holy shit. it’s 2011, and this whole quitting-my-job-and-trying-to-move-to-canada-thing gets underway in like 13 weeks! yikes and double-yikes!

it’s beginning to occur to me that this plan may be a little bit half-baked. it’s also beginning to occur to me that there are things in london that i will miss, or never got a chance to do. i’ve sat around here for nearly eight years now – how many weekends did i waste in front of the television and computer? if i could only have them all back!

(anticipated) absence makes the heart grow fonder.

so i’ve determined not to waste what time i may have left.

in the meantime, here’s a meme:

What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
traced my family history roots – that was a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
nope. and nope. resolutions are a waste of time. as yoda says, “do, or do not. there is no try.” however i did go back to being a vegetarian at the start of 2010.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
not this year. guess not as many people were getting busy

Did anyone close to you die?
i lost my grandfather after many years of Alzheimer’s, and my friend beth quite unexpectedly. (that’s quite enough universe, thanks.)

What places did you visit?
Boston, Scottish highlands, Venice, Croatia, Paris (again). this was a travel-lite year for us, and Prague was postponed for the trip to Boston.

What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
more courage and confidence. it’s been an angst-y year, and i spent much of it feeling all muddled and confused and indecisive. not typical for me.

What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory?
the day i was scheduled to fly home to see my dying grandfather, and the volcano in iceland erupted. my plane made it out 3 minutes before the uk airspace closed, and i was just an emotional wreck.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
finishing marathon #4 (third time is the charm) and raising a good amount of money for the ellies as well. yay me!

What was your biggest failure?
watching more than 50 movies, but reading only 12 books. that ratio is just all kinds of fail.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
just an ongoing soul-destroying battle with bursitis (the disease of the elderly), and significant injury to my wallet after (yet another) dental crown.

What was the best thing you bought?
iphone4iphone4iphone4. iphone 4.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?
J’s – for putting up with my shit, day in, day out. The boy deserves a medal. i seem to say that every year.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
fucking voters and the fucking tories they elected. gah! argh! bah!

Where did most of your money go?
sad but true: socked away in savings. b-o-r-i-n-g.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
iphone4iphone4iphone4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (in case all the exclamation points don’t convey my excitement strongly enough, i love my iphone 4) also: the olympics!!!!! (yes, i’m the only person in the world who gets excited about winter olympics)

What song(s) will always remind you of 2010?
joanna newsome – good intentions paving company. this strange little song tugged at my heart in inexplicable ways.

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Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? hrmmmm. i’m going to err on the side of optimism and call it a wash.
Thinner or fatter? I decline to answer
Richer or poorer? our savings is better off, but the fun fund has been much poorer for it.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
you know – sex, drugs, rock n’ roll. chillin’ with my homies.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
agonising about my job. frittering away time on the computer.

What was the best book you read?
too much happiness, by alice munro. i love short stories and alice munro is a master story-teller at her finest.

What did you want and get?
iphone4iphone4iphone4!

What did you want and not get?
a nobel peace prize and a lib/lab coalition government.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
not being made redundant. i know that doesn’t exactly answer the question precisely, but it kind of made a mockery of job satisfaction.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
“the path of least resistance.” because that’s how i get dressed in the mornings.

What kept you sane?
pretty sure this question is not applicable.

What political issue stirred you the most?
the aforementioned election, and the savage “efficiency agenda”. the current government is doing a vicious imitation of thatcherism and has the unalloyed temerity to keep doling out the platitude of “we’re all in this together”, which just makes me want to hurl.

i have strong feelings about it.

Who did you miss?
all the usual suspects back home. plus my grandpa.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
life moves on, with or without you. all you can do is try to steer.

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