Alone and Unobserved

2009 was a pretty hard year for me. I lost a lot of the motivation and drive to create I’d been feeling, and my desire to write and blog dried up. (Check out November—only one post in the entire month, and that was on November 30.) But it was also a great time. I made several comics, started teaching myself to draw, and read my first Vonnegut novel (The Sirens of Titan—still not sure what I thought of it).

Anyway, enough blathering. This is the same meme I did in 2007 and 2008, with a slight variation. Happy New Year!

The rules for the meme: Take the first line from the first post of every month for the last year, and post them together as a kind of cross-section of what you were blogging about during the year. Remember to link to all the posts you are excerpting. I’ve added some stats for each month to kind of get an idea of how much, and what, I was posting all year.

06 January 2009: Child of Mormonism

. . . as I started leafing through the mission papers and letters and notebooks and journals I was sucked right in. I didn’t really keep a journal when I was a teenager, so my mission writings are a fascinating glimpse at a young me who was very earnest, desperately conflicted and working very hard to reassure himself that GOD EXISTED AND THE CHURCH WAS TRUE DAMMIT. Besides my doubts and shaky faith, my mission was incredibly stressful and almost proved too much for me emotionally, and the journal entries provide a picture of a young man continually on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Stats for January 2009:
11 posts, 1 flashfic, 70 comments

06 February 2009: Flashfic Friday!

It’s time for the new and improved Flashfic Friday, where I post something short and sweet (and, knowing me, probably gory and disturbing) every Friday, and you let me know what you think.

Stats for February 2009:
12 posts, 2 flashfic, 1 essay, 1 comic, 3 recipes, 48 comments

03 March 2009: Music Dump

I was watching Neil Gaiman perform “Creepy Doll” on YouTube with Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm and I realized that I only had six Jonathan Coulton songs in my iTunes. I know! Crazy, right?

Stats for March 2009:
6 posts, 32 comments

01 April 2009: Trying Out the Flock Browser

Trying out Flock, the “Social Web Browser.” So far it just seems loud and busy. But it claims to be able to post to my blog, so we’ll see. Maybe I’ll keep it around.

Stats for April 2009:
6 posts, 20 comments

03 May 2009: My Muse Is Flown

One of the first things that goes when I’m stressed, overtired or out of sorts is my creativity. Not only can I no longer write, I no long even feel the urge to, which is such a bizarre loss that it always catches me completely unprepared. Even worse, I become utterly uncreative and inflexible in my day-to-day life as well, which means I find it harder simply to deal with things. You might not realize how much creativity you use in making mundane decisions, but believe me, you’d miss it if it were gone.

Stats for May 2009:
8 posts, 20 comments

03 June 2009: Wrong Number

Her: Hi, is Amanda there? I’m [name], and I’m calling on behalf of… the fact that I’m getting induced tomorrow.

Stats for June 2009:
12 posts, 42 comments

07 July 2009: Tuesday Morning Aggravation – UPDATED!

Confused patron: Can I have the address to Nashville?

Stats for July 2009:
12 posts, 91 comments

01 August 2009: Bit Off More Than She Could Chew, Maybe

Today, a woman walked up to the reference desk and asked me for a zucchini bread recipe—any zucchini bread recipe… except she didn’t want it to “make too much.”

Stats for August 2009:
7 posts, 10 recipes, 20 comments

01 September 2009: Try Staples. It’s right down the street.

Patron: “Do you have a manila envelope?”

Stats for September 2009:
10 posts, 3 comics, 44 comments

05 October 2009: My god! It’s full of stars!

So, this is my last semester with The Library Science Program That Will Not Be Named. And—besides finishing 36 hours of coursework—in order to finish the program, students are required to submit to a Right of Passage known as the Capstone Experience.

Stats for October 2009:
7 posts, 1 flashfic, 4 comics, 38 comments

30 November 2009: Say what?

Me: WHAT IS YOUR QUESTION.

Stats for November 2009:
1 post, 3 comments

05 December 2009: The REAL Reason I’m Single

I can’t imagine being in a relationship because I do everything by myself. Almost literally everything. I sleep by myself, shop by myself, go to movies by myself, go out to eat by myself, watch TV by myself, crack jokes by myself (some of which make it on Twitter/Facebook, but not all), cook by myself, etc., etc. It’s not that I mind doing stuff with other people; it’s simply not part of my routine. And frankly, deviating from my routine annoys me. Hear that, friends? Quit asking me to do things with you. It cuts into my Farscape-watching time, goddammit.

