Retrospective

I kind of love this survey tradition, even though it meant going back and editing several blog posts so as to update the links and make them appropriate for the new home here. This is my fourth time, and the others are: 2006, 2007, 2008.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Made it through 2 more semesters of law school, such that I’ve completed 3 total (half done!). Got a cool summer job where I worked all summer.  Had my first actual babysitter for K, since B’s sister watched her all summer.  Accepted a job in Washington, D.C. for next summer, meaning I’ll be away from my tiny baby girl for 8 weeks.   Further abdicated any responsibility I had to maintaining a clean house, relying even more on B* to keep me from insanity.  Pretty much gave up watching TV (for me).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year, in recognition of the perils of swinging too widely on resolutions, I aimed small: curtail superfluous spending, try to eat better, try to work out, make it through law school semester #2. Did I succeed? Yes and no.  I’m not sure how the spending went in January in particular, but it’s certainly something I need to keep track of in general – we do an abysmal job of regulating dining out and such, and it’s always good to be more mindful, especially when you have a small person in the house who seems to accumulate stuff magnetically.  I’ve actually started working out in the last week (3 yoga classes in 5 days!), and signed up for my Mac membership, so we’ll see if that habit can stick.

New Resolutions for this year? I’d like to keep going to yoga, and fit into all of the clothes that are currently borderline.  I’d like to clean out my house and give everything I can to charity, and effectively track my work expenses such that I can do my 2010 taxes accurately.  I’d like to be as involved with K as I can, and focus on being an involved, educational, and fun parent.  I’d like to succeed at law school, and work towards a permanent job that I enjoy.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

We had two friends who had babies this year, both girls: baby Evelyn and baby Brennan, and I could not be more excited.  I think that B would like me to stop buying baby presents, but as long as I trade off with stuff I otherwise would have bought for K and brought into the house, I figure I’m doing okay.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not that I can think of.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just this one, and just Minnesota within this one except for a jaunt to Chicago for a job interview and a trip to Nebraska to visit family.  This year has been the definition of close to home.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

A better sense of how much work is necessary to get done in order to succeed, and when I’ve gone over the curve into diminishing returns territory.  A house that’s clean enough to be able to keep up rather than always feeling like I’m one toy disaster away from apocalyptic.  Enough suits to make it through a whole week at work, should it be necessary.  A student loan balance that is getting smaller rather than larger (unlikely!).  An organizational system for K’s room.  A blog with all the archives up and updated.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Does it count as etched if I have to look it up on Google Calendar?  June 1 was when I started an awesome summer job.  May 13 was K’s first birthday.  June 26 was my fifth wedding anniversary, which we actually celebrated in September with a night away and a trip to see Patton Oswalt.  I started the third semester of law school on September 9, and December 25 felt like K’s first real Christmas, since she was too little to really understand it last year.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Probably all on the law school front-  making the law review, getting and enjoying a summer job, interviewing for and accepting a job I think will be fascinating for next summer.  Not collapsing during finals.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Probably maintaining the rest of my life in the face of law school and work.  I am not happy with my weight/health habits, and I should probably sleep, and maybe there should be something else going on in my life?  We’re working on it.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I got a cold this year right after the semester end, which K currently still has, but other than that, it’s been a pretty healthy year.  I credit the nursing (through August, anyways), since K and I both got sick almost not at all during her first 15 months.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I can’t remember a whole lot specifically that we bought this year.  We bought a new entertainment center, which has helped a ton with K taking DVDs out or breaking DVD players.   We also bought a portable DVD player for K to watch Signing Time on, which has thus far succeeded in surviving longer thn the previous incarnations, probably because there’s no slide out thing for K to break.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

This section is just the B* thank you section, I think.  I dare you to find a better parent.  He even does the laundry.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

No one in my personal life, really.  In the political world, I think my biggest anger this year probably is directed at people who defend Roman Polanski.  My feelings are about summed up here.  Oh, and the willingness of politicians to continually sell out women in the name of political expediency and supposedly larger political goals.  I spent like four hours yelling near Moody about that at Thanksgiving II.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Sadly, probably mostly to Gymboree, because someone has a teeny tiny addiction to cute baby clothes.  That and the Starbucks.

