I wasn’t going to post this until tomorrow, but since I had some spare time I figured I’d do it now while I remembered. I did it last year too.

1. Where were you when 2008 began?
At home, not doing very much exciting. I do remember deciding to start doing Project 365 though, which started off ok, but trailed off later in the year. I’ll do it again in ’09. Properly.

2. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Visited a cult. It was very, very strange and sort of entertaining, but quickly became rather scary when they followed me to my blog and started spying on me (visiting me several times a day from multiple IP addresses (evidently they did not realise I was able to tell that all the addresses belonged to the same group by simply looking at my site stats!?)). Undercover spying FAIL. It’s funny now, but it certainly wasn’t funny at the time! I have never used my WP-Ban plugin so much in my life! For those of you who weren’t around in May and don’t know what I’m talking about about, that blog entry/trip description WILL be back up some day. I promise.

3. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I made any this year! I think I have some of 2009 though, this year has been a bit of a “nothing year” for me, so next year I want to make up for it!
– Learn to drive
- Sit my Restricted
- Finish my degree
- Graduate
- Seriously contemplate going flatting
- Find an additional job
- Take improv classes (and maybe singing/dancing lessons) to improve my overall audition technique
- … a couple of other things too, which I don’t want to publish online.

4. Go to any concerts this year?
Nope. I didn’t even go to much live theatre, which is very unusual for me!

5. Will you be looking for a new job in 2009?
Yes, it’s highly likely. Well, probably not entirely new, I’d like to try to keep my existing part-time one if I can, because I really like it and would be very sad to leave, but I need to look for something else as well.

6. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2008?
Not a lot, though probably more than I did in 2007.

7. Did you go on any vacations? If so, where?
Nope, nowhere.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Nothing really. 2008 hasn’t been very exciting or productive. It hasn’t been the greatest of years overall actually. I’m ready for it to be over.

9. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be?
I wouldn’t have backed down so easily when the aforementioned cult asked my lecturer to ask me to take down what I blogged about them. I don’t think I should have had to. Before we went on the trip we were not asked to refrain from publishing accounts of our visits on the internet. Obviously if we HAD been asked specifically not to do this I wouldn’t have done it! I didn’t expect them to object, and was completely taken by surprise! I think the whole thing was more a matter of their not having thought about how honest somebody could potentially BE until somebody actually did it, and THEN they thought “Oh crap! We can’t have this! People might Google us and find out XYZ about what we’re really like!” Interesting. It makes you wonder why they’re so worried about it, doesn’t it? Especially since everything I published was completely true!? (Obviously I’d understand their objection to things I had embellished or completely fabricated!) o.O

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really, luckily for me! I suffered a minor injury in February due to an argument with a filing cabinet at work, but aside from a two inch scar on my ankle, I am none the worse for wear. Filing cabinet’s still there too. Rotten sod. It better watch out next year when I go back to work, I’ll be up for Round #2…with…a golf club or something! *cue awesome mental image*

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The best thing I BOUGHT was my iPod. Best thing I was GIVEN is a tie between my MacBook and my camera, although I think the MacBook might win. Just. Also a couple of other little things which were pretty awesome too.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
A few people actually – they know who they are.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
One person in particular, who I’d like to kick if I were given the opportunity. So long as I never have to see her ever again all will be well. Additionally, the cult’s, although their behaviour made me disturbed and vaguely amused, as opposed to appalled and depressed.

14. Where did most of your money go?
On scrapbooking and art stuff, probably, with clothes a close second.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Turning 21, even though I didn’t think I would.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Hmmm, I don’t know! Songs from the musical I was in?

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
I don’t know, maybe…sadder, actually. *shrug*
ii. thinner or fatter?
Probably the same.
iii. richer or poorer?
Probably the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Theatre stuff. I wish I’d done more than one show this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting time.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At my house – the family came to us this year, so we didn’t travel. Overall, it was a pretty good day.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No.

23. What was the biggest change for you in 2008?
I don’t know, I don’t think very much has really changed, I STILL don’t know what to do with my life!

24. What were your favourite TV programmes?
I don’t watch very much TV so I don’t have a favourite, but thanks to two very addicted friends, I do sometimes watch Bones.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I wouldn’t say I hate them, but there has been one relationship which I had this time last year, but do not have anymore (the same person mentioned in #13). I don’t regret it however. She was more a friend of another friend of mine, and was driving MY friend absolutely around the bend with various ridiculous things, so I’m glad that she got rid of her. The flow-on effect is that I never see her anymore, but I don’t care.

