2012 Year in Review (1)

I have used this format at the end of each year on my friends-only blog since 2004.  So let the tradition continue here.  I’m going to break it up in two posts.

39 questions about my year (Part One, 1-20):

1. What did you do this year that you'd never done before?
Attended a men-only play party (I’ve been in a few gay bars, but never an all male play party).   Went to kinky karaoke at Wine-up (which was scarier than the gay play party).  Joined a puppy pack, and participated in my first puppy mosh.  Got a tattoo.  Was interviewed by a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and quoted in Businessweek.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I refused to make any resolutions last year (b/c the year before I rather ambitiously made five).  For next year: (1) Finish and self-publish the family history book I've been working on for 3 years (which not the book mentioned in #9, by the way)… and (2) sketch in my new leather, hand-made sketchbook at least once a week.  I think I’m going to number them 1-52.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not this year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
We lost our 15-year-old cat Cleo.  I believe that was all this year… which was good b/c last year I lost several of my people.

5. Did anyone close to you get married?
Andrew and Mel!!  :D

6. What places did you visit?
Spent a lot of time in Atlanta (and visited the Atlanta Eagle for the first time, and attended SELF for the first time).  We also made it up to DC for a couple of days (and stayed at a very posh hotel, complements of the United Nations)… but otherwise we didn’t do a lot of traveling in 2012 – we had to save money until Ma’am found a job.

7. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?
Last year I requested, “A roof that doesn’t leak and employment for Shdwkitten.”  I got both.  However, we’re now back to my answer from a couple of years ago, “a working hot tub,” b/c our 20-year-old hot tub is once again on the blink.

8. What day from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Two good and one bad:  My birthday, when Sir Loki accepted me into his pack, and the day I was gifted my tattoo from the CAPEX community in recognition of 10 years of service and growth (I almost cried).  One bad: Halloween, when Snow and Ma’am split-up.

9. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Wrote a 270+ page draft of a book – my longest piece of writing yet.  (Prior publications have been limited to bloging, comic strips, essays, a children’s book, and the afterward of a graphic novel.  Short stuff.)

10. What was your biggest failure?
Don’t think I had any…  I’m just that good.  :)

11. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Continuing back pains. Well, when your 37 and spend a lot of time sitting on the floor and sleep in a dog kennel, back pain is not surprising…  That and I did flip my happy ass over the handlebars of my motorcycle in ’04, which probably didn’t do wonders for my spine.

12. What was the best thing you bought?
I bought-back Shdwkitten’s old bow.  It was given to her when she was 16, but she thought she had lost it in her divorce w/ Snow.  She missed it terribly.  I secretly bought it back and surprised her w/ it under the ol’ Yule tree.  Making her so happy was grand.

13. Whose behavior merited a celebration?
Ma’am, although she didn’t have much money (having just started her new job), took a little money out of our savings and gave it to a coworker she hardly knew.  This poor girl w/ a kid was living out of her car on the run from an abusive ex (whom she has a restraining order against) and needed help getting her life re-set.  Ma’am told the girl not to pay the money back, but pay it forward once she got on her feet.  About a week later, a friend of ours, Beth-Ann, contacted Ma’am, and, when it came up that Ma’am needs some dental work done, Beth-Ann insisted on loaning Ma’am (interest free) a not-inconsiderable sum of money to get some work done on her teeth as just a random act of kindness.  So kudos to Shdwkitten and Beth-Ann.

14. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
You know… I don’t think anybody this year did anything to appall me; which is good.

15. Where did most of your money go?
Paying Shdwkitten’s bills.  :P  (Just kidding, Ma’am.)

16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Getting together w/ Max, Timm, and Noreht.  It was the first time in like 12 years for the four of us (who’ve been friends since high school) to all get together at once.  It made me very happy.

17. What song will always remind you of this year?

So many great songs this year (see #27)… but given this year’s break-up (#8), probably “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye:

So when we found that we could not make sense

Well you said that we would still be friends

But I’ll admit that I was kind of glad it was over

But you didn’t have to cut me off

Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing

And I don’t even need your love

But you treat me like a stranger and it feels so rough

18. Compared to this time last year, you are:
… a lot more online.  I started this public blog, a PupZone profile, and a Fet profile.  I’m slowly moving into the 21^st century.

19. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Gaming… and attending Trish’s philosophy salon.  Always enjoy both, but never get an opportunity for either more than a couple of times a year.

20. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Honestly… nothing really comes to mind.  Even at work things were pretty fun/smooth this year.