2013

Jan. 2nd, 2014 12:38 pm
oceantheorem: (be careful pretending)
1. What did you do in 2013 that you've never done before?
So many things! Maybe the most notable was beginning to hike. On July 3rd I hiked 14 or 15 miles around Florence Lake with friends. That was pretty crazy, and unlike anything I'd ever done before.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I do not make resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My cat died in March. :-(

4.5 Did anyone close to you get married?
Nope.

4.75 Did anyone close to you have other critical, life-changing moments or revelations?
Yes. Holy crap, yes. Not mine to reveal here, but it was an eventful year for a lot of people close to me.
Oh, I guess I can reveal that my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer. That was (is)... bad.

5. What states/countries did you visit?
... just Michigan and Nevada, I think. It was a quiet year for travel.
ETA: Also Georgia for DragonCon!

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
I guess I'm still hoping for more followthrough. I need to make myself work on leather and other creative pursuits. I need to make myself seriously examine my career and then plan out where I want it to go, and make it go there.

7. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 17 and July 3. Also June 1st - I feel like I woke up on June 1st.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hmm, not sure. Successfully integrating into a circle of friends, and developing a strong social network?

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not doing a good job at work. Not doing anything at all to further my career in any way.
Not figuring out my relationship with my dad.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I hurt my knee pretty badly in October.

11. What was the best thing you created?
New social relationships? And a few neat leather items.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jim's. Jim's been awesome.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'm gonna leave this blank this year for the sake of "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

14. Where did most of your money go?
Food, actually. Also rent and loan repayments.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Corsets. I bought a lot of corsets.

16. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Hmm, not sure. I listened to Lifehouse's Between the Raindrops a LOT. Walk the Moon's Anna Sun was my theme song for our housing search. Really like that song. Maybe also Peter Hollens' Shenandoah? I listened to that on repeat a lot, earlier in the year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
- happier or sadder? Much happier!
- thinner or fatter? A little thinner! Going mostly paleoish and cutting out almost all sugar helped me lose about 12 pounds. Some of that I put back on in the last month, though. Eesh, holiday food.
- richer or poorer? Monetarily I think richer. A little less debt, a lower rent rate. Emotionally, much much richer. Life feels so full now.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Learning. Working to build a stable future - I need to attend to my career path in 2014.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Wasting time. Surfing the internet. Crap. I'm doing that right now, aren't I?

20. How did you spend Christmas?
I went into lab for a couple hours, then played video games and hung out with Jim. Our housemates and I started a tradition of making gingerbread houses, which was a lot of fun, and I hope we keep that up.

21. How will you be spending New Years?
A bunch of us went to Colleen's for dinner, which was delicious and fun. I got to meet her friends Nick and Erica, who are amazing. Eventually Chris and Colleen and I ended up watching the fireworks down at the Ferry Building, which was great. Jim worked, as usual.

22. Did you fall in love in 2013?
Yes. :-)

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
BABYLON 5!!

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Peter Hollens

27. What did you want and get?
Meaning. Emotional connection.

28. What did you want and not get?
Direction. A plan.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
? Thor 2?

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
28. Jim took me to the ballet to see Cinderella! I wore my wedding dress. We got ice cream at Smitten.

31. What one thing would have made your year?
My year was made. It was a great year. :-)

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Same as always! Solid colors. Skirts whenever possible. Oooh, I did begin adding a lot of corsets.

33. What was the best book you read?
I really liked the Guild of the Cowry Catchers series by Abigail Hilton. Not sure it was the best thing of the year, but it was really good.

34. What kept you sane?
I don't think I was really in danger of insanity this year. I was pretty well-grounded by friends, loved ones, good books, good food, lots of intellectual stimulation... I'm not sure this question is still relevant.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Ummm, I dunno. I kinda started to tune out this year. It all just seemed like more of the same. I feel I can effect more change by starting conversations with the people around me than I can by closely following politics. Also, I kinda feel like Obama let me down, so I'm done paying attention to him.

