Tis Meme Season...
Meme (abridged. but still really fucking long.)
What happened in 1993?
Wow... 1993. I finished 8th grade. My first kiss was in March, at the Twin Cities Fencing Club.
1995?
I left Central high school and went back to SPA. I did a lot of theater. I played Agnes in Agnes of God. I was really depressed a lot. I ended a 363-day relationship, which is still my second-longest relationship ever, after Jake.
1997?
I lived with eternallion in Uptown, Minneapolis. I graduated from high school. I took a road trip. I started college.
1999?
Something happened to my hands and I could barely use them. I realized that writing was more important to me than anything else. I quit piano. I dropped my plans to learn guitar, bass, drums, and numerous other instruments.
2000?
I met Jake on July 4. I took a semester off because of my hands. I bought a one-way plane ticket to New York, thinking I would live there, and then before I left, I changed my mind and bought a one-way ticket back to Minneapolis.
2001?
I lived in Berlin for a semester. I came back to Minneapolis. Jake and I bought a house and moved in together.
What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
I moved to Chicago. I started grad school. I started dating, in the conventional sense, where you go out with people you don't know very well to see if you like each other. I hit on a girl in a bar and got her phone number.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
This is getting its own entry.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
My stepsister Laura. I have not seen her in years.
Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt - my father’s sister - but we were not close.
What countries did you visit this year?
Nicaragua, twice. I had tickets to Syria but I did not go.
What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Hmm... a published piece in a national magazine. A girlfriend.
What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 19 - first day of grad school, and it was Jake's birthday.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving econ writing and reporting.
What was your biggest failure?
Pretty much everything relationship-related.
What was the best thing you bought?
Hmm... ??? A new tire for my car. That was pretty important. It wouldn't have run very well otherwise.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Why is this question so much harder to answer than the next one? I'll say the voters.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A lot of politicians. My stepmother. A mime-school drop-out. Everyone responsible for the script of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.
Where did most of your money go?
Food and plane tickets.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Starting grad school. Going back to Nicaragua in December. The fellowship I applied for for next summer, and still haven't heard back about.
What song will always remind you of 2006?
Nothing comes to mind.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Still pretty damn happy.
Compared to this time last year, are you richer or poorer?
Slightly poorer.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise. Watch TV in Spanish.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Commuting.
Did you fall in love in 2006?
Nope.
How many one-night stands?
That is none of your business.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No one comes to mind. I try to avoid hatred.
What was the best book you read?
Fiction: A Changed Man, by Francine Prose.
Non-Fiction: The Jaguar Smile, by Salman Rushdie
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Dolly Parton.
What did you want and get?
To see Mohammed.
What did you want and not get?
Um... relationship-related stuff.
What was your favorite film of this year?
New movies, that I saw in theaters? I didn't see that many. Quinceañera was probably the best one. Of good movies in general that I hadn't seen before - Munich. I <3 Huckabees. Tipping the Velvet. The Exonerated.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27. I had just gotten back to Nicaragua after being home for the holidays. Luis came to Matagalpa to visit me. The next day I got violently ill.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hmm... it was a pretty good year for me, personally. But the complete removal of the Bush Administration might have been nice.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Pants, so I wouldn't have to shave my legs; tank tops or long sleeves, to avoid farmers tan, except in the evenings, when I often wore T-shirts. And I learned how to dress up like a professional economics reporter so that stock analysts wouldn't think badly of me when I was interviewing them over the phone.
What kept you sane?
Writing. My Minnesota friends. Dan.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't much fancy celebrities. Sometimes I crush on them while they're on the screen, but when I turn off the TV, they're pretty much forgotten.
What political issue stirred you the most?
God, there were so many to choose from... things in the US have been so crazy the last few years it almost just bounces off me. The total abortion ban in Nicaragua was more of a surprise.
Who did you miss?
All my Minnesota people. Ros. Alfredo in Nicaragua.
Who was the best new person you met?
Dan Li a.k.a. Li Dan. No offense to others I've met; I've met a lot of people, and several of them have been seriously, truly awesome. Still, she wins.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Um... be very careful who you trust. Then again, I seem to learn that every year. And then forget it again.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Time
is marching on
and time
is still marching on."
