2008-in-review meme
I am at work and bored! Thus, a meme!
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Bought a bookstore! Went to Book Expo! Drove to LA and back all by myself! Went to Virginia!
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I have a policy against resolutions because I fail at them.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
green_tea_lady had Baby Dot in May!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope. Good job staying alive, guys.
5. What countries did you visit?
LAX Airport.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Sufficient sleep. Self-control.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 1st! We bought the store!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Um. I stayed relatively sane?
9. What was your biggest failure?
Junk Food: 175387696475, Marie: 0
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was sicker this year than I have been in a long time, mostly at the beginning of the year when I kept finding new strains of the flu to catch. Also, I took the most spectacular fall I've had since I stopped riding horseback (my left knee still isn't completely back in business).
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A bookstore! Hee. Well, since really that was Mr. Bill, let's say...hm. Oh, I know! My four-inch Heels of Doom!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mr. Bill's, as per usual. My mom's. GT's.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Alan Rickman is hot.
14. Where did most of your money go?
The bookstore.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Connie Willis. Supernatural. Seeing Connie Willis and the Supernatural boys at Comic Con. Papercrafts. Baby Dot. Seeing GT. Buying a bookstore.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
"Carry On, My Wayward Son." Because I could NOT escape from it this year, and now it's become a thing. Mr. Bill calls me to tell me that it's playing on the radio. Ernie plays the piano part to make me come downstairs and watch TV with her. I start singing it to myself without noticing. It's EVERYWHERE.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, overall. Mostly this has little to do with the events of this year versus those of last year.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter. Pbtz.
iii. richer or poorer? Finances? What are those? Can you eat them?
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise. Paid more attention to Mr. Bill instead of my computer.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
You know how sometimes you realize that you've just spent an hour or three tooling around on the internet and you're not doing research, you're not writing, you're not reading anything interesting or entertaining, you are not, in fact, doing anything either necessary or fun? Yeah, I could have done with a lot less of that, thank you very much, Self.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Came home from Midnight Mass, fell into bed, slept for six hours, got back up, sang Christmas Day Mass, came home, opened presents with Andersons, went to my folks' house, opened presents with them and Babby, played with Babby's new toys, took Babby home, came home and played with new papercraft stuff while watching Alias with the MIL and the pixies.
22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Every day of the week. Twice on Sundays and bank holidays.
26. What was the best book you read?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee with Passage by Connie Willis in a close second.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not so much a discovery as a re-discovery: Supernatural reminded me how much I enjoyed what I always thought of as "Greg Music": rock music from the seventies and late sixties. I've been on something of a classic rock jag ever since.
28. What did you want and get?
A social life.
29. What did you want and not get?
My own Zeppelin.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
WALL-E. I just heart that movie so much.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26, and I actually had a party this year! Plus, GT came to visit me and go shopping! \o/
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having a spiritual life that wasn't perfunctory half the time.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
I Don't Buy Anything At Full Retail Price And Sometimes You Can't Even Tell!
34. What kept you sane?
Phone calls with Izh, GT, and Fee. Talking to my mother-in-law. Cleaning. Mr. Bill. Lolcats. Running. Fic. God.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. I just want to have them come over and make me laugh while I make them cookies.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Oh look, a popsicle!
37. Whom did you miss?
GT!
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Hm, I met a lot of cool new internet peeps through Supernatural fandom, and I got to meet some older internet peeps in person for the first time, but mostly this year was notable for the degree to which a lot of existing friendships blossomed. I feel like I'm a lot closer to many of my favorite people, this year.
That didn't really answer the question at all, did it? *reads it again* Nope. Hm. Oh well.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Sometimes there is nothing you can do. Scrubbing out the bathroom probably won't make anything better in these cases, but it might make you feel slightly less useless and hey, clean bathroom!
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada! Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada!
Everyone is doing lists of goals for 2008 but I only really have one big goal right now, and it has nothing in particular to do with the fact that it's a new year. I just happen to have realized recently how much I need to work on this. So here's my goal: I would like to live more consciously. I want to be more aware of how I'm using the resources of time and energy that are given to me, and I want to use them well. I would like to think ahead so that my daily life more perfectly reflects my priorities.
Also, I would like to hug a penguin and take over the world, but that doesn't necessarily have to happen in 2009.
