2012: A personal review

This meme jumps from blog to blog, depending on where I’m participating for Holidailies. So, forgive the non-musical content, but I’m running out of steam here. Writing this many entries is like asking an introvert to stay at an all-night party in Room 7609.

  1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
    By virtue of now living in a place that isn’t Austin, Texas, just about everything really. I rode a ferry. I commute to work by bus. I bought more winter clothes. I understand hoodies. I moved to a gay neighborhood. Really, everything.
  2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
    Moving from Austin to Seattle pretty much precluded any intention for a New Year’s Resolution. As for 2013, I’m going to begin work on becoming a performing musician instead of just a composing musician. I may also try to date. Seriously.
  3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
    No.
  4. Did anyone close to you die?
    No.
  5. What countries did you visit?
    Canada.
  6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
    Sex.
  7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
    Jan. 6-Jan. 9 — when I drove from Austin to Seattle.
  8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
    Settling into a new life in a new city.
  9. What was your biggest failure?
    Getting a warning at work about my use of strong language.
  10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
    Caught the flu in April. I went for a flu shot this season.
  11. What was the best thing you bought?
    Marshall MC15CFX guitar amp.
  12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    The voters of Washington, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota
  13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    The Republican Party. (Wow. Same answer as last year.)
  14. Where did most of your money go?
    The cost of living in Seattle. And retirement.
  15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    Hanging out with a friend from Austin who moved to Seattle a long time ago.
  16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
    That’s a difficult question, but I may have to go with Café Tacvba’s “De Este Lado Del Camino”.
  17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    a. happier or sadder
    b. thinner or fatter
    c. richer or poorer?
    a. Happier b. Unchanged c. Poorer
  18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
    Sex
  19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
    Drinking tea
  20. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?
    At home, playing with my new guitar!
  21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
    No, I’m hoping to save that for 2013.
  22. How many one-night stands?
    Zero.
  23. What was your favorite TV program?
    The landing of the Mars Curiosity Rover on NASA-TV.
  24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
    I wouldn’t say hate, but there’s a definite sense of ambivalence.
  25. What was the best book you read?
    Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking
  26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    Oriental Love Ring, In This World. I’m glad a random web search informed me the band had gotten back together after 20 years.
  27. What did you want and get?
    A life without cedar allergies and triple-digit heat.
  28. What did you want and not get?
    Sex.
  29. What was your favorite film of this year?
    Now that I no longer live within close proximity of an Alamo Drafthouse, I haven’t really watched any movies this year.
  30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
    I turned 40, and I went to see Alarm Will Sound at Town Hall.
  31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    Sex.
  32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
    Expanded winter wardrobe. Also: shirt jacket. And fleece. Lots and lots of fleece.
  33. What kept you sane?
    Constitutionals.
  34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
    Brian Dietzen.
  35. What political issue stirred you the most?
    Approval of Referendum 74.
  36. Who did you miss?
    Andy
  37. Who was the best new person you met?
    The co-workers in my team.
  38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
    You can never save enough for a cross-country move.
  39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Too many things happened this year that it can’t really be summed up in a single lyric. Sorry.