Year-End Meme 2023
Jan. 1st, 2023 03:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frameofmind6I'm posting a thing! To Dreamwidth! Omg!
I haven't done one of these in years, but somehow this year I managed to think of it before I ran out of time. (I drafted it before we left on vacation for the holidays, which is why the bits about Christmas and New Year's are in future-tense. : )
1. What did you do in 2022 that you'd never done before?
Bought a house!! Well, technically most of the admin happened in late 2021, but we officially got the keys and started paying the mortgage in Feb 2022, so I think that counts. : )
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I’m not much of a New Year’s resolutions person, so I didn’t make any last year, but if I were to make one for next year it would be to finally pass the B1 (or if I’m very diligent, possibly B2?) in German and get my permanent residency. (And if the political winds blow our way and Germany decides to relax it’s rules on dual citizenship, possibly start the naturalization process… *fingers crossed*)
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! My sister (and our Matron of Honor) gave birth to her second child about a month before our wedding. He’s adorable. : )
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one particularly close, though there was a distant relative’s spouse who passed away.
5. What countries did you visit?
Pretty much just the US, unless you count changing planes once in Amsterdam. Oh! And I went to Portugal for a work trip.
6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
A better handle on our money. >< The house purchase was kind of an impulse buy, and we underestimated the remodeling costs when we were putting in the mortgage application, so we’ve kind of been playing catch-up all year. But we’re getting there.
7. What date from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 13, 2022. Not only etched on my memory, but on the inside of my second wedding ring. : ) (We have wedding bands from our German legal-wedding with the date we got together and the date of our German wedding etched on the inside—so when we were planning for the American party-wedding we decided to get sparkly engagement-style rings to exchange there, and we had the date of our German wedding and the date of our American wedding etched on the inside.)
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
FINISHING THE BRIDGE STORY. Yes, the house, the wedding, a bunch of career stuff, that’s all well and good. But omg, in terms of the amount of time and effort it took, finishing A Narrow Bridge still takes the cake.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Hmm. Honestly, nothing is really coming to mind…
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope! (*knock on wood*) I did have my first cold since the start of the pandemic, which was kind of crazy, but nothing more than that.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
The house!! No, seriously, for all the money craziness it has brought this year, it was absolutely the right decision. We really love it, and I can actually feel the way it’s helped me to feel more settled and happy with my life here in Germany than I have since I moved here. We had some really fun times in our previous apartment, and it was definitely the right place for us to be when we were still feeling things out, but for me personally there was just a lot of background stress in the idea of never having enough space to put everything away, or even finally move over the last few boxes of keepsakes and so forth that are still at my parents’ house. With that off my shoulders, I really feel like I could be happy living here for the rest of my life, which is a huge relief. (And I really do genuinely love this house in particular. It is objectively the best house in Germany. : )
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Oof. A lot of people I’m sure, several of whom will take this meme in a more serious direction than I want it to go, but I think I’ll go with my wife,jo_lasalle . She is very much Not A Wedding Person, but she put up with a lot of wedding planning and stress in order to satisfy me and my crazy family, and I think we ended up with a wedding that was pretty much perfect for us. <3
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Ugh. Again, there are so many answers, but in the interest of keeping things light(-ish) I’m gonna go with Elon Musk.
14. Where did most of your money go?
I’ll give you three guesses… >_>
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Okay, a disproportionate number of my answers are just going to be “the house”, aren’t they? But as an alternative to that, I think the new dining room table we bought is probably a close second. And the dishwasher that now works and fits a reasonable number of dishes. And our porch. <33
16. What song will always remind you of 2022?
The Amazing Race theme song. It has been our companion throughout many months of being too braindead to watch anything but reality TV.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Happier! The house is a big part of that, with its removal of the stress of “never having any space.” But another big part of it is the new job I started in April. My previous job was easier in some ways, but it definitely felt like a dead-end, and the company culture was hampered by some German-work-culture elements that don’t suit me very well. The company I work for now is a much better cultural fit (very international, balanced in a way that means no one feels like a “foreigner”), it has a team size that fits the amount of work there is to do, it’s generally on an upward trajectory, and I feel like I’m both able to bring good things to the table and learn a lot in developing my own career. And genuinely, everyone I work with is really nice and invested in doing a good job. So, yeah—this was definitely a positive move.
ii. thinner or fatter?
