End of the Year Meme

As 2005 draws to a close, I find I have nothing better to do than answer a series of random, nosy questions. Well, no, OK, I have lots of better things to do, but there's this whole "procrastination" thing. So...

1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before? Bought a house! I'm afraid this is likely to be a recurring theme, actually.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I'm still mostly sticking to my resolution about not making resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No, but I know a couple of people who are pregnant. Oh, and a cat gave birth in my driveway. I'd say that counts as being "close to me," if only in a purely physical sense.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No.

5. What countries did you visit? Only traveled inside the United States this year, and not even very much of that. I think the only place I really went was California.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? An iPod! Well, OK, for all but the very tail end of 2005, I was perfectly satisfied with my Rio Karma. But I'm getting all obsessive about this iPod thing now.

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 15th, not because it was Tax Day, but because it's the day I closed on my house.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Hand-raising an orphan kitten, and not killing him.

9. What was your biggest failure? I don't know that I've had any major failures. I suppose I've been a bit of a failure at having a social life (an offline social life, I mean), mainly because I haven't really been trying much. I should spend more time with my friends.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Other than a nasty bout of flu in late spring, no.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A house!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? The BBC's for bringing back Doctor Who.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? The United States Government.

14. Where did most of your money go? House! House! House! Not just the down payment and stuff, but also the damned stucco.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? House! See, I told you there'd be a theme.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005? Probably none of them. I don't really tend to associate songs with years.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

Happier or Sadder? Happier, I think. Getting out of that trailer was a good thing.

Thinner or Fatter? Thinner! I'm down to about 160, and more or less holding steady there. If I could drop another ten pounds or so, I'd be really happy, but I already feel a lot better than when I weighed 195.

Richer or Poorer? Poorer. Much, much poorer. My savings are gone, and I'm in debt again. Sigh. But I own property!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Getting out of the house, I suppose.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Computer solitaire. What a time-sink!

20. How will you be spending New Year's Eve? You know, I honestly haven't made any plans. I may just hang out here and change the calendars at midnight.

22. Did you fall in love in 2005? Do fictional characters count?

23. How many one-night stands? Do fictional characters count? Wait, no, I didn't say that...

24. What was your favorite TV program? Doctor Who! Even if I had to pursue sub-legal means of getting hold of it.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't think so. I'm not big on hating people, really.

26. What was the best book you read? Oooh, so many to choose from! Looking over my list of 2005 books (to be posted here in a day or two), and picking just a few that really stand out: Blameless in Abaddon, Life of Pi, The Sparrow, Candide... And, wow, those are just the first four standouts on the list, honestly, and I have absolutely no idea what it means that, thematically, they're all about the exact same thing (what Christians call the "problem of pain"), but it's interesting, isn't it? Let's see... Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell ought to get at least an honorable mention, and perhaps Spin. Oh, and To Kill a Mockingbird, for certain. On the non-fiction front, The Child That Books Built and Everything Bad is Good for You. I could go on, but that's probably enough.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I want to say the Killers, but I think that was actually last year.

28. What did you want and get? A house! Ahem. Sorry.

30. What was your favourite film of this year? I don't remember very well what movies I even saw this year. I guess I didn't actually go to very many, and I think most of my DVD-watching was TV series. I suppose I'll say Serenity, just because it's the one that's really stuck in my mind.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 34, and I didn't really do much of anything. I'm not that big on birthdays.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Um... Giant heaps of money?

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005? The same as it's been pretty much since I started dressing myself. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I say, and there's nothing wrong with the jeans 'n' t-shirt look.

34. What kept you sane? Who says I'm sane?

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I don't generally make a habit of fancying real people I've never met.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Disaster unpreparedness.

37. Who did you miss? My sister! I wish she'd been here for Christmas.

38. Who were the best new people you met? Did I meet new people? Maybe I met a few online. Hello, new online people!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005: What I've always suspected is true. People who have babies are nuts, and people who have more than one baby are in-fucking-sane. That baby kitten nearly killed me, and human infants have to be at least ten times worse, as well as being helpless for much, much longer.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "Our house is a very, very, very fine house..." Well, I have to include the cats to make the plural work, but it fits, anyway.