I saw this on David Henderson‘s LiveJournal, questions aimed at summarizing 2004. What was last year like for me?
Let’s run down the list.
- What did you do in 2004 that you’d never done before?
Visit Florida. I’d always wanted to go, and this year the company’s annual managers’ conference was held in Orlando. - Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
As a child I never made New Year’s Resolutions. I’m not planning on starting now. - Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. - Did anyone close to you die?
No. - What countries did you visit?
person, nowhere. - What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
Friendship. - What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 9th, because that was the first day of Shore Leave, and my first book-signing. - What was your biggest achievement of the year?
The World of WarCraft midnight opening at work–I planned on twenty people showing up, and instead had several times that number. - What was your biggest failure?My inability to finish a novel outline–it grew, and it grew, and it grew some more, and it was depressing as hell.
- Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, another healthy year. - What was the best thing you bought?
My new car–a 2005 Volkswagen Beetle. - Whose behavior merited celebration?
Sometimes, my staff’s. - Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sometimes, my staff’s. - Where did most of your money go?
My student loans. - What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Hellboy, the movie. - What song will always remind you of 2004?
“Run,” by Snow Patrol. - Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? About the same.
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer. - What do you wish you’d done more of?
Actual writing, as opposed to research, plotting, and character building that my writing days usually turned into. - What do you wish you’d done less of?Work. I was notorious for not going home, spending fifty-plus hours at the store each week. I’m not sure that it gained me anything.
- How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent Christmas with my parents, brother, and sisters. - Did you fall in love in 2004?
Tragically, yes. - How many one-night stands?
None. - What was your favorite TV program?
I watched very little television in 2004, probably less than I did in 2003. I never missed The Practice, though, and I thought its final season was, in many ways, a return to the show’s glory years. I really like the spin-off, Boston Legal, but it’s also just not the same. - Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Other than the people running the country, no. - What was the best book you read?
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. - What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
Snow Patrol. I wasn’t too hot on the two bands others thought I would like, Franz Ferdinand and Modest Mouse. - What did you want and get?
I don’t know that I wanted anything last year. - What did you want and not get?
I wanted Van Helsing to be a good, fun film, a real tribute to the Universal Monsters, and instead the loud, crass film disappointed and upset me at every turn. - What was your favorite film of this year?
King Arthur. - What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I have no idea what I did on my birthday–I probably worked. I turned thirty-one. - What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Friends. - How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Comfortable. - What kept you sane?
Someone had to stay sane. - Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Keira Knightley. - What political issue stirred you the most?
The Presidential election. - Who did you miss?
I would have loved to talk about the election with some of my friends from college. - Who was the best new person you met?
The staff I hired between June and December. - Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
Push the envelope. - Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
“Here comes your nineteenth nervous breakdown.”
“Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown,” The Rolling Stones