**What did you do in the past year that you’d never done before?**
\\ Got a UTI. Put soap on my green beans instead of olive oil.\\ \\Sang karaoke. Got a job that actually requires that pesky\\ \\MSW. Foiled my bossā office. Wore fishnets in public.\\ \\Learned the Thriller Dance. Volunteered at the polls. Got my\\ \\first hate mail. Won a Diarist Award.\\
Man, last year was \\awesome\\. This year I only had someone ask if he could paint me. Oh, and of course I started playing Dance Dance Revolution in 2005, too. Canāt forget that.
** Did you keep your new yearās resolutions, and will you make more for next year?**
\\My New Yearās Resolution last year was to have more fun,\\ \\which, when I think about it, is sort of awful. I was really sad\\ \\this time last year, I think. Anyway, I did a decent job of\\ \\having fun this past year and I am confident that this yearās\\ \\resolution\\ (to be more fabulous) will work out pretty well too.\\ \\I even bought\\ a feather boa specifically to wear out tonight\\ \\and if thatās not fabulous I donāt know what is.\\
I donāt know if Iām more\\fabulous\\ this year than I was last year, but I do know Iāve been actively trying to be more awesome in every arena, with varying degrees of success. And I sure did have a lot of fun in 2005, thereby neatly meeting my resolution for 2003, too. As for this coming yearās resolution, I canāt tell you what it is because it is not appropriate for a family journal. But I do hope I can be brave enough next to have an amazing time in New Zealand.
**Did anyone close to you give birth?**
\\ Yes, two wonderful women I know who both happen to be named Amy. Yay Lily and Charlie!\\
Linda has Riley now, as you may have heard. Also my sweet friend Manya, who, though she has no internet presence, does have a new little boy called Luke, whom I saw just yesterday and who is pretty great. My friends Patri and Shannonās little boy Tovar was born this year too, as was Dave and Joeyās daughter Aria, neither of whom Iāve met but Iām very much looking forward to it next time Iām in the Bay Area. Lots of babies this yea, dang. Iām scheduled to become an auntie \\again\\ in February and June of 2006, too.
**Did anyone close to you die?**
\\ No, thank heavens.\\
Still true, thank heavens.
**What countries did you visit?**
\\France, Switzerland, Italy, and England.\\
Since Miami is technically part of the US I am going to have to hang my head and admit that I didnāt leave the continent \\at all\\ this year. I plan to make up for that in 2006 though, have no fear.
**What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?**
\\Bravery, creativity, and peace.\\
I think this still applies, sort of. I had a little bravery and a little creativity and sometimes a lot of peace at various points during 2005, for sure, but Iād like more of those things in 2006. Iād also like some spontaneity, flexibility, and adaptability, please.
**What dates from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?**
\\July 4th weekend, when I moved into my house.\\
My thirtieth birthday, because it was awesome, and the day I found out Iām going to New Zealand because it too was awesome. Much better reasons to remember dates than last year, I tell you what. I still canāt think too much about that weekend without getting sad, over a year later.
**What was your biggest achievement of the year?**
\\I guess making it through the summer when I thought I would die of a broken heart. (My heart is still broken but Iām pretty sure Iām not going to die. Which is nice.) Also, traveling by myself in France and getting a raise and promotion and finding a nice house with nice housemates.\\
See above, the day I found out Iām going to New Zealandā¦well, more like the whole experience of wrestling with the Top Secret Plans, from starting to think about them to starting to try to make them happen, to feeling really disappointed when I realized they werenāt going to turn out the way I wanted them to, to realizing that I could do something else, and something really wonderful, instead. Thatās been pretty amazing.
**What was your biggest failure?**
\\Ending my relationship the way I did.\\
This year itās been the usual āliving in my head too much and not engaging enough in the real world.ā
**Did you suffer illness or injury?**
\\No, but maybe thatās because I got a flu shot.\\
I got a flu shot this year too but I did get sick anyway.
**What was the best thing you bought?**
\\Various plane tickets and my Netflix subscription. Also my new mattress.\\
My flower duvet cover, some cute stripey shoes I got on sale at Zappos, all the haircuts Ruth and KC gave me, my aquarium membership so I can see the octopus \\whenever I want\\, and of course various plane tickets again. Maybe my big twelve-inch saucepan, too. I use that thing like every day.
