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Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
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(comment on this) Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
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(comment on this) Monday, December 28th, 2009
badlydrawnjeff
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5:26p
End of Year Wrapup Thing
Considering how dead LiveJournal is these days, I'm surprised I'm bothering, but hey.
What age did you turn this year and how did you spend your birthday?
I turned 28. Completely unmemorable as far as my brain tells me, and I don't see any evidence that I did anything other than work.
Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
In that my New Year's intent was to do more in terms of self-improvement, yes. In that everything else kind of took a backseat to recentering myself and getting back into being a person I wanted to be, not so much. That I've largely succeeded in the former means I can focus on the latter.
What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Went to a therapist. Moved to Massachusetts by choice. Played a non-D&D RPG. Went to a partisan political meeting. Shaved my head. Purchased digital music. Joined a local Humanist/Atheist chapter. Became a landlord.
Did anyone you know give birth? Did anyone you know die?
My cousin had a baby boy, which was noteworthy. I can't recall any significant deaths - my old high school French teacher probably would count for this.
Tell us about some noteworthy things done by people you know.
Two of our Manchester friends moved to Iowa, but not before spending 6 months backpacking in Europe/France. Chelsea won a local documentary competition. Gabe fronted a band for an evening and it was pretty rockin'.
Do any traveling?
I hit New Jersey in the summer, but that's it in terms of general travel.
What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Fewer bills, and a place of our own to live.
What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
2009 flew by too quickly to say one day. It was a lot of little steps.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Bettering myself. Standing up, doing what's right, and then accepting it as such. Realizing that I didn't really like myself at all, and then taking steps to rectifying that. This isn't my biggest achievement of 2009 - it's my biggest achievement in 10 years. It's that much of a game changer for me, because it's given me confidence I previously lacked.
What was your biggest disappointment or failure?
Not me: The President. The Congress. The Democratic Party. The Republican Party. A handful of old friends who significantly disappointed me.
Me: My lack of action on anything outside of ending my general malaise. I know I had to shelve everything to get back on track, but it doesn't mean I can't see that as a setback, either.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing of note.
What was the best thing you bought? Best gift you were given?
We did buy ourselves a new laptop to take to gaming and on vacations, which is nifty. I also received a 1.5TB hard drive, which is a great supplement to my 160gb hard drive on my computer.
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Again, Ann. Anyone willing to put up with me, with my family, with my life the way she does with minimal protest and complaint deserves more than I can possibly give her.
My friends, especially Tiff and Julia and Bill and Mandy and Michelle and Josh for being great friends to me and to us and accepting me for who I am rather than who they might want me to be.
The conservative grassroots, for finally waking up.
Whose behavior did not?
The government. Pigeon and Samantha, our two war cats. Certain people who, to be purposefully vague, should know better.
Where did most of your money go?
Bills, again.
What did you get overly excited about?
My brain. Health care reform. Iran. Kennedy's Senate seat. Dragon Age: Origins. Star Trek. The Avett Brothers.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier, if only because I know how to be happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? Slightly larger, I think. We'll see how the holiday post-mortem goes.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer, although I wouldn't know it.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Gotten more involved, although the end of the year ramped that up for me. Speaking up and speaking out. Achieving.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Denying I needed help. Sitting idly as the world becomes less of what I want it to be.
How will you be spending the end of the year?
Dinner and drinks with old, close friends. A perfect evening, I'm sure.
With whom did you spend the most time on the phone with?
My customers.
Did you fall in love in 2009?
The laptop is pretty sweet...
Best TV shows and/or website? (passive entertainment)
Lost, Fringe and Dollhouse were the new ones, but HIMYM and Chuck and Mad Men a
I finally got on the Twitter bandwagon this year, but is that really passive?
Best video game?
Hands down, Dragon Age: Origins, although I did spend a great chunk of time with Prototype and Wet.
Best book/comic?
Book was The Lost City of Z or Catching Fire. Comic was probably Warren Ellis's Ignition City, or maybe The Unknown or The Unwritten.
What song will always remind you of 2008?
"I and Love and You" by the Avett Brothers, I think.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Avett Brothers.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
We didn't sell our condo, meaning we're kind of stuck in a good-but-not-optimal living situation right now. We're not out on the street and we don't need to work multiple jobs to pay the bills, but yeah.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Pajama pants and a t-shirt.
What political issue stirred you the most?
Iran, health care reform, Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.
Whom did you miss?
Team Hooley, my old dodgeball team.
Who was the best new person you met?
Two groups:
1) Our new friends from the Worcester Humanists/atheists. A pleasant surprise to meet Chris and Andy and get to know them.
2) As we've been in Massachusetts, it means we hang in Boston more often, and becoming more friendly with Bill and Mandy and Steph's extended friend-base has been very positive as well.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word, but there is a shortlist of people who really, really failed me this year and that's very disappointing. I've dealt and moved forward, but it's not something anyone likes to realize or admit.
What did you want and get?
Peace of mind.
What did you want and not get?
A pony.
A valuable life lesson you learned in 2008?
Asking for help when you need it is often more empowering than trying to soldier through it alone.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A condo sale, money.
Quote to sum up your year.
I don't know any good therapy quotes, or good self-esteem, so I'll go political:
Let me put it this way; there are really only two ways to interpret the Constitution — try to discern as best we can what the framers intended or make it up. No matter how ingenious, imaginative or artfully put, unless interpretive methodologies are tied to the original intent of the framers, they have no more basis in the Constitution than the latest football scores. To be sure, even the most conscientious effort to adhere to the original intent of the framers of our Constitution is flawed, as all methodologies and human institutions are; but at least originalism has the advantage of being legitimate and, I might add, impartial. - Clarence Thomas
current music: The Avett Brothers - Sorry Man | Powered by Last.fm
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(comment on this) Sunday, December 27th, 2009
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(comment on this) Thursday, December 24th, 2009
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csp
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9:01a
TV
Off all day, and home alone, and waiting for my toast to get toasted, so it inspires to write about tv that's currently interesting me.
Dollhouse - I'm currently watching some right now. I feel like the first half of each season had too many filler stand-alone episodes, but the second half of the seasons made up for it. On some level it's sad that it's ending, but really I'm just happy that we got what we did and that we're going to get a proper finish.
Lost - In anticipation for the super-exciting final season starting 2/2, and taking advantage of the fact that I can watch (well, mostly listen) to shows while working, I've been rewatching every Lost episode. I'm almost at the end of season 3 now, and, really, it's even a better show than I remembered. If you haven't been watching it, you're insane. You still have time to catch up! Quick!
Doctor Who - Speaking of shows I love ending, Doctor Who is going to have the end of it's current era in the next week. Two specials are airing in the UK on Christimas and New Year's, and for the first time they're airing on BBC America just a day later, which means I won't have to kill myself trying to download it. The show's going to continue next spring with an entirely new creative team and actors (and, honestly, if you're new to Doctor Who you might be best just waiting til it starts fresh to get into it), but these last two episodes of the (usually very excellent) current era are super exciting and I'm quite looking forward to them (as I suspect most of the UK, and very few people here, also are).
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(comment on this) Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
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