This is my sixth year doing the following survey. Feel free to check out my responses in previous years (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 and 2008).

01. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Lived alone.

02. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
My reputation for not sticking to anything is fairly cemented. I can’t recall if I made actual resolutions, though losing weight is always a resolution of mine. I have goals for 2010 and I am still brimming with optimism regarding their accomplishment.

03. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Define “close”: someone I used to be close to in highschool gave birth, Kate.

[Edit: Um, due to a senior's moment, I forgot to mention that Shannon had Brooke!]

04. Did anyone close to you die?
No, but our Yoruba community lost a friend and father figure to cancer.

05. What countries did you visit?
USA. That is all.

06. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
I do believe “automobile” is making a repeat appearance on this list. So is “a boyfriend”.

07. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Moving day and maybe the day I got the keys to the house.

08. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Moving out of my parents’ home.

09. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting the house organized and not hosting friends and family as often as I planned to. Many close friends have not seen my house since mid-June.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious, just recurring urinary tract infections. I’m taking cranberry extract for it, which is supposed to help.

(You’re welcome for the info: I know my medical history is important to you.)

I thought about it a moment more and I remember I had a very scary incident that caused me to spend the night in Emergency. I felt very alone but thank God it turned out to be nothing serious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My bedroom set. I haven’t yet unpacked my television or KitchenAid stand mixer so perhaps I’ll revise this later.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Brother #1 has matured a lot. I was so happy that he returned to school in 2009 and seems to be doing well. The whole process has reinforced my respect for how my parents handled the situation. I now believe that my suggestion regarding how to deal with him would have been a disaster.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Brother #2 made a decision near the end of last year that I’m having trouble dealing with. I know as long as no harm comes to him I’ll be ok.

14.Where did most of your money go?
Large amounts of money went to house-related purchases, whereas smaller but regular amounts went to buying lunches.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Black Friday sales. It’s a shame I can’t link to the entry on this, since it’s still a draft. By the time it’s posted no one will care anymore.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Possibly Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi.

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

happier or sadder?
Happier.

thinner or fatter?
Fatter.

richer or poorer?
Poorer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercising.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sugar consuming (another repeat answer I believe).

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family. My sister slept over at my place for a few hours on Christmas Eve, then we spent the day with the family. A family friend, Olga, joined us for dinner.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Maybe. I’m not sure since I’ve never been in love before.

22. What was your favourite TV program?
Grey’s Anatomy, though I’m not watching it on tv (I was able to get my hands on the dvds from a colleague). Sex And The City on dvd ties for first place (and thanks to Black Friday I now own the entire series on dvd).

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I don’t think so.

24. What was the best book you read?
No book stands out; how sad!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Lara George, a Nigerian artist who sang a song I couldn’t get out of my head: Ko le baje. I rediscovered India.Arie, thanks to her new cd. I love her.

26. What did you want and get?
See my answer to #11.

27. What did you want and not get?
A desk for my spare bedroom, graphic design skills.

28. What was your favourite film of this year?
Julie and Julia.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I showed up so fashionably late for dinner at a Chinese restaurant that I was thisclose to tears. We had dessert and some dancing at my house afterward. I turned 30.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Getting my house organized.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
The same as always: no style. It’s distressing!

32. What kept you sane?
Writing those Thankful Thursday posts on my other blog really helped me keep some perspective.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None. It’s a waste of time.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
None. I’m politically apathetic.

35. Who did you miss?
Like I did in 2008, I missed family in Nigeria. Phone calls and communicating via Facebook and Yahoo helped though.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Kunle.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009
I wouldn’t call it a life lesson but I learned that there’s a lot to be said for keeping things to yourself if you don’t think they will add value to anyone’s life. There are some things that just don’t have to be told to anyone.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Ise t’Oluwa se o ah, ko le baje, from the artist mentioned in #25. The line means that the work of God cannot be destroyed. Things really fell into place with my house, and throughout the year there were other events that that got my heart pounding fast and had me making bargains with God, but we made it to a New Year and I’m beyond thankful for that.

Filed under: Introspective by jummy