2017 new year's meme
....it's that time of year again. already. wtf? where has 2017 gone? oh yeah. it went whizzing by like a rollercoaster with me barely hanging on by the hair of my teeth until the very end. yeah. how could i ever forget that?
if only i could.
this past year has tested me in every possible way-- more so than any year prior that i can think of.... i'm glad to be able to say that i survived it, but i cannot say that i came out of it entirely unscathed.
previous new year's memes:
2016 :: 2015 :: 2014 :: 2013 :: 2012 :: 2011 :: 2010 :: 2009 :: 2008 :: 2007
1. What did you do in 2017 that you'd never done before?
- applied for jobs in Japan from within Japan
- apartment hunted and signed a lease on an apartment in japan
- moved from one city to another city in Japan (Hitachinaka → Yokohama)
- started teaching at a high school
- got a Japanese credit card
- being known as Vesper even in the workplace
- started seeing a psychiatrist
- started antidepressants
- had a pet pass away (R.I.P. Yukihari)
- bought a cat from a pet store (a new record for most expensive purchase yet!)
- got a [semi]major physical injury (tore a ligament in my finger)
- got a G.I.D. "diagnosis"
- lived off a credit card for a few weeks....
2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
*resolutions for 2017:
- cycle more. (preferably 2x/mo) → FAILED. haven't cycled once since moving to Yokohama in March. ;(
- start (low dose) T. (if that's ultimately what i decide to do.) → FAILED, but not for much longer...
- have ~500,000yen saved by November 2017. → FAILED. happenings early on in 2017 made this resolution impossible....
- change jobs + move. → ACCOMPLISHED. although, not in the way that i'd intended.
- legally change my name. → FAILED...... see above reference to 2017 happenings.
*resolutions for 2018:
- start HRT.
- be more authentically myself.
- take things slow, check in with myself and actually listen.
- STOP BEING SO POOR, even if i still can't manage a savings.
- study Japanese, even if not regularly.
- take the JLPT N1 at least once, whether i pass or fail or not.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
- no?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
- Yukihari.......
- some extended family members that i wasn't close to.
- ................CHESTERRR *SOBS*
5. What countries did you visit?
- America
6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
- more money.
- better money management.
- better time management.
- be even closer to the person that i want to be.
7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory?
- January 20th - Trump's Inauguration
- June - July 4th - running around Kanto trying to save Yuki, only to lose him.
- August - the Charlottesville rally
--------------- North Korea shot two missiles over Japan; tension between Trump and Kim Jong Un escalate [ 1 ] + [ 2 ] + [ 3 ]
- October 1st - the Las Vegas shooting [ 1 ] + [ 2 ]
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- landing a new job
- landing a new, awesome apartment
- moving to Yokohama
- getting a cat
9. What was your biggest failure?
- my finances
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
- heightened depression and anxiety
- Mallet Finger: tore a ligament in my right picky, permanently deforming it... ;(
11. What was the best thing you bought?
- Calcifer 🧡🧡🧡
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
- certainly not mine.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- certain aro aces on Tumblr...
14. Where did most of your money go?
- moving / starting over in Yokohama
- psych sessions + antidepressants
- Calcifer
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- meeting, getting and living with Calcifer
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2017?
- Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance The Way I Feel (song)
- Crystal Castles - Transgender (song)
- Crystal Castles - Plagues (song)
- Steed Lord - New Religion (song)
- Ost & Kjex - Mosambique Travelplan (FM Belfast Mix) (song)
- Steed Lord - New Religion (song)
- Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance The Way I Feel (a song)
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (song)
- Lissi Dancefloor Disaster - I Will Not (a song)
- Zuum! - Rhythm Of Life (a song)
- Marnie - Sugarland (a song)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a. happier or sadder?
- apprehensively happier
b. thinner or fatter?
- fatter. thanks, Yokohama.
c. richer or poorer?
- poorer. much poorer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
- saving money. (same as last year)
- cycling. (same as last year)
- not dragging my feet about everything. (same as last year)
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
- spending money. (same as last year)
- not cycling. (same as last year)
- dragging my feet about everything. (same as last year)
- being depressed and anxious.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
- at "home" with mom and a ridiculously frustrating Kesha.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
- Clark (if Skype counts)
22. Did you fall in love in 2017?
- hmmm....
23. How many one night stands in this last year?
- ha.
24. What was your favourite TV programme?
- Star Trek Discovery
- Bill Nye Saves The World
- Sense 8
- Orange Is The New Black
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
- ....it's complicated.
26. What was the best book(s) you read?
- Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker
- Outside the XY: Queer, Black and Brown Masculinity by bklyn boihood
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
- Marnie
- Ari Mason
- Dear Strange
28. What did you want and get?
- a cat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- a new life in a new city.
- to be known by my actual name both at work and in my personal life.
29. What did you want and not get?
- better at saving money.
30. What were your favourite films of this year?
- none that i can remember.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
- was 32. work.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
- the Japanese government not hunting me down for every yen that i have.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
*if i had a "concept" it was the same as always:
- grayscale with some brown and yellow.
- coats/jackets/sweaters.
- rings + necklaces + pride bracelets(← new).
- boots.
(same as always. i never change.)
34. What kept you sane?
- music.
- the internet.
- Calcifer.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
- pfft.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
- violence in America (see: above dates i'll never forget)
- tension between North Korea and America.
37. Who did you miss?
- my cats.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
- well, i got to know Clark far more personally this year and even met them in person. :)
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.
- ...i have serious mental health problems that cannot be ignored.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
♪ "Did we forget about fatality?
