like sands through the hourglass

as a general rule, i am not a very keen or successful observer of the passage of time. (read: i am late for everything, all the time, under just about any circumstance.) and so, my new year was ushered in without much fanfare. (also because i could barely stay up past midnight.) it just sort of became 2010, you know? and the only time i really notice it is when i write the wrong date on my checks. i didn't even make any resolutions because i am still plugging away on that big list of birthday goals.



but, i feel like a new year, not to mention a whole new decade (!) deserves a little more recognition that what i have given it (which is nothing) so i was delighted to come across this little exercise on suvi marie's blog. (note: not her real middle name.)



read on!



1. what did you do in 2009 that you had never done before?
visited turkey. bought a full-priced item from anthropologie. met el presidente. joined a gym.



2. did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for the next year?
i don't remember making any firm resolutions last year, so if i did i am going to go ahead and say i didn't keep them. i did keep last year's birthday goal, though, and i am on track for this year's many goals as well. and that is enough goals for me.



3. did anyone close to you give birth?
back to the "i can't keep track of time" thing, i get a little fuzzy on when my favorite babies were born. but i think i am right in saying that steve and sarah's baby summer joined the party in 2009, so i am going to count that. and three of my favorite people have babies on the way this year, which i am pretty stoked about.



4. did anyone close to you die?
we lost aunt rosemary this year, which still feels impossible.



5. what places did you visit?
denver a couple times to see the family, turkey and paris (just for overnight at the airport holiday inn), the outer banks, back to salt lake (so weird that now i visit salt lake), and d.c. before i moved here. california, idaho, moab. new york a bunch. oh, and montreal, if you count an emergency landing because someone on the plane had a seizure. which i do.



6. what would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
i can't actually think of anything. more time to ride my bike, i guess. and a new biking buddy.



7. what dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
oh geez. this is sort of a hard one. i don't really remember dates. but i am pretty sure i left salt lake on may 10. that was a biggie.



8. what was your biggest achievement of the year?
i would say landing a new job, surviving a cross country move and rebuilding my life in a new place, with my sanity still (mostly) in tact.



9. what was your biggest failure?
the mosaic i attempted to make at craft night. seriously. it was an epic fail.



10. did you suffer illness or injury?
nope.



11. what was the best thing you bought?
a map of the d.c. metro system.



12. whose behavior merited celebration?
remember when bill clinton got those journalists released from north korea? that was pretty bodacious.


13. whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
tiger woods. yuck. and charlie sheen. double-yuck. sarah palin, yuck, yuck, yuck.




14. where did most of your money go?
i don't even want to know. food, probably. with clothes i don't need being a close second. and my investment portfolio at a pathetic third.



15. what did you get really, really, really excited about?
glee!




16. what song will always remind you of 2009?
"sun in an empty room" by the weakerthans (thanks, evan and holly!)




17. compared to this time last year, are you:


a) happier or sadder?
i am happy now and i was happy then. but at this time last year i was starting to get pretty stressed out about the "next step," and that angst is gone.



b) thinner or fatter?
i would say about the same.



c) richer or poorer?
richer! (thanks obama! and no rent at uncle bob's!)



18. what do you wish you’d done more of?
biking.



19. what do you wish you’d done less of?
worrying.



20. how did you spend Christmas in 2009?
in denver, in my pajamas.



21. did you fall in love in 2009?
no. but it's on my list for this year.



22. what was your favorite TV program?
30 rock.



23. what did you do for your birthday in 2009?
dinner at dana's, cupcakes at emily's, lunch with aunt joyce. made 28 goals.



24. what was the best book you read?
east of eden by john steinbeck.



25. what did you want and get?
a sewing machine!



26. what did you want and not get?
a pony. seriously, nothing comes to mind.




27. what was your favorite film of this year?
for new films, i loved "whip it" and "where the wild things are" and "star trek." oh, and definitely "good hair." and, hello, "new moon," naturally. for revisiting old films, how had i forgotten the genius of "moonstruck"?




28. did you make some new friends this year?
that would be yes. i spent half of the year doing nothing but making new friends, in fact. and i am still at it. so far, so good.



29. what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
would you believe that i can't think of a single thing? i mean, i am sure i had plenty of ideas in the moment, but i can't think of any of them now, so they must not have been that important.



30. how would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
maybe wanna-be-hipster-suddenly-forced-to-be-pseudo-professional, with a sprinkle of what-would-penelope-cruz-wear?



31. what kept you sane?
netflix streaming. endless cell phone minutes. blogging. getting mail. old friends, even if they were far away.



32. which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
michelle obama. jake gyllenhaal. robert downey, jr. tina fey. and is it just me or did ryan reynolds come out of nowhere with a whole lot of awesome?



33. what political issue stirred you the most?
this is not an issue, actually, but the obama inauguration got me all kinds of stirred.



34. who did you miss?
the salt lake crew. all of them. especially my babies.



35. tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
when we ask, we receive. and when we try, we can accomplish.



happy new year, folks! here's to a great one.