1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
(Why is my first impulse sexual? Must be the moon).
Went to Africa. Most profound thing I've ever done.
Oh, and stood on a stage as a full-fledged phd.
Acquired a road bike.
Worked in the US under a TN visa.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions?
I don't think I had any resolutions last year. And yet the year popped with achievements. I think there's a lesson there.
3. Did someone close to you give birth? Did anyone close to you die?
No. and No.
So that's a wash for population change....
5. What countries did you visit?
US (umpteen times), Scotland, England, Denmark, Germany, Uganda. (Am I missing any?) Landed in Schiphol but stayed sky-side, so I don't think it counts.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
More impetus to exercise.
7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Learning to be less tied up in knots. A concatenation of many good things.
8. What was your biggest failure?
I don't really think in terms of failure. There were a few WTF client moments.
9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious.
10. What was the best thing you bought?
My bike, hands down. Makes me alive. Followed up by my plane ticket to Uganda.
11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The people of America. The amazing people who swept me with emotional curling brooms to finishing my dissertation, and then who surrounded me when I presented it. So many people.
12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The people who cheered on Sarah Palin.
13. Where did most of your money go?
Airlines.
14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Now I'm thinking about sex again.
My bike.
Finding out we got a grant I was the lead writer on.
Meeting the kids in Kasese.
Climbing mountains in Scotland.
The AMAZING AND DELIGHTFUL
capsule hotel in schiphol I slept in on the way back from Uganda.Hanging out with my nieces.
15. What song will always remind you of 2008?
I guess that annoying Coldplay song. (Hi Liz!)
Also, the theme song from Dr. Who.
16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? Marginally fatter
iii. richer or poorer? About the same, financially. Lifewise, richer.
17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Again with the naughty thoughts.
I did a lot this year. Worked out more.
18. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Weeping. (First half of the year, mostly)
19. How did you spend Christmas?
On an airplane, mostly, next to a woman with a wee sweet baby named Gianna. Bracketed by xmas morning with my nieces and late night cheese and wine with F, his daughter and her mom.
20. Any one-night stands?
Not unless you count the deep lust I have for that capsule hotel in Schiphol.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
Torchwood. (I think this was the only thing I watched on broadcast tv, but I did like discovering Dexter on dvd).
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
The woman who wrote this book: My miserable lonely lesbian pregnancy. I wanted to punch her in the mouth the whole time I was reading it.
23. What was the best book you read?
Hm, surely there was something. I think the fact that this is question #23 means that I want to just grab what's on my bedside. Which happens to be A short walk in the hindu kush, which is actually really good.
Actually, I think the best book was A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali. Read it under the mosquito net by headlamp in Kasese, and I could smell the sweat. Harrowing and brilliant.
Last year I would have said Fun Home, hands down. But I don't think there was anything that actually came out this year that had the same impact on me.
I read a fair bit, but it was very in-one-eye-and-out-the-other.
24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
It was a very music-less year. Maybe learning a teensy bit about blues.
25. What did you want and get?
Road bike. Trip to germany. Trip to Uganda. Less inner turmoil. Lots of joy with F. Affirmation with many many important friends. Yarn.
26. What did you want and not get?
An i-phone. And it turns out I'm pretty happy about the decision not to carry email around with me. Though I think it drives Danny nuts.
27. Favorite film of this year?
For the life of me I can't remember seeing any films. I think we went to see In Bruges, because it happened to be on when we had time to go to a film. But it wasn't a film-going year. I saw Rachel Getting Married and liked it, but then I like those overly navel-gazey things. I have a list, but I don't know when I'll make them happen.
28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 44. Went for bbq and blues. Wondered why my mother didn't call me.
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hm. My year was pretty satisfying. There are a couple of people I wish had more peace in their lives. I wish I had a bit more resolution on this long-distance-relationship thing.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Fleece.
31. What kept you sane?
Anafranil. Zinfandel. A steadying touch in the morning. My bicycle. Listening to people. My online friends. My real-life friends. My real-life friends I see online a lot. Knitting. Sleeping. Conversations with good people on airplanes.
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Well, is there any answer other than Obama?
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
I think slowly starting to understand a little bit more about post-colonialism and what makes Africa the complex, complicated, breathtaking place it is.
34. Who do you miss?
I miss working on my dissertation. And Jeff from the Pittsford Pub.
35. Who was the best new person you met?
That man on the plane between Amsterdam and Entebbe who told me the story of taking his 6 year old daughter with him to vote on Nov 4 and then flying to DC so she could be there that night.
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Hanky Panky underpants are as good as thongs.
No comments:
Post a Comment