Stats for December 2009:
5 posts (including this one), 1 recipe, 15 comments

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
I finished school, forever. Or rather, I finished a degree program without having another one lined up already. Hopefully I’ll give myself at least a few years before going back to school, if I ever decide to.

I decided to learn to draw.

I grew a real beard.

I fell in love with bourbon and learned to mix a yummy whiskey sour.

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


Resolutions give me hives. I haven’t made any in years.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


I don’t know how close we are anymore, but my sister Gabrielle had my first nephew, Gabriel, in July.

4. Did anyone close to you die?


No.

5. What countries did you visit?
None except the USA.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Financial security (unlikely). Leisure time. Peace of mind. Also, I’d like to have my urge to create back. I miss it.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I dunno. None so far.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Everyone seems really excited about my finishing school, but I’m honestly not too proud of that achievement, since the program was a joke. An expensive, tedious, two-and-a-half-year-long joke that was not very funny.

I’m not sure what my answer is. I don’t feel like I accomplished a whole lot this year, besides remaining employed, alive and domiciled.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I haven’t engaged with my work as much as I wish I would lately. Sure, I complain a whole lot about dealing with the public and its foibles, but there’s a whole lot of professional development and side projects I could have taken on and didn’t.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Uh… no? Not that I recall. Beyond a mild cold or two and the inevitable allergies.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Well, I’m really happy with the dirt-cheap one-speed coffee grinder I bought Craig for his birthday. But the best money I spent was probably to get my Macbook, which I love and curse in equal measure.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Eh. This question fails to inspire me at the moment.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?


Joe Lieberman’s, Glenn Beck’s and Rush Limbaugh’s. Also: all the teabaggers, the town-hall-meeting crashers and the entire complement of Fox News.

14. Where did most of your money go?
To food. As usual.

15. What did you get really excited about?
My birthday party, which was pretty sweet!

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
“Bulletproof” and “Tigerlily” by La Roux, “Turkish Wine” by Norfolk & Western, and “The End of the World” by Matt Alber.

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


– happier or sadder? Sadder, a little at least.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter, by, like, twenty pounds. Ugh.
– richer or poorer? Richer, at least in a sense.

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


Reading. Writing. Singing. Drawing. Dating. Dancing. Exercising.

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


Eating when I wasn’t hungry. Avoiding social contact. Procrastinating.

20. How did you spend Christmas?


With my family in Southern California.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Nope.

22. What was your favorite TV program?


Venture Bros, no question.

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


No.

24. What was the best book you read?
This is the year I read and finally loved Susanna Clarke’s The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a collection of stories from the same milieu as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I’d read it before and not loved it; this year I read it and fell completely under its spell.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Blip.fm and Grooveshark.

26. What did you want and get?
A new computer. Any number of little things—the Avatar: The Last Airbender complete boxed sets; several T-shirts and items from Topatoco; any amount of booze and food. Time with my family. Time with my friends.

27. What did you want and not get?
I’m still single, and I’m still probably not that ready for a relationship. I still haven’t started writing a novel. I still haven’t started writing regularly. I still haven’t started drawing regularly.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Where the Wild Things Are. Really wasn’t expecting even to like it, and it blew me away.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 29 this year. On my birthday I didn’t do anything really exciting—I worked that morning, and then treated myself to a late lunch at a favorite café. But that weekend my friend and coworker Stephanie and I threw a fabulous joint birthday bash for ourselves that was crowded, rowdy, booze-drenched and littered with balloons.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hmmm. More time with friends, maybe? A boyfriend? More money? Less school? Less procrastination? Not sure.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
“I’m Too Fat for All of My Clothes, So I’ll Just Throw Something On.”

32. What kept you sane?


Twitter. No question.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Um. I can’t tell you until next year, when he’s finally legal. LOL

Aside from jailbait who starred in movies I refused to watch, I also fell back in love with Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?


Health care. The fact that we call ourselves civilized while so many of our fellow citizens are un- and under-insured and receive substandard medical care just boggles my mind.

