Between years

[oloriel]

Because I'm too lazy to write about our Christmas:

Ye classic retrospective end-of-year meme. Let's hope I remember to change all 2010s to 2011s, etc.


1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
- Finished my studies and got my master's diploma.
- Spent more than a few hours in a hospital ever since my own birth.
- Gave birth and have been taking care of a baby 24/7 since.
- Harvested my first own honey.
- De-registered my car.
- Reviewed everything on my MEFA wish list, except for the stories I didn't like (enough) after all. :P

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.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
One might say so.
(Aside from myself, tuxedo_elf and Felix' godmother. Well, and the new friends I've made through Postnatal Exercise obviously recently gave birth, too...)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not exactly close, but Jörg's brother's ex-wife was killed in a car crash this year.

5. What countries did you visit?
Belgium. Very briefly (on the road to Belgium), the Netherlands. The ex-GDR :P

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Quality time with Jörg. Time for an evening at the cinema. More work of the sort that brings money.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched on your memory, and why?
The first week of May - we went to Norderney, where it was cold and windy. I felt dreadful and exhausted. The next morning, I turn on the radio and they say Osama bin Laden is dead. That was kinda surreal.
7/25 - Felix' birthday!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Everything pales next to surviving the birthing process and getting the baby out in one piece. I won't lie, I had expected that I'd be better suited for that sort of thing.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Procrastination, as usual. And I failed to stay in touch with people as much as I should have.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
The aftermath of the birth was kinda bloody. Then there was my almost-postnatal depression. Other than that, the usual scratches, cuts and bruises you get on this construction site and/or if you're a clumsy oaf like me.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Sort-of if not entirely, new car. On a smaller scale, the diaper bin we're using now. You wouldn't think how much that helps
All other good things were gifts from various directions.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
The family's in many small ways. Particularly Jörg's who stood with me for 11 of the 15 hours it took to push Felix out into the world, and has been amazingly patient much of the time. The MIL for helping us with all sorts of things. Generally, people who put up with my whining and/or sent kind words or gifts when I was feeling really down.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Jörg's and the MIL's in the first few weeks after Felix had been born. That was a hard time.
Someone whom I once considered my best friend continued to pretty much avoid me. I'm still sore.
Often enough, my own. :P
And of course there are always politicians and media to shake my head at...

14. Where did most of your money go?
Oh God, the car. On a smaller scale, groceries and diapers.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
BABY!
And the return of the MEF.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
The Flood by Take That. I think that actually came out last year, but I only really started noticing it early this year. It gave me this nice tingly Númenor feeling. And then there was the Tôhoku earthquake & tsunami.
Brittpop by Ina Müller. We had that stuck in our heads and kept singing it the day before Felix was born.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? About the same, I'd say. Wiser. :P
thinner or fatter? Again about the same. This time last year I was gaining weight and now I'm loosing it, that's the main difference. :P
richer or poorer? Poorer. It's a sort of spiral. :P

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Work while I could. Searched for potential employers. Watercolours and writing. Sleep.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Gotten worked up about things or people I couldn't change anyway. Procrastinated. Same old, same old.

20. How have you been celebrating Christmas?
The usual:
Christmas eve, went to church, had a nice comfy round of raclette with the extended nuclear family, unwrapped loads of presents, mostly for Felix.
Christmas day, a brief visit at my parents to see my aunt Karin and three of her boys, then fondue at the MIL's with Jörg's brother.
Boxing/St. Stephen's day, a huge feast at my uncle Jochen's with my dad's side of the family. As usual, by that point everyone is so full that the lovely meal Jochen and aunt Betty prepare is actually a waste of energy...

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
[The person I copied this meme from actually still had "2009" in this line. *snickers*]
Aside from my embarrassing crush on Thorin ;), still in love with Jörg. Also fell in love with my shiny new son, but that's a different kind of love.

22. How many one-night stands?
I still wonder whether the people this meme was originally geared towards (ending clauses on prepositions is totally legitimate, stfu) really have one-night stands on a regular basis. I don't. Some year I'll just cut this question from the catalogue.

