I attended a national conference in Las Vegas in April, and another national conference in Fort Lauderdale in November. Other than that, I stayed close to home.
I still cannot believe I didn't catch anything working our client's national conference this year. 😷
What dates from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 29, 2022 – The day Roxie crossed the rainbow bridge.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d made more of an effort to send birthday, Christmas and general holiday cards. I think about how much I love to receive them, and I really should return the favor.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Spent a lot less time dicking around on Instagram reels.
How did you spend Christmas?
This year was the second year in a row that my father-in-law and I got to make good on our threat and watch Death Wish instead of going to Christmas mass.
Holy crap, these movies are so bad, they’re good.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Professionally, it was a difficult year- there was a lot going on, and for the first time, I was the one that was “in charge.” I think I handled it pretty well, all things considered.
What was your biggest failure?
The times where I knew that I was going to have to overcome my own executive dysfunction, could have set up scaffolding to help me over those hurdles, and I didn’t. I copped out. Which is not to say that I’m not giving myself grace about it; but I knew I could have done things to set myself up when I did have the mental energy to do so, and I didn’t. Recovering from “just scraping by” is always a complete mess, and there is still some fallout that I’m dealing with, that I didn’t have to.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
I did end up succumbing to COVID-19 when I came back from a national conference in April. Also had some end-of-year munge.
What was the best thing you bought?
Not bought, but Flo has been a wonderful addition to our home after we said goodbye to Rox. We waited about 4 months, had no intentions of looking to grow our home, but she kind of “fell into our laps.” The house was too quiet without a little creature waiting for you to feed them.
What did you want and get?
At this point in my life, I get the things I want.
What did you want and not get?
There are graveyards upon graveyards of online shopping “Saved for Later” and “Wishlist” items. And truly, it’s for the better that I didn’t get them.
Who did you miss?
Roxie. To this day, I miss the RoxBox.
Who was the best new person you met?
Met a few people this year in life, from Twitter, mostly. K and we added Ess to our now-triumvirate, so that’s probably the best new person we met.
Where did most of your money go?
The usual: the mortgage, the HELOC, paid off a car, installed new floors, bought a new car. Spent a lot less on dining out, a lot less on makeup than years past.
Most-played music of 2022?
This is probably where having a Spotify account would probably serve me well. I listened to a lot of Lo-fi on Pandora while I was working.
Podcasts in 2022:
Bigtime culling of podcasts in the last two years. The only subscriptions I have now are:
I basically stopped listening to The Dork Forest because it would no longer update on Google podcasts, and I can’t care more than the podcaster does, so….
I was also listening to The Jackie and Laurie Show until Laurie went on a rant about how ungrateful the subscribers were, and I didn’t feel like I had to consume content from someone that couldn’t stand me.
Smartest Man in the World isn’t the same when podcasting from his home office, so I dropped that.
What was your favorite TV program?
I’ve long given up on keeping up with TV. I did finally make two airplane trips this year (thanks, COVID), and I got mostly caught up on all of the Bosch that I save for flights.
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed The Hunt for Red October. I cannot think of any other movies that were new (or new to me) that I watched in 2022.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022.
1. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
March 17th – I turned 33 this year.
Spent the day celebrating a St. Patrick’s Day potluck at work, and then out to dinner with Charlie at Burntwood Tavern in Fairlawn. K, Kenny, Charlie, my parents and I went out to celebrate K’s and my joint birthday at Gigi’s and The Speakeasy.
Joint birthday celebration with K.
2. Did anyone close to you die?
I lost two wonderful people this year: DadZ’s friend, Rob Smith, on Valentine’s Day, and Hooman’s wife, Vera, to metastatic breast cancer in July.
I also read Nemesis, by Jo Nesbø, but I had a hard time getting into it, and finishing it. I think I’m done with the Harry Hole mysteries. I don’t think I have the patience for them.
7. What was your favorite film of this year?
Book of Life, and it was absolutely my favorite film.
I celebrated paying off one of my student loans by using the payment for a pair of Randolph Aviators. You may recognize them from this fine piece of television.
Most notable is the development of my makeup and skincare hobby. I subscribed to a buttload of YouTube channels and started becoming very particular about the stuff I slathered on my face.
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn’t actively make any New Year’s Resolutions for 2016. I’m not sure that it was a good or a bad thing. I lived the vast majority of this year in “Reaction” Mode. 2017 is going to be better, and I have a loose idea of things I want to get done, but I haven’t formalized it into any cohesive plan.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
3/17 – I turned 32 this year.
The day of, I attended an LGA SHRM luncheon (I’m the VP of Programs). The Saturday after, MomZ, DadZ, Charlie, K and I went to dinner at The Standard, and then hung out after.
