I did this same survey last year. I like traditions.
Most of my mucous has cleared itself out at long last. I'm pretty happy about it. Kim and I are going to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. tomorrow, and I enjoy my ability to breathe.
1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Fell asleep at the wheel. Ate at the Hard Rock Café. Got a speeding ticket. Navigated the New York City subway system without Chris’ assistance. Slept on a top bunk. Flew on an airplane. Went to another country. Stayed awake for forty-three hours straight. Drank straight black coffee. Drove two hundred miles all by myself. Ate s’mores for breakfast. (Thank you, Kimberly Flanagan.) Produced roadkill. Climbed up a waterfall. Went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game. Crossed the Ohio state line. (That was the farthest west I’ve ever been.) Ice-skated.
2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Usually I think resolutions are stupid. If you need to change something about your life, why the heck are you waiting? That being said, I am resolving to quit being late for everything.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Sarah and I aren’t so close anymore, which is an occupational hazard of me being far away and her being married, but I still love her to death, so let me announce here - SARAH MALOY (well, Sarah Gardner now) HAD A BABY!!!!!! Connor Liam, born December 21st, 7 pounds 9(?) ounces, absolutely beautiful.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
RIP Brielle Zernhelt.
5. What countries did you visit?
Poland. It was pretty. Heartbreaking, but pretty. I ate a lot of potatoes.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
An internal clock that actually functions. An internship at some agency of conservative madness.
7. What date(s) from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 28th, Ryan’s amazing concert of traditional Celtic amazingness, that he arranged all by his fantastically talented self. February 25th, I MET SEAN HANNITY. March 17th-19th, PA State College Republicans Convention at Millersville. (I’m a nerd, love me for it.) May 15th, Philadelphia with Chris, the nerdiest day I have ever spent in all my life. May 22nd-29th, the March of Remembrance and Hope. June 10th, Chris’ and Kim’s graduation from Westminster High. August 2nd, 3rd and 4th, camping at Cunningham Falls with the Hoffman’s girls. August 27th, moving back into SHU. September 10th, the primary election in Carroll County, which basically loomed in my head in big red letters all summer as I made calls and dropped literature for Mrs. Shewell. October 24th, because I cried myself ill for reasons I’d prefer not to publish. November 7th, the election, you dummy. December 9th, Christmas on the Hill. December 16th, coming HOME!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Honestly? Being strong for my friends when they needed it. Also, I’m pretty proud that I stayed up for 43 consecutive hours on one cup of black coffee and A LOT of adrenaline.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Um. Someone once told me that I was like a magnet with the wrong end pointed out - that I repel people when I get too close. And in my heart of hearts I will always wonder if that is true. The end.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I cut myself a whole lot on the meat slicer at work. It builds character. I was doing so well not getting sick, until Christmas Eve afternoon, when I started losing the ability to swallow/breathe/stand upright/etc.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A Greyhound ticket to New York City. J
Where did #12 and #13 go?
14. Where did most of your money go?
Seton Hill University pretty much gets my first-born. Except, they probably wouldn’t want any child that I produce, because it will probably be insane.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Ryan’s concert. Going to Philadelphia with Chris. Pirates 2. Working for Mrs. Shewell. Camping with the Hoffman’s girls. PRINCE POLO BARS! (The tastiest candy ever, they enabled us to survive a week of Polish food. Seriously, every time the bus stopped at a gas station we cleaned them OUT.) The Pirates game with Chris. Seeing Neha when she came for the Holocaust conference. Coming home at the end of the semester.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006? The two that leap to mind are“On Eagle’s Wings” and “Let There Be Peace on Earth” because we sang them a kerjillion times in Poland. For as long as I live those two songs will make me cry.
