2013/2014

To end 2012 and begin 2013 I took this little questionnaire thingamajig.  So here's 2013/2014.  Better late than never, right?

What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?  2013 was the first time Bobaloo and I have lived in a house together instead of an apartment.  Bobaloo and I also checked out quite a few museums that we had never been to before.

Did you keep your resolutions from last year and will you make more or any for 2014?  I'm lame and don't make resolutions. 

Did anyone close to you give birth?  I had a good friend give birth to baby Eleanor.  Eleanor came to visit Colorado when she was a couple of months old and we danced to The Rolling Stones.

Did anyone close to you die?  No.  2013 was a nice break from funerals.   Lou Reed's death was particularly sad, I was close to his music.

What trips did you take?  I took a trip to Minnesota in early February and that's about it, another year of being a homebody.

What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?  Better focus.  Shit, I should have made that my resolution.  See?  If I would have slowed down and focused on the second question I would have been all over that.  Geez.  Also a proper vacation with Bobaloo.  Airplane and all.

What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?  Not a date.  My favorite memories from 2013 were sunny days in the yard with Bobaloo, his sunflowers, my dog, and some groovy tunes.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?  My biggest achievement was starting to go to therapy again and sticking with it.  My anxiety in 2013 was undoubtedly milder than 2012.

What was your biggest failure?  Hmmm...  Best not to dwell on that, huh?  All I can do is wake up tomorrow and try harder.  Although come to think of it, I consistently sucked at playing Jenga.

Did you suffer illness or injury?  A couple bouts of the flu and a couple bouts of the blues, nothing major.

What was the best thing you bought?  Mona the turtle.

Whose behavior merited celebration?  Bobaloo is always a champ.  I am lucky to have some good friends who have helped me through some rough patches.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?  The stupid jerk who jacked my purse while I was gold-panning and spent my money at McDonald's.  I also had an awful visit with a physician which took me a while to let go of.

Where did most of your money go?  Good question.  Where did it go?  I went to a lot of concerts and those get expensive.  General hanging out.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?  I'm excitable in general.  In 2013 we had a lot of Minnesota people come out and visit us and I was very excited about that.  My folks, my brother Kyle, Bobaloo's folks, Bobaloo's brother Jim and his wife, my childhood friend Amy and her husband and kids, Bobaloo's brother-in-law Jesse.

What song will always remind you of 2013?  "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Compared to last year, are you:
happier or sadder?  happier.
thinner or fatter?  slightly thinner.
richer or poorer?  I'm love-rich.

What do you wish you'd done more of?  I'm content with 2013.  It was a really full year both in quantity and quality, but not too full.

What do you wish you'd done less of?  Worrying.

How will you be spending Christmas?  Long over now.  Bobaloo and I spent Christmas Day at the local watering hole with very lovely people and I laughed until my stomach ached that day.

Did you fall in love in 2013?  Of course.

How many one-night stands?  All right.  Enough with this question.  Does anyone have a better idea with a replacement for next year?  Like, how many nightstands do you have in your bedroom.  We have one nightstand.  And I have a bookshelf on my side.

What was your favorite TV program?  House of Cards, Orange is the new Black, New Girl, Call the Midwife. 

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?  Nope.

What was the best book you read?  I read 24 books in 2013, much less than my 45 goal.  Here's my 2013 bookshelf.  The Book Thief and The Graveyard Book are the reads that really stuck with me.

What was your favorite musical discovery?  My friend Caleb and I did Mixed-Tape Mondays during the summer so there was a lot of great music going on.  Lana Del Ray sticks out.  Also, Martin Sexton.

What did you want and get?  A bicycle, a turtle, and gliding chairs for the patio.

What did you want and not get?  A car.

What was your favorite film of the year?  The Hunger Games?  I'm not too sure.

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?  I turned 30!  My parents came out for a visit.  We all (Nik included) packed up in the car and went to Glenwood Springs.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?  Again, I'm good with how 2013 went.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?  Jeans and a shirt in the winter, summer dresses in the summer.  Hats, I rock a lot of hats.  My hair mostly stayed dark blond except for an unfortunate orange incident in the summer.

What kept you sane?  Walking and sleeping.  Taking a nice walk five days a week and getting on a sleep schedule was particularly helpful.  Who knew it was that easy?  Also, beer.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?  I can't think of anyone. 

What political issue stirred you the most?  You know what?  We can all disagree about stuff without being jerks about it.

Who did you miss?   I got really homesick a couple of times.

Who was the best new person you met?  Impossible to choose.  I was happy to have made better friendships with people who I only kind of knew in 2012.

Tell a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013?  Don't make eye contact while eating a banana.  I kid, I kid.  I had been forcing myself into situations that were awful for me, hoping to overcome my discomfort.  Mostly going to places or festivities where I knew I was going to have a terribly anxious time because I should like this stuff.  Does that make sense?

Well, that stuff is just not my "jam."  And that's okay.  Those things are not my things (even if they used to be).  Why force it and be miserable?  I have plenty of other things that I both enjoy and that make my life full.

A song lyric that sums up your year.

Laugh until we think we'll die,
Barefoot on a summer night
Never could be sweeter than with you





Alright.  That's out of the way.  Back to normal...