I filled this out last year, right when I started this blog. The questions are dumb but I'm not about to write my own, so here it is.
1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
I got pregnant. A fine way to announce it, huh? Whatever, everyone who reads this knows anyway, or participated in the process. But to any randoms, hello and yeah! Knocked up, right here. I found out in mid-November after mentioning to a friend, "So, I'm kinda late." We were out during lunch and she urged me to buy a test. I took it (a Clearblue) at work that afternoon. As the lines appeared I couldn't process the result in my brain. I was thinking it should look like a plus sign, and it didn't because the vertical line was so strong. I stashed the test in my bag, ran to her office and made her verify it. Then I called Joe and said, "So, I kinda took a pregnancy test and it kinda came out positive." He was like, "Ahh, what do you mean, 'kinda'?" On my way home I stopped at CVS for another brand (e.p.t.) that would show the result differently. The floor guys were there that night fixing the bubble and I was in the bathroom staring at two pink lines. You'd think I'd be convinced after that, but no--I took five (really six) more tests: Fact Plus, Answer, CVS brand, and Brooks brand (which gave an invalid result). I was in disbelief, but it was also fun to watch them turn positive. When I called the doctor, I expected to be ushered in for a blood test, but instead they congratulated me over the phone. At my intake visit I had them do a blood test anyway, AND I called them a week later to get the result. I know, ridiculous.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions?
My resolutions were to do more stuff in the city, work out, and write. I did go into town more often but I want to up the ante even more this year. I lost 30 pounds and worked out like a fiend until June, when the allure of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs overtook me. In the second half of the year I gained maybe 10 of it back, but was still working out semi-regularly. I'll be kicking that up now that I'm not so exhausted all the time. I started to write something, and had planned to participate in National Novel Writing Month, a contest which challenges you to write 50,000 words between November 1-30, but November turned out to be a big month and I got distracted.
3. What countries did you visit?
Just one - gorgeous Aruba. Usually we take one vacation in early spring and then another towards the end of the summer, but we didn't this year. We were planning to go to both Ireland and the Pacific Northwest in the first half of 2006, but now we aren't doing either of those. I think we're going to use some of Joe's spring break to go house-hunting, but I still want to go somewhere warm too.
4. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
A good attitude. I coasted through a lot of 2005 without getting excited about things. Or I wasted time getting up in arms about other people's lives. 2005 was a transition year, so it served a purpose but was kind of boring too.
5. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 21, when Joe turned 30. Also November 14, the day I found out I was pregnant.
6. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Working through a shitty situation with a friend. I can't even get into the situation without misrepresenting or overcomplicating it, but believe me, it's heavy. Basically I reacted to a piece of news with, "It's not the best thing that could have happened," when she was expecting my support. We didn't really speak for a while and it reached the point where I thought we couldn't continue the friendship. Things are better now, both because we talked it out and because the circumstances have changed, but it's a different relationship. A little more distant, but probably for the better.
7. What was your biggest failure?
Judging her for her choices when, for better or worse, they were hers to make.
8. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.
9. What was the best thing you bought?
The trip to Aruba, tickets to see Dane Cook, the kitchen floor.
10. Whose behavior merited celebration?
See, this is a stupid question. Tom Brady, for leading the Patriots to a third Superbowl win.
11. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The Red Sox front office, for letting Theo walk.
12. Where did most of your money go?
Towards the mortgage. To clothes. And a big chunk went into savings.
13. What song will always remind you of 2005?
"Holiday" by Green Day since they've been playing it nonstop since the end of 2004.
14. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) Happier or sadder? Happier
b) Thinner or fatter? Thinner
c) Richer or poorer? Richer
15. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Weekends away, working out.
16. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sitting around at work waiting for the day to end.
17. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve we went to my grandparents' house for our traditional feast. We watched A Christmas Carol and quoted it to death. We slept over my parents' house and opened gifts there. In the afternoon we went to my uncle's for dinner, where we played roulette and took turns holding my cousin's four-month-old son.
18. Did you fall in love in 2004?
I fell in a new, tentative kind of love, which is going to grow until it utterly changes who I am.
