Well it appears as though I havent posted in this blog since my last years review..... I cant give up this one yearly tradition i have! Does that sentence even make sense? Probably not. English grammar and vocabulary start to shrivel when you are surrounded by non-native speakers. I'd give a link to last years post, but it seems a bit unnecessary.
Planted / cultivated a rooftop vegetable garden. Cat-sat. Nothing crazy exciting I guess.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My resolutions for 2011 were: keep learning Dutch (be able to hold small conversations); make significant dents in paying off my credit cards (paid one off this year!); better manage my time so I can relax/exercise too.
And i really didnt keep them and that is a shame. PhD sorta gets in the way of everything else.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Ummm no i dont believe so. But there will be soooo many in 2012!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my Gramma died (mom's mom). We were quite close. She was pretty miserable and wanted to die, but I still would have liked to see her one last time. And I really wanted her to meet Jamie. She died ~3 weeks before we went to the States for Thanksgiving.
5. What countries did you visit?
New countries that I had never been to before: Switzerland.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Ummm no i dont believe so. But there will be soooo many in 2012!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my Gramma died (mom's mom). We were quite close. She was pretty miserable and wanted to die, but I still would have liked to see her one last time. And I really wanted her to meet Jamie. She died ~3 weeks before we went to the States for Thanksgiving.
5. What countries did you visit?
New countries that I had never been to before: Switzerland.
Countries that I have been to before: England, Belgium, France, USA.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Same as last year: A first author scientific publication.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I'm really bad at remembering actual dates, but I can remember events that happen on specific days. The ones that stand out are the first beautiful day in Interlaken, seeing the sunset at the top of the Eiffel Tower with Jamie, and the death of my Gramma.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Same as last year: Not quitting my PhD - ie surviving 2011.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not sure
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Same as last year: A first author scientific publication.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I'm really bad at remembering actual dates, but I can remember events that happen on specific days. The ones that stand out are the first beautiful day in Interlaken, seeing the sunset at the top of the Eiffel Tower with Jamie, and the death of my Gramma.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Same as last year: Not quitting my PhD - ie surviving 2011.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not sure
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Oh yes... New years day ~2 am slipped and fell on ice walking home from NYE party and tore ankle ligament... a week or so later fell again and tore the ligament on the other side of the same ankle. Not a great way to start the year.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Plants and seeds for our garden. Our couch.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jamie for being awesome and taking care of me during my hellish PhD. Knitting friends who welcome me back after long absences each time i try to have a social life.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The new manager/realtor of the flat I live in for charging Jamie an arm and a leg for rent just b/c he can (even though I pay much less for the same size room).
14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, new couch, traveling, beer, yarn.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing my family again after 2 years. Greenfield music festival (Foo Fighters! Apocalyptica! System of a Down! Frank Turner! Volbeat! Social Distortion!). The International Burlesque Circus here in Utrecht.
16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?
Anything by Frank Turner or Volbeat
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Happier, fatter, tad richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise. Sleep.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worry about my PhD.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
We spent Christmas and Boxing Day with Jamie's family in Stevenage, England again. AND we spent Thanksgiving with my family in Orland Park, IL!
21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
I stayed in love (:
23. What was your favorite TV program?
New ones this year were: Game of Thrones (oh the LOVE) and Grimm. And we have our TV staples: Doctor Who, True Blood, Big Bang Theory, Walking Dead, How I Met Your Mother, any nature program narrated by David Attenborough.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I sometimes hate my PhD supervisors. This week wasn't a particularly good one, so I'm def not liking them right now.
25. What was the best book you read?
I actually finished some books this summer - i re-read all of Song of Ice and Fire in preparation for Dance With Dragons which was, as expected, so awesome.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Frank Turner and Volbeat
27. What did you want and get?
A new couch.
28. What did you want and not get?
A travel grant to the International Pneumococcal Congress in 2012 in Brazil.
29. What was your favorite film of this year?
hmmmmm. I'm terrible at remembering what we saw this year and not other years. Maybe the Muppets?
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 29. I wasnt feeling very social so it was a private dinner with just Jamie. I actually dont even remember it.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Same as last year: A magical understanding of the Dutch language. More contact with the people, friends and family, I left in the States.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Mostly the same as previous years - whatever doesnt make me look pudgy and lots of black with a creeping towards a bit of "Dutch" and "European" fashion.
33. What kept you sane?
My office-mates and my boyfriend.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I read Dan Savage weekly - he's a mini celebrity, right?
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Same as last year: Marriage equality - no reason the States should discriminate. Immigration rights.
36. Who did you miss?
My friends who are not in the same country as me. My Grampa and Gramma.
37. Who was the best new person you met? Why?
Umm i'm not sure I met any new people?
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Don't put carrot seeds too close together in pots.
39. A Quote or song lyric that sums up your year.
to the east, to east, the road beneath my feet
to the west to the west, but i haven't got there yet
to the north to the north, never to be caught
and to the south to the south, my time is running out
.....
i face the horizon, every where that i go
i face the horizon, the horizon is my home
from The Road by Frank Turner
