Another Year Over

I pondered writing a run-of-the-mill end-of-the-year post-with-lots-of-hyphenated-words and so I ran through the archives a little bit to see if there was enough to warrant a year-end recap. That spurred dig even deeper into the archives, and I think I finally solved a riddle that I've wondered about and posted about for quite some time: why is it I still feel the tiniest need to keep this blog alive? And I think I realized: it's because I've had it for a really, really long time now.

The archives date back to December 2003, which for those of you keeping score at home would be my junior year in high school. There are 240 posts between then and now, and there were over 200 posts dating back to my freshman year or earlier that I foolishly cast into the murky depths of the internet, never to be seen again. (I'd do just about anything to get those back.) So that's got to be what, eight years now? I can't let go of this blog because it's older than most of the internet. I mean, sort of. You know what I mean.

What if I kept this going my entire life? Even with at least three years amputated from the archives, there's a potential to record decades, presuming Blogger continues on that long. That's actually some pretty crazy potential.

And besides, from what I've seen of the kids that are recently (aka the last year or two) joining the blog scene, it's possible that I'm really not missing anything too important. Although, I distinctly remember the ability to formulate sentences with real words when I was a freshman.

So for the sake of nostalgia, I thought I'd repost one of the first posts in the archives, originally written in December of 2003. It also shows another feature that once showed up frequently on my blog...annoying surveys. But for the sake of comparison, I think this might be worth re-doing. So, without further ado...

The Year 2003 2007 in Review-
1. What did you do in 2003 that you'd never done before?
2003: Drove, legally, with nobody else in the car. (I couldn't think of a better answer. x_x)
2007: I got engaged!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolution?
2003: Yes. I didn't make one.
2007: Once again, I don't remember making one.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
2003: Um...I don't think so.
2007: Yep. Cody's daughter Shayna was born just at the tail end of 2007, and I became a godfather.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
2003: Nope.
2007: No, and I'm glad.

5. What countries did you visit?
2003: None but my own.
2007: Not much changed here, either.

6. What would you like to have in 2004 that you lacked in 2003?
2003: A girlfriend. =p
2007: In 2008, I would like to have more writing done.

7. What date from 2003 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
2003: I'm not really sure. There are a bunch of them.
2007: See question one.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
2003: I'm not exactly sure I made any achievements. Getting my license comes to mind again.
2007: If I say see question one again, will you think I'm lame for using that on so many questions?

9. What was your biggest failure?
2003: Allowing myself to forget how funny everything really is.
2007: Continuing to go to college when I had no real reason to be--by which I mean the spring '07 semester, not the fall '07 semester which was a considerable change of pace.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
2003: I took a hit in gym that kept me from being able to bend my knee for two days. But that's about it.
2007: Only a few colds here and there.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
2003: Hm...maybe the Animatrix? (Keep in mind, I rarely have money, thus, rarely buy things.)
2007: I'm not sure. I was pretty broke this year, but I suppose to continue with the theme, I could say an engagement ring.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
2003: ...Merited celebration? O..k...um...I don't know. Everybody's done something to deserve celebration, at some point.
2007: I'd like to think that all of my close friends and myself at some point discovered things about ourselves that we didn't know, or perhaps forgot was true.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
2003: I won't go there.
2007: I don't think I really got depressed because of anyone else's actions.

14. Where did most of your money go?
2003: That's what I wanna know. ;-;
2007: Towards rent, insurance, phone bills, car repairs, laptop deaths (well, just the one), food, college, and of course, a shiny ring.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
2003: When I got my laptop, and when I thought I had a chance with Lac.
2007: Proposing. Shut up. Also. I called her Lac?

16. What song will always remind you of 2003?
2003: I'm not sure. A lot of them.
2007: "We've Only Just Begun" by Run Kid Run stands a good chance of year representation, although no song will make me go "oh wow, it's just like 2007 all over again!" That's silly.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder?
2003: I think happier.
2007: Happier.

ii. thinner or fatter?
2003: Pretty much the same, I think.
2007: Fatter. Six months of working at the greasiest most delicious pizza place in town will do that to a person.

iii. richer or poorer?
2003: The same.
2007: Poorer. My bank account, like the temperatures a few days ago, is subzero.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
2003: Fessing up to crushes sooner.
2007: Doing things that matter.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
2003: Bitching. Although it was a bit amusing.
2007: Procrastinating.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
2003: I spent it at home.
2007: Likewise.

22. Did you fall in love in 2003?
2003: Not really.
2007: I already was in love.

23. How many one-night stands?
2003: None.
2007: None.

24. What was your favorite TV program?
2003: Early 2003, Mutant X. But when they killed off Emma...meh. Now The OC is up there, along with Buffy (tho' I haven't seen it in forever.)
2007: Stargate SG1, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, House, and Spaced.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
2003: Um..probably.
2007: I don't believe so.

26. What was the best book you read?
2003: I read a lot of them, so I'm not sure.
2007: Oh, man. "I am the Messenger" was pretty amazing. To tell the truth, I can't remember what other books I read this year.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
2003: I'm not sure, I've come to love quite a few bands over the last year.
2007: I don't know if I'd call it a great musical discovery, but Nick finally got me to cave in and appreciate the wonder that is known as Cake.

28. What did you want and get?
2003: License, laptop, car, car stereo. (God I sound spoiled...)
2007: A job, a record player, and a fiance.

29. What did you want and not get?
2003: See number 6.
2007: Nearly enough writing done.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
2003: Return of the King, Bruce Almighty.
2007: Hot Fuzz?

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
2003: 16, I went bowling with friends.
2007: I turned 20...and I don't remember at all what I did for it, if anything.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2003?
2003: Heh.
2007: If I can't go in a band t-shirt and jeans or shorts, I'm not going.

34. What kept you sane?
2003: Mellie and Su, and Teena and Ragnar. The first two for completely different reasons then the last.
2007: Melissa for the most part, along with others at certain moments.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
2003: None.
2007: Hayley from Paramore was supposed to be my secret love, but then her band got all popular.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
2003: War in Iraq, I guess.
2007: The fact that there are Hillary Clinton supporters.

37. Who did you miss?
2003: I don't think I've really missed anyone. Nobody's really left.
2007: A lot of people, in a lot of different ways.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
2003: Where to begin? Teena, Ragnar, Mellie, Su...I just met them this year and they're among my closest friends.
2007: I didn't meet a lot of new people this year, but Matt Perry wins easily.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2003.
2003: If you take the time to look everything over, you realize that in truth, it's not nearly as bad as you think it is. You can't survive without a sense of humor.
2007: You really don't have an excuse.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
2003: It's hard to pick one, but this one does alright--
"Because a small town is like a small stage, for teenagers and their drama. Instead of playin' shows, we'll be showin' plays--Like 90210 without the Beverly Hills." Heh.
2007: That Run Kid Run song I mentioned earlier does a fair job.