35. Who did you miss?


My niece Vienna, whom I haven’t seen in almost two years.

36. Who was the best new person you met?


New this year? I’d probably have to split it between Lessie, Galen, Hilary and Nick. [Edited to add:] And most of all, Chandelle.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.


I am resistant to life lessons.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.


I’m terrible at this game. Uh… “make a little birdhouse in your soul.”

[H/T to Sundry for posting this quiz so I could steal it, again.]

Another meme! I know you are so excited. The rules:

Once you’ve been tagged…

1) turn on your mp3 player
2) go to Shuffle songs mode
3)Write down the first 25 songs that come up…song title and artist– NO editing/cheating, please.
4) Choose 25 people to be tagged. It is generally considered to be in good taste to tag the person who tagged you.

And here is the list of tracks my iPhone spit out. (Try clicking the links and listening! Some of these are really good songs.)

1. SkyMall, Jonathan Coulton
2. Cowboy, Oh! Wild Birds
3. Mamma Mia, A*Teens
4. Blue Suede Shoes, Chris Garneau
5. Ring Ring, Mika
6. The Bridge of Khazad Dûm, Howard Shore
7. A Laptop Like You, Jonathan Coulton
8. Long Past Gone, Jami Sieber
9. Chiron Beta Prime, Jonathan Coulton
10. Teeth in the Grass, Iron & Wine
11. Girl, The Beatles
12. Johnny Viola, Shearwater
13. Pieces, Dinosaur Jr.
14. Adrienne, Isabelle Boulay
15. Fingers, Pink
16. You’re the Coliseum, Shearwater
17. Polar Nettles, Neko Case
18. Music for Girls, Baxendale
19. Genie in a Bottle/No Scrubs/Slave 4 U, Dan Finnerty and the Dan Band
20. There’s No Here, Dinosaur Jr.
21. Una furtiva lagrima, Luciano Pavarotti
22. 18 Wheeler, Pink
23. California, Rufus Wainwright
24. “You have a good third husband, Joanne.”, Raúl Esparza and Barbara Walsh
25. Peace beneath the City, Iron & Wine

This was kind of a bizarre exercise, because it uncovered some music on my iPhone that I’ve never listened to, ever. (And no, I’m not talking about the Pink songs.)

Uh, once again, I probably won’t be tagging anyone explicitly here, but feel free to consider yourself tagged anyway. Post a link to your list in the comments!

Update:
I made this into a playlist on Grooveshark (all except tracks 2, 8, 14 and 18), which you can listen to below.

Photo by el patojo on Flickr.

Here’s a meme aimed at grown-ups. If you’re a grownup, and you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged.

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
Cell phone. The fact that my AT&T iPhone plan doesn’t include any text messages irks me every time I look at the bill.

2. Do you miss being a child?
I sometimes miss being five or so, when I was completely unselfconscious.

3. Chore you hate the most?
Laundry.

4. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Uh, I’m not a horribly romantic person, so I’m not sure a dinner that involved me would succeed at being romantic. Oops.

5. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be?
I don’t know. I am often overcome with regrets about stupid, self-destructive things I’ve done in the past, but since I like where I am right now, I’m not sure what would be guaranteed to make my life better if I went back and changed it.

6. Name of your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Miller.

7. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Um… I wish I were immersed in a good book. But I’m too antsy to sit down and read.

8. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I’ve wanted to be a writer/novelist ever since I can remember. Instead I have two degrees in math, I work in a library and I’m working towards a master’s in library science. And my writing career is currently derailed. *sigh*

9. How many colleges did you attend?
Four.

10. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
I wanted to feel slim today. I don’t know if this shirt makes me look slim, but I sure feel slimmer when I’m wearing it.

11. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
People in the United States who complain about gas prices should be forced to pay European gas prices for a month. Also: I don’t have a car. If I did, maybe I’d be a little more interested in the price at the pump. As it is, I just worry about costs that are passed down to me, like shipping costs showing up as higher grocery prices.

12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
“Urgh.”

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
“I wish I hadn’t drunk 40 oz of iced coffee so late in the day.”

14. What famous people would you like to have dinner with?
My social anxiety makes such a thing sound like a dreadful torment to be endured, not something to look forward to or enjoy.

15. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
Yes. When I was a new license-holder, I tried to turn my family’s Volkswagen Vanagon around at a gas station and clipped the back fender of a very nice and understanding Latino gentleman, who preferred not to involve insurance companies. Good thing, because I was uninsured.

16. If you didn’t have to work, would you volunteer?
Yes. Maybe in a library!

17. Get up early or sleep in?
Neither. I hate getting up before the sun, but I have trouble sleeping after the sun comes up unless I’m really, really hung over.

18. What is your favorite cartoon character?
Um… don’t have one.

19. Favorite thing to do at night?
Twitter, read, Facebook, surf the web.

20. When did you first start feeling old?
I don’t usually feel old.

21. Favorite lunch meat?
Don’t have one—I’m vegetarian.

22. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
New contacts or glasses. Low-cost vision care is the only reason I ever go.

23. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
Not exactly. I think romantic marriage as it is currently constituted is a fairly new-fangled idea that carries the seeds of its own destruction. On the other hand, I think government support for social and economic partnerships is a good thing, so I hope marriage continues to evolve into something a bit more sustainable.

24. A favorite movie you wouldn’t want anyone to find out about?
I’m pretty open about what media I like and don’t like.

25. What’s your favorite drink?
Nonalcoholic? Water, coffee, tea. Alcoholic? Gin or bourbon, mixers optional.

26. Whom from high school would you like to run in to?
Didn’t go to high school.

27. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
I don’t own a car, and I don’t listen to the radio.

28. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
Neither.

29. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?
I wish I were able to talk about my feelings more.

30. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work?
I don’t have that kind of job. But I like most of my coworkers, and really like and connect with some of them.

31. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purposes?
No.

32. Last book you finished reading?
According to Goodreads, it was China Miéville’s The City & the City, a week and a half ago. Why haven’t I been able to get into anything since? Hmm. Maybe it’s because school started June 8…

33. Do you have a teddy bear?
No.

34. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
Nothing comes to mind.

35. Do you go to church?
Never.

36. How old are you?
28.

37. Have you ever been arrested?
No.

38. Have you ever attended a public protest against a major corporation or a government?
Yes, a few.

39. Do you feel that your type of employment traps you or liberates you?
Public librarianship is very liberating in certain ways, but financially it’s pretty much a dead end.

40. Is voting a duty, a privilege, a right, or an option?
A duty and a right.

41. Have you ever sat on a jury?
Yes, once.

42. Have you ever seen someone die?
No.

43. Are you making any preparations for old age or for retirement?
Other than the plan my employer pays into, no.

44. Do you have children? Or, if not, do you wish to?
No, and maybe.

45. Have you ever served in your country’s armed forces?
No.

46. How is your relationship with your parents different from what it was when you were a child?
Well, since they don’t at all approve of my “lifestyle,” we have trouble carrying on a conversation. And since they are so Mormon they can’t finish a sentence without mentioning their religion, and I really would rather not hear about that kind of thing at all, ever, we don’t end up talking that much.

47. Have you ever had a substantial conversation with a homeless person?
I work in a public library. I have substantial conversations with homeless people all the time. I wish there were more I could do to help.

48. If life is “a journey”, then where are you going?
I reject the premise. I don’t think life is a journey. Life is life.

From John (of Mind on Fire):

“Just because you were tagged, you so do not need to follow this. I am interested to see what books you all come up with, though.

“Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Copy the instructions into your own note, and be sure to tag the person who tagged you.”

I was tagged (on Facebook) by Chandelle of Conscious Intention.

• Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
• Swordspoint, by Ellen Kushner
• The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson
• Se questo è un uomo, by Primo Levi
• The Dosadi Experiment, by Frank Herbert
• Troll: A Love Story, by Joanna Sinisalo
• The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
• Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
• Misquoting Jesus, by Bart Ehrman
• The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
• The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson
• Huis clos, by Jean-Paul Sartre

I’m going to tag Craig of yes, I am, Miss Nem of Voice of Reason, chosha of a little east of reality, alea at All My Gettings, Petullant at a girl who wears glasses, Kerry at Windmill Watching, and anyone else who wants to play. I’m also gonna tag a few people on Facebook, I think.