**Whose behavior merited celebration?**
\\All the people who tried to get out the vote and actually gave a damn during the election.\\
I still think the same is true this year, in terms of political advocacy, but on a more personal level Iād say Mandyās comes immediately to mind, for involving herself wholly in her community in Peru. I admire her for that more than sheāll ever know.
**Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?**
\\I will have to go with the boring standard of āThe Entire Bush Administration and All It Has Wrought.ā\\
Dingdingdingdingdingdingding!
**Where did most of your money go?**
\\Rent, plane tickets, going out to eat and student loans.\\
Yup, this year too. Iām boring.
**What did you get really, really, really excited about?**
\\Going on my European trips and all three visits to the ABL.\\
Hmm. I did get excited about my lone trip to the ABL, going to visit Amy, Alan, and Lily, my sisterās visit, and my whirlwind weekend in Chicago this year, itās true. But Iām going to have to say that the most exciting thing thatās happened to me in 2005 has been, yes, finding out that Iām going to be able to go to New Zealand. Itās so exciting that Iāve had to mention it three times already in this entryā¦and thatās just a taste of what 2006 is going to be like, my friends. I am warning you now. I have eight months before I leave, but you may want to stop reading, like, today, if you think itās going to be annoying for you to read about my various trip-related obsessions. In 2004 I planned a two week trip for three months. In 2006 I will plan a twelve-to-fifteen month trip for eight months. You do the math.
**What song will always remind you of 2004?**
\\Tell Her This and Your Sweet Voice.\\ \\
**Compared to this time last year, are you:**
\\a) happier or sadder? Both, in completely different ways than I was last year.
b) thinner or fatter? Uh,no idea. About the same?
c) richer or poorer? Richer, I am happy to report.\\
This year Iām a little richer, a little thinner (although after this week at home, dude, I donāt know anymore) and a whole lot happier.
**What do you wish you’d done more of?**
\\Telling people I loved them when it was appropriate to do so and keeping my mouth shut when it was appropriate to do so, and not confusing the two. Also, pimp hands. \\
Aw. Last year I was so pensive and sad. This year I wish Iād done more bellydancing, cooking, reading, hanging out with my friends, traveling, and making things. Also, making out, I wish Iād done some of that.
**What do you wish you’d done less of?**
\\Crying.\\
Seriously, I was \\so sad\\ last year. This year I wish Iād done a little less dithering about things out of my control.
**How did you spend Christmas?**
\\ I spent it with my mom in Miami, riding out to the lighthouse and taking pictures of herons, and then coming home and eating delicious roasted vegetables.\\
Interestingly, this is exactly what I did this year, too, except it was very windy so we didnāt see any herons. This year on Christmas Day I also took a walk with Manya and her baby and had my one cup of coffee for the year. I had a cafĆ© con leche con extra azucar from a Venezuelan bakery on the island and let me tell you, you all can \\have\\ your wimpy Seattle-style decaf chai soy lattes. I didnāt stop talking for about sixteen hours after I drank that coffee. It almost killed me, and everyone else who had the misfortune to be around me. It was still a great Christmas though.
**Did you fall in love in 2004?**
\\No.\\
Iām guessing this whole āfalling in loveā thing refers to kissy-boy stuff, right? So, no. Except I did sort of fall in love with all my friends in a non-threatening completely platonic way, and also, donāt laugh, I totally fell in love with my new(ish) neighborhood. BALLARD!
**How many one-night stands?**
\\None. Although I guess there are still about fourteen hours left of 2004, so everyone cross your fingers for me. \\
Also none this year, unless we are counting one-night stands with Ballard, which, if we are, would bring the total up to somewhere around 200. Rrrooow.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
\\The Office and Firefly.\\
The first season of \\Lost\\, which I just watched over the holidays and now donāt know what Iām going to do with myself until the next season comes out on DVD. I liked the seasons of \\Six Feet Under\\ I netflixed too.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
\\No, I donāt think so.\\
I still hate everyone I hated last year, because I am a \\hater\\.
25. What was the best book you read?
\\Oh, man. I need to start keeping a list of what I read. I read a lot of great books this year, I promise you, absolutely none of which are coming to mind at the moment. I am so embarrassed. The Namesake? Was that this year?\\
Aha! This year I am \\ready\\ for this question! You know all those annoying book entries I post at the end of each month? Those were all in service of \\this question\\. Okay. This year I really liked:
\\Orlando\\ by Virginia Woolf
\\\\Servants Of The Map, Ship Fever,\\ and \\The Voyage of the Narwhal\\, all by Andrea Barrett. (Andrea! Call me!)