Also: Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," which Scuba Steve rewrote for campfire as "We Didn't Go to Sports Camp." Fantastic. Also, pretty much anything from RENT or Hairspray. Also: Oasis, “Champagne Supernova,” Switchfoot - “More Than Fine,” Ben Folds - “Learn to Live With What You Are,” Fort Minor - “Believe Me” and “High Road,” Gary Allan - “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful,” All-American Rejects, “Dirty Little Secret,” Cheap Trick - “I Want You to Want Me,” The Fray - “How to Save a Life,” Elton John - “Philadelphia Freedom,” Third Eye Blind - “How It’s Gonna Be” and “Jumper,” Hawthorne Heights - “Ohio is for Lovers,” Billy Joel - “You May Be Right,” Tears for Fears - “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Avenue Q - “There’s a Fine, Fine Line,” Queen - “Fat Bottomed Girls” (don’t ask), Bowling for Soup - “Shut Up and Smile,” The Clarks, “So You Can Sleep At Night,” John Denver - “I’m Sorry,” Bon Jovi - “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” The Darkness - “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” (although I prefer the version with Marshall, Chris, and Julian singing in their best falsettos), Lostprophets - “The New Transmission,” Relient K - “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been,” Led Zeppelin - “Dazed and Confused” (Marshall used to sing it all the time. In retrospect that boy has far too much influence over my music choices.)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Older or wiser? This question is kind of retarded, because I have NO CHOICE but to be older. But this has been a biiiiiiiiig growing-up year for me.
Thinner or fatter? ‘Bout the same.
Richer or poorer? Seton Hill owns my soul for, like, the rest of my life. But I did get a raise at Hoffman’s, which was nifty.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Going to bed at reasonable hours.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Letting people use me. Lindsay and Cindy aren’t wrong when they call me a doormat.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Sucking down Vitamin C tablets. But we were all miserable and ill together, as a family, which is what counts.
22. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Next question, please.
23. How many one-night stands?
I choose not to be a slut.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
I have found that I will put off any amount of homework in the world for Family Guy. The Flanagans are slowly and surely getting me hooked on Friends. Also, you knew this was coming, and you are weeping for my soul, but sit me down in front of Fox News and you may never get me up again.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I make it a point not to hate people. I think to hate someone would be to watch them die and not care, and I think there is no one - NO ONE - with whom I could ever reach that point. That being said, I have learned to distrust several people who I trusted at this point last year.
26. What was the best book you read?
Oh, jeezy. I am working my way through Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, and it is KILLING me. I love it.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
It’s a toss-up between Bowling for Soup and the musical Hairspray.
28. What did you want and get?
A work-study job that does not completely destroy my soul;
29. What did you want and not get?
We don’t discuss that here.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Little Miss Sunshine is BRILLIANT. And Steve Carrell looks like Dr. Cary. Running a close second is Waking Life, this incredibly wiggy art film that Aundre made us watch. My brain nearly died.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 20, and my parents came to see me and we ate tasty things, and then I came back to discover that my roommates had thrown me a crazy surprise party, and then we all went in a massive group to the Valentine’s Dance, and for no good reason Marshall and I wore men’s ties, and I accidentally hit Julian’s broken collar bone and felt REALLY BAD about it, and then Marshall and I went to Cayla’s room and watched Corpse Bride. Best birthday ever, thanks again, guys.
32. What was one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had gone to camp, and if I had never taken Eichenberger’s Principles of Sociology class.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Do I have a personal fashion concept? *scratches head*
34. What kept you sane?
Talking to Cayla, falling asleep on Cayla’s bed (I love you for your endless patience), listening to Aundre talk about art history (listening to him talk makes my brain hurt, but it has a way of taking me away from my troubles), listening to Officer Joe tell funny police stories, listening to RENT ad nauseum.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Oh, Anthony Rapp, you break my heart. Let me harvest your sperm.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Holy election, Batman!
Also, I get pretty upset about both Darfur and our current Nazi-pope. Genocide is genocide.
37. Who did you miss?
Oh, wow, this was the year of missing people. Obviously my home and my school are four hours apart, so missing people is pretty much my default mode. And then a lot of my SHU friends were seniors and scattered to the four winds in May. And then I went to Poland with the most amazing, free-spirited, loving group of people I’ve ever met, and I miss them madly.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I cannot sing enough praises of the people I went to Poland with.
