2012 Wrap-Up
I have the Flu, so I'm sitting here on my computer alternately watching The Big Bang Theory, reading Goosebumps Berks online, and looking at Amazon (the greedy bastards whom I love so much). And I'm finally writing another Livejournal entry. Christmas was excellent this year; we didn't go down to Kansas, which was awful last year, and everyone got what they really wanted for Christmas. I mean, we spoiled the shit out of each other. And it was good. Mom got that Cashmere/Wool coat she wanted, along with a ton of bellydancing stuff; Dad got opera tickets and a bunch of books / smaller stuff, Shelley got a new phone and other things, and I got a freakin XBox and Ugg Boots. I mean, seriously! Spoiled much? You bet.
2013 New Year's Resolutions.
1. Read 20 new books.
2. Keep learning about cars and Russian.
3. Plan a 2- day trip to each of the countries Mom and I will visit in 2014, and save at least $300/month for our EuroTrip.
4. Fix my teeth.
5. Fix my skin.
6. NaNoWriMo 2013, and edit one chapter per month from NaNoWriMo 2012.
7. Try new beers.
And now, for a year in review...
2012 was the year I drunkenly named the Year of the Axolotol, and I pretty much got what I deserved for naming it after such an absurd animal.
2012 was decent. I got my first, real, 401(K)-earning, retirement-planning, insurance-holding job. After the first three months, the silver lining blew off the tracks and mostly the job has been rough ever since, but the fact remains that it's a job and my income-to-expenses ratio is about 2:1, so that's great. I was able to put a huge dent in my debt thanks to that fact, and I closed all of my store cards after paying them off, including the Victoria's Secret card that put a big chip in my credit rating. I started working with a credit counselor at Wells Fargo to try to remove the most damaging thing on my credit report, and I think my score has gone up since then.
I was hired by two of my dream companies, but couldn't lift enough to keep the job. I started P90X and Les Mills Pump, along with personal training. I began looking into healthy eating, and although there's no way I'm ever giving up the amount of chocolate and Coca-Cola I ingest every day, healthier things are becoming way more prevalent in my diet.
My arthritis got way worse this year, especially in my hips. Fortunately, I found a great primary care physician in Detroit Lakes, and he is very liberal with attempting to get the pain under control. We tried cortisone shots (ineffective), myofascial release program (ineffective), and changing my Relafen 750mg for Meloxicam 25mg (effective).
I bought a motorcycle, but was too scared of it to ride it! I don't know if I'll ever get on that thing, after the memories of motorcycle class. I hope so.
NaNoWriMo 2012 was a stunning success, and I finally got out a plot bunny that I've had for years. The trouble now is the fact that it's a historical novel, set in the 17th century, and while I was writing for NaNo I didn't bother with historical accuracy - now I have to find the answer to such questions as: How many pistoles did it take to buy a loaf of bread? To pay rent? These questions, surprisingly, are not available on Google. No one seems to know. So 2013 will be a year spent in revision, as I plunder the nerdy libraries of my dad and my sister, who collect history books at an absurd rate.
I became a better gardener, and have even over-wintered some of my plants with success so far, using my new discovery of a halogen T-5 grow-lamp. The basil bush unexpectedly died; I'm hoping it will bloom again in the spring. The rhubarb is still alive, which is awesome, because it's poisonous until its second year of life. In March, I'll repot what has survived, and start new plants in the warming plate!
Probably the most important thing I did all year was committing to my dental health. I found a dentist I liked in Fargo (mostly because their radio commercial promised IV Sedation if I wanted it), and have already had my $900 super-cleaning (note to self - they want $180 more out of pocket. Pay it.). In January, I have a six-week check-up to see how my gums are healing from the cleaning (yeah, that bad). In February, I have two separate drilling sessions of three hours each, during which I will be anesthetized with IV Versed. I will also have my wisdom teeth taken out on February 22nd. Then in March, I'm going to have braces put on!!!!!!! My teeth will finally be straight! No more buck teeth! No more shitty smile! I had better have a whitening done, too. Can't wait!
How did I do on my New Year's Resolutions for 2012?
1. Celebrate every Holiday; find new holidays to celebrate. Well, I didn't do so well on the very first one. Mostly because I only found out about these holidays from friends on Facebook who celebrate them - and they only posted, of course, on the day that it happened. I did find some cool holidays, and I put them on a 2013 calendar.
2. Read 15 new books. Blew this one out of the water. I read 22 new books, according to my book list, and I am pretty sure that I actually read more than that. Most notable this year were The Hunger Games trilogy, which I fell in love with, and Dune, which was simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding book I've ever read. I also caught up with the rest of pop culture by reading The DaVinci Code. It was good, but I find the characters in that book and his others that I've read to be too Mary-Sue-like to be believed.
3. Learn about cars. I learned how part of the engine works.
4. Plan a 3-, 5-, and 7- day trip to each of three different foreign countries. I forgot about this one. I made a 5-day one for Norway, but that's it. I did start researching the countries that Mom and I will be visiting in 2014, and so it will be important for me to do this (but scaled down) this year.
