Consistently, predictably, dependably, unwaveringly ERRATIC

I've mostly been asleep since Christmas Day, hence my sudden silence but since it is almost midnight and the start of a new year ...

2012 Year In Review aka the one where you post the first line from the first post you made each month:

I've never taken part in a love meme before ... but here's my thread! It seems like more than a few people have had a lousy February and could use a boost.

*
Today was actually quite decent despite starting with a fasting blood test. Rather, it started with a foul headache that woke me up very early and I couldn't take any headache pills because hey, I couldn't eat anything to go with them! The blood draw was fine but it seemed to just keep going, more and more vials (I don't watch) and I said to the technician, 'How many more?!' and she laughed and said she was making blood sausage tonight! I cracked up. It was only five vials of blood actually (I said that to Mum and she squawked, 'Only five?!' Well, my record is eight.)

The we made a brief stop at the library to change some books, then to the shops and breakfast. I felt better after food. (There must be new regulations in effect - kilojoule contents were listed at most places. I'm not sure about that. Look, if I'm going to have an ice cream or some other treat, I probably don't want to think about kilojoules. But I guess that's why ...) Before the necessary shopping, there was a stop at the pet shop. PUPPIES!

There were two Jack Russell x Pomeranians out on the floor, having a great time. There was a smooth-coated black and tan boy, who was leaping all over the place and wanted to play with everyone. The slightly rougher-coated white and tan boy wanted to lick and cuddle everyone. They were very sweet and we had lots of cuddles - but wow, they're going to be handfuls!

Various bits of shopping, then Mum was picking up her watch (in for repairs) and we finally remembered to get a quote on replacing the badly worn pearls in my great-grandmother's engagement ring (my ring since my 21st birthday.) Very reasonable quote so the ring is away for ten days. My finger felt naked.

And then ... BOOK SALE! Another Rotary book sale, where I managed to acquire many of the Agatha Christie books I didn't buy last time around and have regretted since. Plus another bagful of novels. And all for the price of two, maybe three 'new release' paperbacks. (I felt sorry for the volunteers at the sale. It was raining pretty heavily for most of the day and the 'sales desks' were right at the door, exposing them to cold blasts of wind. Temperature range this week - 20-33C.)

Then I came home and fell asleep.

 

(Looking at these questions, I was having considerable trouble remembering what happened in the first half of 2010. And I'm confused as to whether some things happened in late 2009 or early 2010. My memory. *shakes head*)

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?

Visited Leura and Katoomba, wore a wig,  put furniture together (bookcases, chest of drawers, wardrobe, bed frame) most of it all by myself, went to a real concert (Adam Lambert!), saw a Shakespeare play performed live, roasted a chicken (stop laughing.)

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

If I made any resolutions, I don't remember what they were. And I'm not making specific resolutions for this year, just trying for positive attitudes.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My oldest cousin's wife gave birth to their first child, my aunt's first grandchild. And my sister-in-law is due to give birth at the end of the month.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

My father.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the ones in my imagination.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

Financial security? Lack of family drama? Lack of health crises? A completed manuscript?

7. What date(s) from 2010 will remain etched your memory, and why?

August 21st, Election Day. My dad had gone into hospital the day before and I was waiting for my brother to call and tell me what was going on. Mum and I thought we'd quickly duck out and vote but while I was getting ready, brother called and told us to get up to the coast as quickly as possible. We did. Dad died in Intensive Care a few hours later. On the way home from the hospital, we realised we still had to vote. It was about fifteen minutes before the polls closed when we arrived at my old primary school. It was the first time I'd been there in well over a decade. I voted and while I waited for Mum to finish, I wandered around the school hall seeing the names of people I'd known on the various plaques. And I saw my own name on the list of duxes. It never occurred to me that my name would be on a plaque there. It was very odd and just one more surreal element in a surreal day. The whole day feels both sharp and blurred in my memory. My nephew had a light-up Star Wars t-shirt. He thought it was pretty cool.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Learning (fairly) consistent writing habits. Losing weight. Staying sane.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not finishing a manuscript.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Hah. Just my regular fourteen-years-and-counting CFS/ME.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

New mattress!!!

12. Where did most of your money go?

Early in the year - bills, groceries, rent while Mum was undergoing chemo and radiation.
Mid-year - after searching for bargains and scouring IKEA, new bookcases, wardrobe, chest of drawers, mattress and bed frame to replace the very sad stuff in my bedroom.
End-of-year - bill, groceries, rent, then Christmas. It's been an up-and-down year, finance-wise.

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

SEEING ADAM LAMBERT IN CONCERT!!! I don't get really, really excited about things, generally speaking. I tend to exist on a more even keel. Sometimes, I wish I did get more excited.

14. What song(s) will always remind you of 2010?

Adam Lambert ~ Aftermath. I was blown away by hearing it live.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? Um. I don't know. About the same? Maybe a bit sadder?
ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner! I finally kicked myself and started reforming the eating habits I let slide so far over the last few years. I don't know how much I've lost because I haven't been weighing myself but the goal is within reach.
iii. richer or poorer? Hah. Poorer.

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Writing. Commenting.

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stress over family stuff.

18. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?

Quietly and happily. Presents, brunch and presents with Mum, then we visited some friends, then came home and I started making Christmas dinner ... we read, we ate, we read some more and listened to Christmas carols.

19. Did you fall in love in 2010?

Nope.

20. How many one-night stands?

None.

21. What was your favorite TV program?

Uh, Leverage or White Collar, I think.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I don't tend to hate people. Hate isn't a word I like to use except in a joking context. I'm very angry and upset with my sister-in-law and my brother but I don't hate them.

23. What was the best book you read?

One? Just one? I think Penelope Lively's A Stitch in Time. I was enchanted by that book.

24. What was/were your greatest musical discoveries?

Hee. Well, I already knew about Adam so ... Katherine Jenkins, Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance.

25. What did you want and get?

My mother is cancer-free. I've had an improvement or, at least, a stabilisation in my health.

26. What did you want and not get?

Oh, lots of things.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?

I suck at watching films in the year they're actually released ... I really enjoyed Sherlock Holmes.

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

I made pizza from scratch and a strawberry cream cake. I was very pleased with the results. And my mother gave me a brooch which belonged to my great-grandmother. I turned 26.

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

Finishing a manuscript.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Personal fashion concept? What? Um, I liked wearing dark fitted jeans with black or jewel coloured turtlenecks in winter and long flowing dresses in summer. I continue my love affair with jewellery.

31. What kept you sane?

My mother. My friends. My pets. My books. The internet.

32. Whom did you miss?

I would say I miss my dad ... but it still doesn't feel quite real.

33. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.