1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Fell asleep at the wheel. Ate at the Hard Rock Café. Got a speeding ticket. Navigated the New York City subway system without Chris’ assistance. Slept on a top bunk. Flew on an airplane. Went to another country. Stayed awake for forty-three hours straight. Drank straight black coffee. Drove two hundred miles all by myself. Ate s’mores for breakfast. (Thank you, Kimberly Flanagan.) Produced roadkill. Climbed up a waterfall. Went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game. Crossed the Ohio state line. (That was the farthest west I’ve ever been.) Ice-skated.
2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Usually I think resolutions are stupid. If you need to change something about your life, why the heck are you waiting? That being said, I am resolving to quit being late for everything.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Sarah and I aren’t so close anymore, which is an occupational hazard of me being far away and her being married, but I still love her to death, so let me announce here - SARAH MALOY (well, Sarah Gardner now) HAD A BABY!!!!!! Connor Liam, born December 21st, 7 pounds 9(?) ounces, absolutely beautiful.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
RIP Brielle Zernhelt.
5. What countries did you visit?
Poland. It was pretty. Heartbreaking, but pretty. I ate a lot of potatoes.
6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
An internal clock that actually functions. An internship at some agency of conservative madness.
7. What date(s) from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 28th, Ryan’s amazing concert of traditional Celtic amazingness, that he arranged all by his fantastically talented self. February 25th, I MET SEAN HANNITY. March 17th-19th, PA State College Republicans Convention at Millersville. (I’m a nerd, love me for it.) May 15th, Philadelphia with Chris, the nerdiest day I have ever spent in all my life. May 22nd-29th, the March of Remembrance and Hope. June 10th, Chris’ and Kim’s graduation from Westminster High. August 2nd, 3rd and 4th, camping at Cunningham Falls with the Hoffman’s girls. August 27th, moving back into SHU. September 10th, the primary election in Carroll County, which basically loomed in my head in big red letters all summer as I made calls and dropped literature for Mrs. Shewell. October 24th, because I cried myself ill for reasons I’d prefer not to publish. November 7th, the election, you dummy. December 9th, Christmas on the Hill. December 16th, coming HOME!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Honestly? Being strong for my friends when they needed it. Also, I’m pretty proud that I stayed up for 43 consecutive hours on one cup of black coffee and A LOT of adrenaline.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Um. Someone once told me that I was like a magnet with the wrong end pointed out - that I repel people when I get too close. And in my heart of hearts I will always wonder if that is true. The end.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I cut myself a whole lot on the meat slicer at work. It builds character. I was doing so well not getting sick, until Christmas Eve afternoon, when I started losing the ability to swallow/breathe/stand upright/etc.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A Greyhound ticket to New York City. J
Where did #12 and #13 go?
14. Where did most of your money go?
Seton Hill University pretty much gets my first-born. Except, they probably wouldn’t want any child that I produce, because it will probably be insane.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Ryan’s concert. Going to Philadelphia with Chris. Pirates 2. Working for Mrs. Shewell. Camping with the Hoffman’s girls. PRINCE POLO BARS! (The tastiest candy ever, they enabled us to survive a week of Polish food. Seriously, every time the bus stopped at a gas station we cleaned them OUT.) The Pirates game with Chris. Seeing Neha when she came for the Holocaust conference. Coming home at the end of the semester.
16. What song will always remind you of 2006? The two that leap to mind are“On Eagle’s Wings” and “Let There Be Peace on Earth” because we sang them a kerjillion times in Poland. For as long as I live those two songs will make me cry.
