Still the same year, still reviewing it

Via Laurie at Team Building is for Suckers:

What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
I went to Catalina Island, where we celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn’t make them this year – I usually don’t. I don’t think that January 1 has any magical power to change people. But I did make a list of ten things that could be New Year’s resolutions if I were to make some for 2008.

What countries did you visit?
The good old USA – the same one I live in.

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
More ability to focus on my job – having a stable staff should help with that, I hope.

What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory?
This wasn’t one of the “big” years…just as well, since we still needed to recover from 2006!
May 6-13 – my trip back east with Tall Paul, introducing him to Memphis and all that great Southern cooking
September 8-9 – stayed overnight at the Wild Animal Park
September 24 – two of my staff resigned within two hours, and my boss was out of the office!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I took another stab at a blog in March, and I’m still here! Also, I had my first writings published somewhere other than my blog.

What was your biggest failure?
Growing disconnected from my job just as I needed to get more focused on it.

Did you suffer from illnesses or injuries?
Nope.

What was the best thing you bought?
A $3 “aqua-clip” hands-free water-bottle holder that doubles as a bottle opener. When the one I bought at Great Smoky Mountains National Park broke, Tall Paul found their website for me, and I ordered half a dozen replacements.

Where did most of your money go?
$2300 went to my car in November, that much I know for sure. I think less of it actually went to my traditional twin indulgences (books and clothes shopping) than in the past. Other than that…rent, food, gas for said car, the usual. Hopefully next year some of it will make it to savings.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Showing Tall Paul around Memphis, including some of my old favorite places to eat; getting on people’s blogrolls; getting comments on my blog (that one never gets old…)

What song will always remind you of 2007?
“The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani

What album(s) will always remind you of 2007?
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse

Compared to this time last year, are you:

  • Happier or sadder? Right now? A little bit sadder, but that’s mostly because it’s been a tough year at the office; otherwise, about the same, pretty happy overall.
  • Thinner or fatter? A little thinner, I think, but since the same 2-3 pounds seem to have been coming and going for the awhile, I’m not really sure. And since we’re on a break from Weight Watchers meetings and I don’t own a scale, I’m not going to check on it.
  • Richer or poorer? Poorer at the moment – ask me again a couple of months after Christmas!

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Taken more long walks with Tall Paul and Gypsy, and read more books.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinating and puttering at work, distracting myself from actually, you know, working

How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
Probably in bed by 9:05 – 5 past midnight in New York! – but not sure how soon after that I’ll be asleep…

Did you fall in love in 2007?
I just stayed in love with my husband :-).

How many one-night stands?
None – I never was that kind of girl, even when I wasn’t married.

What was your favorite TV program?
I can’t pick just one. I introduced my family to The Amazing Race (they loved me for it) and American Idol (they forgave me for it) this year. Tall Paul and I finally found our way to 30 Rock. I’m sad that this season will be the end of Scrubs. And we’re really looking forward to Lost coming back, even for just a few episodes; this writers’ strike is starting to drag on a little too long.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not that I can think of…

What was the best book you read?
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

What was your favorite film of this year?
Hairspray

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 43, and since we had auditors in the office, I couldn’t take the day off as I usually do (grrrr).

What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?
An unexpected, large cash windfall. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can help give you peace of mind.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
What personal fashion concept? I strive for looking “put-together,” and then my hair goes crazy and ruins it. That’s not news this year.

What kept you sane?
My husband, my sister, my writing, and a weekly escape to Starbucks for a latte and a blueberry scone

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jon Stewart

What political issue stirred you the most?
The influence of fundamentalist conservatives on far too many issues to list

Who did you miss?
My former office spouse. We’ve barely talked this year – not a falling-out or anything, we’re just both so freakin’ busy.

Who was the best new person you met?
Most of the new people I’ve gotten to know this year I’ve “met” online, through blogging and such, and I think they’re all great!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Getting to 40 was rough. Being in my 40’s has been fantastic!

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10 comments

  1. This is a long one! It might be easier though than the 3 favorite memories question you posed which I still am at a loss for. So sad, isn’t it? Maybe I’m just not in the right frame of mind.

    Work this year for me was a mixed bag too. So many changes. Some for the better. Some not so much. I think I’ve lost some of the passion I once felt for my job. Ho hum.

  2. Literary Feline – Totally with you on the job ambivalence, as you could probably already guess.:-)

    This meme was more of a challenge for me in some respects, and I almost decided not to finish it a couple of times, but I’m glad I did it anyway. These “taking stock” exercises are usually useful in one way or another.

  3. I just did a similar version of this today … great minds think alike! Sounds like we had similar work issues this year, but other than that life was full of the most important things for us both. Wishing you a great 2008!

  4. Pam – I have to agree, after reading your post. Good thing work isn’t everything…

    Sorry about that, Working Girl! 🙂 I’m currently office spouse-less, and I’m sure we’re not the only ones. As more and more people strike out on their own, we may not see this relationship develop as often.

  5. are you from memphis? i was born in memphis. of course, we moved when i was 2. did you take tall paul out for the best bbq in the country? did you go to goldsmith’s (do they still have goldsmith’s there? ha)? you went to the mall of murder (ahem, i mean, mall of memphis, right? ha)…..

    all the best!
    deb

  6. Laurie – My husband’s not wild about the Catalina ferry either. I’m OK as long as I don’t try to read during the trip.

    Deb – My son was mostly raised in Memphis, and it’s still the town that feels like “home” to me. We moved there after his father (my ex-husband) finished grad school and joined the faculty at Rhodes College.

    Like many other regional department stores, Goldsmith’s is Macy’s now.

    BBQ? Of course! I’m a Corky’s gal, but everyone has their favorite. After bragging about it for years, I was happy to introduce my California boy to the real thing, and now Tall Paul is as big a BBQ snob as I am. 🙂