I copied this end-of-year meme from Dawn at This Woman's Work.
1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
-- Adopted a baby
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
-- I've never really done new years resolutions. My family always did, but I could never get into it.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
-- My college roommate's wife, a friend from church, and Nathan's birthmother.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
-- There were people I knew who died, but no one that I was very close to.
5. What countries did you visit?
-- Does Utah count as a foreign country? OK, probably not. So I guess none.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
-- Some stability. With one failed adoption in 2004, then the paranoia of whether or not Nathan's would work out, 2004 just felt like a living hell most of the year. People keep telling us that 'now that [we] have a baby, the hard part really begins!' While I realize that in the typical case, the first 12 months of a baby's life are not considered the most stable period of time for the parents, I really believe (or at least fervently hope) that it can't be worse than 2004.
7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
-- 12/17 when Nathan was born.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
-- Hmmm ... I don't think that having Nathan counts as an achievement. So I don't know.
9. What was your biggest failure?
-- Well, the failed adoption comes to mind. Except that, really, that wasn't a personal failure -- it's not like we caused it to fail; the birthparents just changed their mind. So I guess I'd have to see that my biggest failure was at work. And I can't talk about that here.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
-- I had the flu that knocked me out for two weeks, which is the most sick I've been as an adult. But, really, even that wasn't so serious.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
-- My Tablet PC -- I love it. Except that I didn't buy it; Microsoft did. In terms of things I bought, nothing really stands out.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
-- My management at Microsoft has been incredibly supportive of the weird schedule that the adoption saga has created (trips out of town, time off when the first one failed, time off waiting for Nathan to be born). I've really appreciated that. I am lucky to work where I do.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
-- Three way tie:
14. Where did most of your money go?
-- The mortgage for our house. Followed by adoption expenses.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
-- Nathan!
16. What song will always remind you of 2004?
-- Beats me. I doubt I could name any songs that came out this year.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
-- Happier
ii. thinner or fatter?
-- Same, I think.
iii. richer or poorer?
-- About the same
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
-- Spend time with friends. (pokes meriko...)
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
-- Been stressed by work.
20. How will you be spending New Year's?
-- Melissa (my sister-in-law) is flying in New Years Eve to meet her new nephew, so we'll all be spending New Years Eve at home together.
22. Did you fall in love in 2004?
-- Did I mention Nathan?
23. How many one-night stands?
-- ahahahahahahaha. That would be zero.
24. What was your favorite TV program?
-- Nothing really comes to mind. The Daily Show was probably the most consistently entertaining.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
-- Nope.
26. What was the best book you read?
-- I read some interesting books, but no one book completely stands out. Most of the books I read this year were pretty technical.
27. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
-- Beats me.
28. What did you want and get?
-- Nathan (sounding like a broken record yet?)
29. What did you want and not get?
-- The first adoption to work. Don't get me wrong; I'm thrilled that we got Nathan. But I could have done without the pain of the first one falling through.
30. What was your favorite film of this year?
-- Hero. I loved that movie.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
-- I turned 32 in February. I spent it in Reno visiting the birthparents we were matched to for the first half of the year.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
-- Right now, I'm feeling pretty good about how it ended. I can't help but think that parts of it could have gone much better, but it all worked out in the end.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
-- "Hey, this seems to fit. And is clean."
34. What kept you sane?
-- Friends. And Halo 2 for stress relief ;)
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
-- uhhh ...
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
-- Gay marriage. It's scary to me how fervent people got in their opposition to this. I was sad when my denomination (the United Methodist Church) continued to take a stand against it at General Conference this year, but was encouraged by how many voices spoke in favor of equal rights for gays (including my local church). And I was sickened by how gays were used as a wedge issue in the elections. What's so disgusting about the notion that gays are human beings, and deserve human rights?
37. Who did you miss?
-- I'm sorry that my mom isn't around to meet Nathan.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
-- Did I mention that Nathan is very cute :)
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
-- I feel like I've learned this before, but 2004 seemed determined to drill into me some more the lesson that no matter what choices you make, sometimes you just have no control. You can choose the path, but not what happens on that path.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
-- Most of this year I felt like we spent waiting. So:
Posted by Mike at December 31, 2004 06:26 PM"And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.""Time" -- Pink Floyd