Tuesday, January 01, 2008

And now for th traditional inventory of the past year...


1. What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?

  • Saw a woodpecker, and a roadrunner
  • Survived a company merger.
  • Broke rear traction on a TT track... on purpose!
  • Explained subdomain MX records to someone who should have known more about DNS than me.
  • Got our first christmas tree in "our" place




2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year, I set a few goals, and only reached one. But! I reached the hell out of it! Here's what I said last year:

-New Career
-Learn Chinese (quantitatively: I want to be conversational and understand movies)
-Sew more (quantitatively: I want to finish at least one project a month, and not be afraid to tackle a wedding dress should a friend want me to make theirs. I felt bad having to say I couldn't.)
-Travel (quantitatively: One big trip out of the country, and several short trips on the weekend)

I got a new job with people I really like, in an awesome company, and then that company was eaten by another well-known company very famous for it's tasty food and employee perks... As finding a new career goes, this path totally exceeded what I thought I could do. This one goal, though, consumed the first half of my year with my deep exploration of career and self, and the second half of the year with "oh shit, what have I gotten myself into?!?" I have a lot to learn to be proficient, so this overrode my other new year's goals.

The other three? not so much. But, I do now have a space for sewing, which should help.

This year....
Career:
  • Get my PMP certificate: This is something I'd like to do anyway, but my boss is really keen on me getting done soon. A Project Management certificate would help me in my career, if only for the way it appears to people reviewing me on paper.
  • Learn basic Unix for Mac (starting this with a book right now)
  • Gain a working knowledge of networking, firewalls, DNS, etc... especially as it pertains to work.
  • Get involved in the "extra-curriculars" at work to create more connections
Other
  • max my 401K
  • bolster our emergency savings for the shit economy that is in the mail, coming soon
  • Start practicing Mandarin on at least a weekly basis
  • Spend a lot more time sewing
  • Spend a lot more time riding my motorcycles (now that I am no longer commuting on them-- oh, right, I used to do this for FUN too!)
  • Get involved with birding... and maybe some wetlands cleanup projects?


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I have a new niece this year! Paul has a new nephew this year! And two of my favorite friends are welcoming a new addition through adoption!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?
None... Despite what Texans would like to think, they are just a state, not their own country.


6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Travel and adventure... we did not go on too many roadtrips or do any big trips. I was wrapped up in a career change.

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 11th! I started my new career!
October 20th! We took possession of our new place together!


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Scamming five interviewers in person and three over the phone, into letting me work at such a cool job.


9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting time slip through my fingers

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was pretty sick over Christmas time, but that's about it. Oh, and I cracked a tooth (from bruxism)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The whale watching excursion was a lot of fun, and very worthwhile.


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister. I am so very proud of her, and all the exciting things she is doing.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I've been saying BushCo for several years, so maybe I should add to it:

  • fundamentalists (creationism is a silly religious belief, which I think people are entitled to. It is NOT science.)
  • american consumers/homedebtors/"victims" You "bought" your house, you signed the docs, and a few years ago, you were all saying the game was just to "make the numbers work." Now, you were all tricked into something, and want a bailout. You would not have shared the profits you tried to realize, so don't try to share the loss. Oh, and you also re-fi'd so you could buy that SUV you "needed" to get the kids/dogs/beanie babies around? There are entire families in Vietnam riding around on a scooter; you didn't "need" that crap.
  • Bill O'Reilly declared he'd won the "War on Christmas" Who the hell else in the world groups "Christmas" and "War" together so freely? Maybe it's an abomination, but my family tended to to equate "Christmas" with "Peace" or "Hope" more frequently. I guess we were doing it wrong?


14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, motorcycle, food. Savings. I did fairly well in contributing to IRA and 401K, but will do more this year. This year, rent will be higher, but food and motorcycle should be lower (now that we are cooking some, and I don't have a commute to rack up miles)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My new job! duh! And then? My new job getting bought by The Google. Also, my iPhone, San Francisco, and quite frequently: puppies!

16. What songs/bands will always remind you of 2007?
The RIAA has convinced me I should not listen to music anymore.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Happier

ii. thinner or fatter?
Fatter.

iii. richer or poorer?
Richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Riding my motorcycle. Seeing my friends. Having adventures.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Lollygagging at the house...

I feel like too much time has been wasted with poorly planned days... a few are fine, but too many, and there's nothing to show for it

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it with family, same as always.
But this year, Paul and I have our own tree, at our own place. And it is very cute.


22. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I still fall! Every day!

23. How many one night stands?
No.

24. What were your favorite TV programs?
We don't really turn the TV on. But I do like to catch The Daily Show and Colbert Report on Tivo at the Turner Compound.


(what happened to 25?)


26. What was the best book you read?
Working diligently through Pathfinder helped me immensely in defining my personal path

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Again, not at all inclined to buy music these days with all the RIAA copyright bullshit.

28. What did you want and get?
We moved! And I got a job! And these lovely bird song books

29. What did you want and not get?
A bigger tax refund?



30. What was your favorite film(s) of this year?
I don't think we went to *any* movies in the theaters this year. I did get to watch Memoir of a Geisha while having dental surgery though, and enjoyed it...

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 30 and thought it would be nice to have a lot of friends together. We had dinner with friends at the Beach Chalet (Park Chalet, really-- the brewery downstairs) which was a disaster because we nearly lost our table because of major lateness of many attendees. Once we got seated, all was well, and I drank many the beer with Amy and all.

After, Jennifer, Paul and I stumbled around Ocean Beach and the Cliff House in the dark, which was quite nice. We accidentally wakened a hobo sleeping in the cave, though, which we felt guilty about after.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Better health

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Coming to a screeching halt. AND. the first time I have ever been seen wearing corporate logowear and loving it.


34. What kept you sane?
Paul was very patient and supportive of me while I spend the first half of the year totally consumed by navel-gazing and career-exploration, and then the interview process, and then the hardest part of all-- ramping up for a new world.

35. Which celebrity/public figure(s) did you fancy the most?
I'm liking Obama more every time I think about it.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Now that it is becoming a political issue, I am super-pissed about all these proposed bailouts of idiot home "buyers" who are facing the consequences of their greed. People who lied on their applications to make the numbers work should be facing mortgage fraud charges, and instead are being given my tax money, while they used this fake "money" to skyrocket home prices away from affordability for responsible people. This should have worked itself out, but politicians who have decided to get involved have made it a platform for appeasing these jackasses.

37. Who did you miss?
Grandpa. James.

There is not one day that goes by without me thinking of Grandpa. I still can't imagine a world without him, and yet here we are.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
My new coworkers, who are all geniuses. It is really exciting to be surrounded by such brainy, exciting people.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
It's all about connections. Networking matters (and I've become pretty lazy about it these days)

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Cowards and Heroes,
listen my friends.
If you have money
and nothing to spend.
It'll make no difference
in a hundred years or so.

Sooner or later
we all make the little flowers grow.



(actually, I couldn't think of any lyric to sum up the year... so this will have to do)




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