2015 in review
Dec. 31st, 2015 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anghraineStolen from sqbr . Aaaand DW lost my prologue, so I'll just leave it at-- I started this at 11-something PM, and now it's just past midnight. Happy New Year!
1. What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
Taught a college class to college students as college faculty!
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember what it was. Probably good grades, which I did get, apart from one department glitch that gave me an F, WHICH SOMEONE WILL FIX OR DIE.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
tulina gave birth to an ADORABLE TINY GIRL-CHILD. I wish my Real Time weren't so crowded so I could see them more!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Two of my grandparents are in poor health, however.
5. What countries did you visit?
Didn't leave the US. BLEH. Went to LA for the first time, though!
6. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
Discipline. I had more than ever before--aka I was able to force myself through all the things I needed to do at the last minute instead of just giving up--but I still constantly sabotage myself.
(I actually had much bigger problems than that--all kinds of problems in my hands and with vertigo that turn out to come from spasms in my spinal cord, increasingly rapid mood cycles, horrific roommates--but ... yeah, that's the thing I'd like to have.)
7. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Honestly, nothing springs to mind.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Good evaluations from my students!
9. What was your biggest failure?
The warfare I'm having with my university wouldn't be happening if I'd made up my work before the last possible minute. *sigh*
10. Did you suffer (new) illness or injury?
Yes. My neck and back all the time, ow.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I virtually never spend money at all if I can help it. Haagen-Dazs :D
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The head of my department says that the coordinator for my program admires my work :D :D :D :D
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Anyone and everyone who supports Donald Trump.
14. Where did most of your money go?
My university.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The scholar from Valencia who wrote to me to tell me about the Borja adaptation conference in Valencia!
16. What songs will always remind you of 2015?
Yeah, it's got to be Take Me To Church for me, too. And the TFA soundtrack :D
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Hm. More confident, but also less hopeful. idk how it falls on the happy/sad axis. I get more and more reluctant to go back because I get so bitterly homesick, but mostly I'm not sad. I think the cycles make it harder to tell--they're less extreme but more frequent.
b) thinner or fatter? About the same. Fatter. /sigh
c) richer or poorer? Richer because I have a job.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Group activities for my class.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Dominating a writing class that was of absolutely no use to me.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it at home with my parents and my brother(ish) and sister-in-law. It was very nice.
21. Did you fall in love in 2015?
I don't know. I never know! I have very good friends I find attractive and wouldn't reject.
22. How many one-night stands?
None, ever, thanks.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
BORGIAS BORGIAS BORGIAS
If it's something that came out this year... Agent Carter, probably.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes. Thanks, Tumblr.
25. What was the best book you read?
Troilus and Criseyde.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I like The Beatles a lot more than I knew!
27. What did you want and get?
Straight A's!
28. What did you want and not get?
My thesis started. Or, uh, asking an advisor.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
STAR WAAAAAAAAARS
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
29, and I managed to rush home the day before to spend it with the quasi-brother. The last of our twenties!
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
NO HEALTH PROBLEMS.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
I have reached a place of peace with my passionate hatred of trousers. They make me feel like my legs are burning, it's the worst. (Probably an autistic thing. A young man we know with much more severe autism point blank refused to put any on, his mother called mine in desperation, she was like "he says he hates pants and won't have them on his legs" to me and I was just "...seems legit.")
33. What kept you sane?
Lamotrigine, fuck yeah!
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Year eight of my crush on Hayley Atwell.
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
There were a lot, but honestly same-sex marriage getting legalized in all of North America and a good portion of South America.
36. Who did you miss?
My brother, a lot of my DW friends!
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Another woman in my grad program who went through the same composition sequence with me, is now one of the other GTAs, and took a ton of our own classes with me, too. She's hugely into SW too :)
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.
Morally, we should always find a balance between letting ourselves be our most secure, authentic selves and respecting the needs and boundaries of others. It's often hard.
39. Something new that worked out really well for you during the year.
Teaching. Honestly, making money--even a vanishingly small amount--off of the thing that my degree is in and that I'm trained to do has been hugely empowering. It sounds trite, but it's just true. There's so much dismissiveness around it.
40. Quote song lyrics that sum up your year:
And I'm looking for space
And to find out who I am
And I'm looking to know and understand
It's a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I'm almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
And sometimes I'm deep in despair
All alone in the universe, sometimes that's how it seems
I get lost in the sadness and the screams
Then I look in the center, suddenly everything's clear
I find myself in the sunshine and my dreams
sqbr . Aaaand DW lost my prologue, so I'll just leave it at-- I started this at 11-something PM, and now it's just past midnight. Happy New Year! 1. What did you do in 2015 that you'd never done before?