I didn’t lose anyone close to me, but two of my former co-workers lost a parent (or in-law). And of course, according to Internet Lore, 2016 will be the year that we, collectively, lost some of our best and brightest. Alan Rickman’s death sucked particularly for me because he died of Pancreatic Cancer.
What vacations/trips did you take?
April – Trip with Charlie to Toledo, OH so he could complete his 3rd marathon, the Glass City Marathon.
August – Traveled with Binkles down to Jeffersonville, IN for his job interview.
What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
More ambition, more sense of accomplishment, more books read, more artwork done.
What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
So, the very tidy version of this story was that I lost my job on August 1, 2016. I knew it was coming, and had been forewarned of it about 2 months in advance. Those 2 leading months and the day of were –head and shoulders above anything else –the worst days of the year. It was a mostly tidy split, but it was completely full of angst, and the ripples from that thrown stone continue to lap up on shore.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
For me, it will be not losing my dignity through the unemployment process, and holding out for what has turned into the perfect job for me.
What was your biggest failure?
Being let go from my job. I know that there was nothing that I could have done to change the outcome (and believe me, I really, really tried), but there is still something incredibly demoralizing to be told you’re no longer wanted.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
I got the cursory New Job Munge that I always get when starting a new job (I basically suffered for an entire month). This was also the year I finally got my conch piercing, so an adjacent-to-self-inflicted injury.
Whose behavior merited celebration [Hero of the Year]?
I passed on this particular toast at Yule this year, and I’m going to still take a knee. In the two weeks since Yule, no one rose to the top.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
All of the people who decided to vote for Trump even after he displayed all of the values that I think are wrong for the future of this nation. Do I think that all Trump voters are racist misogynists? Of course not. But I’m disappointed that those ideals were not deal-breakers for those voters.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
In short, yes. And said person utterly deserves it.
Who did you miss?
I find myself constantly missing my co-workers at the Old Job. I miss those daily conversation, the 2.5 years worth of lived-in jokes. I did not intend to become as close as I did with them, but I did, and I miss them.
Who was the best new person you met?
New person? Probably Miss Lys, even though we’d been orbiting each other for a couple of years. I think she and I made a more concerted effort to develop our friendship, and it has been a good thing.
What was the best thing you bought?
In DC, MomZ and I went shopping (as is our hobby), and I found a beautiful pebbled-leather Coach bag at the Coach store. I bought it, saying to MomZ, “Do not let me open this until I get my new job.” I’d heard the week before we left for the trip that the writing was on the wall for me at Old Job.
That Coach purse became my reward for finding my new job. The Coach store delivered the purse to NeuZiffelhaus, and MomZ kept it in her closet for 4 months. On October 6, I accepted the offer for my new job, and celebrated being able to reward and comfort myself after a shitty, shitty summer.
Where did most of your money go?
Top expense was the mortgage for The Apiary, and then paying down the debt from improvements on The Apiary. This had not changed from 2015. I also don’t anticipate that changing in 2017.
What did you get really excited about?
Our wedding was pretty exciting.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder? Happier, in so many ways. I feel like the sun is coming up again.
Thinner or fatter? Fatter, I think?
Richer or poorer? Richer, both literally and metaphorically.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading fiction. I didn’t get through nearly as many fiction books as I wanted to. I wish I’d spent more time creating Zentangles, and learning lettering. I’m going to try to improve that for next year.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Mindless social media surfing.
Did you fall in love in 2016?
In a matter of speaking, I finally made an honest man out of Charlie, so there was the public declaration of love and other gross smoochy stuff.
Here is the entire list of books I read/listened to in 2016. I would have to say that the very best was Leah Remini’s memoir, Troublemaker. I listed to her read it, which I think made it better. And it prompted me to read Going Clear.
In addition to that, I read a bunch of blinks to figure out if I wanted to read the full version. Here’s what I blinked in 2016.
I really am not a sit-and-watch-a-movie person anymore, but I caught Straight Outta Compton, and Zootopia on Netflix with Charlie. Zootopia was great. The rest were thumbs meh.
I’m digging through my 2016 Mix playlist, and there’s not anything that’s jumping out to me as OMG the BEST!
The top-listened to songs are:
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, by Taylor Swift
Ways to Go by Grouplove
Hang with Me (Acoustic) by Robyn
Elastic Heart by Sia
Talking Body by Tove Lo
I’m Not Part of Me by Cloud Nothings
What did you want and get?
A long-time want that I finally got was my conch piercing. My MIL gave it to me as a Christmas present. She asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I impulsively said, “I’ve always wanted my conch pierced. Would you be wiling to take me to get it done?” And then it got scheduled and happened.
