{"id":40894,"date":"2013-12-31T23:59:54","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T05:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=40894"},"modified":"2014-01-01T09:35:03","modified_gmt":"2014-01-01T15:35:03","slug":"40894","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=40894","title":{"rendered":"All Memes Necessary, 2013 Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wombat reminds me that I used to do this sort of thing<\/a> all the time.<\/p>\n

Self-indulgent? \u00a0Sure. \u00a0Why not? \u00a0It’s my blog, and I can do what I want.<\/p>\n

1. Was 2013 a good year for you?<\/strong>: \u00a0All in all, sure. \u00a0Notables: \u00a0I got a new job that was a real step forward. \u00a0When you’re a contractor for a long time, you find that each year is pretty much a rerun of every other year you spend as a contractor. \u00a0I’m an employee for the first time in a while, I’m leading a group, and it’s been a lot of fun so far.<\/p>\n

2. What was your favorite moment(s) of the year?<\/strong>: \u00a0Seeing my niece Sniperbaby for the first time. \u00a0(She’s six, and while Sniperbaby isn’t her actual name, she actually does get hits on prairie dogs at 100 yards with a .22 Magnum).<\/p>\n

3. What was your least favorite moment(s) of the year?<\/strong>: \u00a0We’ll talk about that over a drink sometime. \u00a0If we have a drink sometime.<\/p>\n

4. What did you do in 2013 that you\u2019d never done before?<\/strong>: \u00a0Went to the east coast of Florida. \u00a0Ate scallops. \u00a0Played a ukulele. \u00a0Kicked one of my demons in the groin.<\/p>\n

5. Did you keep your new years\u2019 resolutions, and will you make more for next year?<\/strong>: I never do them.<\/p>\n

6. Where were you when 2013 began?<\/strong>: \u00a0At home.<\/p>\n

7. Who were you with?<\/strong>: \u00a0A dog, two cats, and my guitar.<\/p>\n

8. Where will you be when 2013 ends?:\u00a0<\/strong>About the same.<\/p>\n

9. Who will you be with when 2013 ends?<\/strong>: \u00a0A dog and two cats and my guitars.<\/p>\n

10. Did anyone close to you give birth?<\/strong>: \u00a0Other than some Facebook friends, no.<\/p>\n

11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0No, thank God. \u00a0It’s been a while.<\/p>\n

12. Who did you miss?<\/strong>: \u00a0Nobody, really.<\/p>\n

13. Who was the best new person you met in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0No one person. \u00a0Lots of new co-workers. \u00a0The guy who works for me is a great fella.<\/p>\n

14. What was your favorite month of 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0 I can’t imagine ever having a favorite “month”. \u00a0May was kinda fun.<\/p>\n

15. Did you travel outside of the US in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0I haven’t been outside the US since college. \u00a0That kinda depresses me. \u00a0 I may just drive to Canada this year for the hell of it.<\/p>\n

16. How many different states did you travel to in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0North Dakota, Wisconsin, Florida and Ohio.<\/p>\n

17. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0Time for a project I’ve been noodling with for over a year. \u00a0I’d like to have something ready to go by April at the latest.<\/p>\n

18. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?: \u00a0<\/strong>Plenty of days; no dates.<\/p>\n

19. What was your biggest achievement of the year?<\/strong>: \u00a0I’m finally managing \u00a0people at work. \u00a0It’s never been a goal, but it’s an achievement. \u00a0Sorta.<\/p>\n

20. What was your biggest failure?<\/strong>: \u00a0Not finishing the project I mentioned above.<\/p>\n

21. Did you suffer illness or injury?: \u00a0<\/strong>So far so good. \u00a0Knock wood.<\/p>\n

22. What was the best thing you bought?<\/strong>: \u00a0This is weird – nothing. \u00a0I don’t actually recall buying anything all year. \u00a0Some books, some music, groceries.<\/p>\n

23. Whose behavior merited celebration?<\/strong>: \u00a0My kids made some good progress. \u00a0Long story, and you’ll have to know me \u00a0pretty well to hear the story.<\/p>\n

24. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?<\/strong>: \u00a0Our government at all levels.<\/p>\n

25. Where did most of your money go?:<\/strong> The mortgage from hell. I live with it, but it’s the bane of my existence.<\/p>\n

