Canned post.

1. what did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
Visited Portugal; got married; hosted a huge, expensive party (aka wedding); visited Nevis; swam with squids and a manta ray.

2. did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I imagine it was to get in better shape, and I was pretty successful in that. I got in hella good shape around wedding time, and I’m not quite at that level of skinniness now, but I’m definitely healthier than I was last year. I can run five miles, my resting heart rate is low, and I feel strong. The only problem is my stupid left knee.

3. did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! My friends Buffy and Ben had a baby (the adorable Eliott), and Denny’s cousin Mindy and her husband had a baby (the also adorable Gavin).

4. did anyone close to you die?
No one super-close, but I was sad to lose two people who died way too young.

5. what countries did you visit?
See above. Nevis is part of the two-island nation St. Kitts and Nevis.

6. what would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
A solid plan for transitioning into a freelance writing career.

7. what date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 30 is the obvious one, but mostly that’s just because I’m not good at remembering dates unless they’re etched into a ring I’m wearing.

8. what was your biggest achievement of the year?
I don’t feel like it was a particularly achieve-y year in any specific sense (because the idea of landin’ a man as an achievement is gross). Overall I’m just glad I’ve stayed mostly healthy, physically and mentally.

9. what was your biggest failure?
Well, right now I’m feeling like a jerk for not warning our userbase that the ICON system would be down for upgrades tomorrow. I didn’t realize it needed to go down. We may need to reschedule the upgrade.

10. did you suffer illness or injury?
Stupid knee.

11. what was the best thing you bought?
Plane tickets to various places.

12. whose behavior merited celebration?
The new babies. They made so many interesting facial expressions. And Gavin very nearly rolled over.

13. whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Karl Rove. The FEMA dude. That Cinema professor who was a big jerk.

14. where did most of your money go?
Mortgage, travel, food.

15. what did you get really, really, really excited about?
The prospect of quitting my job. The prospect of having more travel adventures. The prospect of having a baby. So many prospects, so little actual accomplishment…except the travel thing. I always make room for that.

16. what song(s) will always remind you of 2005?
Hmm…maybe “Drop It Like It’s Huey,” a really great mash-up of “Power of Love” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”

17. compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?: Happier, I think–no wedding-planning stress.
ii. thinner or fatter?: Approximately the same.
iii. richer or poorer?: Approximately the same.

18. what do you wish you’d done more of?
Non-No Shame writing.

19. what do you wish you’d done less of?
Coffee-drinking. I’m working on cutting back.

20. how did you spend christmas?
Sick at my parents’ house. There were a lot of peripheral Christmas activities on the surrounding days, and I felt better or worse and various ones.

22. did you fall in love in 2005?
Sure, with Denny, several times. Every now and then, he says or does something that makes me all fall-in-lovey.

23. what was your favorite TV program?
Probably Lost.

24. do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah.

25. what was the best book you read?
Let’s see. The Kite Runner was pretty good. Harry Potter #6 was pretty good. I’m sure I read other things, if only I could remember what they were.

26. what was your greatest musical discovery?
The art of the mash-up.

(I don’t know what happened to 27 and 28)

29. what did you want and get?
Lots of wonderful, generous wedding gifts. Stand-outs are the Kitchen-Aid mixer, a gorgeous photo album from my parents, and great towels.

30. what did you want and not get?
Some DVDs I wanted.

31. what was your favorite film of this year?
I liked Walk the Line a lot.

32. what did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I don’t remember for sure, since I think it was a travel day in Portugal. To celebrate my birthday, we went out to a nice restaurant where I had amazingly tender braised kid and incredible red wine that was like 3 euros a bottle. That happened on the previous night, though. I turned 28.

33. what one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Um…my year was pretty satisfying. I guess a less annoying job with much better pay wouldn’t have hurt, but it’s not like my life is complete crap or anything.

34. how would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Business casual. Stupid business casual. Pants, shirts, skirts, solids, stripes, boots. I don’t seem to be wearing as many dresses as I used to.

35. what kept you sane?
Cooking, the promise of an upcoming trip.

36. which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I’m not really that into celebrities, which is weird considering how much time I spend reading celebrity gossip websites. Joaquin Phoenix is pretty interesting, I guess, and Reese Witherspoon too.

37. what political issue stirred you the most?
Stupid war in Iraq. Stupid Marines.

38. who did you miss?
All my friends who’ve moved away: the L.A. gang, Danny/Tiffany/Aidan, my always-friends who all live too far away.

39. who was the best new person you met?
I like Rachel Howell quite a bit. She doesn’t take any shit from anybody. And of course, Eliott and Gavin.

40. tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:
Better not to be so dogmatic. You might need to reevaluate.

41. quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
“Like a pizza in the rain
Loco de amor
No one wants to take you home,
But I love you just the same.” –“Loco de Amor,” by David Byrne