Year in Review
1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
- Went to Canada!
- Joined a dating website
- Wore a dog collar?
- Went to Cincinatti
- Finally saw an integrative medicine doctor!
- received Reiki
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Don't recall whether or not I had any. My goal this year is to put myself "out there" without being too desperate. Yeah, I'm lonely. Make straight A's.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Cliff's wife, Lorien, gave birth to their second child, Aren, in February.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
Canada. And Great Britain come Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
A loving, happy, long-term relationship. Hard to think of anything else. This is so important to me. I was so goddamned lonely this year. I want it more than anything else. A college degree is a close second. There's a possibility I'll be finished a year from now. I think I'll get an iPad for Christmas. Maybe another diamond ring or a floating opal necklace. A nice mid-century furniture piece. And then the same things as ever. A running scooter and savings. Some original art.
7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
None that I can think of.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Well, I didn't kill myself. That's good, I guess. I made straight A's and I conducted myself with dignity (though I wouldn't say I was dignified).
9. What was your biggest failure?
I think some would argue that I should not have allowed the Debbie and Elise drama to affect me so deeply, as it did.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had food poisoning just last week. I have never experienced anything like that. Bodily fluids exiting via all the wrong portals.
I also developed a bedsore earlier this year. I would spend much of my time doing homework in bed. Often, I didn't leave my house all day on Sundays and Mondays. I've never had or seen a bedsore, but I knew immediately what the itchy scabby thing on my coccyx was when I nestled into my cozy position in bed and felt pressure on that spot that had developed a strange looking red sore. Thankfully it never developed beyond a stage one.
I had a number of colds this year. Ugh. And crippling depression.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I bought a Vitamix blender to make smoothies with. It was $400 and worth every penny. I use it every day. I love my diamond ring. It is material and frivolous, but it means so much more to me than just a flashy accessory. To me it symbolizes independence and maturity and freedom. So I don't have a man to buy me a diamond ring--I'll buy myself one, because I want to, and because I'm financially solvent enough to do so.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
...
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Debbie and Elise, first and foremost, far and above anyone else whose name follows on this list.
Mike
Jon
Even Rob at times
Dave A.
Dave N.
Alan, my boss
Michael McC.
It is quite a list. This year in general was appalling and depressing.
14. Where did most of your money go?
The Falcon got a new engine. Set me back close to $3,000. School - $8,450 and counting. Rent for my place and my various garages costs me more than $10,000 / year. Vitamix: $400. Ring: $725. Plane Ticket to London $950.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Ice skating! Every few years, I am compelled to go, hoping that I will "get back into it." I lose interest quickly. I have been going regularly the last few months and I love it! Burgers at Hamilton Tavern. Any time Jon contacted me, I was elated. Our trip to the beach. Meeting Jerry, seeing Jerry, spending time with Jerry. My ring. The East Coast Classic scooter rally, until things turned sour at the end of Saturday night.
16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
The Small Faces - Itchycoo Park
XTC - Radios in Motion, Generals and Majors, Wonderland, The Meeting Place
Jackson C. Frank - The Blues Run The Game
Françoise Hardy
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
ii. thinner or fatter?
Same.
iii. richer or poorer?
Somewhat richer, I guess. I have a little more in my bank accounts and invested $5,000 recently, though I'm not sure how my investment is doing.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Enjoying life. School generally hampers my enjoyment of most things.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
I probably shouldn't have spent so much time looking at gore websites. Clearly I shouldn't have spent so much
time lying around in bed. I wish I hadn't been so consumed with Jon.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Sunday the 23rd I met Jerry at his place and we went to brunch at Logan Tavern. Then we went to Georgetown and went shopping. I think he must have spent more than $500 in one shopping trip. I bought a pair of boots I'd been coveting from Madewell and a hat from American Apparel. I met a Bedlington Terrier and contemplated skating at the ice rink there by the Embassy of Sweden. We instead went to the rink at the NGA, but there was quite a line for tickets, so we bought some butter cookies from CVS and made tea and biscuits at his house instead. I took a brief nap and we watched part of the Ravens game and walked to Matchbox for dinner (a spinach salad between the two of us, and scallops for our entrees). We returned home and watched Elf, laughed a lot, and went to bed.
Monday I woke up and piddled around, then went to the NGA to go ice skating. Skated for a bit and returned to Jerry's, and piddled more while he packed. Then I drove him to the airport. Showered at my sister's and met her and Tom at Franklin's for food and drinks. Emily and I then completed a 1000 piece puzzle of Tower Bridge in 7 hours, 24 minutes.