Also: Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," which Scuba Steve rewrote for campfire as "We Didn't Go to Sports Camp." Fantastic. Also, pretty much anything from RENT or Hairspray. Also: Oasis, “Champagne Supernova,” Switchfoot - “More Than Fine,” Ben Folds - “Learn to Live With What You Are,” Fort Minor - “Believe Me” and “High Road,” Gary Allan - “Life Ain’t Always Beautiful,” All-American Rejects, “Dirty Little Secret,” Cheap Trick - “I Want You to Want Me,” The Fray - “How to Save a Life,” Elton John - “Philadelphia Freedom,” Third Eye Blind - “How It’s Gonna Be” and “Jumper,” Hawthorne Heights - “Ohio is for Lovers,” Billy Joel - “You May Be Right,” Tears for Fears - “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Avenue Q - “There’s a Fine, Fine Line,” Queen - “Fat Bottomed Girls” (don’t ask), Bowling for Soup - “Shut Up and Smile,” The Clarks, “So You Can Sleep At Night,” John Denver - “I’m Sorry,” Bon Jovi - “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” The Darkness - “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” (although I prefer the version with Marshall, Chris, and Julian singing in their best falsettos), Lostprophets - “The New Transmission,” Relient K - “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been,” Led Zeppelin - “Dazed and Confused” (Marshall used to sing it all the time. In retrospect that boy has far too much influence over my music choices.)
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Older or wiser? This question is kind of retarded, because I have NO CHOICE but to be older. But this has been a biiiiiiiiig growing-up year for me.
Thinner or fatter? ‘Bout the same.
Richer or poorer? Seton Hill owns my soul for, like, the rest of my life. But I did get a raise at Hoffman’s, which was nifty.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Going to bed at reasonable hours.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Letting people use me. Lindsay and Cindy aren’t wrong when they call me a doormat.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Sucking down Vitamin C tablets. But we were all miserable and ill together, as a family, which is what counts.
22. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Next question, please.
23. How many one-night stands?
I choose not to be a slut.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
I have found that I will put off any amount of homework in the world for Family Guy. The Flanagans are slowly and surely getting me hooked on Friends. Also, you knew this was coming, and you are weeping for my soul, but sit me down in front of Fox News and you may never get me up again.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I make it a point not to hate people. I think to hate someone would be to watch them die and not care, and I think there is no one - NO ONE - with whom I could ever reach that point. That being said, I have learned to distrust several people who I trusted at this point last year.
26. What was the best book you read?
Oh, jeezy. I am working my way through Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, and it is KILLING me. I love it.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
It’s a toss-up between Bowling for Soup and the musical Hairspray.
28. What did you want and get?
A work-study job that does not completely destroy my soul;
29. What did you want and not get?
We don’t discuss that here.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Little Miss Sunshine is BRILLIANT. And Steve Carrell looks like Dr. Cary. Running a close second is Waking Life, this incredibly wiggy art film that Aundre made us watch. My brain nearly died.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 20, and my parents came to see me and we ate tasty things, and then I came back to discover that my roommates had thrown me a crazy surprise party, and then we all went in a massive group to the Valentine’s Dance, and for no good reason Marshall and I wore men’s ties, and I accidentally hit Julian’s broken collar bone and felt REALLY BAD about it, and then Marshall and I went to Cayla’s room and watched Corpse Bride. Best birthday ever, thanks again, guys.
32. What was one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If I had gone to camp, and if I had never taken Eichenberger’s Principles of Sociology class.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Do I have a personal fashion concept? *scratches head*
34. What kept you sane?
Talking to Cayla, falling asleep on Cayla’s bed (I love you for your endless patience), listening to Aundre talk about art history (listening to him talk makes my brain hurt, but it has a way of taking me away from my troubles), listening to Officer Joe tell funny police stories, listening to RENT ad nauseum.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Oh, Anthony Rapp, you break my heart. Let me harvest your sperm.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Holy election, Batman!
Also, I get pretty upset about both Darfur and our current Nazi-pope. Genocide is genocide.
37. Who did you miss?
Oh, wow, this was the year of missing people. Obviously my home and my school are four hours apart, so missing people is pretty much my default mode. And then a lot of my SHU friends were seniors and scattered to the four winds in May. And then I went to Poland with the most amazing, free-spirited, loving group of people I’ve ever met, and I miss them madly.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I cannot sing enough praises of the people I went to Poland with.