No comment. : ) I’ve come to realize that I’ve had a pretty unhealthy relationship with food and my body for most of my life, and I’m working on repairing that.
iii. richer or poorer?
Depends on how you look at it? Like, we have more money coming in the door, but we also have more going out. But a lot of what’s going out is going towards the house, which is an asset. So probably richer? Even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. ;__;
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Studying German, and exercising. But honestly, given all the irons we’ve had in the fire, I give myself a pass on those for this year. Next year, I’ll buckle down and sort my shit. : )
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Spend money. ;__; There were a couple of house-related purchases early in the year, before a few surprise bills cropped up, that we probably should have waited on in the end. But hey, live and learn.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Visiting my family in the US.
21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
Hanging out with my parents (and probably a few aunts and uncles) drinking wine and playing games, like the incredibly cool people that we are. : )
22. Did you fall in love in 2022?
Nope. But I’m still pretty head-over-heels in love with jo_lasalle, if that counts. : )
23. How many one-night stands?
This would be frowned upon by jo_lasalle, I suspect, so I think we’ll have to say zero.
24. What was your favourite TV program?
…The Amazing Race. >_> It’s really fun okay! And very relaxo! : )
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Elon Musk. (*siiigh*)
26. What was the best book you read?
Hmm… I don’t read many books that aren’t fanfic these days, tbh, but Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow was good.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
…I have been listening to the same music for the last ten years, idk. ;__; We found a restaurant that offers karaoke rooms in Minneapolis though? And went there twice during the wedding trip? Does that count as a musical discovery? : )
28. What did you want and get?
…A House. ^__^
29. What did you want and not get?
Germany passing the law to allow dual citizenship. But maybe in 2023!! (also, our air conditioning subsidy, which would really help out with the cashflow problem, and is also hopefully coming in 2023… >_>)
30. What was your favourite film that you saw for the first time this year?
Omg, I’m struggling to even think of a movie I saw for the first time this year. We saw the latest Jurassic World movie at some point, and a few weeks ago we watched a sort of romantic comedy with Reese Witherspoon that was on Netflix. Since I remember more of it, I’ll say the Jurassic World movie. : )
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 35, and I have *no idea*. I had just started my job a week earlier, and we had moved to the new house about two weeks before that, so I’m gonna guess I worked and then spent the evening unpacking boxes… : )
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If Elon Musk had been forced to sell Twitter to someone sane after the initial Twitter Blue fiasco. >_>
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?
Hmm… Suburban Mom/Dad chic? I work from home, so I wear black yoga pants with pockets most of the time, and my favorite shirts these days tend to be sort of loose, soft, stretchy women’s shirts and men’s knit sweaters. (I love men’s shirts, they’re so much less pinchy around the shoulders… : )
34. What kept you sane?
The Amazing Race. : )
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
It’s kind of a tossup between Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan, but I think I’ll have to go with Wang Yibo. Because he is terrible.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
OOF. I mean, *that* is hard to answer. Again, I could go for so many things that will be very not lighthearted at all, but I think I’m going to take the safer route and say the German stoplight coalition and their proposed citizenship reforms… (*watches closely*)
37. Who did you miss?
Zara!! Our beloved Kiwi-chan! She was the only one of the raijingaijin who couldn’t make it to our wedding (for very understandable reasons), so she’s the only one we didn’t get to see this year. Hopefully soooon!
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I’m married now, meeting new people is my wife’s responsibility. We have a division of labor in this household—she handles talking to the people, I handle reading the instruction manuals. : )
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022.
You can never have too much fridge space.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
DUN-DUN-Dun… dun-dun-dun-DUN-DUN-Dun… dun-DUN-Dun…
(*sung to the tune of The Amazing Race theme song*)
I haven't done one of these in years, but somehow this year I managed to think of it before I ran out of time. (I drafted it before we left on vacation for the holidays, which is why the bits about Christmas and New Year's are in future-tense. : )
1. What did you do in 2022 that you'd never done before?
Bought a house!! Well, technically most of the admin happened in late 2021, but we officially got the keys and started paying the mortgage in Feb 2022, so I think that counts. : )
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I’m not much of a New Year’s resolutions person, so I didn’t make any last year, but if I were to make one for next year it would be to finally pass the B1 (or if I’m very diligent, possibly B2?) in German and get my permanent residency. (And if the political winds blow our way and Germany decides to relax it’s rules on dual citizenship, possibly start the naturalization process… *fingers crossed*)
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! My sister (and our Matron of Honor) gave birth to her second child about a month before our wedding. He’s adorable. : )
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No one particularly close, though there was a distant relative’s spouse who passed away.