On Christmas, we drank kahlua in our coffee, put on James Brown, made breakfast with eggs from Emily and Tom's chickens. Tom started a fire, we opened presents (notably an iPad, Synchronicity by Jung, Skatalites compilation, The Harder They Come on DVD), then started cooking. Bacon wrapped turkey, shrimp-dip stuffed bacon wrapped jalapenos, roasted potatoes and vegetables, all cooked on the grill or in the dutch oven over the open fire. I opened gifts from Jerry - amazingly thoughtful - some lenses for my iPhone, a very carefully thought out "mixtape" USB, and a BeatPill.
21. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?
Gooooooood question! I will be piddling around London during the day, then meeting my cousin Alethea and her boyfriend for dinner at Nopi in Maryleborne, then ringing in the New Year at Purl for drinks. I have tickets for a New Untouchables Soul night, and I'm not sure beyond that.
22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
YES! With Jerry. Madlydeeply. Though I also loved Jon. Was just lovesick for him all year. Though I am in manic, new love phase with Jerry, and it is indeed maddening. Though he's not given me any reason to doubt his feelings for me, I am on edge, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. The last time I was this excited about someone was when Andrew and I dated, and he was also the first person since Gabe to dump me. I think this is why I wrestle with fidelity - having something on the side gives me a sense of power, a sense of having the upper hand. Really it is not powerful at all. I am too weak to do the right thing. I'm hoping I can stay strong in spite of feeling so, so vulnerable.
23. How many one-night stands?
One. Brandon W. He pestered me about going on a date with him for months. I finally assented, and we agreed to go to Brewers Art. I was less than enthused. On the way there, I had a crying spell. It felt so pathetic to me me that I was going on a date with someone I wasn't even remotely interested in. Well, after a couple martinis and a couple of Resurrections, he became somewhat more interesting, and we went to Tapas for a nightcap. Somehow, he ended up massaging my feet at the bar, kissed me, and then came home with me, but parking at my house is the last thing that I remember. I woke up toward the morning hours, on the "wrong" side of the bed, wearing nothing but my underwear. I said that I was embarrassed to ask this, but WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT ? He replied slowly, "Well...you sat on my face and made my eat your pussy." Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes. We never got together again after that, and times I ran into him around the city I was reminded of how repulsed I am by him. NOT something I'm proud of.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
I hate TV! I have so little patience for it. Although I did subscribe to Netflix during Hurricane Sandy and watched 2 seasons of Mad Men in as many days. OH! And Michael McCullough got me hooked on That Mitchell and Webb Look while I visited him in Cincinatti.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Debbie. I hate to hate but I really do hate her. Rationally, I try to convince myself that I simply don't understand her. And that's true. But I can't help it. I hate her.
26. What was the best book you read?
Had to have been something for school, since I had no time for pleasure reading this year. Probably an ethnography I read for my Anthropology of Gender class, Travesti, on transvestite prostitutes in Brazil. For the same class I also read Fixing Sex, which I also enjoyed.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
XTC
28. What did you want and get?
Last year:
So much for eliminating "want." I'm lonely and
feeling desperate. Yeah, I want a boyfriend. Not for the sake of having
a boyfriend; I just want someone with whom I can share my life. Sucks
not having anyone to talk to about my day when I come home at night.
Yeah,
I'd still like some investments. I'd like a running scooter. I hope to
earn at least 30 more college credits in 2012. I guess I could use a
meat thermometer and a new kitchen knife. Oooh, and some martini glasses
and a cocktail shaker. A velvet opera coat, and a diamond ring. Yup, I
plan to buy myself a diamond ring in 2012. Something deco with sapphire
accents.
After feeling miserable and alone for 10 months of the year, I finally met Jerry. I invested $5,000. I earned 26 credits this year and have maintained my 4.0 GPA--can't complain. My scooter still isn't running. I did get a meat thermometer and a new kitchen knife, albeit a crappy one. No martini glasses yet, but Rob got me a cocktail shaker for Christmas. Still waiting on the perfect velvet opera coat. And of course, I got my beautiful diamond ring. I wear it all the time and I adore it--worth every penny.