If you want to play, either post your own fifteen books in the comments here, or post them on your own blog and leave a comment here with the link. There’s also my Facebook Note. It’s fun!

I got this meme from Michelle’s blog at bleedingespresso.com. What can I say? She dared me to use it!

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
Didn’t go to prom, being homeschooled and all. In fact, I have never asked anyone to a dance or been asked to one myself.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?
Not certain who that would be, but probably not. I’m still in touch with my first girlfriend, though.

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?
A sip of someone else’s cosmo at a party. I thought it tasted like turpentine.

I didn’t drink my very own alcoholic drink until a bit later, when I think I tried some wine. Which I didn’t finish, because I thought it tasted like turpentine.

4. What was your FIRST job?
My dad paid me in dimes and nickels to clean the bathroom of the bus depot he managed (and we lived in) when I was four or five. My first real job was a paper route with my sister when I was twelve, which didn’t pay much more.

5. What was your FIRST car?
I’ve never owned a car. Not sure when I will, given how close I live to work.

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
Probably something from Twitter or Google Calendar. If by “person” you mean “actual person,” then… nobody, yet.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?
Um… no idea.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?
Mrs. Miller.

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?
I don’t remember! Probably California? Or Utah? By the time I was traveling anywhere else I was already used to flying.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?
Heh. I had a friend named Russell when I was in second grade. And no, I’ve never heard from him since.

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over?
All these questions about things I don’t remember! I slept over fairly often at my friend Alan’s house, but I must have slept over other places before.

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?
A coworker. She asked in surprise if I was really supposed to be at work today. Unfortunately, I was.

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?
I grew up Mormon, which meant I wasn’t eligible to attend an actual wedding ceremony until I was 19. And by the time I was 23 I was an atheist, so… I haven’t had a chance yet.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?
Check my email. Before my eyes were completely open.

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?
Martin Sexton/Minnie Driver. And yes, I went to see Minnie Driver.

16. FIRST tattoo?
None so far.

17. FIRST piercing?
My lower lip, just about a year ago.

18. FIRST foreign country you visited?
Mexico.

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing?
The Black Cauldron. It’s also the first movie I remember being carried out of screaming, though sadly not the last.

20. When was your FIRST detention?
My mom didn’t impose detention as punishment in our home school—she had a much more effective arsenal of discipline tools at her disposal.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?
Utah. Utah County, Utah, to be precise. I.e., the most conservative place in the nation.

22. Who was your FIRST roommate?
If you don’t count my older sister when I was a baby, I guess that would be Rob in the French House at BYU.

23. If you had one wish, what would it be?
Right now, my only wish would be to always be in perfect physical and mental shape. I’m tired of being tired and sick and flabby.

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance?
To speak every language in the world fluently.

25. Who do you think will be the next person to post this?
I assume it will be someone who reads this! So… maybe you???

Today’s the last day of 2008, and I thought I’d do a couple of year-end memes. This one I’ve seen around in various places, but I decided to do it when Linda of All & Sundry posted it and then promised to link to anyone who did it OMG WTF???!!! SIGN ME UP

So here it is. I don’t promise to link to everyone who does it, but feel free to post your own links/answers in the comments if you like.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Went into repayment on my student loans. In happier news, I also got my first (and second!) piercing.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I’ve given up on New Year’s resolutions. I have an aversion to resolutions in general, because I’m afraid of failure. If you don’t try, you can’t fail!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My brother and sister-in-law had their first child, a baby girl named Allison.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
No other countries, but I did visit Northern California, which is like a different country when compared to Utah.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Financial freedom, a library science degree, a boyfriend, the discipline to clean my house.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Um… none are coming to mind.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting an A in my website creation course, despite spending the entire semester assiduously avoiding the homework.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Getting a C in (and actually almost failing) the easiest course known to humankind.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not any worth mentioning. Unless you count the two piercings I got this year. Which are worth mentioning.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPhone.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My family’s, for being so willing to look past our differences and spend time together regardless. The Utah LGBT and allied community, for coming together for the protest at Temple Square.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Too many politicians to count. The Mormon church’s, and many of its members.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Food and rent.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Dark Knight. The Graveyard Book. The iPhone 3G. The idea of gay marriage in California. The protest on Temple Square. Milk.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
I discovered Iron & Wine this year. So his music, I guess.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
Sadder. I think I need to go back on medication again. *sighs*
b) thinner or fatter?
A bit thinner, although not as thin as I would wish.
c) richer or poorer?
About the same.

