2004 in Review

A meme.

1. What did you do in 2004 that you’d never done before?
Got married. Bought a house, which brings on all sorts of other never-dones: peeled wallpaper, plastered walls, bought large appliances, painted a ceiling. Wrote a short story specifically for an anthology—and didn’t mind when it got rejected. Gave myself a book budget, and mostly stuck to it.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I made any. Not sure I will this year either.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope. An absolute truckload got married, though, so stay tuned.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not very close, no.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just this one, alas.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
A finished office of my own. (We’re getting close, though.)

7. What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Election day, because I was so terribly disappointed.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Besides getting married and buying the house? Probably earning a fat raise at work.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I had hoped to finish one of my novels this year, and it just hasn’t happened yet. I’m not really thinking of it as a failure, though, because I’m still working on all of them—just not one at a time.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I screwed up my back while we were moving… that sucked.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iMac, I think.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
That strikes me as an odd question. My husband’s, I suppose, both for not killing me and for finishing school.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
All politicians, especially Republicans.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The house, by several orders of magnitude.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The wedding. Several books—Love in the Asylum, Staying Dead, Bet Me. Some ideas I’ve had for my novel.

16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
“Take Me Out.” And that one by Modest Mouse.

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

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise, especially my yoga/tai chi class that’s been scheduled for funky times. Going to the movies—I still haven’t caught up on everything I want to see.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Screwing around online. (Like now…)

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With my family and later Michael’s.

22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
Nope, already there.

23. How many one-night stands?
Zero.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Fiction: Lost. Nonfiction (sort of): The Daily Show.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate takes too much energy.

26. What was the best book you read?
Wow, tough call. I mentioned three earlier that I really liked. I also discovered Steven Brust, at last. But I think the best was probably The Time Traveler’s Wife.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Toss-up: Frou Frou and Jem.

28. What did you want and get?
House. Husband. Bookshelves. WorldCon membership for next year.

29. What did you want and not get?
A trip to the last WorldCon.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I’m having trouble even remembering what I saw; we haven’t gotten out much. Probably Garden State, although if I were in a pure-fluff mood I’d say Wimbledon.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Lordy, that was almost a year ago, and I’ve slept since then. I think we went to dinner at Caffe Capri with several friends. I was 26.

32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Finishing a damn novel. Even a longish short story would do. Oh, and being able to write full time, even for just a few weeks, would have been great.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
“Can I wear this to work?”

34. What kept you sane?
Writing. And everyone on my instant messenger list who listens to me shriek when crazy things happen at work.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Goodness. I hardly pay enough attention to them to answer this question. The closest thing I can say is that I’ve found several writers to admire professionally who’d be more or less unknown in the general public.

Oh, I know: Jon Stewart.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Iraq.

37. Who did you miss?
Lisa. And the VP Posse.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Another tough one. Probably Wendylicious.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
I don’t know that I’ve learned new ones so much as reinforced things I already knew but practiced poorly. Talking over problems is better than stewing. Online arguments are not worth my energy. Some of my colleagues will continue to behave like idiots no matter what I say. I really must stop buying books until I’ve read more of the ones I have. Going for long periods of time without writing will make me insane.