2007 in review

from...myself, actually.... ;-)

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Said no, and consciously stood by it. And didn't feel too guilty about it, either!

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't really do resolutions. This year I was just trying to get through the year and grow a little. I did both.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not, technically, in 2007. No. However, I have walked a whimpering baby in the past month, so that was a nice thing.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not in 2007, no. I went to one funeral, though. There may be at least one funeral coming in '08. We'll see.

5. What countries did you visit? The U.S. Is "the South" a country? ;-)

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

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 1/13/07--the saddest funeral I've been to in a very long time, since Andrew's about 6 years ago. 7/7/07--My niece's wedding. 11/18/07--bad news about Beast's mom (13 years exactly after receiving worse news about my dad)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Coercing 8 directors to see sense and not trade to a crap database. I did NOT do this alone, and I wish we could have convinced more, but it still feels pretty damn good.

9. What was your biggest failure? Not knowing how to deal with my niece's and nephew's grief.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Not really. Lots of allergies, but nothing acute or awful.

11. What was the best thing you bought? New floors.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sparky's improvement in virtually every arena.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Basically everyone in charge of anything everywhere, with a few minor exceptions, from government to corporations to schools.

14. Where did most of your money go? It ALWAYS mostly goes to paying the mortgage!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our trip to Minneapolis.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? "Grace Kelly" by Mika.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
(a)Happier or Sadder? Happier (no contest!!)
(b)Thinner or Fatter? Today, definitely fatter.
(c)Richer or Poorer? Financially stable. Otherwise, I think I'm richer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Getting together with friends.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Letting idiots dictate my mood and responses.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? Woops...uh, at home. Unless this means Christmas 08, in which case the answer is "I have no idea."

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Not really. Not exactly. Kinda.

22. How many one-night stands? Hah. None.

23. What was your favorite TV program? I think I watched all the extant episodes of CSI and CSI: Miami this year, so we'll go with CSI in general, eh?

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? "Hate"--no. There are some people who could disappear that I'd be happy to see go.

25. What was the best book you read? The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Mika.

27. What did you want and get? Love, patience, and time with family and friends.

28. What did you want and not get? Healing for family and friends.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 44 this year and took several days off work since that was a long weekend for the school district. We didn't do much of anything, but that's ok.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A little more self-discipline.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Comfort at all costs!!

33. What kept you sane? Blogging.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? ...er, I actually can't think of anyone who made me drool this year... Except maybe this one guy who comes in the library all the time. Yeah, he's a cutie.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? I'm so freakin' TIRED of this war! On the other hand, I'm not sure that's political. It certainly ought not to be. Oh, well. That's my answer.

36. Who did you miss? Jenny.

37. Who was the best new person you met? I got to know P#ggy, a cataloger at a nearby library, better this year, though I've known her for a couple of years. And getting to know the high school youth group kids has continued to be eye-opening.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007: Don't count on anything! Things can change in, quite literally, a heartbeat. Be grateful for what is here, now.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: In looking over the past year, I have quoted the lyrics from "Desperado" at least three times. That seems to be the theme, quite unconsciously. I'm not sure what to make of it, so I'll just quote these lines:

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? You been out ridin' fences for so long now. Oh, you're a hard one; I know that you got your reasons. These things that are pleasin' you can hurt you somehow.