2013 meme
nicked from @buzzy_bee
What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
Mostly travel related (see http://www.yourturn.ca/thebigtrip for why! ):
Visited a bunch of new-to-me countries (14 of the 16 countries on the trip)
Visited Oceania for the first time (specifically, Australia and New Zealand)
Took more flights in one year than I have in at least a decade, possibly two decades!
Also, professionally:
Joined a business club ( http://www.verity.ca )
Took a deposit into a trust account.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Jokingly yes, because we resolved to "travel a lot" in 2013 - we'd already made tentative plans for the RTW but hadn't booked the flights and safari until January. My resolutions for 2014 involve personal fitness and professional growth. A bit harder to nail down and harder to do, perhaps
Did anyone close to you give birth?
A cousin overseas and a work colleague-who-is-a-friend but no one really close.
Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my paternal grandmother. She was 104-and-a-half, and had been in fairly good health up until close to the end. So, it wasn't a great tragedy so much as an eventuality which took place under relatively good circumstances.
What countries did you visit?
The United States, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Turkey, India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand. Longest list I've ever had, or will have for the forseeable future!
What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
Things to be easy and uncomplicated. As I've said elsewhere recently, 2013 was The Year of the Difficult for us. Some of it was good-difficult (TheBigTrip), some of it was bad-difficult (post-trip House Situation), some of it was inconvenient-difficult (Power outage after ice storm aka Icemas 2013). We are embracing 2014 as The Year of the Opportunity for us, taking opportunities to reflect/enjoy/relax.
What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Two dates, actually: March 29 2013 - the date we left home. September 1 2013 - the date we got back to Toronto.
TheBigTrip continues to be a touchstone for us in practical, personal and emotional terms.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
29 flights in 22 weeks, keeping family intact AND not losing any luggage, or having anything stolen. Seriously, it was really really hard at times. DH nearly left the trip after 4 weeks!
What was your biggest failure?
Our choice of "house sitters" and/or renting the house out at all. EPIC FAIL!
Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few minor things - a minor stomach bug in the spring, a more major one in the summer, a severe sunburn, badly cracked heels.
What was the best thing you bought?
Plane tickets!! But that's plural. I guess the single thing with the biggest positive impact was the bed bug extermination treatment (extreme heat), but that was completely utterly necessary. The best "fun" thing was a Wicket (ewok) bobblehead for Clara at Christmas. Best $11 ever spent - she's so enthralled with it.
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Clara and Jillian - Despite the many personal, familial and academic challenges we placed before them, and despite some understandable age-appropriate outbursts, by and large these girls did an amazing job this year. They found enjoyment and interest in the world around them, no matter where we took them or what we asked them to do.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
People I don't know personally: Rob Ford, Stephen Harper
Where did most of your money go?
personally: TheBigTrip (www.yourturn.ca/thebigtrip)
professionally: Verity Club membership (www.verity.ca)
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
TheBigTrip. Finally getting/being home. Re-opening my practice in 2014.
What song will always remind you of 2013?
Been Around the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVuuatjHGnY
The Girl From Ipanema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDGUZeZWKZo
Rio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92d7TvSjHGw
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder?
Same, or if forced to pick - sadder
ii. Thinner or fatter?
Same, or if forced to pick - fatter? I honestly don't know.
.iii. Richer or poorer?
Poorer. I had v little income in 2013, and spent a TON of savings.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
A bit more planning before we left on the trip, and a bit more relaxing.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Game playing (FB / computer / video)
Did you fall in love in 2013?
Yes, with South Africa.
How many one-night stands?
Uh, no. :)
What was your favorite TV programme?
Hmm, my favourite new-to-me show is Mayday
http://www.discovery.ca/showpage.aspx?sid=12966
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hmm, maybe the "House Sitters" aka the House occupiers 'cause they didn't actually take care of the property!
What was the best book you read?
I found the biography of Anne Perry really fascinating; I hadn't made the connection to Heavenly Creatures before.
