The 2012 Year in Review Meme
1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
This summer, I chaperoned a religious pilgrimage to Rome, Italy with my students in the Journey to Adulthood (J2A) Sunday School class that I taught at my church (St. Barnabas' Episcopal in Annandale, Virginia). We spent a week in the city at the height of Euro 2012, staying at a small bed-and-breakfast just outside the Vatican's western walls that was run by an order of soccer-loving nuns. We explored the catacombs on the outskirts of the city, visited the Colosseum and Forum, walked around an entire country (i.e. the Vatican), had an audience/religious pep rally with Pope Benedict XVI, visited the city of Assisi on a day-trip, and visited all four pillars of science from Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I have posted a couple of pictures below. For the journal I kept during the trip, click here.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I lost a grand total of found pounds during 2012, which was less than the goal of 12 pounds as part of my resolutions. I was able to clean up and organize my game show materials, but the long-term repairs I wanted to do with the house was pushed aside by my upstairs neighbor's leaky washing machine.
In August, the tenants renting the condo above me overflowed their washing machine and flooded their laundry room. The water soaked through their floor and came spilling down through my living room ceiling. (My home insurance adjuster has this nice picture of the mini-waterfall that occurred when he poked a hole in the ceiling.) The problem was that it did not stop leaking. Their heating/air conditioner unit is also in their laundry room, and the flood (or the clean-up) exacerbated one of the AC lines, causing the new leak. It took two weeks to find and fix the problem. On the weekend before the general contractor was scheduled to come patch up the walls, the tenants proceeded to overflow the washer AGAIN, causing more damage. The person who owns the condo above me apologized profusely and got them a new washing machine, but it delayed getting the living room fixed. It was not until late November before the ceiling and walls were repaired, the carpet padding replaced, and the carpet re-stretched and cleaned. The living room is back to normal now, but what a hassle it was to make it so.
For 2013, I will keep the weight loss goal of 12 pounds again, maintaining that any weight loss over the year would be a good thing. Second, I will get more repairs done to the house, as I may have to move out of my house this upcoming year. Third, I endeavor to see if I can get back into writing mode, as I would like to improve my writing skills.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My cousin Christopher and his wife Rachael brought their second child Hazel into the world this past spring.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not this year. However, one of the notable people we lost this past year was science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, who was one of the authors that got me into the science fiction fandom. Shortly before his death, another of his fans, Joel Thomas Zimmerman (aka Deadmau5), recorded a song based on his short story "The Veldt," which became one of the biggest electronica dance hits in 2012. It makes for a nice tribute. Rest in peace, Ray.
Click to viewNote you may need to change the quality of the video (using the gear image in the bottom bar of the video window) to make it look better.
5. What countries did you visit?
There was both Italy and the Vatican in late June as part of the pilgrimage. I also visited Canada three times during the year: Vancouver in April for an educational research conference, Montreal in June as a layover on the pilgrimage trip, and Toronto in September to catch a Red Sox-Blue Jays three-game series.
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
There are three things that I need to make 2013 better. First, I would like to have some more motivation during the evenings and weekends so that I don't spend all of my downtime vegetating on FaceBook. Second, I would also like more patience to deal with those situations that cannot be resolved quickly. Third, I need to remember that the neighbors around me are people as well, with their fair share of problems and concerns.
7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
December 21, 2012. You know, for all the lead publicity that the Mayan Apocalypse got, you think that something spectacular would happen that day. As it was, it was the day that I was able to pay off my credit card debt, so I guess that will have to do.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Managing to organize the pilgrimage to Rome and have it come off without a major glitch.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not dealing well with the leaky ceiling situation that derailed most of the autumn.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
With the exception of the flu I picked up in December, I generally stayed healthy throughout the year. I had minor surgery in the spring to remove a piece of fat that had lodged itself against my ribs, causing me pain when I stretched or yawned. In the doctor's appointment that set up the surgery, I also got referred to a dermatologist to deal with a long-term wart on my left index finger. Six months of imiquimod cream and Mediplast later, and the wart was gone.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A small lightweight Dell laptop computer that served as my journal for the pilgrimage and will soon replace the much older and heavier laptop I currently use for business trips.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The scores of neighbors and volunteers that helped the people in the Northeast displaced by Hurricane Sandy.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The people who use religion to deny the basic human rights to their fellow man.