1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Bought a bookstore! Went to Book Expo! Drove to LA and back all by myself! Went to Virginia!
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I have a policy against resolutions because I fail at them.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
green_tea_lady had Baby Dot in May!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope. Good job staying alive, guys.
5. What countries did you visit?
LAX Airport.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Sufficient sleep. Self-control.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 1st! We bought the store!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Um. I stayed relatively sane?
9. What was your biggest failure?
Junk Food: 175387696475, Marie: 0
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was sicker this year than I have been in a long time, mostly at the beginning of the year when I kept finding new strains of the flu to catch. Also, I took the most spectacular fall I've had since I stopped riding horseback (my left knee still isn't completely back in business).
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A bookstore! Hee. Well, since really that was Mr. Bill, let's say...hm. Oh, I know! My four-inch Heels of Doom!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mr. Bill's, as per usual. My mom's. GT's.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Alan Rickman is hot.
14. Where did most of your money go?
The bookstore.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Connie Willis. Supernatural. Seeing Connie Willis and the Supernatural boys at Comic Con. Papercrafts. Baby Dot. Seeing GT. Buying a bookstore.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
"Carry On, My Wayward Son." Because I could NOT escape from it this year, and now it's become a thing. Mr. Bill calls me to tell me that it's playing on the radio. Ernie plays the piano part to make me come downstairs and watch TV with her. I start singing it to myself without noticing. It's EVERYWHERE.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, overall. Mostly this has little to do with the events of this year versus those of last year.
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter. Pbtz.
iii. richer or poorer? Finances? What are those? Can you eat them?
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise. Paid more attention to Mr. Bill instead of my computer.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
You know how sometimes you realize that you've just spent an hour or three tooling around on the internet and you're not doing research, you're not writing, you're not reading anything interesting or entertaining, you are not, in fact, doing anything either necessary or fun? Yeah, I could have done with a lot less of that, thank you very much, Self.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Came home from Midnight Mass, fell into bed, slept for six hours, got back up, sang Christmas Day Mass, came home, opened presents with Andersons, went to my folks' house, opened presents with them and Babby, played with Babby's new toys, took Babby home, came home and played with new papercraft stuff while watching Alias with the MIL and the pixies.
22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Every day of the week. Twice on Sundays and bank holidays.
26. What was the best book you read?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee with Passage by Connie Willis in a close second.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not so much a discovery as a re-discovery: Supernatural reminded me how much I enjoyed what I always thought of as "Greg Music": rock music from the seventies and late sixties. I've been on something of a classic rock jag ever since.
28. What did you want and get?
A social life.
29. What did you want and not get?
My own Zeppelin.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
WALL-E. I just heart that movie so much.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26, and I actually had a party this year! Plus, GT came to visit me and go shopping! \o/
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having a spiritual life that wasn't perfunctory half the time.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
I Don't Buy Anything At Full Retail Price And Sometimes You Can't Even Tell!
34. What kept you sane?
Phone calls with Izh, GT, and Fee. Talking to my mother-in-law. Cleaning. Mr. Bill. Lolcats. Running. Fic. God.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. I just want to have them come over and make me laugh while I make them cookies.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Oh look, a popsicle!
37. Whom did you miss?
GT!
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Hm, I met a lot of cool new internet peeps through Supernatural fandom, and I got to meet some older internet peeps in person for the first time, but mostly this year was notable for the degree to which a lot of existing friendships blossomed. I feel like I'm a lot closer to many of my favorite people, this year.
That didn't really answer the question at all, did it? *reads it again* Nope. Hm. Oh well.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Sometimes there is nothing you can do. Scrubbing out the bathroom probably won't make anything better in these cases, but it might make you feel slightly less useless and hey, clean bathroom!
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada! Boom-de-yada, boom-de-yada!
Everyone is doing lists of goals for 2008 but I only really have one big goal right now, and it has nothing in particular to do with the fact that it's a new year. I just happen to have realized recently how much I need to work on this. So here's my goal: I would like to live more consciously. I want to be more aware of how I'm using the resources of time and energy that are given to me, and I want to use them well. I would like to think ahead so that my daily life more perfectly reflects my priorities.
Also, I would like to hug a penguin and take over the world, but that doesn't necessarily have to happen in 2009.