Where the wheels keep turning
In sugarland
We've lost control in all this urgency
And the fires keep burning
In sugarland"
- Marnie - Sugarland ♫
if only i could.
this past year has tested me in every possible way-- more so than any year prior that i can think of.... i'm glad to be able to say that i survived it, but i cannot say that i came out of it entirely unscathed.
previous new year's memes:
2016 :: 2015 :: 2014 :: 2013 :: 2012 :: 2011 :: 2010 :: 2009 :: 2008 :: 2007
1. What did you do in 2017 that you'd never done before?
- applied for jobs in Japan from within Japan
- apartment hunted and signed a lease on an apartment in japan
- moved from one city to another city in Japan (Hitachinaka → Yokohama)
- started teaching at a high school
- got a Japanese credit card
- being known as Vesper even in the workplace
- started seeing a psychiatrist
- started antidepressants
- had a pet pass away (R.I.P. Yukihari)
- bought a cat from a pet store (a new record for most expensive purchase yet!)
- got a [semi]major physical injury (tore a ligament in my finger)
- got a G.I.D. "diagnosis"
- lived off a credit card for a few weeks....
2. Did you keep your New Years resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
*resolutions for 2017:
- cycle more. (preferably 2x/mo) → FAILED. haven't cycled once since moving to Yokohama in March. ;(
- start (low dose) T. (if that's ultimately what i decide to do.) → FAILED, but not for much longer...
- have ~500,000yen saved by November 2017. → FAILED. happenings early on in 2017 made this resolution impossible....
- change jobs + move. → ACCOMPLISHED. although, not in the way that i'd intended.
- legally change my name. → FAILED...... see above reference to 2017 happenings.
*resolutions for 2018:
- start HRT.
- be more authentically myself.
- take things slow, check in with myself and actually listen.
- STOP BEING SO POOR, even if i still can't manage a savings.
- study Japanese, even if not regularly.
- take the JLPT N1 at least once, whether i pass or fail or not.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
- no?
4. Did anyone close to you die?
- Yukihari.......
- some extended family members that i wasn't close to.
- ................CHESTERRR *SOBS*
5. What countries did you visit?
- America
6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
- more money.
- better money management.
- better time management.
- be even closer to the person that i want to be.
7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory?
- January 20th - Trump's Inauguration
- June - July 4th - running around Kanto trying to save Yuki, only to lose him.
- August - the Charlottesville rally
--------------- North Korea shot two missiles over Japan; tension between Trump and Kim Jong Un escalate [ 1 ] + [ 2 ] + [ 3 ]
- October 1st - the Las Vegas shooting [ 1 ] + [ 2 ]
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- landing a new job
- landing a new, awesome apartment
- moving to Yokohama
- getting a cat
9. What was your biggest failure?
- my finances
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
- heightened depression and anxiety
- Mallet Finger: tore a ligament in my right picky, permanently deforming it... ;(
11. What was the best thing you bought?
- Calcifer 🧡🧡🧡
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
- certainly not mine.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- certain aro aces on Tumblr...
14. Where did most of your money go?
- moving / starting over in Yokohama
- psych sessions + antidepressants
- Calcifer
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- meeting, getting and living with Calcifer
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2017?
- Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance The Way I Feel (song)
- Crystal Castles - Transgender (song)
- Crystal Castles - Plagues (song)
- Steed Lord - New Religion (song)
- Ost & Kjex - Mosambique Travelplan (FM Belfast Mix) (song)
- Steed Lord - New Religion (song)
- Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance The Way I Feel (a song)
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (song)
- Lissi Dancefloor Disaster - I Will Not (a song)
- Zuum! - Rhythm Of Life (a song)
- Marnie - Sugarland (a song)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a. happier or sadder?
- apprehensively happier
b. thinner or fatter?
- fatter. thanks, Yokohama.
c. richer or poorer?
- poorer. much poorer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
- saving money. (same as last year)
- cycling. (same as last year)
- not dragging my feet about everything. (same as last year)
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
- spending money. (same as last year)
- not cycling. (same as last year)
- dragging my feet about everything. (same as last year)
- being depressed and anxious.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
- at "home" with mom and a ridiculously frustrating Kesha.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
- Clark (if Skype counts)
22. Did you fall in love in 2017?
- hmmm....
23. How many one night stands in this last year?
- ha.
24. What was your favourite TV programme?
- Star Trek Discovery
- Bill Nye Saves The World
- Sense 8
- Orange Is The New Black
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
- ....it's complicated.
26. What was the best book(s) you read?
- Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker
- Outside the XY: Queer, Black and Brown Masculinity by bklyn boihood
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
- Marnie
- Ari Mason
- Dear Strange
28. What did you want and get?
- a cat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- a new life in a new city.
- to be known by my actual name both at work and in my personal life.
29. What did you want and not get?
- better at saving money.
30. What were your favourite films of this year?
- none that i can remember.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
- was 32. work.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
- the Japanese government not hunting me down for every yen that i have.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
*if i had a "concept" it was the same as always:
- grayscale with some brown and yellow.
- coats/jackets/sweaters.
- rings + necklaces + pride bracelets(← new).
- boots.
(same as always. i never change.)
34. What kept you sane?
- music.
- the internet.
- Calcifer.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
- pfft.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
- violence in America (see: above dates i'll never forget)
- tension between North Korea and America.
37. Who did you miss?
- my cats.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
- well, i got to know Clark far more personally this year and even met them in person. :)
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.
- ...i have serious mental health problems that cannot be ignored.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Click to view♪ "Did we forget about fatality?
Where the wheels keep turning
In sugarland
We've lost control in all this urgency
And the fires keep burning
In sugarland"
- Marnie - Sugarland ♫