You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Made a life change that was absolutely for ME and no one else. That has felt pretty damn good.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make them, but I'm considering a few for 2009.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
As always, when you work in a church preschool area (which I did for 6 1/2 months of this year), I knew women in the church who had kiddoes. ETA: AND OF COURSE p1aceboeffect, katinka31 and moeyknight - DUH!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Depends what you mean by close. Close enough to have attended their funeral? Sure, that happened over the Christmas holidays.

5. What countries did you visit?
Dude, I feel like I visit most of Latin American and some of Africa just walking through my new neighborhood. :P But technically no.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A finished screenplay that I can show someone.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 4, 11pm EST - Barack Hussein Obama is the next President of the United States of America

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Stepping away from a co-dependent working situation and making a huge move to NYC.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I know what it is, but I can't talk about it.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No injuries, but I did have two wicked bouts of stomach bleargh, one of them starting on Christmas Eve.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new Macbook. Still love my Dell, but I can actually CARRY the Mac places.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Too many to list properly.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
In no particular order, and none of these are meant as equals/parallels/comparisons of any of the others: VP Cheney, John McCain, Sarah Palin, terrorists, fearmongers in the media, whoever decided to do that 9/11 "tribute" video at the RNC, and the anti-Prop-8-ers in California.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The NY transition, basically.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The election and living in NY.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
- the entire soundtrack of In the Heights
- "Get Back" by Ludacris
- "Dancing Queen" by the cast of Mamma Mia!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder?
Happier.

ii. Thinner or fatter?
I think a little thinner.

iii. Richer or poorer?
I'll get back to you on that.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing, cooking at home

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

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Dude, that was last week. But I spent it with family in TN.

23. How many one-night stands?
*splorf*

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Show, and the Colbert Report

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't hate people. Except maybe Ann Coulter, but that's from way back. :P

26. What was the best book you read?
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
In the Heights - no para, sigue, sigue!

28. What did you want and get?
A ticket to BNAT and a President-Elect Obama

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
If we're talking favorite, which is personal and not necessarily the same as what I think the best film was, I've got to go with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had a blast at Jekyll & Hyde's in the Village with rhrsoulmates and our waiter, Robert Downey, Jr. :P I was 33.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Would I be terribly embarrassed to be seen in NY wearing this?

34. What kept you sane?
All of you! *gives you all the terrorist fist bump* And Keith, Rachel, Jon and Stephen election-wise.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Dan Radcliffe and Robert Downey, Jr.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election, duh.

37. Who did you miss?
Mah Nashville peeps.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Couldn't say.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Oddly, I think Hillary Clinton put it best when she quoted Harriet Tubman in her DNC speech: "Keep going."

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Stop worrying where you're going ... move on. (Dot, Sunday in the Park with George)

*********

In other news, I am currently at work on New Year's Eve, in a building that is on Broadway, between 47th and 48th Streets. So that's pretty much right where the action is. I had to have a signed letter from the law firm to show to the cops to get past the barricade. Right now, I can hear faint traces (getting less and less *faint* actually) of the live music and crowds out the window.

I had a good Christmas break, despite getting sick on Christmas Eve, and despite attending a funeral a few days later. Thanks to lunalovepotter, rhrsoulmates, mrs_bombadil and peachespig, helianthemum and the peachespiglet for the holiday cards.

I saw my last film of 2008 last night, which was The Wrestler. Being a one-time fangirl of Mickey Rourke, I can't tell you how happy it makes me to state confidently that I believe he is definitely getting an Oscar for Best Actor this year. There is no doubt in my mind. I can't remember the last time I saw a performance that raw and painful and real and gobsmackingly awesome. Seriously. I'd stack him against Daniel Day-Lewis's There Will Be Blood performance and Forest Whitaker's Last King of Scotland performance any day of the week, and no one else in 2008 even comes close.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!