Another couple books I enjoyed (though they weren't the best I've ever read): Double Double re Tim Horton's, and Starbucked re Starbucks. I was really missing my coffee and had to make due with reading about it (Decaf was hard to impossible for me to find in a lot of places....)
What did you want and get?
Travel
A fun, thoughtful gift from my family at Christmas
A break from my practice/job/career
What did you want & not get?
A relaxing vacation - but that was my/ our own fault as it happened!
What was your favorite film of this year?
Monsters University - partly because I had to wait a while to see it, and partly because the experience of seeing it was a lovely family outing (last day in Singapore IIRC).
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 40. I have a history of travelling on my birthday but this was the first time I was in "two places" to celebrate -- a fictional place (Hobbiton), and a real one (New Zealand, specifically Matamata and Rotorua). We were camping which is something I like but the rest of the family merely endures - so we had cupcakes for breakfast, a tour of Hobbiton in the morning with a drink at the pub at lunch, went bowling and had dinner at The Pig and Whistle in Rotorua to top off the day.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hard to think of something that fits such a massive modifier but our return home (to Canada, to Toronto, to our home) would have been so much better if we had rented to someone else and/or not rented out at all. The House Situation was such a horrible experience and not having that would have made the last 4 months of the year much more satisfying!
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Comfortable, travel-friendly.
What kept you sane?
My family, even if they were the source/trigger of sanity issues as well!
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hmm, I don't have one but if you asked my daughter J, she'd say Orlando Bloom! ;)
Who did you miss?
My BFF from music camp - only saw her once, at a large party. Just didn't manage to get together in themidst of our busy lives.
Who was the best new person you met?
Georgia in Melbourne Australia. I'd run into her briefly in 2012 but didn't get to know her until 2013 -- she and her family lived in Toronto for 18 months or so on their own RTW trip, her daughter was in my Brownie unit and we visited with her family on our trip (when they'd only been back a couple of weeks!). She's funny and kind and witty and clever, and an all around lovely woman with a great family.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
Go with your gut, or if you don't know, trust your child(ren)'s instincts.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Been around the world and I, I , I can't find my baby...
What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
Mostly travel related (see http://www.yourturn.ca/thebigtrip for why! ):
Visited a bunch of new-to-me countries (14 of the 16 countries on the trip)
Visited Oceania for the first time (specifically, Australia and New Zealand)
Took more flights in one year than I have in at least a decade, possibly two decades!
Also, professionally:
Joined a business club ( http://www.verity.ca )
Took a deposit into a trust account.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Jokingly yes, because we resolved to "travel a lot" in 2013 - we'd already made tentative plans for the RTW but hadn't booked the flights and safari until January. My resolutions for 2014 involve personal fitness and professional growth. A bit harder to nail down and harder to do, perhaps
Did anyone close to you give birth?
A cousin overseas and a work colleague-who-is-a-friend but no one really close.
Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my paternal grandmother. She was 104-and-a-half, and had been in fairly good health up until close to the end. So, it wasn't a great tragedy so much as an eventuality which took place under relatively good circumstances.
What countries did you visit?
The United States, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Turkey, India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand. Longest list I've ever had, or will have for the forseeable future!
What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
Things to be easy and uncomplicated. As I've said elsewhere recently, 2013 was The Year of the Difficult for us. Some of it was good-difficult (TheBigTrip), some of it was bad-difficult (post-trip House Situation), some of it was inconvenient-difficult (Power outage after ice storm aka Icemas 2013). We are embracing 2014 as The Year of the Opportunity for us, taking opportunities to reflect/enjoy/relax.
What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Two dates, actually: March 29 2013 - the date we left home. September 1 2013 - the date we got back to Toronto.
TheBigTrip continues to be a touchstone for us in practical, personal and emotional terms.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
29 flights in 22 weeks, keeping family intact AND not losing any luggage, or having anything stolen. Seriously, it was really really hard at times. DH nearly left the trip after 4 weeks!
What was your biggest failure?
Our choice of "house sitters" and/or renting the house out at all. EPIC FAIL!
Did you suffer illness or injury?