Taught a college class to college students as college faculty!
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember what it was. Probably good grades, which I did get, apart from one department glitch that gave me an F, WHICH SOMEONE WILL FIX OR DIE.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
tulina gave birth to an ADORABLE TINY GIRL-CHILD. I wish my Real Time weren't so crowded so I could see them more!4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. Two of my grandparents are in poor health, however.
5. What countries did you visit?
Didn't leave the US. BLEH. Went to LA for the first time, though!
6. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
Discipline. I had more than ever before--aka I was able to force myself through all the things I needed to do at the last minute instead of just giving up--but I still constantly sabotage myself.
(I actually had much bigger problems than that--all kinds of problems in my hands and with vertigo that turn out to come from spasms in my spinal cord, increasingly rapid mood cycles, horrific roommates--but ... yeah, that's the thing I'd like to have.)
7. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Honestly, nothing springs to mind.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Good evaluations from my students!
9. What was your biggest failure?
The warfare I'm having with my university wouldn't be happening if I'd made up my work before the last possible minute. *sigh*
10. Did you suffer (new) illness or injury?
Yes. My neck and back all the time, ow.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I virtually never spend money at all if I can help it. Haagen-Dazs :D
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The head of my department says that the coordinator for my program admires my work :D :D :D :D
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Anyone and everyone who supports Donald Trump.
14. Where did most of your money go?
My university.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The scholar from Valencia who wrote to me to tell me about the Borja adaptation conference in Valencia!
16. What songs will always remind you of 2015?
Yeah, it's got to be Take Me To Church for me, too. And the TFA soundtrack :D
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Hm. More confident, but also less hopeful. idk how it falls on the happy/sad axis. I get more and more reluctant to go back because I get so bitterly homesick, but mostly I'm not sad. I think the cycles make it harder to tell--they're less extreme but more frequent.
b) thinner or fatter? About the same. Fatter. /sigh
c) richer or poorer? Richer because I have a job.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Group activities for my class.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Dominating a writing class that was of absolutely no use to me.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it at home with my parents and my brother(ish) and sister-in-law. It was very nice.
21. Did you fall in love in 2015?
I don't know. I never know! I have very good friends I find attractive and wouldn't reject.
22. How many one-night stands?
None, ever, thanks.
23. What was your favorite TV program?
BORGIAS BORGIAS BORGIAS
If it's something that came out this year... Agent Carter, probably.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes. Thanks, Tumblr.
25. What was the best book you read?
Troilus and Criseyde.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I like The Beatles a lot more than I knew!
27. What did you want and get?
Straight A's!
28. What did you want and not get?
My thesis started. Or, uh, asking an advisor.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
STAR WAAAAAAAAARS
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
29, and I managed to rush home the day before to spend it with the quasi-brother. The last of our twenties!
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
NO HEALTH PROBLEMS.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
I have reached a place of peace with my passionate hatred of trousers. They make me feel like my legs are burning, it's the worst. (Probably an autistic thing. A young man we know with much more severe autism point blank refused to put any on, his mother called mine in desperation, she was like "he says he hates pants and won't have them on his legs" to me and I was just "...seems legit.")
33. What kept you sane?
Lamotrigine, fuck yeah!
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Year eight of my crush on Hayley Atwell.
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
There were a lot, but honestly same-sex marriage getting legalized in all of North America and a good portion of South America.
36. Who did you miss?
My brother, a lot of my DW friends!
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Another woman in my grad program who went through the same composition sequence with me, is now one of the other GTAs, and took a ton of our own classes with me, too. She's hugely into SW too :)
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.
Morally, we should always find a balance between letting ourselves be our most secure, authentic selves and respecting the needs and boundaries of others. It's often hard.
39. Something new that worked out really well for you during the year.
Teaching. Honestly, making money--even a vanishingly small amount--off of the thing that my degree is in and that I'm trained to do has been hugely empowering. It sounds trite, but it's just true. There's so much dismissiveness around it.
40. Quote song lyrics that sum up your year:
And I'm looking for space
And to find out who I am
And I'm looking to know and understand
It's a sweet, sweet dream
Sometimes I'm almost there
Sometimes I fly like an eagle
And sometimes I'm deep in despair
All alone in the universe, sometimes that's how it seems
I get lost in the sadness and the screams
Then I look in the center, suddenly everything's clear
I find myself in the sunshine and my dreams
