New Year's Meme 2024
Here's the 2024 edition of the now familiar New Year's meme that I have been filling out every year for longer than I can prove (some posts having disappeared in the Purge of Aught-ten). Over the years, I've added one or two prompts to the original question set, and I've deleted others for which I could never, ever think of an answer. This year, there were no deletions, but I did add one question to the 2023 set. Since podcasts are now a big part of each day for me, I thought it was fair to insert a prompt about them into the "best of" section.
I know I just did a Friday Five "year in review," but there's not a ton of overlap (and no copy-pasting, I promise!), so I hope my lone reader is game for this one. Ready?
1. What did you do in 2024 that you'd never done before?
I went to the circus as an adult, and I had a great time. I disliked circuses as a child -- the noise and smells and arena crowds at the few Ringling Bros. performances we attended were vaguely upsetting (even back when we knew less, it didn't seem very nice for the animals). So I never took my kids, and I certainly never thought I'd go willingly as a grown-up. But last December, Seth Meyers was enthusiastically touting the Big Apple Circus on his program. I decided to see it during my January trip, and I had a really enchanted evening. So much talent ... and no animals to make me sad.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Every year, I resolve to eat healthier & lose weight, to de-clutter my house, to worry less about money, to keep up with paper grading (so that I don't develop giant backlogs), and -- my favorite one -- to see (on average) at least one live performance per month.
How did I do?
I know I just did a Friday Five "year in review," but there's not a ton of overlap (and no copy-pasting, I promise!), so I hope my lone reader is game for this one. Ready?
1. What did you do in 2024 that you'd never done before?
I went to the circus as an adult, and I had a great time. I disliked circuses as a child -- the noise and smells and arena crowds at the few Ringling Bros. performances we attended were vaguely upsetting (even back when we knew less, it didn't seem very nice for the animals). So I never took my kids, and I certainly never thought I'd go willingly as a grown-up. But last December, Seth Meyers was enthusiastically touting the Big Apple Circus on his program. I decided to see it during my January trip, and I had a really enchanted evening. So much talent ... and no animals to make me sad.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Every year, I resolve to eat healthier & lose weight, to de-clutter my house, to worry less about money, to keep up with paper grading (so that I don't develop giant backlogs), and -- my favorite one -- to see (on average) at least one live performance per month.
How did I do?
- Food, weight, etc: this was a complete bust. I mean, after almost two years of slow but consistent success on Weight Watchers, I fell off the wagon and gained most (maybe all -- I won't get on a scale) of the weight back. I'm not sure what my excuse is, though I'd love to blame Trump. But I'm back in therapy, so maybe I can get help re-mounting that horse. UTTER FAIL
- Tidying up: I got a LOT accomplished this year, and I talked about it a lot in the blog. Every inch of the upstairs sorted through, much junk discarded, every room up there newly painted and carpeted (the bathroom got fancy flooring), all new doors installed, bathroom shower and toilet replaced, garage completely cleaned out, and pantry half organized. Yeah, that's still a lot of rooms NOT mentioned, but I am calling it a win. CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS
- Finances: I stopped paying tuition (the boy graduated!), but all that "saved" money just went toward home improvements, including a new heat pump (we have two -- this means both have now been replaced since the Man's defection). And there are more house expenditures on the horizon, but I think I am becoming resigned to the fact that life costs money, and will just get on with it. That said, the Man retired last month, and the fact that I'll never be in a financial position to do the same has been eating at me (well, it's that fact that *he* can while I can't that's doing it). A WASH
- Procrastination station: I thought I was making a little progress on this -- as in getting better at keeping up -- but the second half of the Fall semester proved me wrong. CONTINUED FAIL
- On stage and in person: As 2024 draws to a close, I am happy to report that it was a very good year, arts-wise. I made it to my hoped-for dozen performances by mid-year, without even counting baseball games! So, as the list below indicates, this item was a RESOUNDING SUCCESS!.
