{"id":56889,"date":"2016-01-01T12:13:33","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T18:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=56889"},"modified":"2016-01-01T23:59:10","modified_gmt":"2016-01-02T05:59:10","slug":"by-any-memes-necessary-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=56889","title":{"rendered":"By Any Memes Necessary, 2015!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m told it’s a tradition no<\/a>w. I can live with that.<\/p>\n

1. Was 2015 a good year for you?<\/strong> : \u00a0It was a challenging year – but the challenges were more benign than some previous years. \u00a0That’s pretty good!
\n2. What was your favorite moment(s) of the year?<\/strong>: \u00a0Finally putting the worst of the teenage years in behind us.
\n3. What was your least favorite moment(s) of the year?<\/strong>: \u00a0Two job hunts in twelves months (I got caught in two large layoffs). \u00a0They both ended well, but it was a stressful year.
\n4. What did you do in 2015 that you\u2019d never done before?<\/strong>: \u00a0Worked mostly from home.
\n5. Did you keep your new years\u2019 resolutions, and will you make more for next year?<\/strong>: “Keep” is such an absolute word. \u00a0I did OK.
\n6. Where were you when 2015 began?<\/strong>: \u00a0Mancini’s.
\n7. Who were you with?<\/strong>: \u00a0Friends.
\n8. Where will you be when 2015 ends?<\/strong>: \u00a0I was out with other friends!
\n9. Who will you be with when 2015 ends?<\/strong>: Asked and answered.
\n10. Did anyone close to you give birth?<\/strong>: \u00a0A couple of my friends had a baby a couple days ago.
\n11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0No. Knock wood.
\n12. Who did you miss?<\/strong>: \u00a0Grandparents.
\n13. Who was the best new person you met in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Too many to name here.
\n14. What was your favorite month of 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0September. \u00a0Finally caught up financially from the aforementioned job goat-rodeo, plus some good family stuff.
\n15. Did you travel outside of the US in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0No. \u00a0Come to think of it, I haven’t been outside the US since I was last in Canada, in ’84. \u00a0I’m due.
\n16. How many different states did you travel to in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Pretty lame year for travel (2013-15 were much better). \u00a0Just Minnesota and North Dakota. \u00a0I don’t think I even made it to Hudson in 2015.
\n17. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0The ability to be less reactive and more proactive about career stuff.
\n18. What date from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?<\/strong>: \u00a0Probably the day I got my second layoff in six months. \u00a0Not pleasant, but it’s etched.
\n19. What was your biggest achievement of the year?<\/strong>: \u00a0Recovering from both layoffs quickly and successfully (knock wood).
\n20. What was your biggest failure?<\/strong>: \u00a0To get back in shape. \u00a0It’s a big goal for the coming year. \u00a0To be fair, I was doing really good about biking to work, until the second layoff hit.
\n21. Did you suffer illness or injury?<\/strong>: \u00a0Nope. \u00a0Pretty healthy year. Knock wood.
\n22. What was the best thing you bought?<\/strong>: \u00a0I picked up a new Mac Mini on Black Friday at Microcenter. \u00a0(I hate Black Friday, but the deal was too good to pass up).
\n23. Whose behavior merited celebration?<\/strong>: \u00a0My kids – for different reasons, but in both cases I’m overjoyed.
\n24. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?<\/strong>: \u00a0the various city governments of the Twin Cities.
\n25. Where did most of your money go?<\/strong>: \u00a0Bills!
\n26. What did you get really, really, really excited about?<\/strong>: \u00a0Working at home!
\n27. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0I never drink “a lot”. \u00a0I 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. \u00a0So no, I didn’t drink a lot.
\n28. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Ibuprofen?
\n29. Did you treat somebody badly in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Nope.
\n30. Did somebody treat you badly in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Other than the usual online oompa-loompas, whom I’ve come to completely ignore, no.
\n31. Compared to this time last year, are you:<\/strong>
\ni. happier or sadder?<\/strong> – Probably happier.
\nii. thinner or fatter?<\/strong> – A tad thinner. \u00a0Frustratingly little.
\niii. richer or poorer?<\/strong> – My money is better-managed this year.
\n32. What do you wish you\u2019d done more of in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Travel. \u00a0The second layoff forced me to scrub a planned trip to Nova Scotia.
\n33. What do you wish you\u2019d done less of?<\/strong>: \u00a0Job hunting!
\n34. Did you fall in love in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0 Love is a constant!
\n35. What was your favorite TV program(s)?<\/strong>: \u00a0Walking Dead, Longmire, Making a Murderer.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
36. What song will always remind you of 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0“Slow Turning” by John Hiatt. \u00a0Long story.
\n37. How many concerts did you see in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0Two! \u00a0First time I’ve seen concerts since 2003.
\n38. Did you have a favorite concert in 2015?<\/strong>; \u00a0Richard Thompson<\/a> (with Katrina Leskanich<\/a> in\u00a0second).
\n39. What was your greatest musical discovery?<\/strong>:
\nFinding out that the local classical station<\/a> plays both “Music from the Hearts of Space” and “Pipe Dreams” on Sunday nights.
\n40. What was the best book you read?<\/strong>: “Trulbert<\/a>“. \u00a0(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<\/a> that was my most affecting read this year, one I highly recommend).
\n41. What was your favorite film of this year?<\/strong>: \u00a0It’s not from this year, but I saw\u00a0Silver Linings Playbook<\/em> this year. \u00a0Incredible movie.
\n42. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?<\/strong>: \u00a0Went out to dinner, and the same age Springsteen was when he started recording “Ghost of Tom Joad”.
\n43. What did you want and get?<\/strong>: \u00a0Other than a job when I needed it, twice? \u00a0I wanted to rebuild my back porch – and I did it.
\n44. What did you want and not get?<\/strong>: \u00a0A national talk radio syndication deal with a six figure salary.
\n45. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?<\/strong>: \u00a0Keeping on my “bike every morning” kick from the spring. \u00a0It’s a big goal for the coming year.
\n46. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?<\/strong>: \u00a0I worked at home this past year. \u00a0Carhart T-Shirts, Duluth Jeans.
\n47. What kept you sane?<\/strong>: \u00a0All those reassuring voices.
\n48. Which celebrity\/public figure did you fancy the most?<\/strong>: \u00a0Scarlett Johanson, same as last year.
\n49. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.<\/strong>: \u00a0 Relationships matter.
\n50. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.<\/strong>: \u00a0“In the footsteps of Napoleon, the shadow figures stagger through the winter<\/a><\/div>\n
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, standing in the wings like an avenger.<\/div>\n
And far away behind their lines, the partisans are stirring in the forest,<\/div>\n
falling unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise.<\/div>\n
You’ll never know, you’ll never know which way to turn, which way to look, you’ll never see us,<\/div>\n
as we’re stealing through the blackness of the night you’ll never know, you’ll never hear us”.<\/div>\n
\u00a0— “Roads to Moscow”, Al Stewart<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Same as every year.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Happy New Year!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m told it’s a tradition now. I can live with that. 1. Was 2015 a good year for you? : \u00a0It was a challenging year – but the challenges were more benign than some previous years. \u00a0That’s pretty good! 2. What was your favorite moment(s) of the year?: \u00a0Finally putting the worst of the teenage […]<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-56889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mitch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56889","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=56889"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56894,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56889\/revisions\/56894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}