37. Whom did you miss?
My cat, Claire. My friend Claire. My friends Stefan, Ann, Eliz, Mike, Mike, Andrea. The more I build a community here, the easier it is to let go of people who are far away. I don't know if that's good or bad.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Chris.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
You are not broken. You have great capacity to love. You have more power over your own life than you realize.

40. A quote or song lyric that sums up your year:
This is part of last year's, but it's oddly relevant this year too:
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some
But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours
Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damm you're free
Look into your heart and you will find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing
We're just one big family
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved


Also this bit, from Between the Raindrops:
...There's a smile on my face
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
We're better than alright
Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath...

Though, really, I'm not sure either of those sums up the year at all. It's a hard year to sum up. It was an adventure, and it was emotional, and there were PEOPLE, and I remembered parts of myself, and I hope I grow as much as a person in 2014 as I did in 2013.

2012

Jan. 1st, 2013 02:01 am
oceantheorem: (journals)
1. What did you do in 2012 that you've never done before?
Well, I got married. So that was new!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I never make resolutions. I remain resolute that I never shall. :-P

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Uh, not that I remember. Some family members did (and one lj friend!), but no one I talk to on a regular basis.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

BUT some really close friends got married. I got to be a bridesmaid in Mike and Eliz's wedding, and that was really, really cool.

5. What states/countries did you visit?
Um. Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont. Also, England, Scotland, France, and Germany.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
Foresight? Any ability to plan whatsoever? Creativity maybe. I need to work on that.

7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Well, I got married on April 22nd. That was pretty cool. :-) Also, we moved to California on August 1st, and words can't even express how happy I am to be back.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hmm. Biggest thing I achieved...? Finally getting back to California? Getting a good job in California? Not sure. Those both feel like inadequate answers.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Still being terrible about follow-through.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major, though I seem to keep re-breaking the same pinky toe, and that's obnoxious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
This is kind of a sad question. Really? We're elevating monetary purchases to status of Must-Be-Remembered-Next-Year? Can't we ask something like, "What's the best thing you created?" instead? The best thing I created was probably our wedding. It was very us, and we worked together to make it exactly what we wanted, and I think it turned out to be an incredibly personal and wonderful celebration.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Um, Jim is pretty damn impressive. Both our moms have been pretty cool, too. Jim's parents are both really amazing people, actually. And I definitely want to highlight how absolutely amazing everyone who came to our wedding was. It would not have been what it was without the support and effort all of our friends and family put in, from the table runner my mom knit to the plates my friends put on the tables to the dress my friend made. Jim's cousin paid for my dad's hotel room. I mean, geez. Above and beyond. I was blown away by how hard everyone worked to make our wedding incredible. Thank you.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Humanity's in general. Can't we freakin' be nice to each other? Is it going to take an alien invasion for us to realize we're all humans and worthy of the same respect we demand for ourselves?

14. Where did most of your money go?
Student loan repayments. And rent. Ugh, rent.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
DRAGON*CON!!!!!! It's basically like Christmas for nerds.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
Um. Someone else mentioned this, but We Are Young by ... who sings that? The internet says "Fun." Fun? That's a band name? Oh my god, I'm old.
Train: Hey Soul Sister
Jason Mraz: I'm Yours (our wedding song)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
- happier or sadder? Waaaaaaay happier
- thinner or fatter? About the same. Maybe slightly thinner.
- richer or poorer? Monetarily? Who the hell knows. Abstractly? Oh man, so much richer. Life is so much better now. I have an amazing husband and a good job and I love living near the ocean and closer to my family, and I'm getting to know my dad, and learning a new creative hobby, and things are just GOING SO WELL.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Eesh. It would have been hard to have packed anything else into this year, honestly. But more planning and adhering to plans would have been helpful. (Europe would have been more fun if we'd done, like, ANY planning at ALL.)

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sleeping. I wish I didn't need so much sleep. Why does my body need so much sleep??