It ached and throbbed the day I had it pierced, and was tender for about 4 days after. Now, I don’t even know it’s there, unless I ram my finger into it when I’m blow-drying my hair. Then, I want to die.
What did you want and not get?
I wanted the opportunity to be the one to declare the split from the Old Job first. I did not get to do that.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
I have put on about 30 pounds in the last three years. None of the clothing I’ve purchased previously to 2016 fits. 2016 Fashion is anything that fits, and it’s not much. So I’m sticking to a few staple pieces that have become a uniform — it’s hard to unlearn 12 years of Catholic school.
But at the same time, it makes it so easy to get out the door, especially now that I’m working out at the Rec Center before work. Jeans/Slacks and a crepe top? Perfect.
January to August: my Betabrand yoga pants in varying colors, and some kind of blouse.
August to October: jeans and a tee shirt.
October to December: Betabrand yoga pants or jeans and a blouse.
Fashion Forecast for 2017 is working these 30 pounds off, maintaining a very simple wardrobe, maybe moving into more of a morbid fashion style, and a lot of accessories.
What kept you sane?
During my Funemployment – spending time painting pottery at my friend’s studio while bartering my marketing wares.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I developed a fancy for Mads Mikkelson, which, to be fair, had been blossoming since Casino Royale, but grew with Hannibal. I’m not sure that Doctor Strange did anything major for it, and according to Miss Lys, Rogue One won’t really either. [Update: I saw Rogue One between writing the draft and making edits – Miss Lys was right.] But dude: that Death Stranding preview? :.fans self.:
What political issue stirred you the most?
What a year for that question, amirite?
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016.
Not everyone’s advice is given with the best intentions.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go. So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why: It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time.
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end is right, I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs and still frames in your mind. Hang it on a shelf in Good Health and Good Time. Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial. For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while.
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end is right, I hope you had the time of your life.
It’s time for the 3rd Annual StyckyWycket look-back. I’m recapping the year with a series of 27 questions, that really get to the meat of what happened. For other year-end recaps:
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? Attended my first Lebowskifest.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I tried starting a second Day Zero Project, but to be honest, my heart wasn’t really in it. I couldn’t even find 101 things that I wanted to to. It was the perfect project for me three years ago, but I don’t think it’s as applicable today. For 2012, I’m going to scrap the Project, but have a small list of things that I want to get done in 2012. But, as far as “resolutions” go, I don’t have any nebulous ones.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No one close to me, that I talk to on a regular basis, but two of my fellow high school classmates did.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one close to me, thank god-particle. But the husband of my mother’s friend passed away very suddenly, and I get very sad every time I think about it.
5. What countries did you visit?
I stayed stateside again this year, but plans are in the works to head to Niagara Falls this year…like last year. We’ll see how that pans out, I guess.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
More disposable income. More financial security. A better attitude and more patience and self-confidence.
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The end of July, because I got to meet a long-time, transnational heretofore-only-by-internet friend and his wife as they toured the United States.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting myself into a personal training regime, and also seeing a therapist bi-weekly. Both have done wonders for my body and mind.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Biggest failure? Probably squandering opportunities I didn’t see for what they were, I guess. I realize that it’s a nebulous answer, but I don’t have anything that sticks out right now.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Two bouts of strep throat in a year, which blew majorly. Also, the various strains and sprains of working out with improper form.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Probably the fee I paid for the Zentangle class I took this summer. I really enjoyed the gateway it opened up for me.
12. Where did most of your money go?
A toss up between the basic bills (added a car payment to the mix at the end of 2010), and continuing to pay down debt.
14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
The only real music that I listened to this year were songs off of my workout playlist. Everything else was podcast or audio-book related. I can tell you the songs that I loved hearing when they came up, though: Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros GimmeSympathy, Metric Help, I’m Alive, Metric Young Blood, The Naked and Famous Teenage Dream, Katy Perry Creature, Phantods Dog Days are Over, Florence + The Machine Don’t Cry Out, Shiny Toy Guns Club Can’t Handle Me, Flo Rida
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? Getting happier.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter, I think, but much, much stronger.
– richer or poorer? Still pretty cash poor, but I’m doing better than last year.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d spent more time making art. I also wish I’d spent more time actually studying for the classes I was in, rather than trying to cram in everything in the last three weeks. That would have made life a lot easier….
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying about what other people thought.
18. What was your favorite TV program?
I discovered the Cooking Channel, and Simply Baking is one of the only cooking shows that’s gone on my DVR, so I think that says a lot. So, when I did have time to watch TV, that’s what I lazy-watched. Of course, Justified came back for season 2, so I watched that religiously.
20. What was your favorite music (podcast) from this year?
I listened to a lot of Nerdist and Extra Hot Great podcasts: I think those stayed on my iPod and got listened to religiously throughout the year.
