By Any Memes Necessary, 2015!

I’m told it’s a tradition now. I can live with that.

1. Was 2015 a good year for you? :  It was a challenging year – but the challenges were more benign than some previous years.  That’s pretty good!
2. What was your favorite moment(s) of the year?:  Finally putting the worst of the teenage years in behind us.
3. What was your least favorite moment(s) of the year?:  Two job hunts in twelves months (I got caught in two large layoffs).  They both ended well, but it was a stressful year.
4. What did you do in 2015 that you’d never done before?:  Worked mostly from home.
5. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?: “Keep” is such an absolute word.  I did OK.
6. Where were you when 2015 began?:  Mancini’s.
7. Who were you with?:  Friends.
8. Where will you be when 2015 ends?:  I was out with other friends!
9. Who will you be with when 2015 ends?: Asked and answered.
10. Did anyone close to you give birth?:  A couple of my friends had a baby a couple days ago.
11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2015?:  No. Knock wood.
12. Who did you miss?:  Grandparents.
13. Who was the best new person you met in 2015?:  Too many to name here.
14. What was your favorite month of 2015?:  September.  Finally caught up financially from the aforementioned job goat-rodeo, plus some good family stuff.
15. Did you travel outside of the US in 2015?:  No.  Come to think of it, I haven’t been outside the US since I was last in Canada, in ’84.  I’m due.
16. How many different states did you travel to in 2015?:  Pretty lame year for travel (2013-15 were much better).  Just Minnesota and North Dakota.  I don’t think I even made it to Hudson in 2015.
17. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?:  The ability to be less reactive and more proactive about career stuff.
18. What date from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?:  Probably the day I got my second layoff in six months.  Not pleasant, but it’s etched.
19. What was your biggest achievement of the year?:  Recovering from both layoffs quickly and successfully (knock wood).
20. What was your biggest failure?:  To get back in shape.  It’s a big goal for the coming year.  To be fair, I was doing really good about biking to work, until the second layoff hit.
21. Did you suffer illness or injury?:  Nope.  Pretty healthy year. Knock wood.
22. What was the best thing you bought?:  I picked up a new Mac Mini on Black Friday at Microcenter.  (I hate Black Friday, but the deal was too good to pass up).
23. Whose behavior merited celebration?:  My kids – for different reasons, but in both cases I’m overjoyed.
24. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?:  the various city governments of the Twin Cities.
25. Where did most of your money go?:  Bills!
26. What did you get really, really, really excited about?:  Working at home!
27. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2015?:  I never drink “a lot”.  I probably drank a little more than previous years, since I’ve come to enjoy a glass of wine or whisky in the evening – but in the year 2015, I went through exactly three bottles of whisky, three bottles of wine and a twelve-pack of beer at home.  So no, I didn’t drink a lot.
28. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2015?:  Ibuprofen?
29. Did you treat somebody badly in 2015?:  Nope.
30. Did somebody treat you badly in 2015?:  Other than the usual online oompa-loompas, whom I’ve come to completely ignore, no.
31. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? – Probably happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? – A tad thinner.  Frustratingly little.
iii. richer or poorer? – My money is better-managed this year.
32. What do you wish you’d done more of in 2015?:  Travel.  The second layoff forced me to scrub a planned trip to Nova Scotia.
33. What do you wish you’d done less of?:  Job hunting!
34. Did you fall in love in 2015?:   Love is a constant!
35. What was your favorite TV program(s)?:  Walking Dead, Longmire, Making a Murderer. 
36. What song will always remind you of 2015?:  “Slow Turning” by John Hiatt.  Long story.
37. How many concerts did you see in 2015?:  Two!  First time I’ve seen concerts since 2003.
38. Did you have a favorite concert in 2015?;  Richard Thompson (with Katrina Leskanich in second).
39. What was your greatest musical discovery?:
Finding out that the local classical station plays both “Music from the Hearts of Space” and “Pipe Dreams” on Sunday nights.
40. What was the best book you read?: “Trulbert“.  (Actually, this blog’s long-time friend Ryan Rhodes turned a series of blog posts from the time of the very premature birth of his twins into a rough but wrenching book that was my most affecting read this year, one I highly recommend).
41. What was your favorite film of this year?:  It’s not from this year, but I saw Silver Linings Playbook this year.  Incredible movie.
42. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?:  Went out to dinner, and the same age Springsteen was when he started recording “Ghost of Tom Joad”.
43. What did you want and get?:  Other than a job when I needed it, twice?  I wanted to rebuild my back porch – and I did it.
44. What did you want and not get?:  A national talk radio syndication deal with a six figure salary.
45. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?:  Keeping on my “bike every morning” kick from the spring.  It’s a big goal for the coming year.
46. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?:  I worked at home this past year.  Carhart T-Shirts, Duluth Jeans.
47. What kept you sane?:  All those reassuring voices.
48. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?:  Scarlett Johanson, same as last year.
49. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.:   Relationships matter.
50. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.:  “In the footsteps of Napoleon, the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, standing in the wings like an avenger.
And far away behind their lines, the partisans are stirring in the forest,
falling unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise.
You’ll never know, you’ll never know which way to turn, which way to look, you’ll never see us,
as we’re stealing through the blackness of the night you’ll never know, you’ll never hear us”.
 — “Roads to Moscow”, Al Stewart
Same as every year.
Happy New Year!

4 thoughts on “By Any Memes Necessary, 2015!

  1. 48. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?: Scarlett Johanson, same as last year.
    Johansson is, what, 3’8″ tall? The woman is frikkin hobbit.

  2. I completely given celeb fancying up when Charlize Theron hooked up with Sean Penn.

    They are all damaged goods.

  3. “I saw Silver Linings Playbook this year. Incredible movie.”

    Agreed.

    *pages through book* What the …

    I apologize on behalf of Ernest Hemingway.

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