23. What was your favourite TV program?
Other than that, Castle, Glee, Sherlock, heute show and Inas Nacht.

24. Are you angry at anyone now that you weren't angry at this time last year?
No, I was already angry last year, so that's cool.

25. What were the best books you read?
The Oscar Wilde murder mysteries by Gyles Brandreth. Sherlock Holmes-pastiches with Oscar Wilde as the detective. Those were fun. Other than that, I can't really remember any new books I read this year, aside from that one I hated, so I guess they didn't really stand out.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Don't think I discovered anything new this year.

27. What did you want and get?
Felix! My master's degree.

28. What did you want and not get?
A vacation in France. A better grade on my master's degree. SLEEEEP.

29. What was your favourite film of this year?
Trying to remember if I saw any new movies this year. Can't remember. Can't have been that good, then.
If I'd seen it, I assume the final Harry Potter would've been it.

30. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
Went to Norderney, where [see note above on etched dates]. I turned 28.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More regular work. Meeting my friends more often. Did I mention sleep?
(I know it says "one thing". Whatev.)

2. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
First 8 months: I need room for my belly.
Rest: Button-down shirts for easier breastfeeding.
All the time: If it smells funny, don't wear it.

33. What kept you sane?
What makes you think I'm sane?

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
*headscratch* Does Maedhros count?

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
I kind of felt excited and tingly about the Arabian spring. And I've mostly been frustrated, furious and/or flabberghasted about local politics, such as the Great Nuclear Exit-Exit-Turnaround in Spring or the National Socialist Underground Murders. Other than that, I have to admit it's mostly angry indifference...

36. Who/What did you miss?
My youth - whatever else having a baby brings, it definitely puts an end to your old way of life, for better or or worse, no matter how much you plan to stay the same.
Friends.
Will refrain from making further cryptic remarks on one certain person. If you're reading this, it's very likely not you.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Felix! The midwives Ute and Sylvia. Heike and Manuela in Postnatal Exercice. My horizons are so very limited this year.
I think all the awesome fandom people I've already known last year?

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learnt in 2011.
Subtlety is not everyone's friend. Sometimes people really don't understand hints and it isn't their fault.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Embarrassing, but how about

Du machst dich heut in meinem Leben
(Now are taking up so much room)
So breit, dass ich vergessen hab,
(in my life that I've forgotten)
Was hat es eigentlich gegeben.
(what used to be there)
Damals, als es dich noch nicht gab?
(back when you didn't yet exist?)
Damals glaubt' ich, alles zu wissen,
(Back then I thought I knew everything)
Bis du mir die Gewissheit nahmst.
(until you took that certainty away.)
Nie glaubt' ich etwas zu vermissen,
(I never thought I was missing something)
Bis an den Tag, an dem du kamst!
(Until the day that brought you here!)

~Reinhard Mey, Keine ruhige Minute



And here's to the new...

Comments

[satismagic.livejournal.com]

Yay, Felix! :) Of course he's the best new person in your life. *g*

I think Maedhros should count!

Happy New Year!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year to you, too!

[chili-das-schaf.livejournal.com]

Awww the song lyrics.

At some point in the new year I'd love to come around, bring you that tape recorder and meet Felix, if that's okay for you.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Definitely ok! One of those 366 days should work out.

[al-pha.livejournal.com]

Interesting and funny - thanks for posting.

BTW: Question 7 still says "2010".

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Good catch ^^

[hhimring]

Guten Rutsch! And wishing you all the best for the coming year, especially that you get more SLEEEP!

(And thank you very much for the reviews! They were a lovely surprise; I didn't expect you'd have the time to do any reviewing.)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

(I wouldn't have had if boss-lady had given me more work to do. As there was radio silence all December, though, I figured I might as well use my computer time for MEFA reviews! ;))

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

These days, creating elaborate sentence structures to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition is considered effete by the vast majority of English speakers.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I only ever heard that ending a sentence with a preposition was in any way inacceptable "these days" (as opposed to "back in the day when I learned English", or the like), and from young people, too. Either their schooling is old-fashioned, or I keep encountering the minority, or "Never end a sentence on a preposition" is back in fashion!