21. What were your favorite films of the year?
I loved seeing True Grit, and also really liked Sherlock Holmes.
22. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I celebrated with a good friend of mine a joint birthday at Lola. I turned 27.
23. Who was the best new person you met? I got to “meet” a lot of people this year, but the vast majority were not physical, and the one I finally “met” in person, I’ve known for 13 years. So, the best new person I met physically, this year, without knowing previously, was probably Sunshine.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Probably better documentation of my year as it went by: more pictures, more blog posts. It’s easier to remember when you have pictures and words. Breaking my spender would have helped out, too.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Jeans, Woot Shirt, long-sleeved undershirt, and boots on casual days. Business casual-to-almost-formal at the office. Dark denim, boots, and jackets on up-dressed days. Very few dresses.
26. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Don’t feel the troll.
It’s time for the 2nd Annual StyckWycket look-back. I’m recapping the year with a series of 27 questions, that really get to the meat of what happened. I also completed this survey at the end of 2009.
I followed along with Linda’s example and used the updated questions format as my example.
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I got through a little more than 50% of my Day Zero Project. The goals that I really felt committed to when I wrote them, I stuck with. The ones that I used as filler fell by the wayside, much as I expected they would.
I really enjoyed having 101 things to do in 1001 days, so I’m definitely going to start a new Day Zero project in the beginning of 2011.
Some of the things I want to do next year include more day-tripping, getting better at and more committed to photographing and documenting my experiences, and doing more creating.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not anyone close to me, no.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not close to me, personally, but someone who’d been in my life on a fairly regular basis when I was a kid died of a brain tumor this year. She had been sick for a long time, and I only heard about her occasionally from my mother, but it was still very sad when she died.
Also, as of writing this, I found out that a beloved member of my office passed away after a short battle with cancer. It was a pretty steep decline. Everyone is pretty bummed. He will be missed.
5. What countries did you visit?
I stayed stateside this year…again. And honestly, for the foreseeable future, unless The Boy and I go to Niagara Falls next year.
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A lot more drive to do the things I need to do to get where I want to be in life. I feel like this is a recurring theme.
7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
My trip to Atlanta in May, finishing my first 5K in June, celebrating my one-year, quit-smoking anniversary on November 8.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
It’s a tie between actually finishing my 5K, and making it an entire year without smoking. Never in my life did I actually conceptualize that both things would be a reality for me.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting my fear and complacence control so much of what I do. Had I been more brave, had I been more determined, a great many things would have been different this year.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Mostly my recovery from Lasik surgery. I also had strep for the first time in 10 years in December.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Hands-down, Lasik surgery. I would say that I wish I had done it sooner, but the payment was a perfect storm of a decent bonus, and a funding of my FSA at work. I wouldn’t have had this opportunity sooner.
12. Where did most of your money go?
To debt payment. 35% of my paycheck went to paying off my consumer debt, and I’m making $500-a-month headway on my MK debt.
13. What did you get really excited about?
I got really excited about my trip to Atlanta in May. I went with a good work friend, and found out we make good travel companions. I’m hoping I get to do some other small things with her in the future.
14. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Any of the songs that The Boy shared with me from CD101 this year. Stuff from Fanfarlo; Peter, Bjorn and John; Phoneix; Silversun Pickups; Hockey; Mumford & Sons; Broken Bells; Passion Pit.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? Pretty much on-par with last year.
– thinner or fatter? Thinner, but definitely not strong.
– richer or poorer? I’m pretty cash poor, but my net worth is going up, I got a raise this year, and in addition to paying off debt, I’m socking away tons of money into different investment accounts.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish that I had gone with my impulses more. This means more traveling on a whim, done more to advance my career, been more creative.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Navel-gazing, as always.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
With The Boy’s family on Christmas Eve, and my family on Christmas day.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
Justified, hands down. I’m really geeked for it to come back.
Everything on CD101, that I can listen to now through my new phone using TuneIn Radio.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
I loved Easy A so much I saw it twice, and I really liked The Town.
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I love it: the year I turned the age I was dying to be, and I don’t remember what the hell I did for it…
Wait, no: The Boy took me to see Alice in Wonderland, and I think out to dinner.
I already have plans to take myself to Lola next year, and do something a little more special, just for me.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Both having more discretionary income, and living in the same goddamn zipcode as The Boy. Both of those things would make my year immeasurably more satisfying next year, too.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Jeans and a sweatshirt at home. I did break out a little more at work and started dressing more artsy. I plan on continuing this trend into 2011.
26. What kept you sane?
Being able to take time to read, and having my decompression time at home.
27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
For Chrissakes: if it feels like you should be doing it, go do it, and don’t stop until you’ve done it!
The Blog of JulZ 