January 1. Merrily We Roll Along (w/ Daniel Radcliffe & Jonathan Groff) on B'way 2. Big Apple Circus(/ Circus-Theater Roncalli) at Damrosch Park (Lincoln Center) in NYC 3. Harmony (the Barry Manilow show about the Comedian Harmonists) on B'wayFebruary 4. Svadba by Peabody Opera (at Baltimore Theatre Project) in Baltimore (A friend's daughter was in the cast!)March 5. The Oresteia at Chesapeake Shakespeare in Baltimore 6. Max Raabe & the Palast Orchester at the Lincoln Theatre in D.C.April 7. Hot Club of Baltimore and Brad Brose and His Bad Bros at the Charm City Django Jazz Festival at the Baltimore Museum of Art's Concert Hall in Baltimore 8. Seth Meyers (stand-up show) at the Miller Theater in PhiladelphiaMay 9. Romeo and Juliet at Chesapeake Shakespeare in Baltimore 10. Bruch Violin Concerto (& other works) by the Baltimore Symphony at Meyerhoff Hall in BaltimoreJune 11. Rhett & Link ("Good Mythical Tour") at DAR Constitution Hall in D.C.July 12. The Merry Wives of Windsor by Chesapeake Shakespeare at PFI Historic Park in Ellicott City, MDAugust 13. The Hillbilly Thomists at St. Francis Hall in D.C.October 14. Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Chesapeake Shakespeare in BaltimoreNovember 15. Marsalis Tuba Concerto (& other works) by the Baltimore Symphony at Meyerhoff Hall in Baltimore 16. "Lush Life" (Music of Ellington & Strayhorn) by the BSO with Damon Gupton and Denzal Sinclaire at Meyerhoff Hall in BaltimoreDecember 17. John Oliver (stand-up show) at The Kennedy Center in D.C.
Did I make resolutions for 2025? You bet. Are they the same ones? Absolutely.
3. Did anyone close to you get married?
Nope
4. Did anyone close to you get divorced?
Also no
5. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A younger in-law (Number Two Son's sister-in-law) had an adorable baby boy. He's already six months old.
6. Did anyone close to you die?
In February, a church friend was murdered. She'd sung in my choir and rung handbells for me. I know her husband even better, as he cantors the traditional service. It was an awful shock.
7. What countries did you visit?
I did not leave the U.S., alas.
8. What would you like to have in 2025 that you lacked in 2024?
Discipline (for dieting and timely grading of papers). And, because, because everyone else seems to be getting lucky, a little romance? If not that, then more friends would be nice.
9. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting the house clean enough for my niece to move in. The project is not finished, but the larger half of it is done.
10. What was your biggest failure?
I think it would have to be gaining all the weight back, though in close second place are my Spring semester student evaluations from College #1, which were pretty demoralizing (they mainly faulted my slowness as a grader, but a few found me dull).
11. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No -- well, except for the every-two-decades flare up of my pilonidal cyst, which slowed me down mid-Fall semester. Oh, and the fallout from my weight gain, which wrecked my A1C and THC numbers (and may, in fact, have triggered that pilonidal cyst flare-up).
12. What was the best thing you bought?
The new upstairs toilet has been pretty nice. There aren't many purchases that you have occasion to be thankful for multiple times each and every day.
13. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Number One Son demonstrated how adult and independent he's become by buying a house. Well done!
14. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Besides Trump and his gang of trolls? Ummm...- The Other Woman, for giving my sons tons of grief (in the form of a string of OTT finger-wagging emails and texts) for not meeting all her expectations during the big family vacation she organized back in June.
- The Man, for not advocating harder for his boys amid all that awkwardness.
- Also the Man, for retiring without me.
- Me, myself, for eating all my feelings and once again jeopardizing my health.
- Finally, my fellow Americans, for electing a despicable human being to the Presidency ... again.