29. What did you want and not get?
Scooter is still not running, but that is trite considering I am madly in love.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't think I saw a single recent film in the theater, but I did watch the 2012 film Les Intouchables, which I loved.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
26. What a nightmare this birthday was. After much deliberation over what to do for my birthday that could include all my friends while accommodating their bullshit drama, I decided to go to dinner with a small group of close girlfriends at Peter's Inn and then have drinks at Club Charles for everyone who happened to drift in. After shuffling the dinner time around to accommodate Elise's OTHER evening plans (why did she even have other plans?), she ended up not showing up at all, giving me the lamest of excuses (her dog ran through poison ivy at the dog park and she had to give him a bath), and asking if she could give me my "awesome present" the next day at the Ottobar. I was stunned. You're not coming out at all? I asked, shocked and dismayed. Nope. We haven't spoken since.
So, in the end it was just Sara and me eating dinner at Peter's Inn, tears dripping from my eyes. We had some espresso from Pitango and went to Club Chuck - Rob, Sean & Heather, Paul, Johnny & Leslie, Dave, and Nick Gold. I blubbered like a baby all night and proceeded to get wasted. I was depressed that my best friend had completely shunned me on my birthday.
The next day I met my family in Frederick. Paul drove with my mom and I drove with my dad. We had breakfast at a little restaurant and then went to a little airport where I had a flight lesson. I was anxious about flying and hungover to boot. (I've since decided that I can live the rest of my life without getting a pilot's license.) Then, Paul and I went to a performance at An Die Musik (legendary jazz musician) and had Indian food with a couple of friends of his. Later that night, we went to see the Adicts at the Ottobar. He was drunk and acting a fool, and then got moody when I would have no part of it. We argued on the walk back to my house.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If the Elise / Debbie Drama / Debacle had never occurred. What a NIGHTMARE.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Black, black, black. Red lips, Chanel knock-off two-tone sunglasses, Reiker shoes, trousers, earrings and my diamond ring and my short hair. My Shelley's flatforms. Silks. Armpit hair on occasion. Generally feeling comfortable. Weeding out a lot of duds from my wardrobe. Pruning has left behind some fine clothing.
I have recently taken to wearing pants with an elastic waistband. They are just so comfortable, why would I ever want to fuss with a zipper again? I do emphasize that they are "pants" and not "leggings." I don't know why I am so prejudiced against leggings - perhaps it is my connotation of leggings with vapid Loyola girls who wear them with Ugg boots, the fabric so thin that one can see the shadow of their thong and make out the silhouette of their camel toe. Anyway, I reason that as long as I am below a certain weight, my wearing of pants with an elastic waistband is acceptable and not for lack of being able to fit into other clothes.
34. What kept you sane?
Nothing! I was positively suicidal for much of the year. I found no joy or pleasure in anything.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kate Middleton! I think she is just fabulous.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Well, it was an election year, after all. I guess the "debate" over women's reproductive rights got me hot under the collar, particularly regarding access to birth control.
37. Who did you miss?
Elise, while I was mourning the loss of our friendship, until I realized that she wasn't work one iota more of my emotional energy.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
JERRY!!! My favorite Athabascan, my love.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012?
40(a). What shows / concerts did you attend?
Adicts @ Ottobar Baltimore
Brian Jonestown Massacre @ 9:30 Club DC
The Faint @ 9:30 Club DC
The Makeup @ Black Cat DC
Nobunny @ Wind Up Space Baltimore
Gentleman Jesse and His Men @ Black Cat DC
PULP @ Radio City NYC
BB King @ Howard Theater DC
Cock Sparrer @ Union Transfer Philadelphia
40(b). Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Catch a boat to england, baby,
Maybe to spain,
Wherever i have gone,
Wherever i've been and gone,
Wherever i have gone
The blues are all the same.
When i'm not drinking, baby,
You are on my mind,
When i'm not sleeping, honey,
When i ain't sleeping, mama,
When i'm not sleeping
Well you know you'll find me crying.
Try another city, baby,
Another town,
Wherever i have gone,
Wherever i've been and gone,
Wherever i have gone
The blues come following down.
Living is a gamble, baby,
Loving's much the same,
Wherever i have played,
Wherever i throw them dice,
Wherever i have played
The blues have run the game.
Maybe tomorrow, honey,
Someplace down the line,
I'll wake up older,
So much older, mama,
Wake up older
And i'll just stop all my trying.
Catch a boat to england, baby,
Maybe to spain,
Wherever i have gone,
Wherever i've been and gone,
Wherever i have gone
The blues are all the same.
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