Happy Freakin' New Year! (Now with enough linkage to make your eyes bleed!)

So, 2008.  It's a new year, blah blah blah.   Personally, I think that New Year's Eve is the most overrated holiday in the universe; a holiday where at the stroke of midnight everyone is supposed to kiss and yell and throw confetti and drink champagne.  Dude, champagne makes me want to puke.  I don't like crowds, I don't like yelling, and I am generally just no fun at all.  You thought I was a Christmas Grinch?  I am the queen of all things anti-New Years.

But don't get me wrong: I do not, I repeat, DO NOT, hate New Years.  I could not possibly hate any holiday that buys me a 4-day weekend, during which Law and Order reruns were playing 24 hours a day.  That, my friends, is a holiday.  I did pretty much nothing all weekend.  Went to a couple of yoga classes, managed to somehow pull a muscle in my groin (ouch), watched an unhealthy percentage of those Law and Order reruns, and slept.  With a break in my sleeping to watch the fireworks from our rooftop deck.   Getting back to the grind after two four-day weekends has been rough, to say the least.

Anyway, in honor of the new year, I completed that survey that's been going around the internet.  I actually thought this one was really interesting, and it wasn't easy to fill out.  It actually made me think.  And now I need to go lie down and wail about the fact that there are no more four day weekends (fine, yes, we are going on vacation in two and a half weeks, but that is DIFFERENT.  That is going to be fun and all, but it won't include four days of sitting around in my pajamas, reading trashy novels and watching 10000 hours of L&O).

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

Took a full week off of work for Fake Vacation -- to just get stuff done around the house.  Glorious idea, hopefully to become a yearly tradition.   

Got tested for parasites.  Yuck.

Baked cookies from scratch.  Yum.

Got a real (as in, live) Christmas tree.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I’m planning to do a whole post about this later (I prefer to call them “Birthday Resolutions” to buy myself another week).  I did keep some of my resolutions from last year, and I’m proud of myself.  Others, not so much.  But since one of my resolutions was to be less critical of myself, I’m OK with that!  them, not so much with others.  I am pretty happy with my overall performance, and yes, I will be making more for 2008.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Actually, no.  My friends are still all in the getting married phase.  Three weddings planned for next year already!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Shadow.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the good ole US of A.   But I did do a whole lot of traveling within the confines of our nation: For fun, I visited New Jersey (many times), Chicago, Miami, Hershey PA, Delaware’s Eastern Shore, Richmond, Reno/Lake Tahoe, Washington DC, New York, and Connecticut .   

For work, I went to Scottsdale AZ, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Decatur IL, Ft Lauderdale, Boston, Chicago, Chicago again, San Francisco, New Orleans again, and Atlanta.

AND BOY, ARE MY ARMS TIRED.  (And so is my mouse-clicking finger, from all that linkage)

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

Direction in my career path.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

February 8th, 2007: The day Henry came back. 
July 25th, 2007: Our five-year anniversary.   
October 27th, 2007: My friend’s wedding day, because it was the first wedding I’ve attended for a really close friend.   
October 27th (again):  The day Shadow died.
 
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Finishing The Wall. 

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not doing more to find #6.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I had a couple of killer colds and a bout of food poisoning, but other than that I’ve been healthy.   The chronic pain from my broken coccyx was more of annoyance than a real hindrance this year, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.  Yay, yoga!  (And yay, chiropractic!)

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I would say the Tivo, but I think we technically bought that in 2006.  So I’m going to go with de-wormers for Henry. 

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Max’s.  Don’t laugh.  Max has been a real champ this year, adjusting well to having a new family member added to the household.  He successfully switched to a non-prescription food, and then again to a cruelty free food when I discovered this website: www.iamscruelty.com.  He switched to a new environmentally friendly cat litter with nary a complaint.  He tapered off his anti-anxiety meds without reverting to compulsive grooming.  He stopped being a pushover and asserted himself with Bossy Henry.  I’m very proud of him.  I’m 100% serious, so stop looking at me like that.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Our handicapped neighbor, who routinely parks in front of his designated handicapped space when he has company coming over.  When his friends arrive, he backs his car into his space and his friends take the empty space in front.   The rest of the neighborhood witnesses this as we circle the block endlessly searching for a parking space of our own.   One particularly bitter resident has contemplated calling the police to report this flagrant abuse, but is always talked out of it by her level-headed boyfriend who claims “it may be an asshole move, but it’s not breaking the law and the cops aren’t going to do anything”.  WHATEVER.   

14. Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage, vet bills, vacations.  In that order. 

