mmdc’s 2010 Year-in-Review Meme!

Hooray! You know you wait for this day like no other. Because what better way to cheer yourself up than to read a recap of my oft laughable life? I aim to please! Don’t say I never gave you nothin’.

Manda Year-in-Review Meme!

What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before? Visited the Oregon State University campus. And immediately fell in love. I’m starting to wish that I’d actually attended classes on campus instead of via the internet. Oh sadface.
Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I’m not even sure if I made any at the beginning of the year. I’m sure I threw some “Oh I’ll try to eat better” crap around in my head, but I never made an official announcement. Oh well, I wouldn’t have kept them anyway. 2010 was not a year for keeping resolutions. I will definitely make some for 2011, however. In fact, I already have a list I’ve written down in a notebook. Woo hoo?
Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! Cousin Juls just squirted out our first cousin baby right before Christmas. So hooray for keeping the fertility gods in check!
Did anyone close to you die? Thank god no. My family put in its dues in 2009 so fate let us rest up a bit in 2010.
What countries did you visit? The good ol’ US of A. I never have a good enough reason to leave the country these days.
What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? An engagement ring? Or I’d just settle for closer living quarters so I can stop pouring my life’s savings into the back pockets of Southwest and Best Western.
What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? February 13th. The official first date between me and The Boyfriend.
What was your biggest achievement of the year? The Boyfriend keeps trying to remind me that I’ve achieved a lot this year. I don’t feel that I achieved anything except a massive headache and some additional credit card bills. But I guess my biggest achievement would be a tie between graduating with honors, pulling off the super anniversary festival, and retaining employment with the company I’ve spent my last 16 years dedicated to.
What was your biggest failure? Conversely, I think my biggest failure is a tie between not graduating with top honors, the festival being a total shambles (in my opinion), and being stuck with unemployment that now hinders me from getting into grad school and securing a Masters. I am officially Glass Half Empty.
Did you suffer illness or injury? Not really. Just long bouts of crankiness.
What was the best thing you bought? I’d say my education, but since it no longer feels like a viable investment, I guess the best thing I bought was everything for The Boyfriend’s birthday because it was worth it to let him know that he is important even if his family seems to constantly indicate otherwise (I mean, seriously, who doesn’t celebrate a 40th birthday with some form of awesome celebration and gifts? Dude.)
Whose behavior merited celebration? Jenny, who, as always, was the best best friend a girl could ever have, AND she’s managed to survive living in Vegas which I can tell you is the last place she would ever think to live but there you go. Oh and did I mention that she had a baby as well? Yeah. She’s pretty much Super Woman.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I am always appalled and depressed by what I see on the internet. It makes me wonder why I spend as much time as I do trawling FriendFeed and Facebook for conversation.
Where did most of your money go? Bills, tuition, and the festival. As always. Oh, and Southwest and Best Western. GRRRRRR.
What made you really really really excited? Getting to spend a small fraction of time with my two best friends, Karlos and Jenny. DUH.
What song will forever remind you of 2010? “Fuck You” by Cee-Lo Green. Yeah, fuck you, 2010. In the goat-ass.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? Much much happier. Like, ecstatic to the point of being kind of obnoxious.
thinner or fatter? Slightly thinner. Fourteen pounds thinner, which isn’t much. But I’ll take it.
richer or poorer? Poorer at the moment. After having to start solo commuting, my money is just draining out like you wouldn’t believe. I’m starting to get violently angry over the fact that I have to spend five bucks every day just to cross a damn bridge. FIVE BUCKS.
What do you wish you’d done more of? I’m not entirely sure. Most of 2010 was a blur. I spent far too much time with my eyes crossed and my head up my ass. I wish I’d done more relaxing, I suppose.
What do you wish you’d done less of? Sobbing over shit I can’t control. I think I cried more in 2010 than I have for the entirety of my life span. I’m afraid someone’s going to come and take my honorary Guy Card.
How did you spend Christmas? Same as always, in my pajamas with my folks and brothers. Well, this year I did class it up a bit and wore a (clean) sweat suit instead of pajamas. Look at me, all fancy!