Well, it wasn't spent on college tuition! The aforementioned graduation, plus the fact that Spring 2024's payments were made in December 2023, meant that college expenses weren't even a line item in my budget this past year. Thus, the honors will go to ... the new heat pump I had to get in September! I bought it on the installment plan, but the down payment and so-far-paid installments together total more than I spent on any other single thing in '24.
16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I let myself get kind of excited about Kamala's candidacy, and also about the job interview Number Three Son had in September. Neither worked out, so that'll teach me.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:- happier or sadder? sadder, on balance. Between the election and my dieting failure and the Man's antics, not to mention my car's being hit the week before Christmas by a motorist who won't take responsibility, I've moped quite a bit.
- thinner or fatter? much fatter.
- richer or poorer? about the same.
I wish I'd gotten up to New York for a few more short trips. There was money in the budget, but no time on the calendar.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Moping and eating. Also, procrastinating (though, as I believe I always point out, its odd to describe that one as a thing a person *does*, given that it 100% consists in *not* doing).
20. How did you spend Christmas?
At my brother's house with the fam, after attending a church service at which a friend of mine preached. Nice, nice day.
21. How did you bring in the New Year?
I went to Number Two Son & DIL's party. I declined his invitation last year because (1) he seemed to have enough guests without me, (2) they were all youthful, and I didn't want to cramp their style, and (3) (mostly this one, if I'm honest) I saw an opportunity to fall asleep on my own couch without being judged by Three. This year, however, the only young-'uns (indeed, the only other people) on Two's guest list were One and Three and my niece, so he insisted I show up and make it an even half-dozen. It was lovely -- abundant snacks, fun party games, and maybe a tad too much alcohol (normally a two-drink woman, I had two cocktails and a glass of champagne).
22. Did you fall in love?
Nope. I nursed one inappropriate crush -- a little -- just to exercise my romantic muscles, but otherwise nothing.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
I'm going to restrict the candidates here to programs, old or new, that I was *first-time* introduced to in 2024. Let's see, then ...
Okay, I'll split the award. The *best* show I watched all year was probably I, Claudius, the 1976 classic starring Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, and a host of other wonderful British thesps. I saw it on Acorn. If you've never seen it, it is very worth the watch. The production holds up surprisingly well, almost 50 years on.
My *favorite* show, however, was probably Loudermilk, whose three seasons I binged on Netflix after finding it inexplicably among my recommendations there. Ron Livingston stars as a not-quite-together addiction counselor leading a motley crew of, er, counselees to what the viewer hopes will be some version of wellness. It's very Farrelly brothers and very good.
24. What was the best book you read?
I have been using Kim van Alkemade's Bachelor Girl for this answer in all my surveys. It's not an earth-shatteringly amazing work, but it was among the small number of non-disposable novels I read in 2024, and it was a very good read. If you're into early 20th-C. New York, stories set partly in a theatrical milieu, (lots of) baseball history, flawed (but cheerable) protagonists, and/or queer stories (that you don't mind were authored by a straight person), then there might be something in it for you. :-)
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I feel like I already vaguely knew of the Hillbilly Thomists, but they'd fallen completely off my radar ... and then I rediscovered them this past summer. Went to their live show in D.C. in August with my BFF and bought all their albums.
26. What was your favorite film of the year?
My *favorite* was probably Saturday Night, a fictionalized recounting of the seminal sketch show's first night on the air. Enjoyable performances plus the nostalgia factor (I was there! Okay, not *there* there, but alive at the time!) combined to make for a terrific night at the movies.
27. What was the best podcast you listened to?
I have added this question to the meme because I started listening to podcasts in 2024 when the news became unbearable. I only listen to a few, and they're all worthwhile (as well as being pretty wholesome, because that's how I roll). But I'm giving the crown to John Green's "The Anthropocene Reviewed," which I know I have mentioned in the blog before. It's an often quirky, almost-always inspirational anthology of "star-system" reviews by Mr. Green of various aspects of human culture. The range of subjects -- from Diet Dr. Pepper to the Lascaux cave paintings! -- is part of the charm; John Green himself provides the rest. I kind of knew he was an internet celebrity and best-selling author, and I was already a fan of his brother Hank (who makes philosophy videos), but this podcast has really been my introduction to JG, and I must say I find him deep and funny and clever and modest and pretty much everything I love best in a content provider. Sadly, the 'cast is concluded, so don't binge it too hard when you take my advice and listen. I've been rationing out the episodes like fancy chocolates. FIVE STARS.