5. What countries did you visit?
Pretty much just the US, unless you count changing planes once in Amsterdam. Oh! And I went to Portugal for a work trip.
6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
A better handle on our money. >< The house purchase was kind of an impulse buy, and we underestimated the remodeling costs when we were putting in the mortgage application, so we’ve kind of been playing catch-up all year. But we’re getting there.
7. What date from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 13, 2022. Not only etched on my memory, but on the inside of my second wedding ring. : ) (We have wedding bands from our German legal-wedding with the date we got together and the date of our German wedding etched on the inside—so when we were planning for the American party-wedding we decided to get sparkly engagement-style rings to exchange there, and we had the date of our German wedding and the date of our American wedding etched on the inside.)
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
FINISHING THE BRIDGE STORY. Yes, the house, the wedding, a bunch of career stuff, that’s all well and good. But omg, in terms of the amount of time and effort it took, finishing A Narrow Bridge still takes the cake.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Hmm. Honestly, nothing is really coming to mind…
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope! (*knock on wood*) I did have my first cold since the start of the pandemic, which was kind of crazy, but nothing more than that.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
The house!! No, seriously, for all the money craziness it has brought this year, it was absolutely the right decision. We really love it, and I can actually feel the way it’s helped me to feel more settled and happy with my life here in Germany than I have since I moved here. We had some really fun times in our previous apartment, and it was definitely the right place for us to be when we were still feeling things out, but for me personally there was just a lot of background stress in the idea of never having enough space to put everything away, or even finally move over the last few boxes of keepsakes and so forth that are still at my parents’ house. With that off my shoulders, I really feel like I could be happy living here for the rest of my life, which is a huge relief. (And I really do genuinely love this house in particular. It is objectively the best house in Germany. : )
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Oof. A lot of people I’m sure, several of whom will take this meme in a more serious direction than I want it to go, but I think I’ll go with my wife,
jo_lasalle . She is very much Not A Wedding Person, but she put up with a lot of wedding planning and stress in order to satisfy me and my crazy family, and I think we ended up with a wedding that was pretty much perfect for us. <313. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Ugh. Again, there are so many answers, but in the interest of keeping things light(-ish) I’m gonna go with Elon Musk.
14. Where did most of your money go?
I’ll give you three guesses… >_>
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Okay, a disproportionate number of my answers are just going to be “the house”, aren’t they? But as an alternative to that, I think the new dining room table we bought is probably a close second. And the dishwasher that now works and fits a reasonable number of dishes. And our porch. <33
16. What song will always remind you of 2022?
The Amazing Race theme song. It has been our companion throughout many months of being too braindead to watch anything but reality TV.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Happier! The house is a big part of that, with its removal of the stress of “never having any space.” But another big part of it is the new job I started in April. My previous job was easier in some ways, but it definitely felt like a dead-end, and the company culture was hampered by some German-work-culture elements that don’t suit me very well. The company I work for now is a much better cultural fit (very international, balanced in a way that means no one feels like a “foreigner”), it has a team size that fits the amount of work there is to do, it’s generally on an upward trajectory, and I feel like I’m both able to bring good things to the table and learn a lot in developing my own career. And genuinely, everyone I work with is really nice and invested in doing a good job. So, yeah—this was definitely a positive move.
ii. thinner or fatter?
No comment. : ) I’ve come to realize that I’ve had a pretty unhealthy relationship with food and my body for most of my life, and I’m working on repairing that.
iii. richer or poorer?
Depends on how you look at it? Like, we have more money coming in the door, but we also have more going out. But a lot of what’s going out is going towards the house, which is an asset. So probably richer? Even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. ;__;
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Studying German, and exercising. But honestly, given all the irons we’ve had in the fire, I give myself a pass on those for this year. Next year, I’ll buckle down and sort my shit. : )
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Spend money. ;__; There were a couple of house-related purchases early in the year, before a few surprise bills cropped up, that we probably should have waited on in the end. But hey, live and learn.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Visiting my family in the US.
21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
Hanging out with my parents (and probably a few aunts and uncles) drinking wine and playing games, like the incredibly cool people that we are. : )
22. Did you fall in love in 2022?
Nope. But I’m still pretty head-over-heels in love with jo_lasalle, if that counts. : )
23. How many one-night stands?
This would be frowned upon by jo_lasalle, I suspect, so I think we’ll have to say zero.
