2016: a year in review

1. What did you do in 2016 that you’d never done before?

• Moved to the Pacific Northwest
• Started a software developer bootcamp
• Started learning poi (I'm still awful)
• Worked my last wedding
• Went to a concert by myself
• Agreed to be a bridesmaid

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

I don't make resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No one super close, but I have one friend with a rapidly approaching due date.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, but far too many people not close to me did.

5. What countries did you visit?

None, sadly.

6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?

More travel to other countries.

7. What date from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 8th - it's the day that Ada started.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Getting accepted to Ada.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not getting the internship company I wanted.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Tickets home for Christmas. I missed my family, friends, and pets a lot.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Ian's. I still can't believe that he's handled my being away for a year as well as he has, and that he's willing to move wherever I find a job after I graduate. He's my rock. Home is where he is.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Those who voted for Trump. I don't understand how millions of people could get behind a platform of so much hate.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Putting a new roof on our Pittsburgh home.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Ada.

16. What song will always remind you of 2016?

Weirdly, "Father Figure" by George Michael. It's be running through my head nonstop since he died.

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

• Fatter or thinner: Fatter.
• Richer or poorer: About the same.
• Happier or less happy: About the same.

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

Seeing Ian and my pets.

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

Ordering take-out. It's delicious, but expensive and unhealthy. Alas, not having a kitchen in Seattle greatly affects that goal.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Ian and I went to Nat and Laura's and we ate a ridiculous quantity of food with their kids. It was fantastic and exactly what I needed.

21. Did you fall in love in 2016?

Over and over again with the same person.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I like all of the NCIS variants and Code Black.

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

Trump.

24. What was the best book you read?

This wasn't a good year for book reading, unless it's a nerdy computer programming language book.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery of 2016?

I am so, so ashamed, but Bieber isn't as offensive as I'd initially thought.

26. What did you want and get?

Admission to Ada.

27. What did you want and not get?

The internship company I wanted.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Deadpool

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

I turned 38. Because CMU's Carnival happens over my birthday, we never really do anything specifically for my birthday. This year, though, there was a Sigma Nu reunion dinner on my actual birthday, which was cromulent. More meaningful, though, was that the Mercers scheduled their son's birthday party for a day that I could attend, which was the weekend before my birthday. That was incredibly awesome of them.

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

Seeing more of Ian and my pets.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?

Lazy.

32. What kept you sane?

Facetime.

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

I don't know that "fancy" is the right word, but I'm really going to miss Obama.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Trump and his platform of hatred.

35. Who did you miss?

Ian.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Alex.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016:

Despite being married, I can still get by on my own, but Ian is home. Being away from him is way harder than I thought it would be.