Yearly wrap-up

Happy 2011 all! (Hey, I just typed that "20011," which is our zip code. Great, I am going to be doing that all year.) I figure what better way to tax my hung-over brain than focusing on minutiae about the past year? Wrap-up questionnaire taken from SundryMourning.com.

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?

Easy: publish a book. That experience also taught me that there is NO FRIGGING way I'm doing a PhD because the dissertation will kill me.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Since I didn't make any last year, ducked that minefield. I stopped doing that a while ago. However, this year I feel like making a stand on a few things:

a. Eating/drinking more healthfully (that's right, healthy cranberry and/or pomegranate juice to wash down my bourbon! or something like that)

b. Taking the dog for walks at least twice a week. We have a yard for him so it's not like he doesn't get exercise, but my god, the joy just seeing one of us pick up his leash brings him.

c. Taking a real vacation with The Texan, where we leave the house (and possibly the country) for a week. I haven't had a vacation vacation in...oh, this is depressing. A while, and let's just leave it at that. Long weekends are nice but not enough to recharge your batteries.

d. Going to see bands at least once every two months. I used to do that all the time and loved it, but I've gotten out of the habit.

e. Spending more time with friends and getting back to CA to visit family more often.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, my friend Grits gave birth to her second child, a little girl, while living in the wilds of Little Rock.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Thankfully, no.

5. What countries did you visit?

Switzerland (a first! Geneva, you had me at chocolate), and the UK.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

Control over our budget. The Texan and I are getting better about this - largely because he is much more responsible about this sort of thing than I am - but there is always room for improvement.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched in your memory, and why?

Uh, it's all kind of a haze. But March 23, when my book officially came out, was pretty awesome. Nov. 18, the Texan's birthday, was fun too, as we went up to NYC for a long weekend away. Oh, and Oct. 29 - the Rally to Restore Sanity - was a lot of fun.

8. What is your biggest achievement of the past year?

Surviving a rotating roster of bosses at work. Work in general was pretty good this year - we've been able to accomplish a lot and have a lot of exciting projects coming up. God I am such a lame Washingtonian. Next up, let me tell you the 50 top reasons why I heart my Blackberry.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not being as thoughtful and considerate a spouse that I would like to be.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Other than back spasms, no. Oh wait, a mysterious bruise on my left heel has left me limping. And my right knee is stiff. And there was that time I fell and scraped the hell out of my shin.... Man, I'm getting old.

11. What was the best thing that you bought?

No doubt - my Vespa. It is wrong how much I love that bike.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Rent, groceries, credit cards, occasional nights out.

13. What did you get really excited about?

I get unduly excited about a lot of things, probably much more than they merit. For example, my circle of acquaintances are already bracing themselves because "RuPaul's Drag Race" is coming back later this month and, given the opportunity, I will not shut up about how awesome that show is. I will say this: I've really enjoyed bellydance this year.

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?

I think MGMT's "Kids." No reason why, maybe it's because I listened to them a lot this year.

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

-happier or sadder? Happier.
-thinner or fatter? As my doctor's office scale can attest from my visit on Wednesday, fatter. Dammit.
-richer or poorer? If we're going with credit card debt, poorer. Again, dammit.

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Happy hours with my friends. Swimming at the Y (I just started that this past summer and it's been a very good thing for me. Although I do tend to do what David Sedaris says happens whenever he has time alone with his thoughts: I think of everyone who's done me wrong. EVERYONE. You'd be amazed at how much having arguments with people in your head will make the time go by while doing laps.).

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stressed out over things going on at work. Fun to do in the short-term, not so good for your mental health in the long-term.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Here in DC! With a live tree! Just the Texan and me! (yes, I am rhyming deliberately! Okay, this stops now)

19. What was your favorite TV show?

At the risk of sounding like a librul urban eleetiste, Mad Men.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

I read very quickly so I tend to blow through books. Which means I read a lot of meh books because I need something to read. Nothing really stands out. This year I did finally get a DC library card, although I haven't used it very often. The Petworth library is supposed to finish its revamp this February, so maybe it'll inspire me to visit more often (the MLK one is just inconvenient to get to).

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

I listed to a lot of Vampire Weekend last spring; more recently, the soundtrack to "Sita Sings the Blues" has been getting a steady rotation on my music player. Overall, props to Soma Fm's Indie Pop Rocks - I would not have gotten through the year without it.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

Two that stood out for me: Moon (which technically didn't come out this year, but hey, it was new to me) and Inception.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

We had a small party at the house. I turned 36. (I keep forgetting that and have been telling people lately that I'm 37. NOT YET)

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasureably more satisfying?

Having our house be a closer walk to the metro. If the powers that be could pick up our block and move it to about a 15-minute walk to Georgia Ave/Petworth metro, it would make everything so much easier. Right now, in theory we can walk to the metro, but there's something that's just off about having to walk over 30 minutes to the metro and then still having to ride for 30-40 minutes, depending on where we're going. If we could shave some of that walking commute time off, it would make riding the metro that much more pleasant.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

During the week: all about the power suits (they're like Garanimals for adults - you don't have to think about what you're wearing). During the weekend: I'm tring to un-schlub my wardrobe but it's taking some doing.

26. What kept you sane?

My husband and friends. Wonkette.com. Jim Beam.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

I'm stuck on what words of wisdom I should impart for the ages, so I'm going with something shallow: I finally learned how to apply contour eye shadow. What? Shut up, that's a useful skill.

Looking forward to 2011!