What was 2007

There is this guy in Buffalo whose blog I read regularly. He does this quiz he got from somewhere every year. I'm trying it on, seeing if it fits.

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

If I made any for 2007, I don't remember. Usually, I try to avoid meetings and I failed at that, which made me verklempt at times.
For 2008, I'll try to be more "in the moment" rather than "in my head". Whatever that means.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

I think my friend and former co-worker Mary Beth had her daughter this year. Time sometimes is fuzzy.

Did anyone close to you die?
My wife's Aunt Vera, who I liked. A couple people from church, John Scott and Elizabeth Naismith, the latter from the choir. But there were two people who died this year that I was once very close to, back in high school, but I hadn't seen in over 15 years, John Kinsley and George Hasbrouck.

What countries did you visit?

Barely visited this one (USA).

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

More rest. An office with walls.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Don't know. Posted every day in 2007. Can't tell if that's a good thing or not; I do know that it is fueled in no small part by the thought that if I were to stop for any appreciable time, I might not come back to it, and THAT would disappoint me greatly. Sometimes, I feel that just putting one foot in front of the other was a major achievement.

What was your biggest failure?

Not following through on a couple tasks.

What was the best thing you bought?

The thing that brought me most joy is a Billboard book of top pop albums.

Whose behavior merited celebration?

Bill Moyers, Dennis Kucinich, Keith Olbermann, David Kacyzinski, the New Jersey legislature for banning the death penalty, the New Hampshire legislature for allowing civil unions, the city of Charlotte, NC for starting light rail in the past couple months.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

W and Cheney; the wuss Democratic Congress, especially Nancy Pelosi, who took impeachment off the table, and Harry Reid, who decided that he wasn't even going to call a vote unless he had 60 votes - hey, let the Republicans actually filibuster rather than yielding to the threat of one; the AMPTP a/k/a the TV moguls; anyone who, in believing that there's no global warming, or that it's naturally occurring, has decided that we can be as wasteful as ever - and a few cold days in a row is not proof that global warming is a myth; the Republican candidates for President, but especially Mitt Romney, who seems to be able to say just about anything to get elected - but lost in Iowa - ha!; the New York State legislature, inefficient as ever, and Governor Spitzer, who wasted precious political capital to no good end.

Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage, increased taxes, day care, gas and food. I'm convinced that food won't be relatively cheap again for some time, if ever.

What did you get really excited about?

Other than my daughter's development, not that much.

What song will always remind you of 2007?

"Old Dan Tucker" by Springsteen.

Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?

Not happier.

Thinner or fatter?

Well, I lost some weight but gained most of it back. So thinner, but not much.

Richer or poorer?

I feel poorer. My wife does the budget, and things were definitely tighter. In addition to the other stuff that went up, the co-pays on my health insurance were bumped up. That extra $5 on each Rx or doctor's visit added up.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Reading, seeing movies, getting massages, sleeping.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

Well, I should have taken more days off from work for ME, not just family vacations, but Roger days.

How will you be spending Christmas?

Well, Christmas is past, but it was at our house for the first time since before we were married.

Did you fall in love in 2007?

There's a Supremes song, "Keep falling in and out of love." More with my wife and daughter and some people, less with some others.

How many one-night stands?

I KNEW there was something I forgot to do.

What was your favorite TV program?

Returning: The Office. New: Pushing Daisies.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

As I've said, quoting Lyle Lovett, "I love everybody. Especially you."

What was the best book you read?

Undoubtedly, it was The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism by John Nichols.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Greg Burgas threw some obscure Supremes song on a mixed CD; that hmay have been a couple years ago, but I'm still digging it. Tosy had a song done by Audra McDonald that I like. I'm loving my Lennon anthology.

What did you want and get?

A Hess truck - big wheels! World Almanac. Lennon, Starr, Springsteen, other music.

What did you want and not get?

A thriving federal and/or state government that responds to the people.

What were your favorite films of this year?

Requires a separate post, so I have time to figure out the paucity of films I actually saw in 2007.

What did you do on your birthday?

Took off from work, per usual.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Laissez-faire.

What kept you sane?

That assumes facts not in evidence. Assuming this is true: racquetball. Perhaps, the blog, and the people I know through it.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Jenna Fischer (born March 7), Judd Apatow.

What political issue stirred you the most?

Oh, it varied. Probably the death penalty, though global warming was up there.

Who did you miss?

Mr. Rogers.

Who was the best new person you met?

There's a couple folks in my work building who make a dreadful place slightly less so.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007

There is no privacy. Sometimes bugging city hall DOES work. Collectively, the national Democrats are not as evil as the national Republicans, but they're far more lame. Prayer works sometimes, so be careful what you ask for. A diet without ice cream is pointless. I am a tactile person (actually, I knew that last one already).

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year

In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down,
Or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
But the fighter still remains, still remains.

So there's always next year. Wait, this IS "next year".
***
Mark Evanier was looking for this article in the New York Times which I couldn't find. Because it was in the Wall Street Journal. Any librarian will tell you that happens a lot: a request for info with just one piece of the puzzle off.

ROG