2022 was pretty eventful!
1. What did you do this year that you'd never done before?
Became a legit member of a small-town community. Joined the Friends of the Library. Invited an entire town to a party at my house. LOVED MY INDOOR POOL.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I had a resolution made FOR ME for 2023 to lose weight.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, although the diabetic dog probably came close.
5. What countries did you visit?
Nowhere new this year. The kid got his first trip to Chicago ... and his first trip to my friend Beth's house for a weeklong hurricane hunker-down.
6. What would you like to have in the new year that you lacked this year?
A working hot tub, a gravel path that goes to the gate we installed in the fence, maybe new siding on the house. Things to stop breaking.
7. What date from the year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don't really do this, either. I do well to remember vaguely the season in which an event occurred.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Buying the house and getting moved in. The biggest family achivement not by me was the kid getting through his first semester.
9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing particularly dreadful. We all got COVID finally and were done with it inside of a week.
10. What was the best thing you bought?
The house!
11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The kid, the kid, the kid. He did great this year.
12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My new boss, who I like as a person but damn. We are a bad fit.
13. Where did most of your money go?
The house and its peripherals, and college tuition.
14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
See the answers to No. 13.
15. What song will always remind you of this year?
I have reached an age where I don't listen to much new music. i should probably rectify that, but with Sirius XM playing multiple channels of old favorites, it's unlikely to happen.
16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier, although now I'm pretty hot to get out of the workforce.
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter. And in worse shape. I dumped the gym when we left Virginia and didn't replace it with anything.
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer, but quality of life is way better.
17. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Anything but work. Hang with JB, hang with my mom, hang with the library folks...
18. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Worked.
19. How (did) you spend Christmas?
We spread it out over a couple weeks; Christmas weekend at my mom's; New Year's Eve day with JB's family.
20. Did you fall in love?
This one is an established daily tradition since 1998.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
Yellowstone, although it's not really new anymore. It was new to us.
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yeahhhh, and they all work at my place of employment.
23. What was the best book you read?
I'm not sure I read anything besides Poldark this year. Disgraceful.
24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
That Sirius XM works in Moweaqua.
25. What did you want and get?
The house.
26. What was your favorite film of this year?
Top Gun was great. Bullet Train was fun.
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 51. We bought the house.
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More play. Less work.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?
Big and baggy. A lot of sundresses.
30. What kept you sane?
NYAB. Sleep. Same as always.
31. What political issue stirred you the most?
I have decided that fat and dumb are the way to be happy. I tried to ignore politics as much as I could.
32. Who did you miss?
All the dead ones—especially the newly dead ones.
33. Who was the best new person you met?
The Moweaqua librarian!!
34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned:
Always take the wire transfer for funds. Don't let them mail a check.
35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Another boring romantic, that's me.