Thursday, January 01, 2009

New Year's Meme

(I enjoyed doing this meme last year, and like the idea of making it a tradition.)

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
*Went to Italy
*Initiated a breakup
*Found two fantastic sublets through Craigslist, sight-unseen
*Learned how to discuss difficult subjects with a romantic partner
*Travelled great distances avec cat
*[One thing I'm disinclined to relate, but of which I'd like this reminder.]
2. Did you keep your 2008 resolutions, and will you make more this year?
I did an adequate job with last year's resolutions. I hope to do the same with this year's.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes: four actual friends and a whole slew of "friends" on Facebook.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
Italy and England.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Let's get crazy here and say a completed book manuscript.

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I suppose I've had some professional achievements, but if we're keeping this in the realm of the personal, I'd say the thing I'm happiest about is having forgiven two or three people the wrongs they've done me. Said people probably neither know nor care about my forgiveness, but they're not the point.

8. What was your biggest failure?
Not falling in love with the person who fell in love with me.

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No. As several friends have remarked, I don't seem especially hale or hearty--but I guess I am: my only ailment in 2008 was a single, slight cold.

10. What was the best thing you bought?
My trip to Italy.

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
As in 2007: my friends'. For reasons unknown, they put up with my shit and my self-absorption and my tedious, repetitive dilemmas and they make me a better person.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Not depressed and probably not appalled, but I'm significantly displeased with those people who read my blog, realize who I am--and then thrill to the belief that they're in possession of a juicy secret (a "secret" which they must then tell all our mutual acquaintances about). Note to those people: if I wished my identity to be harder to figure out, it would be.

13. Where did most of your money go?
To bills of various kinds. Whatever was left over went to books, booze, and travel.

14. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Definitely happier, though not without a few regrets. My weight and finances remain almost exactly the same.

15. What do you wish you’d done more of?
As in 2007: saved more money/gotten out of debt. Worked on my book.

16. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Whinged.

17. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No. But it's nevertheless been a romantically happy and satisfying year.

18. What was the best new book you read?
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

19. What was your favorite film of the year?
Of the films that came out this year, probably There Will Be Blood. Of the films I saw this year, Hiroshima, Mon Amour.

20. What kept you sane?
Work. Friends. Travel. Books. My cat.

21. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Nothing's permanent and nothing's unfixable.

Happy 2009, everyone~~

1 comment:

Renaissance Girl said...

"6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Let's get crazy here and say a completed book manuscript."

I hear you, sister! Let's hope the gods inspire us. (Would that be Athena? Apollo? a Muse or so?)

"Said people probably neither know nor care about my forgiveness, but they're not the point."

My hell, I like you.