wrapping things up

Kristen posted her annual End of Year meme and tagged me to do it as well. I have been posting these now for a couple of years, always prompted to do so by Kristen.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

• I convinced a Cabinet member to blog.
• I traveled to Greece and went to the Acropolis.
  
• I became confident in my skills as a manager.
  
• I saw The Dismemberment Plan in concert.
• I became a scotch drinker.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't make new year's resolutions. I make resolutions every day to take care of myself physically and emotionally. There is a reason I make these resolutions every day: I don't keep them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A whole bunch of folks had babies these year, but the person to whom I am closest was Amy, who gave birth to Jonas Aidan -- who resembles an old Chinese man more than most babies do -- on November 8.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

no

5. What countries did you visit?

I did less international travel in 2007 than I did in 2006. I spent a few days in Switzerland (Geneva) and a few days in England (London) in March and, in October, I went to Greece. All trips were work related and two out of three of those trips were with the great Johnny B.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

• a social life that extends a little bit further than drinks at Smith & Wollensky
• patience, but I'm not holding out any hope
• hope for the political future of our country
  

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

I have a few . . .

I'll always remember June 16, the day I visited my grandmother after her apartment fire, because it will be difficult to ever get the sight and scent of her apartment out of my mind, as well as the sadness of seeing her on the balcony of her temporary living space, looking lost -- and old.

On a happier note, I'll remember April 8, the day Andrew and I met up at the Sackler. He was giddy (as much as Andrew can be giddy) about the pottery and I was giddy about spending time with him again.

Finally, I'll remember October 6, the day John and I explored Athens with Michael Darragh. I knew I was getting ready to move on, but I loved seeing something new with John, who has helped me to see so many other new things, often inside myself.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I really do think I grew as a manager. I wasn't always "nice," but I was always incredibly invested in giving my team the opportunity to strengthen their skills and, therefore, their value to the group. I think that's rare. Rarer than it should be.

Beyond that, and despite the fact that not being able to work with John every day SUCKS, I see the new job I will be taking on in 2008 as a big achievement because it is getting me back into advocacy work.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Folks, I ate like a pig.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

This year, it became pretty clear to me that I am getting old. Everything is falling to pieces. No major illnesses or injuries, but a general state of decay has set in. Lordy, it ain't pretty.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I love the brown jacket I bought at Anthropologie, but my Nikon D40x makes me swoon. Just ask Wyatt.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Al Gore for keeping up the fight, John Edwards for his populist message, Elizabeth Edwards for telling cancer (and her critics) to f*ck off, Wayne Coyne for continuing to have more fun than the rest of us, Jon Corzine and Martin O'Malley for fighting the death penalty, Heather Armstrong for her persistent honesty and humor. There are probably others. There are some good folks out there.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

How about appalled and angry? Ann Coulter is, and always will be, scum. She's just embarrassing.

14. Where did most of your money go?

eating out and clothes

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

I don't think I got excited enough this year, but I got excited when I got the invite to go to Greece and I got excited when I met the folks with whom I will be working in the new year.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?

Don't give me a hard time, but Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks had the right amount of righteous indignation to get me to sing along every time I heard it. It was released in 2006, but I bought the CD this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you

• happier or sadder? sadder
• thinner or fatter? definitely fatter
• richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

I wish I had taken care of myself more: emotionally and physically.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

• read about Britney Spear's persistent downward spiral
• updated my status on Facebook

20. How will you be spending New Year’s?

I think I will be at Julia's.

22. Did you fall in love in 2007?

I was already there.

23. How many one-night stands?

zip

24. What was your favorite TV program?

I love How I Met Your Mother, although Kid Nation was a sincere source of fascination.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don't hate people. I dislike a few, but they're irrelevant.

26. What was the best book you read?

Homicide By David Simon and The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

27. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?

I love Grinderman. That's damn good car music.

28. What did you want and get?

a reason to leave where I was

29. What did you want and not get?

a reason to stay where I was

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

I don't think I went to the movies the entire year. I just don't enjoy it anymore. But my favorite rentals were a cheery group: Little Children, Dogville, Half Nelson, The Chumscrubber, In the Heat of the Night, Sherrybaby, A Scanner Darkly, The Baxter, The Statement and Inside Man.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I honestly can't remember (what I did -- I am well aware of how old I am.) I'm at the point where I'm not a big fan of birthdays.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I could have used some more time with friends and less time working.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

This was the year of the headband.

34. What kept you sane?

That's awfully presumptuous of you . . . I guess Steve did the best he could.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I watched every episode of Homicide this year and I fell in love with Kyle Secor (aka Baylis). Someone needs to give that man (and Andre Braugher) a job.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

There's no one political issue that stirs me. I get riled up pretty easily day to day and there have been points throughout the presidential campaign where I was ready to impale myself, usually because of some ridiculously folksy thing Mike Huckabee said or because I can not believe that anyone would give serious consideration to Rudy Giuliani as President of the United States. But, I was thrilled with the recent Supreme Court decision to enable lower court judges not to follow federal sentencing guidelines for crack offenses, addressing the longstanding disparity between sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offences. That was one of those, "Wait, someone actually wants to right an injustice?" moments that comes so infrequently.

37. Who did you miss?

I missed Chris. But I took care of that, didn't I?

38. Who was the best new person you met?

I really like Cooper. He tells great stories (I like stories involving his son in which he adopts a voice that sounds like Beavis -- or Butthead, I can't tell -- with a lisp) and, in general, is just a f*cking charming guy. Plus, he was apparently a rock star in a former life. I hope we stay in touch . . . and I wish him the best.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.

Sometimes doing what's right for you hurts more than doing the wrong thing. (I think I knew that already.)

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

I try to keep the house nice and neat
I make my bed I change the sheets
I even learned how to use the washing machine
But keeping things clean doesn't change anything
("Hate it Here" by Wilco)

I'm tagging Kaitlyn, Qui and Samantha, although I am not sure any of them will do it.