It’s that time again.
2018 is the Year of the Dog.
2011…The House…
2012…Denver and Andy Grammer…
2013…If it Ain’t One Thing…
2014…The Phantom Smoke Stench…
2015…WTF Day Is It…
2016…The Whole Gaddam World is on Fire….
2017 was The Year of…The Nose…and OMFG WHAT NOW???
Hoo boy.
Hey, remember last year when I talked about things getting worse before they get better and how long is it going to take to turn the corner and how bad is it really going to get first and OH MY GOD I DID NOT REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THOSE QUESTIONS BUT HERE WE ARE WITH NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN.
*ahem*
It’s been another YEAR. A year of screaming in abject horror at the news on a daily basis. (Or every thirty-five seconds as the case may be, give or take.)
Oh.
Ye.
Gods.
This was a rough one in a lot of ways. And I’m so bloody tired. I’m trying so hard to hold on and appreciate the good things—because there ARE good things—but JFC it is not easy.
Deep breath.
BECAUSE I CAN BREATHE THROUGH MY NOSE.
No.
It’s not getting old yet.
1.) Where did you ring in 2017?
Honestly, I don’t even remember New Years Eve anymore. We were at home, yes. But what were we doing? I…don’t know. It’s probably a safe bet to assume it involved video games. I went back and looked through some interwebz activity to see if I posted anything, and apparently I watched part of a live stream from NYC with a Gavin DeGraw performance, so we were at least in the loft and not the living room, which likely means if anything we were playing FFXIV. Otherwise I am blank on the details. (This is really nothing new.)
2.) What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?
I had surgery—septoplasty and bi-lateral turbinate reduction. Recovery was rough and the bills were offensive, but I CAN BREATHE THROUGH MY NOSE PROPERLY.
3.) Did you keep your new year’s resolutions and will you make more for next year?
Sometimes I think I should just replace this question with one that has a chance of having a real answer each year. (Other than no, that is.)
4.) Did anyone close to you get engaged or married?
Not…that I’m aware of…?
5.) Did anyone close to you get pregnant or give birth?
I think I’ve reached the age where everyone I know is done having babies until their babies start having babies.
6.) Did anyone close to you die?
My aunt died in August after a long battle with cancer. Her funeral was held in place of her planned 70th birthday party.
7.) How did you earn your keep?
Still pretending to be a housewife.
8.) What countries places did you visit?
The biggest adventure we had this year was Surgery Day. I’ll take it.
9.) What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
A cleaner house. Seriously. I’m setting the bar at roughly attainable.
10.) What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
July 10th. Surgery Day. It was an expensive medical venture that actually yielded results and I am still boggled by that.
11.) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I completed a double Project 365. I did not enjoy it. I wanted to quit several times. But I stuck with it because I wanted to actually finish something in the creative vein.
12.) What was your biggest failure?
Lack of progress in just about every corner of my life.
13.) Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a bad cold at the beginning of the year that lasted too long and surgery recovery was a lot rougher than I anticipated.
14.) Did you ever encounter the police?
The new Mega Church campus across the road has city police on site every time they hold service. Why does a church need constant police presence? It’s disturbing.
15.) What was the best thing you bought?
Bob bought me a new computer after my other one decided it didn’t like batteries anymore. He also bought me a new set of pans and new Chucks. See also: my husband spoils me.
16.) Where did most of your money go?
Hahahahahahahahaha, medical bills.
17.) What did you get really excited about?
Andy Grammer put out a new album. Also being able to breathe through my nose.
18.) Compared to this time last year, are you…
…happier or sadder? Meh…it’s been a terrible year for my mental health.
…thinner or fatter? Fatter…the past few months saw a small spike in weight, though I don’t think my habits have changed. So that’s nice.
…richer or poorer? Poorer…medical bills and debt are fun.
19.) What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing. It’s been a rough year for writing.
20.) What do you wish you’d done less of?
Crying about the horrifying state of the world.
21.) How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas Eve with my family. Christmas Day with Bob’s family.
22.) What are your short and long term goals for 2018?
Short Term: Annual appointments. It’s always a production to get through those.
Long Term: Getting the second bedroom cleaned out so it no longer looks like an episode of Hoarders and installing the shelving unit in the closet.
23.) What was your favorite TV program?
We kind of gave up on our regular TV shows this year. We watched a lot more anime with a Crunchy Roll subscription. And we’ve been really enjoying the Critical Role streams.
24.) What were your favorite books of the year?
I wish I read more books, but focus and reading comprehension make it incredibly difficult to get through them. It only took me about thirty minutes to read, but I really liked Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book by Jomny Sun. Also The Highly Accurate & 100% Correct in Every Way ANATOMY OF ANIMALS! by Dave Kellett is good for a laugh.
25.) What was your favorite music from this year?
Andy Grammer put out a new album. Train put out a new album. Darren Criss and Mat Kearney put out new music. O.A.R., Nine Days, and Gavin DeGraw are constant staples. And I re-discovered Splender after a good decade-plus of hiding in my music arsenal.
26.) What song will always remind you of 2017?
I’ll say Yeah, Whatever by Splender simply because I listened to this damn acoustic version a couple hundred times.
27.) What were your favorite films of the year?
Based on our increased consumption of anime, Your Name was really good.
28.) What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 38 this year. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. It was a Sunday. We were lazy at home, I had a headache, and we had Culvers for dinner because I wanted onion rings and they’re right across the road from our house.
29.) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Significant writing progress. I don’t even care what story. I just want progress again.
30.) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
Pajama pants and hoodies for life, Kids.
31.) What kept you sane?
Bob. Always. And music. Forever.
32.) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
There were (was? were?) a multitude of music makers holding my attention, as usual.
33.) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017.
Recovery takes time.
Surgery is the easy part. It’s the recovery that sucks. Minor surgery is still surgery and when that minor procedure has a massive impact on your ability to breathe properly, hey—maybe it’s going to take time to work through that. Also general anesthesia is reeeeeeaaaaaally weird. I saw a blue oxygen mask come over my face and then I opened my eyes in a completely different room. That missing block of time is disorienting and unnerving. But it was worth it.
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Yeah, Whatever Splender |