2009 in 38 questions
I’ve done this meme the last few years, and it’s time to do it again. I originally got it from Sundry, my favorite blogger. Now I’m passing it on to you. Again.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Learned how to sew. Shot a rifle for the first time. Visited wine country in Sonoma, California. Saw Devo and the B-52’s in concert.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I normally don’t make New Year’s resolutions, but for 2010 I’m resolving to lose weight and get in better shape. I’ve gained weight as a combination of being lazy and some medication I’m taking, and I’m starting to hate how I look. So this coming year, I want to feel more comfortable in my skin.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Several friends give birth, and I have several other friends with babies on the way.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my grandfather died in May.
5. What countries did you visit?
Does California count? It’s practically another country.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More self confidence. More friends.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
May 11th – the day my grandfather died. Quite possibly the saddest day in my life so far. I’ll never forget sitting in my grandmother’s living room with my family waiting for the funeral home to come take my grandfather away. I’ll never forget how he looked that night. So frail, but so peaceful.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I got a promotion at work–but the big achievement was that I finally got the stones to ask for it.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I think my answer to this is the same as last year’s: losing my cool over nothing. I’ve gotten much better about that, though, over the last year or so.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. I’ve been surprisingly healthy this year.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I bought that sofa I was whining about in last year’s 38 questions.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My grandmother’s–for staying strong this year.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Is it cliche to say Jon Gosselin’s?
14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage, man.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I got pretty excited about our trip to San Francisco. I also geeked out over my new camera (as if you couldn’t tell).
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Anything by the B-52’s. It will remind me that I totally got to see them live in 2009. So freakin’ awesome.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Happier. Contented-er? That’s my new word.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, alas. But I’m planning on fixing that.
c) richer or poorer? Happily, richer. Thanks to that promotion.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Geocaching. Hiking. Getting outside and exploring. Exercising.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sleeping on the couch and sitting around on my lazy butt.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Well Christmas is already past at this point. I spent Christmas Eve with Josh’s family in Augusta, and Christmas Day, my entire family came over for dinner. Josh and I cooked all the food this year–a first for us. It was a lot of fun just hanging out with my nutty family.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I’d say I’ve fallen more in love with Zoë this year. She and I have bonded this year through walks and trips to the dog park. I think she respects me more than she used to.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
The answer to this is always going to be LOST (until after 2010, when LOST will be no more. *weep*).
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah.
24. What was the best book you read?
An Echo in the Bone, Diana Gabaldon’s latest book in the Outlander series. Love me some Diana Gabaldon–got to see her in person this year!
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I haven’t gotten into new music this year like I used to. This is mainly because I no longer have a job where I can plug into my iPod and zone out for a few hours. But let’s see. I liked the new Regina Spektor album. Does that count?
26. What did you want and get?
A sofa! A digital SLR camera!
27. What did you want and not get?
A new phone. Stupid Verizon, not giving me my “new every two.”
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I didn’t see too many movies in the theater this year. Star Trek was pretty awesome. So was that new Harry Potter movie.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 28 this year. I don’t remember doing anything spectacular for my birthday. I think it was happily low-key this year.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I honestly can’t think of anything. 2009 was a pretty good year, it seems.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Blue Jeans Match Anything, Don’t They?
32. What kept you sane?
Sewing. When I’m sewing, I’m not thinking about anything else. It’s liberating.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hmm, I thought Chris Pine in Star Trek was pretty easy on the eyes.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
I haven’t really paid that much attention to political issues this year, but I hear that healthcare thing has gotten a lot of people all in a tizzy.
35. Who did you miss?
My grandfather.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Josh and I met this cool couple, Jamal and Jessica, when we went to a meetup.com beer club group. They were super easy to talk to and very fun to hang out with.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Be persistent. If you want something, sometimes you have to ask for it.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Every year, this is what always pops into my head for this question. It always seems to fit, and I can’t think of anything better at the moment:
It’s been a long December,
And there’s reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last.
I love that song by Counting Crows, and I always think of those lyrics this time of year too. As far as weight goes, I totally know how you feel. Last New Year’s I resolved to lose the weight I’d gained from a combination of laziness/bad eating and my anti-depressants. I got off my anti-depressants in February (which has gone really well so far [fingers crossed]) and started exercising. I lost 62 lbs this year, and I’m running my first marathon in January. I have never been athletic in my life so this is a weird/exciting thing for me. Just give yourself realistic goals for weight-loss and find something active that you enjoy doing. Good luck! A lot can change in a year.
i need to do a year-end recap, and I’m leaning towards just filling out a quiz thingy out of sheer lazyness. Call it the “year-end lazy recap quiz thingy?”