19. How many one-night stands?
I like to think of every time I have sex as a one-night stand, so, lots.
20. What was your favorite TV program?
Six Feet Under, which exited in absolutely stunning fashion.
21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes. Larry Lucchino.
22. What was the best book you read?
The Kite Runner was excellent.
23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
93.7 Mike FM. I also discovered I don't care about music much anymore, which is why I'm not ashamed to say my favorite musical discovery is a mainstream radio station.
24. What did you want and get?
To go to Aruba. To get pregnant.
25. What did you want and not get?
To win the lottery. Then again, I don't play.
26. What was your favorite film of this year?
The 40 Year Old Virgin. Or maybe Brokeback Mountain, which I just saw and loved.
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had a doctor's appointment and we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. My family took me out to lunch at Nick & Tony's. I turned 28.
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To have all my friends and family close enough to be able to see each other whenever we want.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Whatever, who has one of these?
30. What kept you sane?
Talking to the people I care about. That always does it for me. That and Tetris.
31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Maybe Christian Bale in Batman Begins.
32. What political issue stirred you the most?
The war. Hurricane Katrina.
33. Who did you miss?
Amanda, after she left in July.
34. Who is the best new person you met?
I didn't meet anybody new this year. Is that sad? Maybe Jen, a girl from the gym. I don't think she works there anymore, or maybe she does—who knows, maybe if I ever went. I do know the worst person I met this year, also a person at the gym. She's this saggy, hunchbacked, homely old woman with gorgonzola thighs who gets totally naked and sits her bare ass on the locker room benches. Sometimes she puts down a towel first but she still misses it with at least one cheek. I grit my teeth whenever I see her. I hate her even more than Lady Who Never Does Anything who wears a long-sleeved shirt and reads the paper on the treadmill going .00006 MPH and then does the Xpressline using hardly any weight.
35. Tell us some valuable life lessons you learned in 2005.
That people's lives are going to take strange turns, and all you can do is stand by.
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
No. Maybe later. Real World/Road Rules Challenge is on.
1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
I got pregnant. A fine way to announce it, huh? Whatever, everyone who reads this knows anyway, or participated in the process. But to any randoms, hello and yeah! Knocked up, right here. I found out in mid-November after mentioning to a friend, "So, I'm kinda late." We were out during lunch and she urged me to buy a test. I took it (a Clearblue) at work that afternoon. As the lines appeared I couldn't process the result in my brain. I was thinking it should look like a plus sign, and it didn't because the vertical line was so strong. I stashed the test in my bag, ran to her office and made her verify it. Then I called Joe and said, "So, I kinda took a pregnancy test and it kinda came out positive." He was like, "Ahh, what do you mean, 'kinda'?" On my way home I stopped at CVS for another brand (e.p.t.) that would show the result differently. The floor guys were there that night fixing the bubble and I was in the bathroom staring at two pink lines. You'd think I'd be convinced after that, but no--I took five (really six) more tests: Fact Plus, Answer, CVS brand, and Brooks brand (which gave an invalid result). I was in disbelief, but it was also fun to watch them turn positive. When I called the doctor, I expected to be ushered in for a blood test, but instead they congratulated me over the phone. At my intake visit I had them do a blood test anyway, AND I called them a week later to get the result. I know, ridiculous.
2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions?
My resolutions were to do more stuff in the city, work out, and write. I did go into town more often but I want to up the ante even more this year. I lost 30 pounds and worked out like a fiend until June, when the allure of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs overtook me. In the second half of the year I gained maybe 10 of it back, but was still working out semi-regularly. I'll be kicking that up now that I'm not so exhausted all the time. I started to write something, and had planned to participate in National Novel Writing Month, a contest which challenges you to write 50,000 words between November 1-30, but November turned out to be a big month and I got distracted.
3. What countries did you visit?
Just one - gorgeous Aruba. Usually we take one vacation in early spring and then another towards the end of the summer, but we didn't this year. We were planning to go to both Ireland and the Pacific Northwest in the first half of 2006, but now we aren't doing either of those. I think we're going to use some of Joe's spring break to go house-hunting, but I still want to go somewhere warm too.
4. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
A good attitude. I coasted through a lot of 2005 without getting excited about things. Or I wasted time getting up in arms about other people's lives. 2005 was a transition year, so it served a purpose but was kind of boring too.
5. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 21, when Joe turned 30. Also November 14, the day I found out I was pregnant.
6. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Working through a shitty situation with a friend. I can't even get into the situation without misrepresenting or overcomplicating it, but believe me, it's heavy. Basically I reacted to a piece of news with, "It's not the best thing that could have happened," when she was expecting my support. We didn't really speak for a while and it reached the point where I thought we couldn't continue the friendship. Things are better now, both because we talked it out and because the circumstances have changed, but it's a different relationship. A little more distant, but probably for the better.
7. What was your biggest failure?
Judging her for her choices when, for better or worse, they were hers to make.
8. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.
9. What was the best thing you bought?
The trip to Aruba, tickets to see Dane Cook, the kitchen floor.
10. Whose behavior merited celebration?
See, this is a stupid question. Tom Brady, for leading the Patriots to a third Superbowl win.
11. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The Red Sox front office, for letting Theo walk.
12. Where did most of your money go?
Towards the mortgage. To clothes. And a big chunk went into savings.
13. What song will always remind you of 2005?
"Holiday" by Green Day since they've been playing it nonstop since the end of 2004.
14. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) Happier or sadder? Happier
b) Thinner or fatter? Thinner
c) Richer or poorer? Richer
15. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Weekends away, working out.
16. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sitting around at work waiting for the day to end.
17. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve we went to my grandparents' house for our traditional feast. We watched A Christmas Carol and quoted it to death. We slept over my parents' house and opened gifts there. In the afternoon we went to my uncle's for dinner, where we played roulette and took turns holding my cousin's four-month-old son.
18. Did you fall in love in 2004?
I fell in a new, tentative kind of love, which is going to grow until it utterly changes who I am.
19. How many one-night stands?
I like to think of every time I have sex as a one-night stand, so, lots.
20. What was your favorite TV program?
Six Feet Under, which exited in absolutely stunning fashion.
21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes. Larry Lucchino.
22. What was the best book you read?
The Kite Runner was excellent.
23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
93.7 Mike FM. I also discovered I don't care about music much anymore, which is why I'm not ashamed to say my favorite musical discovery is a mainstream radio station.
24. What did you want and get?
To go to Aruba. To get pregnant.
25. What did you want and not get?
To win the lottery. Then again, I don't play.
26. What was your favorite film of this year?
The 40 Year Old Virgin. Or maybe Brokeback Mountain, which I just saw and loved.
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had a doctor's appointment and we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. My family took me out to lunch at Nick & Tony's. I turned 28.
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To have all my friends and family close enough to be able to see each other whenever we want.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Whatever, who has one of these?
30. What kept you sane?
Talking to the people I care about. That always does it for me. That and Tetris.
31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Maybe Christian Bale in Batman Begins.
32. What political issue stirred you the most?
The war. Hurricane Katrina.
33. Who did you miss?
Amanda, after she left in July.
34. Who is the best new person you met?
I didn't meet anybody new this year. Is that sad? Maybe Jen, a girl from the gym. I don't think she works there anymore, or maybe she does—who knows, maybe if I ever went. I do know the worst person I met this year, also a person at the gym. She's this saggy, hunchbacked, homely old woman with gorgonzola thighs who gets totally naked and sits her bare ass on the locker room benches. Sometimes she puts down a towel first but she still misses it with at least one cheek. I grit my teeth whenever I see her. I hate her even more than Lady Who Never Does Anything who wears a long-sleeved shirt and reads the paper on the treadmill going .00006 MPH and then does the Xpressline using hardly any weight.
35. Tell us some valuable life lessons you learned in 2005.
That people's lives are going to take strange turns, and all you can do is stand by.
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
No. Maybe later. Real World/Road Rules Challenge is on.
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