Memeing some more
Today began in a REALLY frustrating way... I got in the car at 7:25 only to find it wouldn't start (long story short: somehow ended up taking 2.5 hours... and $70+... to get to work; I should have just taken Uber)
and the ONLY reason things went okay anyway was that my parents live right there (and were able to take the car in to realize that it was a battery problem)... so I might as well do another 2014 meme that has been popping around; most recently from bookishgeek
1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
-Survived a superday of interviews from an investment bank
-Started a job that was intended to be 'permanent' instead of 1 year or less (or 'until you graduate')
-REBALANCED MY INVESTMENTS so that the 'conservative' portion of my portfolio is no longer tied to gold as it has been since I started investing in early 2007!
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I REALLY don't believe in them; they're super cliched 'goals' that people tend to give up by January 10 anyway.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
not that I know of?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
I didn't remember any funerals... so no!
5. What countries did you visit?
The US and the UK; I briefly thought I might visit a few others... but that didn't happen.
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
A place to live that I actually want to stay in... a good circle of friends that are physically near me so I can hang out... and a nice long term relationship.
7. What date from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 11: the day I received my current job offer.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not going with my current job (all the work for that I did in 2013 and possibly earlier) but managing to pull out a Distinction in my EME masters in LSE! Including managing to pull a 73 (way better than it sounds; it's a Distinction and only 2 points below the highest score) on an econometrics module where my goal was a 'fail' (as opposed to a 'bad fail').
9. What was your biggest failure?
Ending up with a 1 year apartment in Federal Hill, which I would have been too old for 6 years ago... and paying LA prices for the 'privilege'.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the ones I came into the year with!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My awesome comfy queen sized bed with memory foam! Such an improvement over my dorm bed in London...
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I always struggle with this question... do I call out the names of my closest LJ friends for their awesome accomplishments? Do I cheer myself on for surviving? IDEFK...
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
This is even harder than the last one: I'm tempted to say 'every politician ever' and call the 2014 election
season a 'clusterfuck' but I'm not sure that's the right answer.
14. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
"Hate is a strong word, but..." - no, wait a minute, that's 2006! Can I say I hate Tyrr Ning 30? ;)
15. Where did most of your money go?
STUDENT LOAN DEBT FROM LSE, paired with moving to and living in Baltimore (which is WAY more expensive than it has any right to be).
16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Graduation/being done with school forever, having some semblance of stability in my career... and having an awesome bed!
17. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Not from then, but 4'33" by Cage; its silence sounds exactly like the guidance I've been getting.
18. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same... I'd be happier except that I know I have to spend 7 more months living in Federal Hill!
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner: in a few months I've lost all the weight I've gained at LSE and then some... but now I'm worried that I'm heading to a dangerously low setpoint (thanks to my UC).
iii. richer or poorer? Richer by income, way poorer by net worth... but now I know how to get money working properly.
19. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Traveling (while I could), dating, finding awesome people to hang out with.
20. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Killing time on the Internet, being so burnt out I would sleep until around 6 PM (as I did too many days in January in England)
21. How did you spend Christmas?
Sleeping in, walking around various city neighborhoods with almost nothing open (snagging a snack from a Royal Farms), seeing The Imitation Game with my parents, eating Chinese food with my parents... and going for a sanity break by walking in the cold by the harbor with ice cream.
22. Did you fall in love in 2014?
Crushes, yes, but never 'in love'.
23. Did your heart break in 2014?
No; it had no reason to.
24. How many one-night stands?
Stephen Colbert: "Here's a number... ZERO!">
25. What was your favorite TV program?
The Colbert Report *misses it*
26. Where were you when 2014 began?
in a super overrated London club wondering why on earth I thought this would be a good place to ring in the year
27. Who were you with?
the most awesome person on the planet
28. Where will you be when 2014 ends?
Blue Agave Mexican Food [BAMF]; it may not be the BEST place to ring in the new year (for example, no fireworks view) but it's somewhere I've loved to hang out normally where food and drinks are delicious... and admission comes with free appetizers, open bar, and champagne... so should be one of my better NYE's
29. Who will you be with when 2015 starts?
Probably the same person I rung 2014 in with unless I meet someone at BAMF... though I have awesome plans to meet up with people earlier on the 31st... and on the 2nd and 3rd...
