year's end memery

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Had sex in Paris, stayed up all night in drunken revelry, traveled around Europe alone, got in a car and drove 1000 miles to a state I'd never seen before, switched careers, saw David's Le mort de Marat, dyed my hair hot pink, did some serious long-distance flirtation, among other things.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Hey, when you're living 3 hours from Paris and only working 12 hours a week, self-improvement is not at the top of your list. But yes, for this year, I'm going to maintain a regular tai chi and yoga practice in addition to getting my finances under control. And I'm going to finally stick to reading only the books I already own. For real this time! Seriously, I mean it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth or adopt?
Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
Can't claim Greece, but I did go to Spain, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
A sense of stability.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 14 (or thereabouts), in Paris, for debauched lesbianism. May 1, in Glastonbury, for rather sober paganism. May 2-4, in Cardiff, for reasons that should be blindingly obvious. July 20ish, for the same reason.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Every time I took a flying leap, not once did I crash land on my ass.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Probably letting fear still get the best of me.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Mono! Woo! Good times.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A groundling ticket to the Globe theater.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Hell, mine, despite myself. Coolest. Year. Ever.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The government's. As per usual.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Survival: plane tickets, train tickets, food and housing.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Titus Andronicus at the Globe. Getting my own apartment.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
"Gone Again" by The Indigo Girls, and "From Paris to Berlin" by Infernal.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? oh happier, very much so
b) thinner or fatter? the same
c) richer or poorer? see previous post

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Boozin', dancin' and screwin'. For real.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Dithering, fretting, worrying and just generally freaking out.

20. How will you be spending Christmas New Years?
Downtown with La Chanteuse.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
::grins idiotically::

22. How many one-night stands?
Hey now, I don't kiss and tell. And what the heck, putting this question after #22?!

23. What was your favorite TV program?
I've been without a TV for most of 06, but I did watch Dead Famous, when I was living with my parents.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nah. I still have the same people on my Shitlist.

25. What was the best book you read?
Ooh, um, Mary Dorcey's A Noise from the Woodshed, Sarah Waters' The Nightwatch, Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home are all on there.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
techno music.

27. What did you want and get?
Life Experience and good stories to tell. And a really cute, brilliant girlfriend.

28. What did you want and not get?
A Star Trek-like transporter machine that lets you travel long distances without bothering with 13 hour plane rides.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
Pride and Prejudice (well it came out in France in January of 06 so it counts). I didn't see a whole lot of movies though.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 24 and I didn't do a whole lot of anything, which was nice because I needed the rest.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
See above about that transporter machine. Ideally, managing to stay on the same continent (I don't care which one) with Winter for more than a few days at a time.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Thrift-store Euro-punk (I flatter myself).

33. What kept you sane?
Music. And books. And trees and clouds.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Huh, you know, I don't think I had one. I was too busy getting in emotional-and-otherwise entanglements with real people.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
How much time do you have? But the one I dealt with the most in my daily life, aside from the daily questions of queerness, was vegetarianism and the politics of meat.

36. Who did you miss?
Who didn't I miss? In no particular order: my family, the dog, Chanteuse, Winter.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Winter ::idiot grin again::

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
When in doubt, just take that flying leap and cross your fingers.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
argh, that's tough, but this was the year I officially became an Indigo Girls fanatic, so I suppose that'd be best:

I'm coming home with a stone, strapped onto my back.
I'm coming home with a burning hope turning all my blues to black.
I'm looking for a sacred hand to carve into my stone.
A ghost of comfort, angels breath - to keep this life inside my chest.
This world falls on me with hopes of immortality.
Everywhere I turn all the beauty just keeps shaking me.
"World Falls"