How did you spend New Year’s? With The Boyfriend. Well, first we spent the evening at my parents’ house, eating and drinking until our eyeballs exploded. Then when dad passed out at 10:30pm (my parents are OLD), The Boyfriend and I went back to our hotel room and popped open the champagne and harassed the clock until it finally struck midnight. And then there was the hot monkey sex
Did you fall in love in 2010? Most definitely. It’s the single best thing to happen in 2010. Hands down.
How many one-night stands? None. Not just because I have a boyfriend now, but also because I’m too fucking old to engage in those shenanigans. Sleeping around stopped being cool in your 20’s.
What were your favorite TV programs? Absolutely nothing. I didn’t watch much television this year. At least, not new television. True Blood spent far too much time sucking ass (no pun intended. har.) even if it did have some truly phenomenal moments. Everything else felt dull. Though the return of Warehouse 13 was a definite breath of fresh air.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I’m coming to the realization that I really just don’t like people in general. Society has gotten so demanding, rude, inconsiderate, and just plain selfish. I am sick to death of the way I get treated by people who don’t even know me and have no reason to act the way they do towards me. I’m sick of watching it happen to others. I’m not saying I need anyone to kiss my ass or always hold the door for me. But engaging in basic common courtesies like conceding to the person who was already waiting to be helped when you arrived instead of cutting ahead of them. Or not trampling a fellow shopper because you think you deserve those Black Friday sales more than they do. This is really a sore subject and could be a whole post on its own, really.
What was the best book you read? Sugar: A Novel by Bernice L. McFadden.
What was your greatest musical discovery? I don’t think I had a single musical discovery in 2010. Isn’t that sad? I mean, I enjoyed the hell out of music and all, as always. But I didn’t stumble upon a fantastic new artist (or new to me, anyway) or an unexplored genre/style in my repertoire. I need to rectify this in 2011.
What did you want and get? My job.
What did you want and not get? The stinging open-handed slap of life from being laid off and having to start fresh.
What was your favorite film of last year? I only went to the movies once in 2010 and it was to see Avatar. That was not a favorite (but not bad). So I went through an entire year without seeing anything that grabbed me. Something else I need to rectify in 2011.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I hosted a wine tasting with my wine group. And The Boyfriend flew in to spend the weekend with me. It was actually a damn good weekend. I have to admit that right now because you’ll all think I’m a miserable sot if I don’t start letting out the happy more. Oh, and I turned 35. It’s all a backward slide from here, folks.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Not feeling on the brink of a nervous breakdown all the time. I still swear it’s the hormones. Because I was pretty normal in 2009.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? I’m still going with “If it fits, wear it” because I’m just tired of the idea of being uncomfortable for the sake of being fashionable. I can clean up well when the situation calls for it, but more often than not, I rely on my old standbys of t-shirts and jeans. I like comfy.
What kept you sane? The Boyfriend. Jenny. Karlos. A shitload of red wine.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Well huh. I’m afraid my answer is Absolutely No One. I think that’s the saddest thing ever, really.
What political issue stirred you the most? I have tried very very hard to avoid politics this year. Not because I want to be ignorant but because I am so sick of the endless backbiting. Nobody even talks about the actual issues anymore. It’s just an endless supply of lies and slander and horrible name-calling.
Whom did you miss? Out of everyone I know, I consistently missed The Boyfriend the most. I won’t lie…this long distance shit is killing me.
Who was the best new person(s) you met? Did I meet anyone new this year? My boss and coworkers, I guess. I mean, I get to work for a guy named Rex. How cool is that?
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010: Sometimes I have to just let go and accept that I cannot succeed at everything, nor is any endeavor a failure just because it didn’t go exactly as I’d planned. For someone who has been overly blessed with the Fly By the Seat Of Your Pants gene, I sure have become uptight and finicky in the last few years. That needs to change.
Favorite memory of 2010? Graduation. The entire graduation trip was a hoot and I loved being able to finally meet my fellow Forestry students. I am very proud to be a Beaver and I am hoping to keep that alive through grad school (fingers crossed).

There it is! My 2010 year-end meme. Probably not as hilarious as last year, but you still love me, yes?