I would also like to tweak whoever stole $600 worth of Christmas gifts off my doorstep in early December, but it did wake up my eyes to the reality of where I live. Crime, especially gang-related crime, has been on the rise in my area, and while most of my neighbors do look out for each other, I cannot assume that will always be the case.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage, condo fees, car payments, gasoline, auto insurance, electricity, cell phone, landline phone, grocery store, St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church, Child's Play Charity, Columbia Pike Animal Hospital, The Capitol Area Food Bank, Annandale Volunteer Fire Department, and Amazon.com. Both my Prius and credit card was paid off by the end of the year, which should free up more money to fix my house.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to the 2012 Child's Play Charity Dinner and Auction. The trip to Seattle in early December comes at just the point where the Christmas panic just starts to set in, and it allows me to relax and get my senses back.
16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
What else?
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Sadder.
ii. thinner or fatter?
Thinner.
iii. richer or poorer?
Richer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More writing, reading, and relaxing would have been nice.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Less arguing, worrying, and stressing out would also have been nice.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
My mother visited me for the Christmas holidays. We spent the morning opening presents and attending the Christmas day service at St. Barnabas'. We spent the afternoon and evening with my aunt and her children's families. They all now live in the area, and there are enough grandchildren now that, for the first time, there was a children's table established for Christmas dinner.
21. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
I ate lunch at the last remaining Generous George's in the area (hidden among the office buildings of Herndon), lamenting that they had removed nearly all of the vegetarian items from their menu. I also worked on this year-in-review meme while listening to the year-end countdown of electronica dance hits on BPM (the electronica "hits" channel on Sirius/XM satellite radio). For the rest of the night, I will probably play either The Sims or Torchlight.
22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Not this year.
23. How many one-night stands?
None.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
By now, I think I have firmly established that I do not have cable or satellite television, nor do I have a high-definition-compatible television. My television viewing was limited to my vacations within the states and Canada. That said, I now understand all of the praise given to Phineas and Ferb and Adventure Time.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I try my best not to hate people, although I have lost some respect for some people this year.
26. What was the best book you read?
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I really like what Calvin Harris can do as a DJ and a producer. While I enjoyed his production of Rihanna's We Found Love, it was the single Feel So Close that made me a fan.
28. What did you want and get?
A pair of Aperture Science Labs parking permit badges that was in the silent auction portion of the Child's Play Charity Dinner and Auction.
29. What did you want and not get?
The renewal of the NAEP contract, which would mean I would have a job past the end of next March.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
By default, that would be "Happy Feet 2," as it was the only full-length feature film that I saw this year. As for other outings:
Best concert: Alan Jackson at Wolf Trap
Best play: Fly at Ford's Theatre
Best computer game: Recettear (off the Steam network)
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my 47th birthday, I went to work, came home, ate dinner, and crashed.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
The year would have been much more satisfying if my company had won the six-year contract to run the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program, meaning that I would have a job through 2019. It would also have been nice if the Department of Education had made their decision by their original deadline, instead of delaying it because of not knowing what their 2013 budget will be like.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
T-shirts and sweatshirts from Crazy Shirts, long-sleeved work shirts from Land's End, blue jeans from Levi's, sneakers from New Balance, and a well-worn denim jacket off the bargain rack at a Gap store.
34. What (who) kept you sane?
Jake
Johnny
Blood Bath (BB for short)
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I usually fancy the newest female singing sensation, but this year, I went with a South Korean pop idol who intentionally tried to sound like Pikachu. Well played, Hyuna, well played.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The 2012 elections will cause a growth in both the far right and far left in the 2013 Congress, mostly at the expense of the moderates. If we continue to stick to our ideological beliefs and refuse to give and take, then the next Congress will be mired in the same quagmire that claimed the current Congress. This may actually be more of a societal issue than a political issue. Because of my religious belief that we are our God's children, then we have a moral obligation to respect each other. If that is truly not the case, and I have seen arguments from both the left and the right that say that the other side does not deserve respect, then I guess you better get while the getting is good, because the United States will continue its decline and drag the rest of the world with it.
37. Who did you miss?
Anyone with whom I used to watch cartoons.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
James Portnow, the writer behind the Extra Credits animated series on the video game industry. An intelligent, charismatic, and wonderfully opinionated gentleman. Here is one of my favorite episodes of the series, which explains why Zynga is evil.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
The world will end because we chose to make it end.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"I’m a guy
A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays
A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes
A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles
That kind of guy"
- Gangnam Style by PSY, translated into English
And, just because I cannot resist, here is the YouTube 2012 Rewind, featuring PSY, Walk Off The Earth, and Felicia Day as Carly Rae Jepsen.