It’s time for my annual look back at the year that was. The questions were stolen from Kelly because why not?
Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
To part one, not so much if I made them, which I may or may not have. Regardless, the list of things I want to finish, if anything, has gotten longer. So making more of them would be foolhardy.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Someone named in part after me had a third child
Did anyone close to you die?
Four people were in the choir: Betty, Mike, Nate, and Susan. Ken, Jim, Paul, Mary, and Kay. I never mentioned my wife’s aunt Effie Oliver, who I was very fond of. Nor did I discuss my father’s favorite cousin Sheldon Walker. I feel as though I have forgotten someone.
What countries did you visit?
None. Maybe in 2023.
What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
This is what Kelly wrote last year. “An end to the pandemic, and a feeling that my country is moving toward rationality and a renewed commitment to thinking collectively and valuing democracy.” I’ll still buy that.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I didn’t get as detailed about how sick my wife had been in October, though I wrote about it in two posts. Anyway, taking care of her – changing bandages, making meals, whatever. My MIL is pleased with how well I cared for her daughter, so that’s nice.
What was your biggest failure?
I think not getting to the genealogy stuff.
What was the best thing you bought?
A portable white noise machine.
Meritorious
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Anyone who tried to protect democracy. The Jan 6 committee. Librarians.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The Supreme Court. Most federal Republicans. The newly re-elected governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL). I could name LOTS of names, but I don’t have the energy. But I will select one: Lindsay Graham, a spineless worm. (Or is that an insult to worms?)
Where did most of your money go?
My daughter has gone to college.
What did you get really excited about?
Singing in the choir. Albany was COVID-green far too infrequently, but I relished it every week.
Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
I’m working on this apparently popular theory that you can fake it until you make it. So I’m working on at least pretending to get happier, even though it feels… wrong.
Richer or poorer?
My daughter is going to college.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading more books: I read stuff online, in magazines, and newspapers, but books fall by the wayside. Also, taking more naps.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Deleting political emails because I’m always inundated.
How did you spend Christmas?
With my MIL, eventually.
Did you fall in love in 2022?
Yes, actually
How many one-night stands?
Same as last year
Television?
What was your favorite TV program?
I’ve watched almost no television except Abbott Elementary, The Good Doctor, JEOPARDY!, and news programs. No time.
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
If that one guy would just GO AWAY…
What was the best book you read?
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, which had sat on my shelf for a few years.
What did you want and get?
A Democratic US Senate
What did you want and not get?
A Democratic US House of Representatives, not that I was expecting one.
What were your favorite films of this year?
I have a difficult time seeing films on TV or the computer. That said, I’d pick CODA. I did see and enjoyed SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, She Said, and Devotion at the cinema.
What did you do on your birthday?
It was a Monday. Optimally, as little as possible. I really don’t remember. I probably wrote a blog post.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2021?
Comfortable.
Assuming facts not in evidence
What kept you sane?
Music, always. Also, this here blog and the interactions it’s led to.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. Rightly the TIME Magazine Person of the Year, though, as someone said, the cover looked like something designed for an MCU poster.
Nancy Pelosi. Wrangling a herd of cats is not easy. I saw Paul Ryan, one of her predecessors as Speaker of the House, on ABC News acknowledge that she did a good job, though he disagreed about her priorities.
Taylor Swift. I only have two of her albums, but she markets herself very well and uses her power for good, not evil.
What political issue stirred you the most?
The threat to democracy itself. And it’s not just in the United States. The attempted coup in Germany, the retrograde leadership in Hungary, and the chunk of votes that Marine Le Pen got in the last French elections.
Related, the power of the lie and the astonishing willingness of some people to believe it.
Who did you miss?
The weird thing even now is that you don’t see folks. Several people from my church are still attending online.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022:
For me, in-person is SO much better. Better than plays online, ZOOM meetings, et al.