15. What did you get really excited about?

Have I mentioned I’m generally excitable?  This year, I think the biggest excitement came from: making the law review,

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

Probably “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo, sad as that is, because I listed to it for like a full month on repeat and B thinks it’s funny.  Plus it was on SYTYCD like 8 times.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? I think about the same.  I’m generally pretty happy, if a little stressed out. Happy the debate season’s over, excited for next semester.
– thinner or fatter? Definitely fatter.  Trying to fix that, though.
– richer or poorer? Probably poorer.  This two weeks before I get student loan money for second semester probably aren’t the best judge, though.  Plus I think I have less student loan debt than last year. (Well,  I paid off one undergrad loan.  I also obtained more law school debt, but I don’t really count that because I knew it was coming, if you know what I mean – I guess what I’m saying is that I have less debt than I would if I hadn’t devoted my summer job money to paying down one loan.)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Yoga.  I’ve gone to some classes this week and it has been spectacular, if really sweaty.  I hate that I always feel better if I can just get my butt in gear.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Probably yelling at B about cleaning, and endlessly looping through the interwebs in an effort to procrastinate on doing my homework.  If I could just harness my down time, I think I’d be golden.  Realistically I know that my brain needs some rest, but I feel like I could clean to let my brain rest instead of checking blogs I only like for their trainwreck factor.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

We did our annual three-part Christmas.  We were supposed to go to Lincoln to see my family on the 26th, but ended up staying home because of the Snowpocalypse of 2009.  B spent most of the week yelling about the inability of the city of Saint Paul to plow adequately.  I would have liked to go, honestly, but it’s been nice having a few days to slow down, get in the habit of going to a yoga class, and be sick without being in the car.  It would have SUCKED to have K in Lincoln as sick as she’s been for the past couple of days.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

Not with anything new.  I am getting re-excited about my debate job, though, with a new boss and some new projects.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Glee, for sure.  The amount of TV I watch outside of old episodes of the West Wing continues to shrink, but this year, I kept up with: Glee, Survivor, Big Brother, and Top Chef.  I am a sucker for ridiculous musicals and faux hipster irony, so Glee is this year’s victor by a long shot.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don’t think so.  I don’t really hate people.  I also think I’m getting even more cuturally relativist, if that was possible.

24. What was the best book you read?

I cannot recall a single book that I read that wasn’t for law school or a romance novel.  The best thing I read part of was Mother Nature, a book about maternal instinct that I read for the breastfeeding chapters and which I would really like to read comprehensively.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I don’t know if this counts as a discovery, but we went to what was supposed to be a Kelly Clarkson concert on my birthday, and then she canceled, so we got the tickets refunded and a free Eric Hutchinson show, which turned out to be awesome.  He played his whole CD (he only has one, so it was pretty much necessary to fill an hour and a half), was funny, and did a great job.  B got the album for me and I’ve been listening to the whole thing ever since.

26. What did you want and get?

A job?  For Christmas: a cleaning service to come in a couple of weeks, some awesome clogs, and a baby who enjoyed every minute.  In general: the chance to go to school in something I really enjoy, and support from all corners.

27. What did you want and not get?

Honestly, nothing I can think of.  I’m really lucky.  Maybe more time in the day and a way for B to coach debate like he wants without having to be alone on the weekends that he travels.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

As far as I know, I didn’t see any movies in the theater in 2009, and only one or two at home.  Mamma Mia (which we watched the other day) was not very good.  We watched Tropic Thunder over the summer and I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t my favorite. I re-watched the Cutting Edge the other night, and it was lovely.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 29.  B and I went to the State Fair while K went to his mom’s house, and had a lovely time walking around and riding the ferris wheel, a tradition I like to keep even though I think I’m going to puke every time I go on it.  The Eric Hutchinson concert was at the State Fair that night.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More hours in the day? Honestly, I love everything I’m doing, I just wish there was more time to do it in.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

Dressed up for work, ever-closer-to-slovenly the rest of the time.I got so good at blow-drying my hair during the summer, it’s just such a pain in the butt to keep it up.

32. What kept you sane?

K, and sleep, and B saving my butt time after time.  Reading the interwebs.  Playing on Facebook.  My mom delivering food and cookies to my house.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Man, do I not care about famous people anymore.  I think the best thing I ever did was unsubscribe from Us Weekly, because I don’t keep track with my limited time and I don’t care.   I still have a soft spot for Toby on the West Wing.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

I’m pretty consistent on the gender/reproductive rights front.  I’m more interested in arcs of Constitutional Law and their relation to rights than I was a year ago.

35. Who did you miss?

Everyone who I would have liked to see after 7PM when I was trapped inside the house reading law books instead.  The Rochester debate team especially.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Did I meet anyone new this year?  I don’t really think so.  I’ve gotten to know a couple of folks better, especially through UDL work, which has been great.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

Let’s see: relying on your life maxim that everything that has to get done will get done is good but not an excuse not to get stuff done because you can do it later – that philosophy leads to all nighters, which suck.  Also, you are less productive during episodes of the West Wing than you think.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“Ok it’s alright with me some things are just meant to be
it never comes easily and when it does i’m already gone
i’m practically never still more likely to move until i end up alone at will
my life continues inching along” – Eric Hutchinson

The best things are worth the work, you know?

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