\\Sex The Measure Of All Things: A Life Of Alfred C. Kinsey\\ by Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy
\\To The Last Man I Slept With And All The Jerks Just Like Him\\ by Gwendolyn Zepeda
\\Nice Big American Baby\\ by Judy Budnitz
\\The Almond Picker\\ by Simonetta Agnello Hornby
\\Cloud Atlas\\ by David Mitchell
\\The Bowl Is Already Broken\\ by Mary Kay Zuravleff
\\That Distant Land\\ by Wendell Berry
\\The Evil B. B. Chow\\ by Steve Almond
\\Monkey Food: The Complete I Was 7 in ’75\\ by Ellen Forney (Ellen! Call me! And congratulations on your recent nuptials!)
\\Marriage, A History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage\\ by Stephanie Coontz
\\Tokyo Cancelled\\ by Rana Dasgupta
\\Pride and Prejudice\\ by Jane Austen
**What was your greatest musical discovery?**
\\Rilo Kiley (I know, years after everyone else), The Reindeer Section, and the Garden State soundtrack.\\
The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, \\Plans\\, Laura Veirs, and of course Anna Ternheim.
**What did you want and get?**
\\A laptop and chances to travel.\\
A better, funner, and more interesting social life, and of course the New Zealand thing.
**What did you want and not get?**
\\An engagement ring and a new President.\\
Well, I didnāt get a new President in 2005, either, so I guess Iāll stick with that.
**What was your favorite film of this year?**
\\Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, probably, if weāre taking about movies you have to get up and out of your pajamas to go see. Napoleon Dynamite was pretty good too. Iām sure Iād have liked Shaun of the Dead had I gotten it together to see it.\\
I saw several movies in the actual theater this year but I didnāt much like any of them (*cough*\\Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*cough*). If I manage to see the gay cowboys tomorrow afternoon it will be that, I think. Oh, wait, I did like \\North Country\\ and \\Good Night and Good Luck\\.
**What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?**
\\I turned twenty-nine in March and I had a little birthday party and went to Portland for the weekend. \\
Yeah, well, that completely sucked compared to this year, thanks very much. I turned thirty and had a karaoke party at the house in which I was living, with a lot of people I love, twinkie sushi, and a cake with an improvised octopus on top.
**What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?**
\\There is no one thing. Maybe if I hadnāt been so sad for so long for so many different reasons.\\
Iād have definitely liked to have seen more of my friends more often.
**How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?**
\\āFuzzy hair and v-necked t-shirts.ā\\
āOctopus necklaces.\\
**What kept you sane?**
\\My friends, family, and this journal.\\
This is still true.
**Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?**
\\Iāll copy Eliza and say Martin Freeman as Tim, yo, and then Iāll copy Sundry and say Johnny Depp.\\
Itās hard to have celebrity love when you donāt have TV, for real. This year Iām going to say Weetabix and Mo.
**What political issue stirred you the most?**
\\Oh WHERE TO BEGIN.\\
Oh, for the innocent days of 2004! I still donāt know where to begin, but letās just say the awful Terry Schiavo thing, the various Plame-related scandals, the Seattle monorail craziness, everything having to do with the Iraq war, the Roberts and Alito nominations, Intelligent Design nonsense, and the thing with the hurricanes and the breathtaking, criminal incompetence displayed on every level by the government. That ought to do it. For now.
**Who did you miss?**
\\The Key Girls, my mom, my sister, and all the other friends I donāt get to see often enough. (Also, should this be “whom did you miss?” or is it just me?)\\
Still true, and I still think it should be āwhom.ā
**Who was the best new person you met?**
\\Molly, Emilie, and Mandy.
and also Miz Ritchie, whom Iām pretty sure I met this year. And my co-worker R. And my housemates. \\
Kate, Robin, Melissa, Eric, Krisanne, Angela, Steven, and Regina, all of whom are awesome. Also I got to know Renee, Scott, Sharon, Chris, Denise, Gen, Amy, the other Amy, and yet another Amy and Erik better this year, which has been equally awesome.
**Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004.**
\\Love is not enough.\\
**Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.**
\\Iām a modern girl
But I fold in half so easilyā¦\\
\\The best days are not plannedā¦\\