Well, that was different.
Hello! Hope you're good. I was trying to think of a way to summarize all of last year, and this quiz does it rather well:
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
I looked actively for a full-time job. After about eight months, sixty applications, and fifteen interviews, I realised I wasn't getting anywhere. Cue very bad mood, "what is the point of life?", etc.
And then in September I got a temp position and spent three months working on a construction site. As a receptionist. Construction sites need receptionists too! Who else is going to co-ordinate rubbish bin removal, stop errant cars being squashed by cranes, and ensure there's enough beer in the fridge? (Answer: Not me, ever again.)
Other new experiences: I bought a car, I had it towed. I went snowboarding, snorkeling, and skinny dipping for the first time. I graduated.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No, I didn't make any, and no, I don't really see the point in making any more. I think resolutions have to be made on a daily rather than annual basis.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully no.
5. What countries did you visit?
None.
ARGH!
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
See above question.
Also, a job.
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I didn't do anything important enough to warrant remembering both the date AND what happened!
Naked swimming with phosphorescence was pretty cool though.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I think I've become happier with what I have. I'm extraordinarily content when I'm with the people that matter to me, or when there's good food (!!), or beautiful scenery, or when I come across interesting thoughts.
So, retiring to the beach with my best friend and some strawberries and "What the Dog Saw" is pretty much heaven.
I think the only thing I'm missing is a sense of purpose.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Ha. This year was an accumulation of failures, right from failing to plan for the future during my BA to failing to be optimistic and failing to consider what the real world might involve.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I really hurt my back in April. It was about three weeks before I could walk again. I was B-O-R-E-D.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I looooove my Macbook. So much. We will be together forever.
Also, I bought a dress which is pretty much The Most Incredible Thing Ever. You know how when someone asked the novelist Emily Perkins what the one thing is that everybody should have in their wardrobe, and Emily said, "Something that makes the difference between wanting to stay home at night and wanting to go out?" Well, this is that thing.
I almost feel better about the amount of money I spent on it.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Craig and Irish and Anthony acted as my optimism all year long.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine. There were some points where I loathed myself to the point that I was really horrible to those around me (or, alternatively, completely stopped talking to them).
14. Where did most of your money go?
I bought a car. It's called the Rebekahmobile. Like the Batmobile, but cooler. It's red and shiny and fits into small parking spaces. Because it's a VW, the indicators and windscreen wipers are flipped, which I LOVE. It looks like a box. An awesome box.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Several jobs I didn't get. (At least they exist, you know? Jobs I'm excited about?)
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
The Temper Trap, "Sweet Disposition". Ladyhawke, "Magic". Empire of the Sun, "We are the People". Muse, "MK Ultra". Kings of Leon, "Closer". The entire oeuvre of Lady Gaga.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
I. happier or sadder?
You know, probably about the same! I still don't know what to do with my life, but at least I enjoy sitting here in my hammock in the sun.
II. thinner or fatter?
Thinner.
III. richer or poorer?
Richer. But not for long!
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I think I should have spent more time thinking and reading and writing and generally Being Smart.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying about stuff that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Family dinner. And then I traditionally went to the beach and tried not to think about all the pavlova I just ate.
21. If you had 2009 to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you live it differently?
I have no idea. I could have approached it differently, with a better attitude, but I couldn't escape the fact that There's a Recession On, and my choices were limited by circumstance.
22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Not like they do in the movies.
23. How many one-night stands?
Alas, nothing scandalous to report.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
This is what I'm going to do next year. "Watch more TV." I saw almost nothing, bar the odd episode of Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, or Flight of the Conchords.
Owning a TV might be a good start.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, but a couple of close friendships have dissolved, which I think is sadder.
26. What was the best book you read?
I really enjoyed: Zadie Smith, "On Beauty". Malcolm Gladwell, "What the Dog Saw". Eleanor Catton, "The Rehearsal". Charlotte Grimshaw, "Singularity". Steven Millhauser, "Dangerous Laughter". And pretty much everything Alain de Botton has ever written, but especially "The Architecture of Happiness".
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Stupid music. How hilarious is that Flo Rida song? No? The 3OH!3 one with the wolf whistles? No? "I'M ON A BOAT!"??
28. What did you want and get?
An internship with an arts organisation. I was bored, so I wrote to the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival and asked to be their intern, and they said yes. This year they're hiring me to work part-time for them while I study.
29. How many crushes did you develop on strangers in 2009?
How old are we, 16?!
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I adored In Bruges, (500) Days of Summer, and The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 22. Nothing happened!
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Oh, I don't know. A beachfront house in Hahei? An unlimited supply of feijoas?
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Plebeian?
34. What kept you sane?
Running. Nothing jolts my brain out of depressed mode more than strenuous exercise. It's a guaranteed mood-enhancer and emotion-resetter.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I'd like to come back in another life looking like Zooey Deschanel. Failing that, Rachel McAdams.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Hone "I hate white people! I want to visit Paris!" Harawira.
37. Who did you miss?
SO MANY PEOPLE FROM MONTREAL.
SO MANY PEOPLE FROM THE STATES.
I'm doomed to always be missing people. Unless you all move to the same city. How awesome would that be?!
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Stacey. She keeps me sane at my temp job by being completely insane, and also by giving me websites where I can read books on the internet at my desk.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you earned in 2009:
Stuff sucks, but not as much as you think it does.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Nah. But if last year was a painting, it would be a Hopper painting. Simple, quiet. Maybe a little melancholic, or maybe a little happy, depending on how you look at it.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
I looked actively for a full-time job. After about eight months, sixty applications, and fifteen interviews, I realised I wasn't getting anywhere. Cue very bad mood, "what is the point of life?", etc.