What happened in 1993?
Wow... 1993. I finished 8th grade. My first kiss was in March, at the Twin Cities Fencing Club.
1995?
I left Central high school and went back to SPA. I did a lot of theater. I played Agnes in Agnes of God. I was really depressed a lot. I ended a 363-day relationship, which is still my second-longest relationship ever, after Jake.
1997?
I lived with eternallion in Uptown, Minneapolis. I graduated from high school. I took a road trip. I started college.
1999?
Something happened to my hands and I could barely use them. I realized that writing was more important to me than anything else. I quit piano. I dropped my plans to learn guitar, bass, drums, and numerous other instruments.
2000?
I met Jake on July 4. I took a semester off because of my hands. I bought a one-way plane ticket to New York, thinking I would live there, and then before I left, I changed my mind and bought a one-way ticket back to Minneapolis.
2001?
I lived in Berlin for a semester. I came back to Minneapolis. Jake and I bought a house and moved in together.
What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
I moved to Chicago. I started grad school. I started dating, in the conventional sense, where you go out with people you don't know very well to see if you like each other. I hit on a girl in a bar and got her phone number.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
This is getting its own entry.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
My stepsister Laura. I have not seen her in years.
Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt - my father’s sister - but we were not close.
What countries did you visit this year?
Nicaragua, twice. I had tickets to Syria but I did not go.
What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Hmm... a published piece in a national magazine. A girlfriend.
What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 19 - first day of grad school, and it was Jake's birthday.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving econ writing and reporting.
What was your biggest failure?
Pretty much everything relationship-related.
What was the best thing you bought?
Hmm... ??? A new tire for my car. That was pretty important. It wouldn't have run very well otherwise.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Why is this question so much harder to answer than the next one? I'll say the voters.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A lot of politicians. My stepmother. A mime-school drop-out. Everyone responsible for the script of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequel.
Where did most of your money go?
Food and plane tickets.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Starting grad school. Going back to Nicaragua in December. The fellowship I applied for for next summer, and still haven't heard back about.
What song will always remind you of 2006?
Nothing comes to mind.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Still pretty damn happy.
Compared to this time last year, are you richer or poorer?
Slightly poorer.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercise. Watch TV in Spanish.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Commuting.
Did you fall in love in 2006?
Nope.
How many one-night stands?
That is none of your business.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No one comes to mind. I try to avoid hatred.
What was the best book you read?
Fiction: A Changed Man, by Francine Prose.
Non-Fiction: The Jaguar Smile, by Salman Rushdie
What was your greatest musical discovery?
Dolly Parton.
What did you want and get?
To see Mohammed.
What did you want and not get?
Um... relationship-related stuff.
What was your favorite film of this year?
New movies, that I saw in theaters? I didn't see that many. Quinceañera was probably the best one. Of good movies in general that I hadn't seen before - Munich. I <3 Huckabees. Tipping the Velvet. The Exonerated.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27. I had just gotten back to Nicaragua after being home for the holidays. Luis came to Matagalpa to visit me. The next day I got violently ill.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hmm... it was a pretty good year for me, personally. But the complete removal of the Bush Administration might have been nice.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Pants, so I wouldn't have to shave my legs; tank tops or long sleeves, to avoid farmers tan, except in the evenings, when I often wore T-shirts. And I learned how to dress up like a professional economics reporter so that stock analysts wouldn't think badly of me when I was interviewing them over the phone.
What kept you sane?
Writing. My Minnesota friends. Dan.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I don't much fancy celebrities. Sometimes I crush on them while they're on the screen, but when I turn off the TV, they're pretty much forgotten.
What political issue stirred you the most?
God, there were so many to choose from... things in the US have been so crazy the last few years it almost just bounces off me. The total abortion ban in Nicaragua was more of a surprise.
Who did you miss?
All my Minnesota people. Ros. Alfredo in Nicaragua.
Who was the best new person you met?
Dan Li a.k.a. Li Dan. No offense to others I've met; I've met a lot of people, and several of them have been seriously, truly awesome. Still, she wins.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Um... be very careful who you trust. Then again, I seem to learn that every year. And then forget it again.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Time
is marching on
and time
is still marching on."