40 questions about 2004

[piranha]

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
went to a canadian science fiction con, and filked.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
i don't make any.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
not anyone really close, but usenet.pals porcinea and ailbhe had healthy babies, yay.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
nobody really close. wow. a good thing! lots of people on my flist mourned eck's suicide, but i didn't really know him.

5. What countries did you visit?
the US.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
a better anti-depressant.

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
exact dates never stay etched in my memory, only events.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
to survive without becoming a total burden.

whoa, that sounds depressing. ... well, it is.

9. What was your biggest failure?
oh man, i don't even want to go there; i failed at so many things.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
chronic depression, which got worse.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
a rubber glove with little nubbins on both sides-- bacchus totally loves it; he melts when i massage him.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
the paramour was wonderful to me. the *poing* did lots of things i thought meritorious. rahaeli is one of the best managers i've ever met.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
the bush regime appals me. the people who voted for him depress me because we seem to not have some fundamental ideas (about human and civil rights) in common.

on a more personal level, an LJ employee's unrepentantly appalling behaviour became the cause for me going inactive on the abuse team.

14. Where did most of your money go?
the boat. big hole in water into which to pour money and all. and it's not even in the water!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
the boat getting closer and closer to being finished. the *poing* visit.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
don't know yet, if any. this usually doesn't crystalize until some years later.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? sadder.
b) thinner or fatter? no idea. fatter probably.
c) richer or poorer? about the same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
hiking. visiting the *poing*. trying harder to see other people i like.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
time-wasting.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
same as any other day. we don't celebrate it.

21. How will you spend New Year's?
filling out this questionnaire. :) nothing special. in about 15 min i'll give the paramour zir annual "container" gift. *evil cackle*. maybe i should wash my hair first.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
in the many small ways that brighten my days, yes -- with the people i already love. not with anybody new.

23. How many one-night stands?
i don't even have one night stand; i pile my books right next to my thermarest.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
umm. the summer olympics pretty much made up most of my TV watching for the year. that was fun, especially since i got to do it with the *poing*.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
hate is a strong term. i don't really hate anyone personally. in an impersonal way, i "hate" quite a number of people, mostly those who make the lives of millions miserable. what that means is that if they were to die tomorrow, i'd not weep, and instead would probably think "alright! good riddance to bad rubbish".

26. What was the best book you read?
i don't do "the best" sorts of things. i never grok that sort of ranking; i don't even understand how anyone can do it. :)

i read a huge pile of books this year, more fiction than usual, i think (but less non-fiction). i'm gonna make a separate post with a list and comments.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
filk music. i mean, i had known of its existence before, but i never paid attention.
arcade fire, dogs die in hot cars, duane andrews, the damnwells, franz ferdinand, marah, sadies, visqueen

28. What did you want and get?
a mac! a wonderful guitar. lots of lovely craft supplies. yarn! books, books, books.

29. What did you want and not get?
hm. tons of stuff if we're talking casual "oh, shiny!", but i am not sitting here moaning over it. if we're talking world peace and the like, on the other hand...

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
i didn't see any first-run films this year. i rarely do. of the movies i saw, i liked especially:
bend it like beckham, zatoichi, tampopo, my neighbour totoro, LotR: the two towers (sorry, jo!)

31. What did you do on your birthday?
the usual: thought and wrote a bunch of stuff about the past year and what i learned from it. my birthday is the day on which i do that since it helps to have a fixed date that's meaningful to me.

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
a different outcome to the US election.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
sloppy comfort; sweats and tees.

34. What kept you sane?
the luck of the draw, in that i didn't acquire a mental illness that would qualify me as insane.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
fancy. umm. maybe gwen stefani.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
the iraq war.

37. Who did you miss?
G. he had impeccable grammar and would know that this question should start with "whom".

38. Who was the best new person you met?
that is such a weird question. i can't possibly answer it. what does that mean? (i never had a "best" friend either.)

i had the most fun with new people i met at VCON -- planetalyx is a sweetheart, and shaddyr and mrlogic filked their way right into my musical heart. :)

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
w.c. fields overestimated.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
que sera, sera

(ghods, i can hardly remember lyrics when i sing along, nevermind afterwards! :)


happy new year to everyone who celebrates this occasion!

Comments

[lizw.livejournal.com]

I've been wanting to see Bend it Like Beckham since it came out, and failing. It's being shown here this weekend - I'm hoping I'll finally manage it.

Happy New Year!

[ailbhe]

A job interview at a bookshop once asked me what was my favourite book. I was ghabberflasted. I didn't get the job.

[lcohen]

well best wishes for causes to celebrate whatever you choose to celebrate in the 365 days to come!