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Quietly, with Jim, in our apartment, playing video games. It was wonderful and absolutely unremarkable. Perfect.

21. How will you be spending New Years?
I spent it playing video games online with distant friends. Jim was out working. I am content. 

22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
No.

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Errr, of all time? Or of this year? What came out this year? Uh. Still enjoying How I Met Your Mother

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't think I actually hate ANYONE.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Train, actually. I didn't like them when I was younger, but I think they're great now. Have you heard the song 50 Ways To Say Goodbye? HILARIOUS.

27. What did you want and get?
California and an endless, fabulous, organic supply of ripe avocados. Ooooh avocados. I could write sonnets for you.

28. What did you want and not get?
Uhhh. Nothing comes to mind, really. This was actually an amazing year.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't think I liked ANY of the movies I saw this year. :-P Cloud Atlas and The Hobbit were both awful, and I can't remember seeing anyth- OH THE AVENGERS. That was really good. Joss Whedon, I love you.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Um, I turned 27. It was just a few days after we got back from our honeymoon in Europe, and I was sick, and I don't think it was particularly good, but that's okay. Europe was good and that was fine. :-)

31. What one thing would have made your year?
Ha, I think my year WAS made. I mean, can you ask for much more than marrying an amazing person and moving to the best place in the world? I mean, we went to a spa at the foot of the Alps, with friends, on a gorgeous spring day. Can you ask anything more of life than relaxing in a hot tub while surrounded by good people, staring at a mountain lake and a blue sky?

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Solid colors. Knee-length or longer skirts whenever possible. I started buying multiples of shirts that fit well, because it's so rare that I find ones I like. The more unremarkable and plain they are, the more I like them.

33. What was the best book you read?
Oooh. Um. Well, I just finished The Way of Kings, and that was really good. Oh - but WOOL was way better. Did I read that this year? Man, this year has been really, really long, hasn't it?

34. What kept you sane?
Jim. And endless books on my kindle, and music on my phone. And I drank a LOT of $4 Trader Joe's Blue Fin Petite Syrah.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Eh? This is another bizarre question. We should delete this one from the list next year.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Oy. I get pretty wound up about feminism, and abortion, and education, and the military. But overall I'm really just appalled that we can't all agree to be nice to each other, and to take care of each other.

37. Whom did you miss?
This list is so long, every year. :-(  Nanny. Ann. Eliz, Mike, Kristy, Emily, Clark, Stef, Richard, my mom, Ellie, the whole HPKCHC knitting group I seem to have somehow grown away from, my cat, and a few people I shouldn't miss but I did anyway. Aaron, George, Jamie. Someday hopefully I will stop missing those three.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Hmm. I really liked some of the people from the failed housing experiment our first month here. Damian was cool. I also really like my new coworkers. Sharon (and her metalworking from her garage!) has been an inspiration for me to be more creative, and is part of why I'm managing to muster the courage to try leatherwork. Ulf has motivated me to be a better scientist and to learn faster, when I always thought I was a quick learner. Everyone has room for improvement, I guess! But really, I wasn't blown away by any particular new person this year.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
Uhhh. Everyone has room for improvement? People have an incredible, untapped, powerful ability to love and to help one another. A society based on money necessarily squelches that by pitting us against one another instead of fostering cooperation.

40. A quote or song lyric that sums up your year:
...I'll be giving it my bestest
And nothing's gonna stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damm you're free
Look into your heart and you will find love love love love

Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing
We're just one big family
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved


If I'd read this entry ten years ago, or even five years ago, I don't think I would have recognized myself (the last time I filled out this questionnaire, that I can find, was 2006. it makes me cry to read it - oh, I was so not in a good place that year.). It has been a CRAZY decade. I am not the same person, but I think that's okay. Even good. Not that I wasn't a good person a decade ago, but I have come a long way. I hope I keep growing over the next decade. Hello, Kara of 2023. Do I even recognize you?

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