Belated New Years' Post
1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
Went to the Grand Canyon
Visited New Mexico OUTSIDE of what’s seen along I-10
Started a job that paid over 30k (may not seem like much, but it’s a big step for me)
Finally get up the courage to think about grad school again
Been in a car wreck
Been a military wife fr realz
Been laid off
Bought a new car
Stuck to a diet and had it work
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I totally don’t make resolutions because I KNOW I won’t keep them
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Narp.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Happily, no.
5. What countries did you visit?
Just the one I live in.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
A stable year with no major downs? Also, mebbe, a tiny human in the works.
7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I remember months that stood out - May, when Scott deployed and I got laid off. June, when my mother went into the hospital. December: when Scott finally got the FT job he’d been going for.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting a new job that I like MUCH better than the old school.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Most of the summer. I spent it heavily depressed.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Various and sundry UTIs. Figured out that I’m gluten intolerant.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Umberlee, my VW Jetta.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Scott’s. He was my rock from May through the end of November.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Republicans, those fuckers. UMC hospital. The school I used to work at.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Eating out, heh, and my car.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Santa Fe for Thanksgiving! Also, the Grand Canyon for our 1 year anniversary, way back in January.
16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Uh…
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier. Much more so.
ii. thinner or fatter? About 8 lbs thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Crazy what double income will do for you.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Keeping my mouth shut in some cases, and saying my peace in others. Also, exercising.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eating junk, fretting.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spent Christmas Eve being ignored my by husband’s grandparents and cooking. Spent Christmas Day cooking, then finally EATING the fruits of my labor.
22. Did you fall in love in 2011?
I fell MORE in love.
23. Did your heart break in 2011?
When Scott went off to the UAE, but it fixed itself when he came back.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
How I Met Your Mother and Community.
25. Did you know anybody who got married?
A few people.
26. What states did you visit in 2011?
NM, CA, different parts of AZ
27. Where were you when 2011 began?
At Adam’s house.
28. Who were you with?
My friends and, briefly, my in-laws.
29. Where will you be when 2011 ends?
Spent New Years’ at Penny’s house, where I got too drunk, wore a dress that was way too short and low-cut, and got way too inappropriate at Apples to Apples. New Years is a time for debauchery, right?
30. Who will you be with when 2011 ends?
The same people who were there last year, sans in-laws, plus a few friends-of-friends.
31. What was the best book you read?
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett was what kept me sane en route to and from Santa Fe. I wrestled with Gone With the Wind for months, but boring and married Rhett Butler is boring and married. I totally read less this year than ever before. :/
32. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Florence and the Machine’s Ceremonials. Holy smokes, that album continues to blow me away.
33. What did you want and get?
Well, that’s gauche. ;)
Really, though, I got assurance from the universe that I am far more resilient than I thought. That’s pretty cool. I also got a better-paying job and back to a more reasonable size for my frame.
34. What did you want and not get?
I didn’t get to go back to grad school - slightly disappointed at that. I also didn’t get as much time as I wanted. All of my downtime seemed to taken up by craziness, stress, or work, and I just want another week off.
35. What was your favorite film of this year?
I… saw films, I think. I loved the last Harry Potter.
36. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 28; I totally don’t remember what I did, though, aside from play D&D ON my birthday.
37. Where did you go on vacation?
Santa Fe!
38. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Girlier. I don’t know what happened, but party dresses and cute sweaters and the pearls my mom gave me back when I was 16 suddenly seemed like good ideas, and I have no regrets.
39. What kept you sane?
My husband, most definitely. My friends didn’t hurt, though. ;)
40. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hellllo, Chris Hemsworth.
41. What political issue stirred you the most?
Definitely Occupy Wall Street. I wish I’d had the courage to get out there with them.
42. Did you have to go to the hospital?
Not for myself, but I spent the better part of three months there with my mother (who went back the other day, argh) when she got a colectomy.
43. How many concerts did you see in 2011?
One: Puscifer, in Phoenix.
44. Did you have a favorite concert in 2011?
The, uh, one I went to?
45. Who was the best new person you met?
That’s tough to answer. I got to know Penny better this year, even though I met her last year. Wait, I think she and I met at New Years’? If that IS the case, then her - she’s nifty!
If that ISN’T the case, though, Ben’s kind of grown on me this last year. He’s a good, if odd, guy.
46. Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Ho man. I got pretty childish sometimes this year, to the point where I wanted to throw actual tantrums - that’s pretty new for me. I also was a holy hellbeast to my husband for about… four months, when money was getting tight and the base was shuffling its feet about putting up the job he just got, or interviewing candidates. I also should’ve been nicer to my mother. She went through a lot this year, and I lost my temper far too many times with her.
47. What was your most embarrassing moment of 2011?
The feeling of utter shame when my supervisors came to me after school in May to tell me I was getting let go. I didn’t cry, but I wasn’t far from it, and I certainly wasn’t gracious.
48. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
I need to speak up for myself, and if that makes me a jerk in some peoples’ eyes, then so be it.
49. What are your plans for 2012?
Get back into some semblance of shape, finally climb a 10-level wall in rock climbing. Work on plans for a baby later in the year, and get my act together enough to work in a lab over the summer and holidays and reapply to grad school in December.
50. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Oh, Puscifer. Always to the rescue:
“Changes come, keep your dignity; take the high road, take it like a man.”