525,600 minutes

I was going to wait to do this until after I returned from the Bahamas. But now I'm not going to the Bahamas and my life is sad and empty because of it, so I'm going to do it now. (It's not even an excuse to procrastinate because stick a fork in me, I am done.)

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Drugs.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I make my resolutions at the Jewish new year, the better to avoid being condemned to death on Judgment Day.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Baby Tyler (my cousin's son) was born on my uncle's birthday in March!


4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. As they'd say in Brookline, Baruch Hashem!

5. What countries did you visit?
Well, I was supposed to go to the Bahamas. But did I? No. Because all my vacations are doomed. Doomed!

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
My very own apartment. All to myself. No dirty dishes in the sink. Maybe a cat to go with it. A fat one.

7. What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Perhaps December 11, 2006? Because it was the date all my final projects were due (well, before all the due dates got moved), and the day I was leaving for the Bahamas -- the calendar representation of the completion of my master's degree. Speaking of which...

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
It's called a master's degree because I am the master, baby.


9. What was your biggest failure?
Well, I failed miserably at sustaining a romantic relationship. You know, as usual.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Last year the Flu of Death kept me down for close to a month. So this year I got a flu shot...and one week later fell victim to a mysterious virus much like last year's Flu of Death, only without the Hacking Cough of Evil (a major improvement). At least this one only lasted a week.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Coffee.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Usually in answer to this question I say "food." This year I will go out on a limb and say "candy," specifically candy from Hidden Sweets in Harvard Square.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Rocking Horse margaritas and Magnolia cupcakes -- the food that will be served at the banquet in my heaven. (There will be no buffet. Buffets are tacky.) Also my upcoming Hanukkah party.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
KT Tuntsall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree." In that song I'm driving through the streets of Medford, to and from Super Stop 'n Shop and Tufts and Target and the Wellington T stop and my first year in graduate school.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
happier or sadder? Happier, I guess. It's always nicer to have a master's degree rather than be halfway through it.
older or wiser? Neither.
thinner or fatter? I feel fatter, but I don't currently own a scale, so I have no empirical evidence to back up my claim.
richer or poorer? Richer, I think -- I guess that's what having five jobs can do for you!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Drugs.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
I wish I had done less existing in a state of constant anxiety. That would have been nice.


20. How will you be spending Christmas?
The same way I always spend Christmas, Pinky: with The Muppet Christmas Carol (or the real Christmas Carol, come to think of it) and some delicious New York Chinese food. The more important question is about how I will be spending Hanukkah, and the answer is: having a kickass Hanukkah party at my house!


21. Did you fall in love in 2005?
We're all falling in love, every day, with our world and each other. Aren't we?

22. How many one-night stands?
Seventeen.


23. What was your favorite TV program?
Project Runway. Carry on!

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
"Hate" is a strong word for it, but I strongly dislike this junior who's been in a lot of my classes.

25. What was the best book you read?
Too...many...choices...paralyzed by...indecision...Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson, in the fiction category...and in non-fiction, American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds by James Maguire.


26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Raffi's new CD? (Hey, it was a slow musical year.)


27. What did you want and get?
Every year, in answer to the question below, I say "a boyfriend," and this year I say: Be careful what you wish for.

On a much more uncomplicated note, unexpectedly landing the Sesame internship rocked my socks!

28. What did you want and not get?
A trip to the freaking Bahamas, for the second year in a row. Sheesh.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
An Inconvenient Truth? No, I'm only saying that to sound intelligent and politically aware. There isn't really a movie that stands out to me, actually. But I saw some amazing movies from other years through the power of Netflix, among them Why We Fight, My Flesh and Blood and Promises.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 23 in 2006, and I hosted a bagel picnic in Central Park of which I am very proud because a dizzying array of old friends attended.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Peace of mind.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Pinks and browns and lots of khaki.

33. What kept you sane?
I kept myself sane. I'm still not sure how.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
David Wright, third basement for the New York Mets. He's a fine ballplayer...and so cute. A close runner-up: Project Runway's Tim Gunn. "Make it work!"

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
I have a DEFEND DEMOCRACY -- IMPEACH BUSH magnet on my car.

36. Who did you miss?
Every year out of college, I miss my college friends a little more. Especially around this time of year, when we should be having our annual Secret Santa party. And I've been missing Marissa and Hannah for going on five and a half years now -- I can't believe we're about to be together forever in NYC in 2007!


37. Who was the best new person you met?
I got along really well with all four of my roommates, three of whom I had never met before I moved in. So that's lucky!

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006.
Just keep on keepin' on, like a bird that flew -- oh, wait, that's supposed to come in the next question.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"It's hard to know where I stand
It's hard to know where I am
Maybe it's a puzzle I don't understand

Is it any wonder I'm tired
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right
These days
After all the misery made
Is it any wonder that I feel afraid
Is it any wonder that I feel betrayed"
--Keane

Hmm, that was a little depressing, eh? Let's follow it up with something a little more uplifting!

"I will walk out of the darkness
And I'll walk into the light
And I'll sing the song of ages
And the dawn will end the night

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more"
--Van Morrison

2007, here I come.