26. What was the best book you read?
I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve read anything particularly memorable this year! EPIC FAIL @ me. Oh. Apart from that stupid book about How To Survive Being One, but, as you might be able to gather from the blog entry about that book, it’s hardly a contender for the BEST book! Ugh.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Hmm, maybe Dar Williams…or Seussical.

28. What did you want and get?
An iPod, a new camera and a MacBook!

29. What did you want and not get?
I didn’t want it desperately, but I think my next BIG purchase might be one of these (or similar). Probably not until I can justify replacing my current phone though.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Mamma Mia!

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 21! I didn’t do very much on my actual birthday, just a lot of last minute preparation stuff for my party the next night, which was awesome. My only regret it that I didn’t take more photographs and get a slightly better video.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Doing more theatre stuff. Also knowing I had been a better friend to a couple of people.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Pretty boring, but maybe slightly more stylish than last year.

34. What kept you sane?
This. Teehee! Sorry. Had to link to that somehow!

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Nobody really!

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
This whole song does, and not just in relation to theatre stuff either, just generally.

37. Who did you miss?
Nobody!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
The director of the drama school I worked at. AMAZING woman. So awesome and talented that I was actually kind of surprised she liked me and thought I was worth her time!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Don’t put clothes made of viscose rayon in the dryer. They will shrink. This is bad.
Also, that I am not particularly academically talented. This is NOT bad. After I have finished this degree that I have committed myself to, I will go and find something else to do.

40. What are your plans for 2009?
Who knows!? I suspect that 2009 could be the year of some rather big changes for me! I hope so anyway.

Help! I need an idea for a practical joke on a friend of mine!

A couple of days ago she “anonymously” sent me a rock in the mail. The reasoning behind her sending me the rock is lengthy and obscure, so I won’t explain it all here, but she she intended for me to get it and be all confused and not know who sent it.

Unfortunately for her, I knew who it was from before I even opened the envelope because she and I happen to have extremely similar (almost identical) handwriting, so I knew it was from her even though she tried to disguise it.

Although I don’t often blog about her, this friend and I are extremely close, and our doing this kind of thing to one another is not infrequent (LOL!), only this time, I’m kind of stuck. What can I send back, or do back, in return…?

I’m open to any and all suggestions, provided they’re legal and non-offensive.

EDIT: Why is this old theme back again? Because I’m an idiot and accidentally deleted half of the Christmas one, but can’t quite be bothered making a post-Christmas one QUITE yet, so this one is back for a day or two, and hopefully still in working order!

It’s Boxing Day here now and Christmas 2008 was actually pretty awesome. I took 53 photos, with more that 40 of them good enough to be worth keeping, which, for me, isn’t too bad. Usually I take HEAPS of photos which are ALL crap and end up deleting most of them and wishing I’d taken more. Apparently I learned from how bummed I was after my 21st.

Not bummed this time though! I have more than enough photos for scrapbooking! I’m slightly sad I didn’t think to get one of everybody all together, but as one side of the family was arriving, the other side was thinking about leaving, so it didn’t occur to me. I’m not going to post many photos here, since some of them are so ridiculous they might be embarrassing to various innocent parties, but here’s one nice one of two of my cousins and I. Who else likes my awesome festive head gear (courtesy of one uncle)? I do! It also lights up and the little Christmas trees flash, but you can’t tell that from this photo, thanks to the light coming in the window.

Dad’s sister and her family arrived at around 12, and just hung out until we ate at 1:30. Then everyone sat around talking, drinking and continuing to eat until Mum’s sister and her family arrived just after 4. They weren’t originally going to come, since they’d been invited somewhere else for Christmas Dinner, but as it turned out, the place they were going was only about a 10 minute drive away from our house, so they came over afterwards anyway, which was nice.

This year mum and I gave up on cooking a traditional turkey, since nobody attending really likes it anyway, and instead had glazed ham and roast lamb, which was great. Amusingly, we completely forgot about the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding until we’d already finished eating, so that poor old abandoned food will have to wait, perhaps until New Years’, lol!

My aunt (Dad’s sister) brought us two crayfish as well (not live, thankfully!), which was really cool, even if I did feel a bit sorry for them having been decapitated and their innards ripped apart. They were tasty though. Nom nom nom.

I hope everyone else had a nice Christmas Day too. What was the most exciting thing you got from Santa?

Merry Christmas!
I hope you all have a lovely day…and no flats!