2006....
1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
-saw, and then rejected the idea of ever seeing again, two separate therapists
-made out with a random in a bar (yeah....good life choices haven't been the main point of this year.)
-was in a play at the Highlands Summer Festival without getting married
-tried a diet without it turning into a near eating disorder
-took steps to conquer depression
-bought a computer without parental assistance
-got a D on a test and didn't feel anything
-didn't get homesick once over the first semester
-got my navel pierced
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I made a bunch on my birthday, so those are still in effect until my next birthday. I'm not doing too well on them, that needs to be rectified.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No
5. What countries did you visit?
The United States of America. Ooooh, aaahhh. Oh look, I can see it out the window. :P
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Luck in love. A family that communicates.
7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 9- seeing "Wicked" live on stage- AMAZING! And then the rest of the weekend, in which I did a lot of yelling in the streets and also had went into hysterics over graduating and the uncertain future ahead, because it was convocation for all of that year's grads.
June 28- the day Dad collapsed outside of a restaurant in Peterborough
August 2- Cancellation of our show due to a power outage, and later learning of the seven tornadoes that had gone through the area that night.
November 23- the five-hour fire alarm in rez that turned out to be a bigger deal than we thought.
The rest of the year has been sort of a blur. A great blur, but a blur.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Following through on my mission to squeeze as much life out of every moment as possible.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not being able to handle anything serious. I'm skimming the surface of things in life lately, trying to dance through it, when there are really bigger issues that I should try to be tackling, or they're going to bury me. This will really hit me when I get home on Friday and feel like I'm in Hell.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing extraordinary
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Scapegoat the laptop.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
-Sandy, my manager's, for hiring a frickin' unbelievable staff.
-Mine, for not killing my family yet.
-James, for coming to visit meeeeee :D
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I wouldn't got that far, but I was definitely upset by a few.
14. Where did most of your money go?
-Scapegoat the laptop
-Nights out with friends
-saving for next year's trip to New Orleans
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
-hanging out with Jenny in Montreal
-hanging out with James in Windsor
-random girly moments in which we would all oooh and aaah about boys
16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Popular- Wicked
All I Want for Christmas is You- from 'Love Actually'
Seasons of Love- Rent
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, by far.
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same, though I was skinner in the middle of the year! Dumb Vanier.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer, and it's not just about the money ;)
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Smiling at the beginning of the year. Living in the moment.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Regretting things, avoiding things, hiding.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Just a quiet day at home with the family. Probably having to stop a few fights along the way.
22. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Just crushes. But I feel I'm more capable of love now. I think I grew in the right way for that happen eventually, whereas in the past I was too melodramatic and considered myself damaged goods. Maybe I was.
23. How many one-night stands?
Nope. I'm better than that :P
24. What was your favorite TV program?
Grey's Anatomy, though definitely beginning to fall hard for 24 and Arrested Development.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate is such a strong word. In all honesty, I try not to hate anyone, no matter what. You'd have to do something pretty serious to evoke anything near 'hate' from me. I'm a sap.
26. What was the best book you read?
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Joshua Radin, Rent, Snow Patrol, Rufus Wainwright, The Fray
28. What did you want and get?
a stronger staff team, a great group of friends, attention from the opposite sex.
29. What did you want and not get?
Communication within my own family, a break from RA-dom when I spend time at home, a single date (why am I so bad at that side of life?!)
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Again, didn't get to the theatres much this year. On video, I fell in love with Rent and realized why I loved Love Actually. Last Kiss and The Holiday were both good. Little Miss Sunshine had me in stitches.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 22 and had a quiet day at home. Then the following week I got to go see "Wicked".
My half-birthday was much better. :D
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
My family being as warm and loving as my "family" here.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Hoodies and jeans, though I also started being more fashionable in general, getting a nice haircut, contacts, and clothes that fit rather than those that are baggy as all hell.
34. What kept you sane?
Friends and music
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kiefer Sutherland's pretty damn hot, I've decided after hours and hours of 24. So's Patrick Dempsey.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Being in Wisconsin right before the elections was an eye-opener, as there were openly hateful messages everywhere due to the fact that gay marriage was on the ballot. I was in shock every time I saw something offensive chalked on the pavement on campus at Eau Claire, though many of the Americans didn't seem phased. Things like that would never fly up here.
37. Who did you miss?
Various people at various times.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Good ol' Team Mac Hall. We're frickin' unbelievable, and I really didn't know any of them that well before this year.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
I still really like what I wrote last year, and I think this year has really just been "2005 part 2."
"It really isn't what you know- it's who you know. In twenty years, I'm not going to care about my GPA or some random trivial fact I learned in an English class. I'm going to care that I actually made an effort to make connections that would last, and that I have people to depend on when things begin a downward spiral."
I've been in stasis for a lot of this year, though. It's time to get out and start living again. I'm beginning anew.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"And it's a winding road
I've been walking for a long time
I still don't know
Where it goes
And it's a long way home
I've been searching for a long time
I still have hope
I'm gonna find my way home"
-Bonnie Somerville, "Winding Road"
This is the closest to home I've ever been, and yet I'm forced to hand in my student status come June, walk onto the stage in my cap and gown, shake the President's hand, and head towards the future. I only hope I can find my niche again....