26. What did you get really, really, really excited about?<\/strong>: \u00a0Music. \u00a0Long story.<\/p>\n

27. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0I haven’t drunk “a lot” of alcohol since about 1990. \u00a0I haven’t had “a lot” of alcohol at one sitting since 2008, and that was only once. \u00a0I drink so rarely – seriously, the MOB parties and a couple of semi-regular happy hours with some college and work friends are about it.<\/p>\n

28. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0Ibuprofen. \u00a0Which, other than the odd antibiotic, is the only drug I ever use…<\/p>\n

29. Did you treat somebody badly in 2013?: \u00a0<\/strong>Er…not that I remember? \u00a0I usually try to treat people well…<\/p>\n

30. Did somebody treat you badly in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0Nothing I couldn’t not only handle, but mock with style.<\/p>\n

31. Compared to this time last year, are you<\/strong>: \u00a0A little happier, about the same weight, a little richer.<\/p>\n

32. What do you wish you\u2019d done more of in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0I wish I’d had an actual vacation. \u00a0I have been a contractor most of my career, so I have little concept of or skill at down time.<\/p>\n

33. What do you wish you\u2019d done less of?<\/strong>: \u00a0Worry. \u00a0Same as last year.<\/p>\n

34. Did you fall in love in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0Yeah, Kate Mara. \u00a0But don’t tell Scarlett Johannson.<\/p>\n

35. What was your favorite TV program(s)?<\/strong>: \u00a0This is the first time in decades I’ve watched first-run television or cable. \u00a0I loved House of Cards and Breaking Bad. \u00a0And I hate to say it, but Walking Dead is really good. \u00a0And the final episode of “The Office” was really really excellent, in an absolutely absurd way.<\/p>\n

36. What song will always remind you of 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0One of my own. \u00a0Maybe I’ll let you hear it someday.<\/p>\n

37. How many concerts did you see in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0It occurs to me that I haven’t been to a concert of any kind since Springsteen in 2002. \u00a0Pathetic, huh?<\/p>\n

38. Did you have a favorite concert in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0Asked and answered, indirectly.<\/p>\n

39. What was your greatest musical discovery?<\/strong>: \u00a0Mark Knopfler’s been hiding in plain sight for thirty years. \u00a0I’ve always been aware of his most notable stuff, but I’d never really done the deep dive into the Knopfler\/Dire Straits catalogue. \u00a0I did this year.<\/p>\n

40. What was the best book you read?<\/strong>: \u00a0“The German Invasion of Norway” by Geir Haar.<\/p>\n

41. What was your favorite film of this year?<\/strong>: \u00a0I saw some good ones – more than usual. \u00a0I used to go to actual theatres maybe once every two years or so. It’s been more frequent this past year. \u00a0Best one, though, is probably\u00a0Lone Survivor<\/em>.<\/p>\n

42. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?<\/strong>: \u00a0Nothing interesting, and none of your business.<\/p>\n

43. What did you want and get?<\/strong>: \u00a0A birthday without having to deal with someone else’s crisis. \u00a0And for the first time in six or seven years, I got it!<\/p>\n

44. What did you want and not get?<\/strong>: \u00a0I never want much.<\/p>\n

45. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?<\/strong>: Having Premiere start lining me up to replace Limbaugh when he retires.<\/p>\n

46. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?<\/strong>: \u00a0Personal fashion concept? \u00a0“No beards without mustaches”<\/p>\n

47. What kept you sane?<\/strong>: Same as every year; having an outlet.<\/p>\n

48. Which celebrity\/public figure did you fancy the most?<\/strong>: \u00a0Kate Mara was giving Scarlett Johannson a run for the money.<\/p>\n

49. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013<\/strong>: \u00a0Stay hydrated. \u00a0Persevere. \u00a0Let it turn to something else.<\/p>\n

50. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year<\/strong>: \u00a0 OK:<\/p>\n

Heel y’ho boys, let her go, boys<\/span><\/p>\n

Bring her head round into the weather.<\/p>\n

Heel y’ho boys, let her go boys<\/p>\n

Sailing homeward to Mingulay!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyway – Happy New Year to you and yours! \u00a0I hope 2014 is a good year for all of you!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wombat reminds me that I used to do this sort of thing all the time. Self-indulgent? \u00a0Sure. \u00a0Why not? \u00a0It’s my blog, and I can do what I want. 1. Was 2013 a good year for you?: \u00a0All in all, sure. \u00a0Notables: \u00a0I got a new job that was a real step forward. \u00a0When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[176],"class_list":["post-40894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mitch","tag-memes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40894"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40897,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40894\/revisions\/40897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}