Happy New Year!

Well folks, finally my work week has ended and I have the next FIVE days off. So yay for me. By the time I get back to blogging it will be 2007. In quick review, 2005 SUCKED, and 2006 was a thousand times better, quieter and more peaceful. So let’s hope for the same for 2007.

I don’t have many resolutions necessarily, but I wanted a year in review something or other. So I took this tag from fellow Chicagoista Erin’s blog. I liked its questions. Read, enjoy, relax, drink, don’t, eat and be merry for the last few days of 2006.

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Tried my hand at really writing. On a hopeful whim, I started writing for Chicagoist. And like most of my Chicagoist friends, it changed things for me, gave me new direction, gave me awesome additional responsibilities at work, and gave me hope that there might be something else I could do with my life other than being a distracted admin.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for next year? Nah, not really, all my things that were on my list for last year are still on my list for this. So..whatever. I’m just rolling them over.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yup, my dear friends Dan and Trish Izzo gave birth to Frank Izzo. Baby blog on roll over there>

4. Did anyone close to you die? Just my soul. Nah, no one close to me died this year.

5. What places did you visit? I went to Cincinnati! HUH? How about that? We went to Vegas! My gosh, I think that’s it. Okay, New Year’s resolution for next year….get outta town more.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? More time to be creative I suppose. That’s all my own fault though, I have to carve out the time. But honestly 2006 was a pretty good year, I have few complaints.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 17, that’s when we went to Cincinnati, and I had planned it forever, so that sticks. August 9th, that was my b-day when I was surprised with the Vegas trip. !

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year? Writing. Writing writing writing. I always thought maybe I could do it, but never stepped outside of myself to try.

9. What was your biggest failure? Huh…wow. I can’t think of many. I guess hanging out in my head too much, I need to get out of there sometimes.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just massive amounts of tooth pain, does that count?

11. What was the best thing you bought? My dog….best 60$ I ever spent.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My best friend Sabrina. Her business closed, and knowing she couldn’t stay, she let go and opened herself up to a whole new life.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Geez, more my own than anyone else’s I suppose, other than Monkey Bush.

14. Where did most of your money go? Rent, bills, toys, books, dog.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My new project at work. But really, I think our Cincinnati trip was the most pre-excited I’ve been about anything. We went to see my favorite “Broadway star” Raul Esparza, in my favorite Sondheim show. And I cried before it even started.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006? Joyful and Triumphant by Mike Doughty. I’ve been listening to it all year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? So much happier, so much. A lot of things that were right under my skin last year are buried deeper this year (yay denial), things are much more peaceful.

b) thinner or fatter? Definitely fatter, although I prefer “heavier” thank you very much.

c) richer or poorer? Definitely richer, thanks to actually staying at a job that treats me right well. Richer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Traveled. I wish we traveled more.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Heroin. Just kidding.

20. How did you spend Christmas last year? With my family, but not used to our mom’s stroke, it was a lot harder last year, this year was a lot more fun.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006? All over again.

22. How many one-night stands? 80. Hee.

23. What was your favorite TV program? 24, absolutely. Although this past season of Survivor was the best in a long long time.

24. What did you do for your birthday in 2006? Had dinner at Twin Anchors, watched Project Runway, then found out I was going to Vegas the next morning.

25. What was the best book you read? I loved The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian so much. The most fun book ever. What a great read. Motherless Brooklyn by John Lethem was great too.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? I dunno, Mike Doughty.

27. What did you want and get? A doggy!

28. What did you want and not get? I don’t know…I seem fulfilled.

29. What was your favorite film of this year? Blech. I don’t know, I can’t even remember what I saw.

30. Did you make some new friends this year? I did I did! A bunch.

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Some kind of resolution for my mom. She’s kinda in a space of nothing right now.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? Personal fashion concept? HA!

33. What kept you sane? My man for sure, he was a rock this year, over and over. My doggy. My friends. Vodka.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Hello Heath Ledger.

35. What political issue stirred you the most? The government classifying all woman of age as “pre-pregnant”. Grrr.

36. Who did you miss? My friend Dan. He’s been gone for years now, but his lack of presence is felt pretty much every day.

37. Who was the best new person you met? I think my new girlfriend, Crescent. I met lots of new people, great people, but I was pro-active in meeting my new girlfriend, and that was part of the fun.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. “It’s only a big deal if you make it one”. (thanks baby).