2004 Summary Meme

via _storyteller_

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Started meeting with a spiritual director.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can't even remember what my new year's resolutions were last year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
Lots of creative energy.

7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Learning my father has Parkinsons.
Seeing my daughter's startling performance on stage for the first time.
The day I had an emotional breakdown during a gaming session.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Creation of the newsletter for my division.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not maintaining any real kind of exercise routine.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My purple comfy couch.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My daughter is a sweet, caring, helpful little girl. I am constantly amazed by her generous nature.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
President Bush

14. Where did most of your money go?
Most of it went to the basics: rent, insurance, food, debt, etc.
Most of the discretionary money went for movie stills, books and DVDs.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The ROTK extended edition -- which, unfortunately, turned out to be a disappointment.
How well I'm doing in school.
The positive feedback on the newsletter at work.
The process of consciously re-conceiving my mythic/archetypal paradigms.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
"Defying Gravity" from the Wicked soundtrack.

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes
And leap...

It's time to try Defying Gravity
I think I'll try Defying Gravity
And you can't pull me down


17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner
iii. richer or poorer? Richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Working out
Writing

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Playing Alchemy, spending money on eBay, mindless websurfing

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spending Christmas Eve with my parents, daughter and raptures_shadow at my parents' house. Christmas morning alone at my house while my daughter is upstairs with her father and his family.
"Alone" is not a bad thing. I'll sleep in, then enjoy some quiet time.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
No.

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I don't watch TV these days, except the programs that my daughter watches. This year I enjoyed watching the DVD's of Firefly.

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

26. What was the best book you read?
The Kushiel trilogy by Jacqueline Carey.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Wicked soundtrack -- for which I have to thank the divine ladyvivien, and Eliza Gilkyson, courtesy of soul sister queenofhalves.

28. What did you want and get?
A real, full-time, salary-plus-benefits job.
A licensed replica of Arwen's sword.

29. What did you want and not get?
My full creativity back.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
National Treasure was the only new film I saw more than once.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my 40th birthday I took a vacation day and watched the extended edition of ROTK. A few days later, I had a much quieter and lower-key party than I had originally intended.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Being able to finish my novel.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Student casual

34. What kept you sane?
To be honest: my LJ friends community. It's been wonderful to be able to share so much here, and to receive unfailing support, encouragement, counsel, affirmation, commiseration, and shared silliness.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Viggo Mortensen

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The Iraq war -- although to call it "a political issue" isn't quite accurate, since it is far more than that.

37. Who did you miss?
My friend Bill, with whom I have not had a lot of contact since we ceased to be business partners.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
My boss, Jeannie.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
That taking responsibility for my own emotions and reactions goes a long way toward improving a difficult relationship.

40. Quote a song lyric that describes the past year:
See "Defying Gravity" above

(no subject)

I was going to bake a bundt cake (special secret family recipe) to take to work tomorrow, but my perm appointment ran longer than I expected, so I barely had time to write Christmas cards this evening. Maybe cake tomorrow night. . . .

I went to Gene Juarez for the first time, and it was quite an experience. I was pampered, fussed over (in a nice way) and made to feel like the most important person in the world. A vivacious young woman with a purple stripe in her hair described herself as a "fiber artist" and her work on my hair as "hair couture" and was so sincere and passionate about it, I couldn't help but take her seriously.

No one have ever used the word "couture" to refer to me or my personal style in any way, shape or form before. It was gratifying, even though there was a bit of silliness to it.

The important thing is that the perm is really nice: big, soft ringlets. It's very romantic and beautiful.

Unfortunately, all the Christmas cards I wrote this evening were for work. I have not done any to actually mail, which means that it looks like I'm just going to miss this year. *sigh*

Christmas Theatrics

Today my mother sent an email to my sister and me about what she wants to do for Christmas Eve.

It begins like this: After dinner and before gifts, we are going to "do" the Christmas story using the Nativity scene from Bethlehem.

Dad will read the scriptures. I would like [raptures_shadow] to sing "O' Little Town of Bethlehem"..... [The Child] will put the figures into the scene as they come up. Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem, etc.

[QoS], would you help [The Child] sing "Away in the Manger"? After she brings the baby to the stable?

And etc.

I can not tell you all how much I do not want to do this.
But there is no way in the world I can say as much to my mother. She ended her email with: I feel very certain about doing this this year. I hope you will all be sympathetic.

Arrrgghhh!
Like anyone could say anything to the contrary after that statement without coming across like anything but a completely insensitive clod.

When I stop to concentrate, I think about how much it will probably mean to The Child, as well as to my mother. But I do not want to sing "Away in the Manger" -- and I do not want to sing another hymn/carol by myself later on. (The one amendment I am going to pitch to my mom is that I read a poem or something instead of sing the carol she wants me to sing toward the end.) I do not want to engage in this little ritual-theatrical exercise.

I suppose it may seem strange that a seminary student would not want to do this. But it just feels false and forced to me. But my mother feels very strongly that she wants to do it, and it would be utterly horrible for me to do anything but put the best possible face on my participation.

RS, I'm trusting you not to breathe a word of this to The Parents.

(Actually, I don't imagine that Dad really wants to do it either, but he will -- and be gracious about it -- because Mother wants to. He's very sweet that way. I will try to be as sweet. I'm just going to let out a groan here, in semi-anonymity, and get it out of my system.)