Days Gone By

I admit that it hasn't been a terribly memorable year for me. I've spent much of it anxious and depressed and managed to forget half of what had passed as a result. I don't adore feeling like time has shot past me like a bullet without much to show for it. My plan for 2010 is to find a way to remember the year - to stand still and bask in its glow (assuming that I have the capacity to make this year a radiant one, which I think I do) and try not to let whatever dark worry is lurking around the corner eclipse the awesomeness of living. 


That said, I'd still like to do a year end survey, like a few of my friends have - because it seems like a good way to make clear the foggy mess that was 2009.  Ok, perhaps it's also just a little bit because it's Monday evening, I am exhausted after a long (though nice) holiday weekend and I know I don't have much of substance to say at the moment. Whatever. Onward...


1. Was 2009 a good year for you? Why? - It was not awful, but as I mentioned above, it's a little foggy. I know there were good things but I am having a hard time remembering just what has happened. Maybe it's simply because there were no momentous changes in my life. Hmn...that's something to think about. Things remaining the same apparently makes me feel like nothing has really happened.

2. What was your favorite moment of the year? Despite what I just said, I do have a few nice memories (once I sit down and start thinking about it - or look back over my calendar): in April, there was Indian music and too many drinks with Kathy and my friend, Jeanie at Martyrs; there was Bill's birthday at the bowling alley and the Varietease Burlesque show at the Lakeshore Theater; in May, there was 2nd Story at Webster's Wine Bar, Uptown Poetry Slam at The Green Mill and The Jill & Julia Show at Lakeshore. In the summer, I made it to The Printer's Row Book Fair, the Jenny Lewis concert, the Neofuturists' Pride show and their stage readings of Legend, Cruising and Cool As Ice, Pride Fest and Market Days. My nephew came to visit in August and we had a chance to visit the Art Institute together. Wizard World was also in August - I got to hang out with a couple of my library friends there. I managed several monthly writing group meetings in a row, although attendance was spotty. There was the Renegade Craft Fair and Anna's going-away party in September, tons of stuff in October - the Halsted Halloween Parade, Sherman Alexie at the downtown library, Sister Spit at Women & Children First and the pumpkin patch in South Barrington. November was NANOWRIMO and the Old Town School concert with Jill Sobule and Erin Mckeown. Thank heavens I note things on my calendar pretty regularly - looking back, it looks like I've had a pretty full year.

3. What was your least favorite moment of the year? Dealing with Cymbalta withdrawal.

4. Where were you when 2009 began? In Chicago...at the Neofuturist's New Year's Eve show, I think.

5. Who were you with? Kathy and a roomful of strangers.

6. Where will you be when 2009 ends? At home, probably drunk and watching movies or something. I'm thinking "low-key" this year.

7. Who will you be with when 2009 ends? Kathy. I think that's it, unless you count the dogs and cat.

8. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions of 2009? I honestly can't recall making any.

9. Do you have (a) New Year's Resolution(s) for 2010? I guess you could call them resolutions. I am making some life changes in 2010 for sure and maybe I'll make a list of things I'd like to try in 2010, too. I really want to get out of my rut and try some new things.

10. Did you make any new friends in 2009? I can't really think of any, but I hope to in 2010. Preferably people who like to play board games (Book Lover's Trivial Pursuit anyone?), write and watch tons of strange movies.

11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2009? Kathy's family dog, Daisy had to be put to sleep. And I feel like a distance grew between myself and some friends, but hopefully it's not permanent.

12. Did you miss anybody in the past year? Yes, I missed my brother in Portland, Oregon terribly - I often do - and I missed my friends and family in North Carolina. 

13. What was your favorite TV program of 2009? Pushing Daisies up until it was cancelled, then Glee.

14. What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009? (500) Days of Summer.

15. Did you have a favorite concert in 2009? While I love Jenny Lewis, I think the best concert I saw this year was Jill Sobule and Erin Mckeown.

16. What was your proudest moment of 2009? Making it through another NANOWRIMO with over 50,000 words, going out to Pressure again and again for writing group meetings (whether anyone else showed or not), remaining steadfast in editing my novel(s) and keeping consistent with my blogs over the last couple of weeks.

17. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be?
I would not have allowed my anxiety to get the better of me as often and I would always be kind to my friends. 

18. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? I went to the Green Mill, which I had been wanting to do to since 2001! It's about time, right?

19. What kept you sane? my friends at the library (and the library itself), various movies, books and music, writing, my former therapist, Kathy and semi-regular contact with my NC friends and family.

20. What did you want but did not get? A new second job.

21. What song will always remind you of 2009? I think Feist's 1,2,3,4 and probably any song by Lady GaGa.

22. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "So it goes, though no one knows you like they used to do/
Have a drink/ the sky is sinking toward a deeper blue/And you're still all right/Step out into twilight." (The Weepies)

23. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I think Zooey Deschanel has remained at the top of my list for quite awhile now. 

24. What did you do on your birthday in 2009? I wish I could remember. 

25. What are your plans for 2010? I have quite a few. I want to continue writing as much as I have been lately. After that, my plans and hopes for the new year are (in the following order): to try and become healthier/visit the gym at least twice a week, brush up on French/get ready to go back to school, make a new friend or two/quit being such a hermit, find a new second job and make plans for the future/for moving into a place of my (our) own. I'd also like to: learn to drive, take a trip, sing in public and perhaps do other things I never thought I'd do. Even if it takes lots and lots of liquid courage.