Sunday, January 13, 2013

2012 - The Year of Sabbatical

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before? Visited new countries - including 2 Muslim countries, had a multiple orgasm thingy (hard to describe how it was different, but it was), went to my first Interhash, saw orangutans and Komodo Dragons, took a sabbatical.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I can't recall making any, but the complete fail on the running front is one. My goals for next year are to acquire two teachables (so, 4.5 university classes in History and English) so as to apply for Teacher's College and to run a marathon, or at least a half, and hopefully The DMZ Peace Marathon in the fall.

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

4. Did anyone close to you die? All three of my remaining grandparents. A cousin much younger than myself. A hasher in Iraq.

5. What countries did you visit? Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Canada.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012? More running. Academic challenge. A more fulfilling job.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 24th, I left on the first leg of my trip. Sept 29th, Sean left for his TDY and it was the last time I saw him.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Travelling by myself in places many wouldn't.

9. What was your biggest failure? I failed to visit all 13 of the countries I wanted to, I failed to maintain a regular running routine, Sean and I failed to figure out wtf is going on with us.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Same old.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A sparkly skirt to run in.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? So many people. Sean often. My friends Dom & Timber. Hashers, especially the one I stayed with in Brunei and all the strangers who picked me up and got me to the runs.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? At the beginning of the year, The Pen, but he has started to reform. Perhaps Tim. Occasionally me.

14. Where did most of your money go? Travelling and postage stamps.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Travelling. Bebe. Thanksgiving at home.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012? Chicken Fried by the Zac Brown Band.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Both
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter
c) richer or poorer? Poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Running, travelling, sex, having serious discussions while sober.

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

20. How will you be spending Christmas? CANADA!!! For the first time in 12 years.

21. Did you fall in love in 2012? Yes.

22. How many one-night stands? None! Me! None!!!

23. What was your favorite TV program? The Newsroom

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

25. What was the best book you read? Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy and likely Lolita, but I'm only about 1/4 into it.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Childish Gambino (or was that the end of last year?) and A. C. Newman's soundtrack for Souvenir of Canada.

27. What did you want and get? Travelling.

28. What did you want and not get? More solid ground for a relationship, those last 5 countries, a lottery win

29. What was your favorite film of this year? All the scary ones with the cuddling with the man and the puppy.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 34, I was in Korea, I'm sure I was drinking with the hashers, but it's not standing out in my memory just now.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Running, health, more puppy time.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012? Anything that passed the sniff test and was the least wrinkled when out of the backpack.

33. What kept you sane? Friends, bebe, vamp porn books.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? The chick from In Plain Sight.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? the American election

36. Who did you miss? All the people at some point or another. Ben, every single damn day.

37. Who was the best new person you met? Sean (we'll count him, because the month of December last year we met but I didn't really know him), Bebe, Dominique (but again, I did know her before, but not like I do now), helpful hashers around the world.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012. It sucks hard to find, a year after running a half marathon, that you can only just pull off 5k, but today is always a good day for running and building up distance again. And that the strangers of the world are on balance lovely and helpful and friendly and kind.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Well it's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most
Not where you live, what you drive or the price tag on your clothes
There's no dollar sign on a piece of mind, this I've come to know
So if you agree, have a drink with me
Raise you glasses for a toast

To a little bit of chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio on

I like to see the sun rise
See the love in my woman's eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother's love

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