2008 in review

Tagged by mi amigo at www.twoglasses.com for this one, so here goes:

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? Ate the pink stuff next to the wasabi at the Japanese restaurant. It tastes like lemon soap.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?I don't make NYR, but I do intend to keep losing weight. (Down to 315 now from 355 in September.)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Have I mentioned my granddaughter in the last 35 seconds? Yeah. Pics at my facebook.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.

5. What places did you visit? I think I didn't leave the state of Mississippi in 2008. Damn, no wonder I'm so irritable lately...

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Time and money are givens for everyone, so it would be cheesy to say those, IMO. I think the only honest answer besides those two, though, is "sex."

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? November 4th, 2008, of course. August 14, being present at my grandchild's birth, on a personal level.

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year? I got over 1,000 substantive court orders (1,017 to be precise) and filed over 700 new cases for support. With a two-county legal department that consists of the three of us: me, myself, and I.

9. What was your biggest failure? The price I paid to do what was necessary for those orders and filings: I did fast, mistake-filled work, making a conscious choice that I could fix my mistakes more easily than I could live with the knowledge that I was keeping some kid without by being persnickity about my paperwork. I loathe myself for the boneheaded errors I've made, but still think I made the objectively best, utilitarian choice. ("The needs of the many," you know.)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I lost my voice in October and had to do court sounding like Wolfman Jack. That was interesting.

11. What was the best thing you bought? The Honda Civic. I got it in January, so it counts for 2008.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? In the public arena, Obama. Toast's answer to this one is very good. In my personal life... well, I'm a bit embarrassed to say I'm not sure. We all had a pretty uneventful year.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Miss South Carolina. Every public official of the Republican party. Some of my racist in-laws.

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, of course. Didn't everyone's?

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Honestly... only my grandchild, and even that was only "really excited" on my personal scale. Any observer would have called me "mildly interested."

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? There is no song with which I associate 2008.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) Happier or sadder? Happier. b) thinner or fatter? Thinner . c) richer or poorer? Poorer. I've paid down the mortgage for a year, but began 2008 involuntarily unemployed.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Traveled.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? File cases and write orders. Duh.

20. How did you spend Christmas this year? We went to several people's houses and had a gathering here as well. It was quite hectic.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Yeah. Did I mention my granddaughter in the last 15 sentences?

22. How was work? New job, completely different scale and nature of work, and not enough of any resource whatsoever. I made 1/3 of what I made in 2007, and my judge cries when she sees me coming with a 2 foot tall stack of orders for her. Other than that, I can't complain.

23. What was your favorite TV program? Either Doctor Who or Torchwood.

24. What did you do for your birthday in 2008? Small party at my house with closest friends and immediate family.

25. What was the best book you read? No lie, it's one I got from my son for Christmas called Uncle John's Biggest Ever Bathroom Reader. 600 pages of beautiful tidbits and trivia in perfectly sized portions for, oh, 15 minutes of reading.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? That it is really, really easy to put all my CDs on the computer and burn my own mixes for the car.

27. What did you want and get? The Honda Civic. A leather hip holster for my Zippo. A black fedora hat. And sex, of course.

28. What did you want and not get? Sex, of course. An office printer that works properly. An office computer that doesn't go "blue screen of death" at least once a day. Respect of my peers.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? Dark Knight. Bought it on DVD the day it came out.

30. Did you make some new friends this year? That depends on definitions, I think. But in common parlance, I would say no.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Same as last year: Impeachment proceedings.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Whatever is in my closet will do.

33. What kept you sane? Who said I'm sane?

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I'm interpreting "fancy" to mean "lust for," and will say Kim Kardashian.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? Civil liberties and their continued, ongoing repeal.

35a. What political issue stirred you the least? Among the major ones, I'd have to say "gun rights." Don't misunderstand, I am all in favorite of individual rights to firearms; I just perceive that the Dems have been effectively neutered on the matter for a while and am content with the status quo on that front. Hence, it didn't stir me.

36. Who did you miss? Same person I've missed the most since Palm Sunday, 2003: my dad.

37. Who was the best new person you met? I met several at and through work. (BTW, I consider co-workers to be by my definition excluded from "friend" unless they eat at my house, or I at theirs. Hence, no new friends this year, though I like all my people.) Since I am given no criteria to determine "best" (best looking, best dressed, best bank account, what?), I decline to answer this one.

38. Burn any bridges? I never, ever burn bridges. At least not deliberately.

39. Best new restaurant you went to? I think we started going to Ichiban before 2008, but it's still the best.

40. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. No new lessons leap to mind. I was reminded of the truth of many old lessons I already knew. Endure. Hope. Be kind. Try to give a damn even when you aren't sure why, it'll come to you later. Keep doing all that you know to do, and when you have done all, stand firm.

I am not the least sorry to see this year go. Buh bye. Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.