The End. Of the Year.
Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 09:46AM So yeah, hi there.
I'm feeling the guilt. Also, I'm feeling like I should say something about this year. So, since I did the questionnaire type thingy at the end of ...errr. 2007 (Part I and Part II) but not one for 2008, I guess I'ma skippin' a year and will now commence one for the end of 2009.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Went to Cancun and a beach wedding.
Got bitten by baby raccoons (among other things)
Had a cabana boy. (boy being the operative word)
Died my hair an unnatural color. Or two.
Turned 40.
Had liposuction.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any resolutions last year. I did however, manage one of my resolutions from the end of 2007. There are no resolutions for this year either - there are, however, intentions. Many many intentions.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico.
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A repeat! A resolution of the disability compensation owed to me by the military for the last 15 (now 36)months.
Also a repeat! My licence back. And a car.
A boy. Maybe.
A maintainable solution to that little "legs actually working properly" issue.
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 31. The day I was medically released from the military.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Maintaining. Sanity.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Lack of concentration.
10. What was the best thing you bought?
My laptop.
11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Katerina.
12. Whose behavior made you appalled and disgusted?
The Canadian Military.
13. What song will always remind you of 2009?
I listened to a lot of new music this year and since music itself is such an identifying and important part of my life - here's a list of songs new to me in 2009 that resonated....click the song title for lyrics
Damien Rice - Nine Crimes
Anna Nalick - Shine
Kendall Payne - On My Bones
Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher and All We Are
and, best of all, people I know, whose music buoys my soul and puts a shit-eating grin on my face.... Mindil Beach Markets - Working Man's Blues
14. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Laughed. Loved. Lived.
15. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Cried. Stressed. Slept.
16. Did you fall in love in 2007?
No.
17. What was your favorite TV program?
Friday Night Lights.
House.
Supernatural.
18. What was the best book you read?
The Other End of the Leash
A book on my reading list for school and one that every single dog owner and/or lover must read.
19. What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?
Justice.
20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Trackpants with wifebeater.
Hospital work-clothes.
That's all I wore.
21. What kept you sane?
Cabot.
Books.
primetime TV.
Moving forward.
22. Who did you miss?
Philly.
Kyle.
The Matt I knew.
23. Who was the best new person you met?
Dr. James Leigh.
24. Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2007.
That even in the most horrible of personal circumstances, I still have time to be good and gentle to those that I love and still have pieces of me to give.
I learned (er... was forced to learn) that I can survive quite comfortably on far less money than I'd thought.
That, in most circumstances these days, the morally right and universally good things to do are still the hardest and the most punished - but that I will continue to choose them.
I'm going to stop there because... I can. Sadly, these answers aren't all that different from the ones two years ago - and a couple, I left as they were. The last five years have been terrible and yet, every year this last couple, I get a little stronger, a little better at weathering the things beyond my control that still directly affect me, a little happier. That, I suppose, is the best that I could ever hope for.
In the coming year, I'll be starting my own business and giving every moment my all. Not only because I have to, but because I want to.
Happy 2010, y'all.
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