A few minor things - a minor stomach bug in the spring, a more major one in the summer, a severe sunburn, badly cracked heels.
What was the best thing you bought?
Plane tickets!! But that's plural. I guess the single thing with the biggest positive impact was the bed bug extermination treatment (extreme heat), but that was completely utterly necessary. The best "fun" thing was a Wicket (ewok) bobblehead for Clara at Christmas. Best $11 ever spent - she's so enthralled with it.
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Clara and Jillian - Despite the many personal, familial and academic challenges we placed before them, and despite some understandable age-appropriate outbursts, by and large these girls did an amazing job this year. They found enjoyment and interest in the world around them, no matter where we took them or what we asked them to do.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
People I don't know personally: Rob Ford, Stephen Harper
Where did most of your money go?
personally: TheBigTrip (www.yourturn.ca/thebigtrip)
professionally: Verity Club membership (www.verity.ca)
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
TheBigTrip. Finally getting/being home. Re-opening my practice in 2014.
What song will always remind you of 2013?
Been Around the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVuuatjHGnY
The Girl From Ipanema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDGUZeZWKZo
Rio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92d7TvSjHGw
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder?
Same, or if forced to pick - sadder
ii. Thinner or fatter?
Same, or if forced to pick - fatter? I honestly don't know.
.iii. Richer or poorer?
Poorer. I had v little income in 2013, and spent a TON of savings.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
A bit more planning before we left on the trip, and a bit more relaxing.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Game playing (FB / computer / video)
Did you fall in love in 2013?
Yes, with South Africa.
How many one-night stands?
Uh, no. :)
What was your favorite TV programme?
Hmm, my favourite new-to-me show is Mayday
http://www.discovery.ca/showpage.aspx?sid=12966
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hmm, maybe the "House Sitters" aka the House occupiers 'cause they didn't actually take care of the property!
What was the best book you read?
I found the biography of Anne Perry really fascinating; I hadn't made the connection to Heavenly Creatures before.
Another couple books I enjoyed (though they weren't the best I've ever read): Double Double re Tim Horton's, and Starbucked re Starbucks. I was really missing my coffee and had to make due with reading about it (Decaf was hard to impossible for me to find in a lot of places....)
What did you want and get?
Travel
A fun, thoughtful gift from my family at Christmas
A break from my practice/job/career
What did you want & not get?
A relaxing vacation - but that was my/ our own fault as it happened!
What was your favorite film of this year?
Monsters University - partly because I had to wait a while to see it, and partly because the experience of seeing it was a lovely family outing (last day in Singapore IIRC).
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 40. I have a history of travelling on my birthday but this was the first time I was in "two places" to celebrate -- a fictional place (Hobbiton), and a real one (New Zealand, specifically Matamata and Rotorua). We were camping which is something I like but the rest of the family merely endures - so we had cupcakes for breakfast, a tour of Hobbiton in the morning with a drink at the pub at lunch, went bowling and had dinner at The Pig and Whistle in Rotorua to top off the day.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hard to think of something that fits such a massive modifier but our return home (to Canada, to Toronto, to our home) would have been so much better if we had rented to someone else and/or not rented out at all. The House Situation was such a horrible experience and not having that would have made the last 4 months of the year much more satisfying!
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Comfortable, travel-friendly.
What kept you sane?
My family, even if they were the source/trigger of sanity issues as well!
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hmm, I don't have one but if you asked my daughter J, she'd say Orlando Bloom! ;)
Who did you miss?
My BFF from music camp - only saw her once, at a large party. Just didn't manage to get together in themidst of our busy lives.
Who was the best new person you met?
Georgia in Melbourne Australia. I'd run into her briefly in 2012 but didn't get to know her until 2013 -- she and her family lived in Toronto for 18 months or so on their own RTW trip, her daughter was in my Brownie unit and we visited with her family on our trip (when they'd only been back a couple of weeks!). She's funny and kind and witty and clever, and an all around lovely woman with a great family.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
Go with your gut, or if you don't know, trust your child(ren)'s instincts.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Been around the world and I, I , I can't find my baby...