'09

Hey, what's more 2009 than a (previously published on) Facebook questionnaire? Once more, with feeling:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Let's see... I visited Disneyland, went body surfing, learned to play indoor shuffleboard, bought a house and got married. Still haven't learned how to throw a boomerang, though.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My resolution this year was to use the word "never" as little as possible, and I think I only ended up using it in answer to the question, "Would you like to see another movie starring Adam Sandler?"

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Congratulations, Bill and Tina!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes.

5. What countries did you visit?
For once, I managed to stay within the United States for a whole year. But I saw an awful lot of it.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I won't say more time or fewer catastrophes, because that's just tempting fate. How about this: I'd like better coping strategies for dealing with the things that come up, both good and bad, that happen to get in the way of my plans.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
I think I'm likely to remember Sept. 26. I got married. Twice. And I also saw a really good episode of Man Vs. Food.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I know I should say the wedding(s) or the house, but I really have other people to thank for how wonderfully all of those things came together. I can say that I am a better writer now than I was last year.

9. What was your biggest failure?
This was an especially busy year, and I wasn't able to stay in touch with the people in my life as much as I would have liked. I'm hoping to do better about that next year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Mostly psychological.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
That depends on who you ask. Most people would say my house. Nam might say our wedding bands. My cat is divided between the bird feeder and the piece of crumpled-up wrapping paper that's kept him amused for the last three days.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Everyone who pitched in to make our weddings so amazing — my mom, my sister-in-law, my best friend, our maid of honor — but I'll single out Donna, because without all of her help before, during and after our wedding day it's likely that someone's blood would have been spilled, probably mine.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'm the last person who should be sitting in judgment of someone else's appalling behavior. I also recognize that most of the people with whom I vehemently disagree are acting on their own conscience, and that I should respect their right to their beliefs, even if — as with the folks who are most vocal in their support of California's Proposition 8 — they are idiots.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The cat and the furnace, both of which continue to keep me warm at night.

15. What did you really, really, really get excited about?
Space Mountain. My new grill. My cousin's TV show. The Arkham Asylum game.
Those weddings of ours were pretty nice, too...

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Either Phantom Planet's "Do The Panic" or Bell X1's "The Great Defector."

17. Compared to this time last year are you:
Happier? Heck, yeah!
Thinner? Surprisingly, massive amounts of stress does wonders for weight loss.
Richer? To quote the great Brad Hersh, "My life may be enriched, but my pocketbook is not."

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Hiking and writing. But not at the same time.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sitting around complaining about everything — even though, as a New Englander, I feel it is my God-given right to do so.

20. How will you spend Christmas?
I worked during the day, but Nam brought a delicious Christmas dinner to my office, and the two of us spent the evening driving around, looking at all the lights.

21. How will you be spending New Year's?
Dancing to a swing band on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I fell in love all over again in 2009.

23. How many one-night stands?
I am a one-woman man, but I did invite multiple cats into my bed this year.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Being Human was pretty damn good — it's a shame that it ran for only six episodes.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Most of the hate I feel evaporates as soon as I leave the highway.

26. What was the best book you read?
Probably Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts, by Julian Rubenstein. Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked was pretty good, too.

27. What was your biggest musical discovery?
I can't believe it took me this long to discover Sufjan Stevens. Thanks, Hans.

28. What did you want and you got?
Among other things, I wanted a spring vacation with my family; a week of baseball at two different ballparks; a chance to attend a lecture on bats; the opportunity to reconnect with old friends; a new book by my favorite author; a morning spent kayaking with sea turtles; and a partner in life. Oh, and barbecued ribs. Mmm, ribs.

29. What did you want and not get?
I wish I'd been able to attend my college reunion, and the Sasquatch continues to elude me.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Up was easily the best film I saw this year. Fantastic Mr. Fox was pretty darned good, and Cadillac Records was a pleasant surprise.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old did you turn?
I was able to spend time with my family, and Nam met me at the airport with a Superman balloon, which turned out to be exactly what I wanted.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Either job security, or the ability to shoot laser beams from my eyes.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Three words: Sometimes, I iron.

34. What kept you sane?
My sanity remains an open question, but I think I'm hanging on thanks to a steady diet of action movies and Epictetus.

35. Which celebrity did you fancy the most?
I continue to be smitten with Sarah Vowell, Lisa Loeb and Janeane Garofalo.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I spent a lot of time this year reading (and listening to podcasts and radio shows) about health care. I think a lot of people did. And I think that will ultimately prove to be a good thing, even if the current bill isn't everything it could be.

37. Who did you miss?
My friends and family who live far away, and all the bookstores here that have closed.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
If I'd known it was a competition, I would have recruited more people.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009?
If you act like you're enjoying yourself, other people will follow your lead.

40. Quote or Song Lyric that sums up your year:
“You do something because you love it, and you do it with everything you’ve got. And then you die. What you leave behind doesn’t matter. How much money you make doesn’t matter. What people think of you doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is how you spend every fucking day of your life, how you feel about yourself — and not in the narcissistic, egotistical way. It doesn’t matter how I’m remembered, because I’ll remember everything myself.”
- Ralph Bakshi