24. What was your favourite TV program?
…The Amazing Race. >_> It’s really fun okay! And very relaxo! : )
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Elon Musk. (*siiigh*)
26. What was the best book you read?
Hmm… I don’t read many books that aren’t fanfic these days, tbh, but Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow was good.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
…I have been listening to the same music for the last ten years, idk. ;__; We found a restaurant that offers karaoke rooms in Minneapolis though? And went there twice during the wedding trip? Does that count as a musical discovery? : )
28. What did you want and get?
…A House. ^__^
29. What did you want and not get?
Germany passing the law to allow dual citizenship. But maybe in 2023!! (also, our air conditioning subsidy, which would really help out with the cashflow problem, and is also hopefully coming in 2023… >_>)
30. What was your favourite film that you saw for the first time this year?
Omg, I’m struggling to even think of a movie I saw for the first time this year. We saw the latest Jurassic World movie at some point, and a few weeks ago we watched a sort of romantic comedy with Reese Witherspoon that was on Netflix. Since I remember more of it, I’ll say the Jurassic World movie. : )
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 35, and I have *no idea*. I had just started my job a week earlier, and we had moved to the new house about two weeks before that, so I’m gonna guess I worked and then spent the evening unpacking boxes… : )
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If Elon Musk had been forced to sell Twitter to someone sane after the initial Twitter Blue fiasco. >_>
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?
Hmm… Suburban Mom/Dad chic? I work from home, so I wear black yoga pants with pockets most of the time, and my favorite shirts these days tend to be sort of loose, soft, stretchy women’s shirts and men’s knit sweaters. (I love men’s shirts, they’re so much less pinchy around the shoulders… : )
34. What kept you sane?
The Amazing Race. : )
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
It’s kind of a tossup between Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan, but I think I’ll have to go with Wang Yibo. Because he is terrible.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
OOF. I mean, *that* is hard to answer. Again, I could go for so many things that will be very not lighthearted at all, but I think I’m going to take the safer route and say the German stoplight coalition and their proposed citizenship reforms… (*watches closely*)
37. Who did you miss?
Zara!! Our beloved Kiwi-chan! She was the only one of the raijingaijin who couldn’t make it to our wedding (for very understandable reasons), so she’s the only one we didn’t get to see this year. Hopefully soooon!
38. Who was the best new person you met?
I’m married now, meeting new people is my wife’s responsibility. We have a division of labor in this household—she handles talking to the people, I handle reading the instruction manuals. : )
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022.
You can never have too much fridge space.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
DUN-DUN-Dun… dun-dun-dun-DUN-DUN-Dun… dun-DUN-Dun…
(*sung to the tune of The Amazing Race theme song*)
no subject
Date: 2023-01-01 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-01-02 12:31 pm (UTC)I like it! Give me those instruction manuals!
This is very true!
no subject
Date: 2023-01-05 04:31 pm (UTC)The house purchase was kind of an impulse buy, and we underestimated the remodeling costs when we were putting in the mortgage application, so we’ve kind of been playing catch-up all year.
A house can be such a money eater, really. I’ve got friends who bought quite an old one because it fit their criteria overall (many rooms for hobbies and the children, garden but still in the city with good public transport in the vicinity etc.) and it was one they actually could afford. They’re still working on parts of it here and there, because there’s always something to do. Also, there were some “surprises” that upped the costs quite a bit, too. And considering how crazily prices for any kind of material rose last year, you also just were unlucky with the timing. But I’m super glad that you’re so happy in the house and love it so much! So, subjectively and objectively, it was a great decision! :D
I already said to
Oh I’m so glad that you have a job that you enjoy! Especially with the well-balanced team and enough people to get the work done! I often hear from friends who work at big companies that either they have to do work for three people and are constantly stressed, or their colleagues are just … bad (at their job and/or as people). I’m also frequently annoyed at my job, but it could be so much worse, so I’m mostly okay with it. Still, there are some things here where I have to grit my teeth and nod, because it’s not worth arguing with anyone (my boss is old and has… interesting views at times)…
Working and unpacking boxes, the mid-30s are such a wild time for birthdays! XD (My 36th birthday was spent working and then going to my parents’ house to eat chicken. XD)