside walking around and it was lovely, and fall because I did the same.
22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I am constantly falling in love with my husband. *gushgush*
23. How many one-night stands?
None. I am not that kind of woman.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
How I Met Your Mother!
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes, and they all are associated in some way to the plasma center.
26. What was the best book you read?
All of them.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Sadly, it was mash-ups.
28. What did you want and get?
New things! A job! A Honda Fit!
29. What did you want and not get?
A library job. A kitten. An adventure.
30. Favorite film of this year?
Inglorious Basterds was the best one I saw in the theater, and I really enjoyed "Fired Up" a little too much.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I don't remember, and I turned 25.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I wish I could enjoy Lawrence again, like I used to when we first moved here.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
It started with "oh, look at me, I'm an adult" to "jeans and t-shirt when I'm not working, scrubs when I am" back to "I feel superior to hipsters because I can dress decently."
34. What kept you sane?
My husband!
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't really do that...
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The fact that most Americans are a Hobbsian nightmare.
37. Who do you miss?
I miss TubaDave and Miranda, and I miss going to school and hanging out with people on campus.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I met a lot of women that are graduate students through reck_less and Molly.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:
I learned a lot about personal identity and being able to reconstruct it once it gets knocked down. About learning how to accept defeat without accepting failure.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your the year:
Lily Allen's "Everything's Just Fine"
Do you think, everything, everyone, is going mental,
It seems to me that it's spiraling outta control and it's inevitable,
Now don't you think,
This time is yours, this time is mine,
Its temperamental,
It seems to me, we're on all fours,
Crawling on our knees,
Someone help us please
Oh Jesus Christ almighty,
Do I feel alright? No not slightly,
I wanna get a flat I know I can't afford it,
It's just the bureaucrats who won't give me a mortgage,
Well it's very funny cos I got your fucking money,
And I'm never gonna get it just because of my bad credit
Oh well I guess I mustn't grumble,
I suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
Oh yeah, I'm fine,
Everything's just wonderful,
I'm having the time of my life.
Don't you want something else,
Something new, than what we've got here,
And don't you feel it's all the same,
Some sick game and it's not insincere,
I wish I could change the ways of the world,
Make it a nice place
Until that day, I guess we stay,
Doing what we do
Screwing who we screw
Why can't I sleep at night,
Don't say it's gonna be alright,
I wanna be able to eat spaghetti bolognaise,
and not feel bad about it for days and days and days.
In the magazines they talk about weight loss,
If I buy those jeans I can look like Kate Moss,
Oh no it's not the life I chose,
But I guess that's the way that things go,
Oh yeah, I'm fine,
Everything's just wonderful,
I'm having the time of my life.
Oh Jesus Christ almighty,
Do I feel alright? No not slightly,
I wanna get a flat I know I can't afford it,
It's just the bureaucrats who won't give me a mortgage,
Well it's very funny cos I got your fucking money,
And I'm never gonna get it just because of my bad credit
Oh well I guess I mustn't grumble,
I suppose that's just the way the cookie crumbles.