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

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

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Pushing Daisies.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word, but I don’t have many positive feelings for Thomas Monson, president of the Mormon church.

24. What was the best book you read?
Let’s go with best books, plural, in reverse chronological order.
Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
A Hundred Silences: Poems, by Gabeba Baderoun
The Best of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet: Occasional Outbursts, edited by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link
Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Iron & Wine and Rufus Wainwright.

26. What did you want and get?
My iPhone; my piercings; various items of clothing; a bike.

27. What did you want and not get?
A Wii; a Mac; a vehicle.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
These are the films released this year that I enjoyed the most:
Wall-E
The Dark Knight
Tropic Thunder
Religulous
Milk
And these are the films I enjoyed the most this year that were not released in 2008:
Company, with Raúl Esparza (which is actually a televised stage production but so help me god IT WAS AWESOME)
The Times of Harvey Milk
Atonement

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 28 this year. I didn’t really do anything for my birthday.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
N/A

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
In flux.

32. What kept you sane?
Books. As usual! Also, my friend Craig.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
N/A

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
California’s Prop 8.

35. Who did you miss?
My older sister, who moved away to Texas with her husband and adorable baby daughter.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
[Your name here]

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Um… don’t procrastinate homework for the entire semester, or you’ll be forced to try and complete it all in one day.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Trees break the sidewalk
And the sidewalk skins my knees
There’s glass in my thermos
And blood on my jeans
(Star Witness, Neko Case)

I wasn’t tagged, but I’m doing this anyway. I am aware that this is cheating.

20 years ago I:

1. Was seven.
2. Lived with my family in Hemet, California, in my grandma’s house.
3. Read all the time.
4. Had just finished my first year of homeschool.
5. Was the second of four siblings.

10 years ago I:

1. Was seventeen years old.
2. Had just started my third year of college and my first year at BYU.
3. Had just moved into the French House at BYU’s Foreign Language Student Residence (FLSR).
4. Was a senior in mathematics.
5. Was taking piano lessons and voice lessons, and the next semester would take my first ballroom dance class and sing with the BYU Men’s Chorus for the first time.
6. Was the second of nine siblings (a situation which continues, unabated, to this day).

5 years ago I:

1. Was 22 years old.
2. Had just gotten back from a Mormon mission to Southern Italy.
3. Was living once again in the French House, trying to get my French back.
4. Was a super-senior in mathematics.

3 years ago I:

1. Was 24 years old.
2. Had gone through my first three relationships—a girlfriend and two boyfriends—in rapid succession. (Two of those relationships were so short they probably don’t count, but they’re on my list anyway.)
3. Was living at my sister’s house in American Fork for the summer.
4. Was about to come out publicly (and briefly) for the first time.
5. Was a super-super senior in mathematics.

So far this year I:

1. Attended my graduation for my first master’s degree and finished the second semester in my second master’s degree (without actually failing any classes!).
2. Have started swimming with QUAC at least once a week.
3. According to Goodreads, have read 74 books this year.
4. Have been working at the S— Public Library for 2-1/2 years.
5. Have been out as gay and an atheist, and out of the Mormon church, for almost three years.
6. Have hit the 3-year mark on this blog.

Yesterday I:

1. (See yesterday’s blog post.)

Today I will:

1. Finish downloading the first episode of the Doctor Who second series and the 2005 Doctor Who Christmas special.
2. Watch more Doctor Who.
3. Lie awake, sleepless, wishing I hadn’t finished off the pizza that was left over from last night.

Tomorrow I will:

1. Drink coffee.
2. Eat breakfast.
3. Work out.
4. Go to work.
5. Watch more Doctor Who.

In the next year I will:

1. Get down to 13% body fat.
2. Go on vacation (this summer) with my family for the first time in over ten years.
3. Go on vacation (next summer) outside of the country.
4. Start a story idea notebook.
5. Start actually writing again.

I tag Craig, David, Daisy, chosha, Nick and WHOEVER ELSE FEELS LIKE IT GOD I’M NOT YOUR MOTHER.