5. Apply to five Minnesota paramedic jobs per month (if available) until I get home. Did, hired, lifted, next year?
6. Learn more Russian. I downloaded Rosetta Stone Russian. I'm not really doing so well on these resolutions, as it turns out.
7. If I get dental insurance, fix teeth. OMG! I DID THIS ONE!
8. NaNoWriMo 2012. I did this one too!
9. Learn to play bass guitar better. Psshh, yeah, that didn't happen.
Come on, 2013!
2013 New Year's Resolutions.
1. Read 20 new books.
2. Keep learning about cars and Russian.
3. Plan a 2- day trip to each of the countries Mom and I will visit in 2014, and save at least $300/month for our EuroTrip.
4. Fix my teeth.
5. Fix my skin.
6. NaNoWriMo 2013, and edit one chapter per month from NaNoWriMo 2012.
7. Try new beers.
And now, for a year in review...
2012 was the year I drunkenly named the Year of the Axolotol, and I pretty much got what I deserved for naming it after such an absurd animal.
2012 was decent. I got my first, real, 401(K)-earning, retirement-planning, insurance-holding job. After the first three months, the silver lining blew off the tracks and mostly the job has been rough ever since, but the fact remains that it's a job and my income-to-expenses ratio is about 2:1, so that's great. I was able to put a huge dent in my debt thanks to that fact, and I closed all of my store cards after paying them off, including the Victoria's Secret card that put a big chip in my credit rating. I started working with a credit counselor at Wells Fargo to try to remove the most damaging thing on my credit report, and I think my score has gone up since then.
I was hired by two of my dream companies, but couldn't lift enough to keep the job. I started P90X and Les Mills Pump, along with personal training. I began looking into healthy eating, and although there's no way I'm ever giving up the amount of chocolate and Coca-Cola I ingest every day, healthier things are becoming way more prevalent in my diet.
My arthritis got way worse this year, especially in my hips. Fortunately, I found a great primary care physician in Detroit Lakes, and he is very liberal with attempting to get the pain under control. We tried cortisone shots (ineffective), myofascial release program (ineffective), and changing my Relafen 750mg for Meloxicam 25mg (effective).
I bought a motorcycle, but was too scared of it to ride it! I don't know if I'll ever get on that thing, after the memories of motorcycle class. I hope so.
NaNoWriMo 2012 was a stunning success, and I finally got out a plot bunny that I've had for years. The trouble now is the fact that it's a historical novel, set in the 17th century, and while I was writing for NaNo I didn't bother with historical accuracy - now I have to find the answer to such questions as: How many pistoles did it take to buy a loaf of bread? To pay rent? These questions, surprisingly, are not available on Google. No one seems to know. So 2013 will be a year spent in revision, as I plunder the nerdy libraries of my dad and my sister, who collect history books at an absurd rate.
I became a better gardener, and have even over-wintered some of my plants with success so far, using my new discovery of a halogen T-5 grow-lamp. The basil bush unexpectedly died; I'm hoping it will bloom again in the spring. The rhubarb is still alive, which is awesome, because it's poisonous until its second year of life. In March, I'll repot what has survived, and start new plants in the warming plate!
Probably the most important thing I did all year was committing to my dental health. I found a dentist I liked in Fargo (mostly because their radio commercial promised IV Sedation if I wanted it), and have already had my $900 super-cleaning (note to self - they want $180 more out of pocket. Pay it.). In January, I have a six-week check-up to see how my gums are healing from the cleaning (yeah, that bad). In February, I have two separate drilling sessions of three hours each, during which I will be anesthetized with IV Versed. I will also have my wisdom teeth taken out on February 22nd. Then in March, I'm going to have braces put on!!!!!!! My teeth will finally be straight! No more buck teeth! No more shitty smile! I had better have a whitening done, too. Can't wait!
How did I do on my New Year's Resolutions for 2012?
1. Celebrate every Holiday; find new holidays to celebrate. Well, I didn't do so well on the very first one. Mostly because I only found out about these holidays from friends on Facebook who celebrate them - and they only posted, of course, on the day that it happened. I did find some cool holidays, and I put them on a 2013 calendar.
2. Read 15 new books. Blew this one out of the water. I read 22 new books, according to my book list, and I am pretty sure that I actually read more than that. Most notable this year were The Hunger Games trilogy, which I fell in love with, and Dune, which was simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding book I've ever read. I also caught up with the rest of pop culture by reading The DaVinci Code. It was good, but I find the characters in that book and his others that I've read to be too Mary-Sue-like to be believed.
3. Learn about cars. I learned how part of the engine works.
4. Plan a 3-, 5-, and 7- day trip to each of three different foreign countries. I forgot about this one. I made a 5-day one for Norway, but that's it. I did start researching the countries that Mom and I will be visiting in 2014, and so it will be important for me to do this (but scaled down) this year.
5. Apply to five Minnesota paramedic jobs per month (if available) until I get home. Did, hired, lifted, next year?
6. Learn more Russian. I downloaded Rosetta Stone Russian. I'm not really doing so well on these resolutions, as it turns out.
7. If I get dental insurance, fix teeth. OMG! I DID THIS ONE!
8. NaNoWriMo 2012. I did this one too!
9. Learn to play bass guitar better. Psshh, yeah, that didn't happen.
Come on, 2013!