28. What was your favorite live performance?
Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester, whom I saw for the third time this year (that's three times ever, not three times this year), were their usual awesome sauce. Their schtick is dance band music of the 1920s and '30s, performed in a manner that is somehow simultaneously sincere and arch. I don't know how they do it, but it tickles me to pieces. As always, I smiled, I hummed, I laughed, I teared up, and, well, I was just glad to be alive in a world where I could attend such a concert.
29. What did you want and get?
Progress on the home improvement front. Opportunities to hear lots of live performances.
30. What did you want and not get?
To see Suffs on Broadway. To keep up 100% with timely grading at College #1 (where we are micromanaged and everything is noticed). To read more novels. Maybe to meet a nice man?
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I cannot remember what I did. It fell on a Saturday, so it seems like I *would* have tried to plan something, but memory is failing me (relatedly, I turned 63). Maybe dinner at Olive Garden with my dad and Three? We were doing a lot of that on Fridays or Saturdays in the first half of the year.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A memorable birthday party? No, ummm, I guess the usual stuff I wish for: romance and/or a lottery win.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024?
Same clothes, tighter fit. *sigh*
34. What kept you sane?
Family, G-d, late-night TV comedy, live performances, therapy.
(Often, I mention my Sherlock Holmes activities here, but I'll be honest: this past year, Sherlock was a tad more crazy-making than crazy-relieving.)
35. Which celebrity/public figure(s) did you fancy the most?
Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers, the king and prince of late night (IMO).
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
"Stirred" means upset, right? Assuming so, take your pick: climate change, Ukraine War, immigration, Republicans trying to dismantle all the half-decent aspects of America, and -- new for 2024 -- liberals cheering a murderer because the guy he murdered was in a bad line of work.
37. Whom did you miss?
My mom. And I always will, I reckon.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
My therapist. We are not buds or anything, but we clicked.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024.
If you are in a car accident, call the police. Even if no one is hurt and the vehicles are still drivable; even if the other party amicably exchanges information with you and it seems clear from the damage to the respective vehicles exactly what happened; and even if, in your state, the police discourage you from making a call in non-drastic circumstances. The fact is, you need protection in case the other party decides to lie to her insurance company about the otherwise unwitnessed incident, and a policeman's fresh-on-the-scene take might make a difference.
40. What was your favorite moment of the year?
This is a weird one, I'll admit up front, but here you go. A couple months ago, my son was driving us home from the store. As we got on the highway, we realized too late that the traffic pattern had been changed due to ongoing construction, and there was now no "ease-in" lane. As he slammed on his brakes in hopes of not hitting a barrier, we both thought this might be "it" ... and simultaneously, we raised our adjacent hands (his right, my left) and clasped tight. His brakes worked, we stopped in time and were not hit from behind, and we exhaled and laughed together ... and then I almost cried, because it was so beautiful that, despite the near-continual strife between us, we'd immediately and instinctively reached for each other in extremis. Because I understand how much of our constant bickering is connected to his frustration with his jobless situation, I try to take it in stride. Nevertheless, to experience such a pure moment, in the context of what's become our usual pattern, was quite moving.
(Told you it was weird.)
41. What was your least favorite moment of the year?
Trump's victory.
42. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2024 and change something, what would it be?
Since it would not have been within my power to change the election outcome, Imma go with that car accident I alluded to. If I could do it again, I'd call the cops to the scene and ask them to take our statements and assess the situation.
43. What are your plans for 2025?
I may start taking an upper, at the suggestion of my therapist. I honestly don't feel equipped for the start of Trump II: Bigger, Louder, More Evil.