Looking Back... Looking Forward

I borrowed this from my good friend, Ky.  I was inspired by her blog post and thought that I would do the same...

1.  What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
    I rode in an ambulance.  I was in the Emergency Room in the hospital (twice).  I began teaching in the Honors Curriculum.

2.  Did you keep your New Years' resolutions and will you make more for 2013?
    I did!  They weren't that tough to keep.  This year's have already been made.  They will be much more challenging to maintain and they are all about personal and internal growth.  So, I won't be sharing them here!

3.  Did anyone close to you give birth?
    Tony and Lex (brother and sister-in-law) welcomed Mia to the world.  She's so cute!
    Melissa and Brian welcomed little Cooper to the world.  He's the sweetest little thing!
    My cousin Marcie gave birth to a little daughter.
    A few friends announced pregnancies.

4.  Did anyone close to you die?
    Not in 2012, but our neighbor's son, Ricky, passed away in December of 2011.  It feels so recent that it was pretty crazy to see the 1-year anniversary come and go in 2012.

5.  What countries/states did you visit?
     Pennsylvania (on a daily basis!), Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., New York, Wyoming, North Carolina, Hawai'i, Mexico.

6.  What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
     A doctoral degree!  Some free time after work to enjoy my life!

7.  What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
     June 3 - this was the day that I crashed out of the Liberty Classic and had my first ambulance ride!
     November 6 - the day that the most contentious election in recent history ended.

8.  What was your biggest achievement of the year?
    Being accepted to a major conference in the Netherlands and getting 2 of 3 dissertation chapters approved!

9.  What was your biggest failure?
    Not getting the Introduction and Conclusion written for my dissertation.  Losing touch with who I am (briefly) during a stressful time.

10.  Did you suffer illness or injury?
     Oh yeah... tore two major muscles in my shoulder after crashing at the Liberty Classic.  I now have some beautiful scars from crashing in cross races, including the 5 stitches from Iron Cross.

11.  What was the best thing you bought?
     My Zipp race wheels - which got busted at the Liberty Classic.
     Plane tickets to the Netherlands for the conference!!

12.  Whose behavior merited celebration?
     My mom and dad.  They boldly packed up their lives and moved across the country.  Since doing this, they have embraced their new town, become active volunteers with so many great causes out there, and truly begun doing what I hope all parents do once their children are grown - live their own lives!!

13.  Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    Anyone and everyone who behaved like a scorned 4-year old after the election.  Poorly treating people around you because of political differences is unacceptable and pointless.
    The UCI and USAC - they're continued crappy treatment of women in sport is pathetic and archaic.

14.  Where did most of your money go?
     Cycling, probably.  Food.  Tuition.

15.  What did you get really, really, really excited about?
     Being accepted to the Graduate Conference in the Netherlands.  Such an amazing opportunity... I can't believe I'll be in Leiden in 21 days!

16.  What song will always remind you of 2012?
     "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye

17.  Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?  happier - maybe a little more disillusioned... but, definitely not sad
b) thinner or fatter?   a little bit of both?!  As a cyclist, I wish that it was always thinner, but my body type is pretty consistent...and dense!
c) richer or poorer?  absolutely poorer.  Financially, at least.

18.  What do you wish you'd done more of?
     Saving.  Every year, I wish that I could save more money.  There are things I'd really love to do (with our house, in particular), but the money always finds somewhere else to go.  I'm hoping that this year will be a "saving" year.

19.  What do you wish you'd done less of?
     Gossiping.  I got caught up in some dramatic junk this year.  I usually try to stay away from stuff like this, but I was smack in the middle of it.  It was not good.  I regret a lot of things that happened this year.  But, I've tried to make amends externally and am finding peace about it internally.  Time to move on to a new year.

20.  How did you spend Christmas?
     We traveled to Wyoming for "early Christmas" with my family.  It was wonderful.  Then, we had Christmas Eve breakfast at our house with Mr. Anonymous-Commenter's family, Christmas Eve dinner at his Mom's, and Christmas morning was quiet and peaceful with just us two.  Then, we did Christmas Day dinner at his cousins.  Whew... a whirlwind as always!!

21.  What was your favorite TV program?
     This has to be a 3-way tie: Being Human (both UK and US versions), Downton Abbey, and The Walking Dead.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
    Hate is an emotion that I avoid.  It's useless and more detrimental to the hater than the hatee... so why do it?

23.  What was the best book you read?
     I reread Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.  It's such a great book.

24.  What was your greatest musical discovery?
     Gotye, Of Monsters and Men, A Silent Film, Two Door Cinema Club

25.  What did you want and get?
     Tickets to The Killers concert.

26.  What did you want and not get?
     To SEE The Killers!  The show got postponed until 2013 due to a band member's illness!

27.  What was your favorite film of the year?
     Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter
     Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

28.  What did you do on your birthday?
     Not too much... went out to dinner with the hubby and had cake!  Most birthdays around here tend to be pretty mellow.

29.  What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
     If we could have settled a contract at work.  Not knowing what the future looks like really sucks.

30.  How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
     Classic casual... nerd chic at times...  spandex the rest of the time.

31.  What kept you sane?
     Being able to concentrate on my dissertation.  Being immersed in my work kept me busy and happy.

32.  Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
     I'm not sure about this... I suppose Gotye would be on the list.  Seeing him in concert was amazing and he's such a charismatic and talented musician.  That's very facy-able.  :)

33.  What political issue stirred you the most?
     The strange social policies put forward by some of the extreme Republicans.  Their belief that women are second class citizens, do not deserve certain rights, or (my personal favorite) can somehow magically protect themselves from impregnation by rapists, was terrifying.  While I agree that the Republican economic programs are really great, their primitive and antiquated social policies are personally unacceptable.

34.  Who did you miss?
     My parents.  Even though they've lived far away for a while, there's something about knowing that they are on the opposite side of the nation makes me miss them even more.

35.  Who was the best new person you met?
    Best people... Kristin and Mike.  In a very short time, I have become VERY fond of this couple.  They are such fantastically awesome people.  I feel unbelievably fortunate to have them in our life.  SO fortunate!!

36.  Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012:
     I learned that flexibility and accountability are fundamental to successful living.  Shit happens.  And, when it happens, it can sometimes happen by the truckload.  The only way to survive it is to make changes in yourself and be accountable for the things you've done.