The rest of the annual quiz from Kelly. BTW, ’22? You’d better be better!
Where did most of your money go?
Books, music, medical stuff, takeout food.
What did you get really excited about?
GETTING THE VACCINE. Eating out. Going to the movies, though I didn’t do so often. Being the point person for the Literary Legends, Lydia Davis and Gene Mirabelli. The choir meeting again. Doing research in Binghamton.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Clearly sadder.
Thinner or fatter?
Back to where I was a couple of years ago, alas. A function, in part, of being sadder.
Richer or poorer?
A little poorer, but not appreciably problematic.
The rain
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading, singing, sleeping.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Going to ZOOM meetings, figuring out my new insurance coverage
How did you spend Christmas?
Opening presents, watching the church service on Facebook, eating dinner with my MIL, playing a lot of Xmas CDs
Did you fall in love in 2021?
Sure
How many one-night stands?
Same as last year. And the year before that. And the year before that…
What was your favorite TV program?
CBS Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes, Finding Your Roots. I have an extremely low capacity for watching TV right now, except for, of all things, Law and Order: Criminal Intent (2001-2011), which I mostly missed when it originally aired. JEOPARDY I still watch but don’t love it as much.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nah.
What was the best book you read?
Er…
The park
What did you want and get?
A COVID shot, or three.
What did you want and not get?
Liberation from the limiting effects of COVID.
What were your favorite films of this year?
Summer of Soul (the ONLY one of these I saw in a theater), Promising Young Woman, Another Round, Wolfwalkers, Small Axe: Mangrove (if it’s a movie), One Night in Miami, Sound of Metal, The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
What did you do on your birthday?
I went to adult education and church online. Talked with my sisters on ZOOM. Had cake. I don’t much remember beyond that.
And other things
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2021?
Wearing shoes as infrequently as possible.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Possibly Isabel Wilkerson whose book Caste I bought but did not read.
What political issue stirred you the most?
The dissipation of truth, not just in government, but online.
Who did you miss?
Other than the deceased, I’ve actually managed to see many people in my neck of the woods (FINALLY!) in recent months, because I missed them all!
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2021
Writing about it is a pain. Not writing about it is worse.
I was quite touched by what J. Eric Smith kindly wrote about me in his blog, which he’s been writing since before the word blog was created. I am, I’ve read, “a super-long-time daily blogger of refined tastes and interests, many of which closely align with my own. Roger also brings his formidable librarian skills to organizing his information, and that’s a noticeably great thing in the mostly mucky mire of poorly-curated online experience.”
That sort of helps me when I fear that I absolutely have not a single thing more to say before I finally have a Eureka moment again.
Now, why am I thinking of a song by the Cowsills (#2 for two weeks pop in 1967)? I have no idea. As noted: ’22? You’d better be better!