30. What was the best book you read?
The Trial? I remember reading that... though I do NOT remember liking it ;)
31. What was your greatest musical discovery?
no real musical discoveries in 2014
32. What did you want and get?
new job, semblance of stability, awesome bed
33. What did you want and not get?
vibrant in-person social life, dating life that was actually worth it, living where I WANT to live (and it doesn't even have to be the West Coast)
34. What was your favorite film of this year?
Catching Fire? idefk
35. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
slept in, worked out, had a super disappointing ice cream coffee drink, studied for exams, ate normal dinner, had some drinks (35% ABV Brewdog beer and absinthe over sugar from the Bankside dorm bar) and prepped hard for superday interviews the next day (which I ended up completely failing)... and I was 30
I turned 25 and I don't even remember! I think it must have been uneventful then, LOL.
36. How many different states did you travel to in 2014?
In order: Pennsylvania (airport only), Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas... so 6? *cries that he hasn't been to the West Coast this year, but this will be fixed within a month*
37. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
awesome? maybe London casual?
38. What kept you sane?
having goals and things to look forward to
39. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Pippa Middleton?
40. Whom did you miss?
my LA friends
41. How many concerts did you see in 2014?
0... no wait... I DID see 1 for the 200th anniversary of the national anthem!
42. Who were the best new people you met?
Maria (from LSE; I met her a month or two before leaving... most LSE people count as '2013' by that standard) and maybe 1 or 2 very specific people from work?
43. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014:
Your gut instincts are VERY worthwhile in determining whether you'll 'fit' into a specific city/neighborhood.
44. What are your plans for 2015?
Keep on moving forward at work... try to meet people wherever I can... enjoy travel... and... most importantly...
CARRY OUT THAT MOVE TO THE ARLINGTON/ALEXANDRIA AREA! Just 7 more months to go... (and the last of those 7 months will likely be split between travel and physically moving)
and the ONLY reason things went okay anyway was that my parents live right there (and were able to take the car in to realize that it was a battery problem)... so I might as well do another 2014 meme that has been popping around; most recently from bookishgeek
1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?
-Survived a superday of interviews from an investment bank
-Started a job that was intended to be 'permanent' instead of 1 year or less (or 'until you graduate')
-REBALANCED MY INVESTMENTS so that the 'conservative' portion of my portfolio is no longer tied to gold as it has been since I started investing in early 2007!
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I REALLY don't believe in them; they're super cliched 'goals' that people tend to give up by January 10 anyway.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
not that I know of?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
I didn't remember any funerals... so no!
5. What countries did you visit?
The US and the UK; I briefly thought I might visit a few others... but that didn't happen.
6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?
A place to live that I actually want to stay in... a good circle of friends that are physically near me so I can hang out... and a nice long term relationship.
7. What date from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 11: the day I received my current job offer.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not going with my current job (all the work for that I did in 2013 and possibly earlier) but managing to pull out a Distinction in my EME masters in LSE! Including managing to pull a 73 (way better than it sounds; it's a Distinction and only 2 points below the highest score) on an econometrics module where my goal was a 'fail' (as opposed to a 'bad fail').
9. What was your biggest failure?
Ending up with a 1 year apartment in Federal Hill, which I would have been too old for 6 years ago... and paying LA prices for the 'privilege'.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the ones I came into the year with!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My awesome comfy queen sized bed with memory foam! Such an improvement over my dorm bed in London...
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I always struggle with this question... do I call out the names of my closest LJ friends for their awesome accomplishments? Do I cheer myself on for surviving? IDEFK...
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
This is even harder than the last one: I'm tempted to say 'every politician ever' and call the 2014 election
season a 'clusterfuck' but I'm not sure that's the right answer.
14. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
"Hate is a strong word, but..." - no, wait a minute, that's 2006! Can I say I hate Tyrr Ning 30? ;)
15. Where did most of your money go?
STUDENT LOAN DEBT FROM LSE, paired with moving to and living in Baltimore (which is WAY more expensive than it has any right to be).
16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Graduation/being done with school forever, having some semblance of stability in my career... and having an awesome bed!
17. What song will always remind you of 2014?
Not from then, but 4'33" by Cage; its silence sounds exactly like the guidance I've been getting.
18. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same... I'd be happier except that I know I have to spend 7 more months living in Federal Hill!
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner: in a few months I've lost all the weight I've gained at LSE and then some... but now I'm worried that I'm heading to a dangerously low setpoint (thanks to my UC).
iii. richer or poorer? Richer by income, way poorer by net worth... but now I know how to get money working properly.
19. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Traveling (while I could), dating, finding awesome people to hang out with.
20. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Killing time on the Internet, being so burnt out I would sleep until around 6 PM (as I did too many days in January in England)
21. How did you spend Christmas?
Sleeping in, walking around various city neighborhoods with almost nothing open (snagging a snack from a Royal Farms), seeing The Imitation Game with my parents, eating Chinese food with my parents... and going for a sanity break by walking in the cold by the harbor with ice cream.
22. Did you fall in love in 2014?
Crushes, yes, but never 'in love'.
23. Did your heart break in 2014?
No; it had no reason to.
24. How many one-night stands?
Stephen Colbert: "Here's a number... ZERO!">
25. What was your favorite TV program?
The Colbert Report *misses it*
26. Where were you when 2014 began?
in a super overrated London club wondering why on earth I thought this would be a good place to ring in the year
27. Who were you with?
the most awesome person on the planet
28. Where will you be when 2014 ends?
Blue Agave Mexican Food [BAMF]; it may not be the BEST place to ring in the new year (for example, no fireworks view) but it's somewhere I've loved to hang out normally where food and drinks are delicious... and admission comes with free appetizers, open bar, and champagne... so should be one of my better NYE's
29. Who will you be with when 2015 starts?
Probably the same person I rung 2014 in with unless I meet someone at BAMF... though I have awesome plans to meet up with people earlier on the 31st... and on the 2nd and 3rd...
30. What was the best book you read?
The Trial? I remember reading that... though I do NOT remember liking it ;)
31. What was your greatest musical discovery?
no real musical discoveries in 2014
32. What did you want and get?
new job, semblance of stability, awesome bed
33. What did you want and not get?
vibrant in-person social life, dating life that was actually worth it, living where I WANT to live (and it doesn't even have to be the West Coast)
34. What was your favorite film of this year?
Catching Fire? idefk
35. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
slept in, worked out, had a super disappointing ice cream coffee drink, studied for exams, ate normal dinner, had some drinks (35% ABV Brewdog beer and absinthe over sugar from the Bankside dorm bar) and prepped hard for superday interviews the next day (which I ended up completely failing)... and I was 30
I turned 25 and I don't even remember! I think it must have been uneventful then, LOL.
36. How many different states did you travel to in 2014?
In order: Pennsylvania (airport only), Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Texas... so 6? *cries that he hasn't been to the West Coast this year, but this will be fixed within a month*
37. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?
awesome? maybe London casual?
38. What kept you sane?
having goals and things to look forward to
39. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Pippa Middleton?
40. Whom did you miss?
my LA friends
41. How many concerts did you see in 2014?
0... no wait... I DID see 1 for the 200th anniversary of the national anthem!
42. Who were the best new people you met?
Maria (from LSE; I met her a month or two before leaving... most LSE people count as '2013' by that standard) and maybe 1 or 2 very specific people from work?
43. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014:
Your gut instincts are VERY worthwhile in determining whether you'll 'fit' into a specific city/neighborhood.
44. What are your plans for 2015?
Keep on moving forward at work... try to meet people wherever I can... enjoy travel... and... most importantly...
CARRY OUT THAT MOVE TO THE ARLINGTON/ALEXANDRIA AREA! Just 7 more months to go... (and the last of those 7 months will likely be split between travel and physically moving)