And then in September I got a temp position and spent three months working on a construction site. As a receptionist. Construction sites need receptionists too! Who else is going to co-ordinate rubbish bin removal, stop errant cars being squashed by cranes, and ensure there's enough beer in the fridge? (Answer: Not me, ever again.)
Other new experiences: I bought a car, I had it towed. I went snowboarding, snorkeling, and skinny dipping for the first time. I graduated.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No, I didn't make any, and no, I don't really see the point in making any more. I think resolutions have to be made on a daily rather than annual basis.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully no.
5. What countries did you visit?
None.
ARGH!
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
See above question.
Also, a job.
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I didn't do anything important enough to warrant remembering both the date AND what happened!
Naked swimming with phosphorescence was pretty cool though.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I think I've become happier with what I have. I'm extraordinarily content when I'm with the people that matter to me, or when there's good food (!!), or beautiful scenery, or when I come across interesting thoughts.
So, retiring to the beach with my best friend and some strawberries and "What the Dog Saw" is pretty much heaven.
I think the only thing I'm missing is a sense of purpose.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Ha. This year was an accumulation of failures, right from failing to plan for the future during my BA to failing to be optimistic and failing to consider what the real world might involve.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I really hurt my back in April. It was about three weeks before I could walk again. I was B-O-R-E-D.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I looooove my Macbook. So much. We will be together forever.
Also, I bought a dress which is pretty much The Most Incredible Thing Ever. You know how when someone asked the novelist Emily Perkins what the one thing is that everybody should have in their wardrobe, and Emily said, "Something that makes the difference between wanting to stay home at night and wanting to go out?" Well, this is that thing.
I almost feel better about the amount of money I spent on it.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Craig and Irish and Anthony acted as my optimism all year long.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine. There were some points where I loathed myself to the point that I was really horrible to those around me (or, alternatively, completely stopped talking to them).
14. Where did most of your money go?
I bought a car. It's called the Rebekahmobile. Like the Batmobile, but cooler. It's red and shiny and fits into small parking spaces. Because it's a VW, the indicators and windscreen wipers are flipped, which I LOVE. It looks like a box. An awesome box.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Several jobs I didn't get. (At least they exist, you know? Jobs I'm excited about?)
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
The Temper Trap, "Sweet Disposition". Ladyhawke, "Magic". Empire of the Sun, "We are the People". Muse, "MK Ultra". Kings of Leon, "Closer". The entire oeuvre of Lady Gaga.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
I. happier or sadder?
You know, probably about the same! I still don't know what to do with my life, but at least I enjoy sitting here in my hammock in the sun.
II. thinner or fatter?
Thinner.
III. richer or poorer?
Richer. But not for long!
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I think I should have spent more time thinking and reading and writing and generally Being Smart.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worrying about stuff that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
Family dinner. And then I traditionally went to the beach and tried not to think about all the pavlova I just ate.
21. If you had 2009 to do over again, knowing what you know now, would you live it differently?
I have no idea. I could have approached it differently, with a better attitude, but I couldn't escape the fact that There's a Recession On, and my choices were limited by circumstance.
22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Not like they do in the movies.
23. How many one-night stands?
Alas, nothing scandalous to report.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
This is what I'm going to do next year. "Watch more TV." I saw almost nothing, bar the odd episode of Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, or Flight of the Conchords.
Owning a TV might be a good start.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, but a couple of close friendships have dissolved, which I think is sadder.
26. What was the best book you read?
I really enjoyed: Zadie Smith, "On Beauty". Malcolm Gladwell, "What the Dog Saw". Eleanor Catton, "The Rehearsal". Charlotte Grimshaw, "Singularity". Steven Millhauser, "Dangerous Laughter". And pretty much everything Alain de Botton has ever written, but especially "The Architecture of Happiness".
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Stupid music. How hilarious is that Flo Rida song? No? The 3OH!3 one with the wolf whistles? No? "I'M ON A BOAT!"??
28. What did you want and get?
An internship with an arts organisation. I was bored, so I wrote to the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival and asked to be their intern, and they said yes. This year they're hiring me to work part-time for them while I study.
29. How many crushes did you develop on strangers in 2009?
How old are we, 16?!
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I adored In Bruges, (500) Days of Summer, and The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 22. Nothing happened!
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Oh, I don't know. A beachfront house in Hahei? An unlimited supply of feijoas?
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Plebeian?
34. What kept you sane?
Running. Nothing jolts my brain out of depressed mode more than strenuous exercise. It's a guaranteed mood-enhancer and emotion-resetter.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I'd like to come back in another life looking like Zooey Deschanel. Failing that, Rachel McAdams.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Hone "I hate white people! I want to visit Paris!" Harawira.
37. Who did you miss?
SO MANY PEOPLE FROM MONTREAL.
SO MANY PEOPLE FROM THE STATES.
I'm doomed to always be missing people. Unless you all move to the same city. How awesome would that be?!
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Stacey. She keeps me sane at my temp job by being completely insane, and also by giving me websites where I can read books on the internet at my desk.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you earned in 2009:
Stuff sucks, but not as much as you think it does.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Nah. But if last year was a painting, it would be a Hopper painting. Simple, quiet. Maybe a little melancholic, or maybe a little happy, depending on how you look at it.