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to Lake Tahoe, and my week of Fake Vacation.  I think I was equally excited for both, and my expectations were more than met.  If you have a lot of vacation time, I cannot recommend strongly enough taking a few days of Fake Vacation. 

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

Early Winter by Gwen Stefani.  The whole Sweet Escape CD is great.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? I wouldn’t say sadder, but I am more frustrated.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner.  Hooray!
c) richer or poorer? Richer.  Double Hooray, especially in light of #14!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I wish I’d done more hiking and hung out with friends more. 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying about problems instead of doing anything to fix them.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

After celebrating Fake Christmas with my family, Joel and I spent Christmas Day at home, taking pictures of our cats dressed up in holiday outfits. 

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?

Yes, with my Tivo. 

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Well, Law and Order is still my favorite TV show, even though I thrive on the reruns and don’t keep up with the current storylines.  SVU is my favorite, followed closely by The Original, and CI is my least favorite of the three (that’s like my least favorite flavor of ice cream; I still love it, just not as much as the others). 

But if we’re talking “favorite show” in the terms of non-obsessive cult following, I think that my favorite would have to be The 4400.  I also loved Heroes and NCIS.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No, I don’t think so.

24. What was the best book you read?

I’m also planning to do a Books of 2007 post, but the short answer is Lonesome Dove (thanks, Isabel!)

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Durr… that Gwen Stefani CD I keep talking about?

26. What did you want and get?

A peaceful household filled with pets who get along.

27. What did you want and not get?

To win the lottery.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Favorite that we saw in theaters: Live Free or Die Hard.  Or maybe The Bourne Ultimatum.  Both were awesome.

Favorite Neflixer: 8 Below, starring Paul Walker. 

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

It’s a good thing I have a blog, otherwise the answer to this question would have been “Um.  I can’t remember. “ But thanks to this interweb archive of my life, I can tell you that I went to Roy’s for dinner on my birthday last year.  I turned 26. 

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Winning the lottery.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Three words: Ann Taylor Loft.

32. What kept you sane?

Coffee, and lots of it.   The dependability of TNT’s nighttime programming.   Tivo.  My fantastic friends.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Hands down, Scott Foley’s character on The Unit. 
 
34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Tie, between the war in Iraq and gay marriage.   (For the record, I’m wholeheartedly against the former and for the latter).

35. Who did you miss?

My friends Jenny and Beth, who live much too far away and should move to Baltimore right now.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

All the lovely ladies I met in DC: Isabel, Janet, Erika, Sarah, Lindsey, and Lauren.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

Just doing something is a whole lot more productive than worrying about doing it.   

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Dude, I don't know.  Pick anything from the freakin Gwen Stefani CD.

Comments

[RA]

I may be wrong, I think The 4400 has a cult following. Maybe the show just haven't warranted marathons, yet.

I propose a new word for Fake Vacation: fakation. Or is that too confusing?

[Audrey]

Thank you so much for not answering "Brittney Spears" for number 13. That seems to be everyone's answer, and it's refreshing to see something a little more original and real. (Not that Britt's messed up life isn't real, but you know what I mean.)

Happy new year!

[Isabel]

I loved this. And I loved that you mentioned Ann Taylor Loft AND Lonesome Dove. Two of my favorite things.

RIP Shadow.

[heidikins]

Wow, that's a lot of linkage. Happy 2008!

xox

[janet]

I like this questionnaire. Maybe I should have done it instead...hmmmm.

I had fun meeting you too! Let's do that again! Isabel, come back!

And I think they are calling them "Staycations" and I hear they are "in" for 2008.

[Erika]

I think it is precious that you are so proud of Max. And that you are using food/litter that is good for pets and the planet. Go you!! This was fun to read.

[angela]

Wow, that is a hardcore questionnaire!

[Kirsten]

Thanks to reading your post, it helped remind me its my sistah's bday today! Your birthday is on a weekday, so there is a chance I'll remember :). (just in case, HAPPY EARLY BDAY).
I'm also all about being proud of your pets. I, on the other hand, am not so proud of my baby boxer Stella. I have discovered she is prancing around on the kitchen counters when I'm gone. As the stuff in the SINK ended up on the floor. I thought that was a safe area..but apparently. it is not. I am really not sure how to solve this problem.

[Laurel]

I am on Fake Vacation today! Home from Jamaica, but definitely not at work!

Also, you passed the Lonesome Dove love along to me this year... and I thank you for it!

[Melain]

I sort of envy you your Grinchery. I'm the opposite. I go ALL OUT for every Holiday and every vacation so that when it's over I'm EXHAUSTED. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. *sigh*