A SUNDAY MORNING AFTER A SATURDAY NIGHT
She's so happy, this girl,
she's sending out sparks like a brush fire,
so lit with life
her eyes could beam airplanes through fog,
so warm with his loving
we could blacken our toast
on her forehead.

The phone rings
and she whispers to it
"I love you."
The cord uncoils
and leaps to tell him
she said it,
the receiver melts in her hand
as if done by Dali,
the whole room crackles

and we at the breakfast table
smile
but at safe distance
having learned by living
that love so without insulation
can immolate more than the toast.
- LoVerne Brown

1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
that college thing, set a long-term goal, had several existential crises

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
don't make those. i have actually made a resolution but it just happens to be at this time... plus it is more of a short-term goal (i am suddenly becoming good at these things!)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
nah

4. Did anyone close to you die?
nah

5. What countries did you visit?
mexico

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
wider social connections (they seem to come in useful)

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
hmmm... probably the dates of the Great Earlham Roadtrip with my dad

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
gaining confidence in myself as an independent adult (awww)

9. What was your biggest failure?
i can't really think of any. maybe being too uptight when i first got to earlham? but that went away with time, and didn't cause any permanent damage. no real failures.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
necrotizing fasciitis

11. What was the best thing you bought?
an AWESOME hat! it is brown and has stripes and is apparently popular with little old jewish men

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
mine plus some other people. alex. akshat. beka. j-po. john.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
stoooopid holly.

14. Where did most of your money go?
lobillz

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
no more high school - ever! hellooooo college! also RAing at simon's rock

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
save a horse - RIDE A COWBOY! lots of various others too, but that one is fairly jolly and i am in a delirious mood
(i just typed "delicious mood". those words are only a letter apart! the possibility for a hilarious misstep is imminent)

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?: WAY WAY HAPPIER
b) thinner or fatter?: softer... prolly same distance around
c) richer or poorer?: the truly rich man desires nothing

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
going out on friday nights, particularly during the first half of the year

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
being a hermit, taking high school too seriously

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
con mi familia

20. How will you be spending New Years?
heh... i was in cali and i slept through it. new year's is prolly one of my least favourite holidays unless i have something cool to do.

22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
nah

23. How many one-night stands?
i wonder if anyone has ever had a half-night stand? or a two-night stand? can it even be called that anymore? π-night stand?

24. What was your favorite TV program?
MYTHBUSTERS! also i like going tribal. i watched more tv over the past five days than i did the whole rest of the year. yay hotels.

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

26. What was the best book you read?
CLASS: a guide through the american status system. also food court druids, cherohonkee and other creatures unique to the republic.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
damn. i discovered i love beck, who i thought i hated. i also discovered that country can be appealing in the right dose. plus... oh man, sufjan stevens, tom lehrer, dressy bessy... too much good music.

28. What did you want and get?
much new reading material! also inspiration

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
crash, city of god

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
my actual bday was pretty craptastic and i'd rather forget it

32. What one thing that would have made your year?
my year has already been made!

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
i actually became a lot more aware of clothes this year. i dress well. how's that?

34. What kept you sane?
i'm not really sure. lots of thinky. writing a lot helped in the first half.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
er... i will say gabriel garcía bernal for alex!

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
various business about class in general... let me focus my thoughts and i'll get back to you

37. Who did you miss?
a select few people at home + alex

38. Who was the best new person you met?
alex by far

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
you have to do things your own damn way. forget how it is "supposed to be done" and you will lose a large part of what inhibits you from just doing what you gotta do.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
la cucuracha, la cucuracha
yo no puedo caminar
porque no tiene, porque la falta
marijuana que fumar