2011 Checklist

I'm not much of a meme person, but I haven't been in a mood to write anything lately (or, you know, since early October), so I'm using this to get back into posting.  Hopefully.  So! Here we go.  Don't get your hopes up; it was really a pretty boring year.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
Sang karaoke, met Coolio, laughed at something on the Big Bang Theory...   that might be it.  Those are all pretty major accomplishments though, so.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any last year, and I won't make any this year.  I guess I could say I am going to eat better but holy shit, I need to do that, resolution or not.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes - my boss had a baby boy in November, and a good friend/former co-worker's wife had a boy in mid-December.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
A high school classmate of mine died of a horrible form of cancer in May.  We were not in touch recently, but we were fairly close in school.  It was the first illness/death that I've dealt with in the age of Facebook, and that made things both easier to keep informed of, and creepy.

5. What countries did you visit?
I stayed domestic this year.  Spent an awesome girls weekend in Vegas to celebrate Mrs. Irritation's 40th birthday, and made a couple trips to New York and Cincinnati for work.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
My husband to be employed full-time again.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 17, the day J lost his job; August 15, the day I brought Randy Mewman home.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Um, keeping my house out of foreclosure?  Downer, I know, but we had some scary months.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I would have liked to have done more career-wise: getting additional training/certification or at least interviewing for new positions.  Both were at least partially out of my control, but I wasn't exactly aggressive on either front.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, thank God.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My kitten, Randy Mewman.  I had been apprehensive about adopting a new cat while J was unemployed, because I didn't want them to spend all day bonding while I was at work.  I wanted it to be *my* kitty.  Turns out I needn't have worried.  Randy is totally mine.  He loves everyone, but I get most of his affection, and that's what matters.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Paying bills.  There wasn't much left beyond that, but I'm glad we made it through the year without major financial disaster.

13. What did you get really excited about?
Meeting Coolio in Vegas, the release of The Muppets (and seeing it with Shelly & her awesome kid)

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Nothing specific, but I played the shit out of Weird Al's Alpocalypse and Steven Page's Page One albums on commutes to & from work a lot, so I'll pick "Perform This Way" and "A New Shore".

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
-- happier or sadder?  Sadder
-- thinner or fatter?  A teeny tiny bit thinner.
-- richer or poorer?  Poorer.  Good lord, poorer.

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Cooking meals at home

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eating bar food for dinner

18. How did you spend Christmas?
At home with J & the kids, and I went with my sister to visit my nephew Connick, who's in a residential treatment facility for autistic kids.  I didn't see my mom or my other nieces & nephews & won't until this week.  We have too many different complicated schedules, so we do everything with whichever piece of the group we can get together at any time.

19. What was your favorite TV program?
The League, Psych, Sons of Anarchy.  I can't pick just one.  That's like asking one of you mom types to pick your favorite kid.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?
The biggest reason is probably because it's the most recent, but In the Woods  by Tana French.  I read some others that I really enjoyed, too:  The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano, The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton, and The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff were all very nice discoveries.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?
Weird Al's Alpocalype, They Might Be Giants's Join Us, Steven Page's Page One.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?
Horrible Bosses, Bridesmaids, and The Muppets

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 38 this year. J & I went out to breakfast, then spent way too much time dealing with car registration/title issues, and I went to a minor league baseball game while J umped a rec league game.  Afterward we met for a couple beers.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If J had been able to find anti-depressant drugs that don't have the side effect that they all seem to. Ahem.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Undergarments are overrated.

26. What kept you sane?
Twitter, my online & offline friends, and my kitty.  In no particular order.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Don't fret so much.  Things have a way of working out.  At least this year they seemed to.