it's that time of the year again
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? ate water snails and frogs. visited a public housing unit in a foreign country. went to taiwan, went to a professional Muay Thai fight..
2. Did anyone close to you die? thankfully no.
3. What was the best thing you bought? my laptop. i really like my laptop.
4. Where did most of your money go? rent, tuition, food, plane tickets.
5. What did you get really, really, really excited about? monica visiting me in hong kong in 3.5 hours.
6. What song will always remind you of 2008? video games:
7. Compared to this time last year, are you:
I. happier or sadder? considerably more lonely. but the "adventure " aspect balances it out a bit.
ii. thinner or fatter? the same, for the last 15 years.
iii. richer or poorer? up til august, the same, now i am way poorer.
8. What was your favorite TV program? two and a half men. which i've now seen almost every episode of.
9. What was the best book you read this year? i do not believe i read a single book this year. which is a shame. i read some good articles on the role of the state in development of east and south east asia however.
10. What was your favorite film of this year? wow. that actually came out this year? that would be tough. a tie between pineapple express and Mister Lonely.? but i bet i'm forgetting something really great.
11. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? i turned 29. i probably went out for dinner and probably had a good time.
12. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? being from a european welfare state.
13. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? increased colorfulness.
14. What kept you sane? matt's answer: "great chemical balance" is pretty great. and probably true for me as well. as i don't think everyone could have handled all of this.
15. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? beats me.
16. Who was the best new person you met in 2008? Ted from hong kong and Jan from Dresden.
17. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008? i have to learn how to concentrate.
18. What was your job this year? up till august it was the same as it has been for years. now for the first time in 9 years i'm just a student. but i hope to get some kind of work next semester.
19. Did you have any encounters with the police in 2008? i've asked a number of them for directions, they have been quite helpful. but the police i talked to after my roommate commited suicide were fairly unpleasant.
20. Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with? more and more davis high kids are moving to san francisco. i don't understand what took them so long. i kind of wish i would run into someone here, that would be pretty random.
21. Describe your birthday. I did my best already.
22.) Any new additions to your family? oddly enough yes. both of my sisters got married, so their respective boyfriends became in-laws. oh and my mom adopted some friend of my sisters, who really does seem like she could be related.
23.) What from pop culture will you remember 2008 by? i don't think i'll remember 2008 based on pop culture...
24.) How do you plan to ring in 2009? well i had originally planned on being in vietnam with monica. but now we will be somewhere in the mountains of Yunnan province with my parents.
25.) What's something you learned about yourself? i don't think i learned anything new about me. i already knew i was fairly anti-social and easily frustrated.