End of year meme - stolen from deemacgee

1) Where did you begin 2007?

Enjoying fireworks at the Harbour. Been doing it every year since I was a
teen and I still don't tire of it. There's nothing nicer than spending the
evening sipping fizzy vino and stuffing one's face with yummy finger food
while sitting on a picnic rug on a warm NYE night. Bliss.

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?

Married. As I have been since a certain Valentine's Day in 2004!

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?

Nope – for once!

4) How did you earn your money?

Working in the legal side of drug dealing.

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?

Only to visit others. Touch wood, but the last time I was in hospital for
myself was when I had my tonsils out in 1992.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?

Not this year! No one is falsely accusing my husband of assault at the
moment, thank God! (And, regarding this btw, I have completely lost all
hope that most people in the world are good at heart. How could I have
been so naïve? There are bad, bad people out there who think nothing of
hurting those closest to them.)

7) Where did you go on holiday?

Malaysia and China – it was great. And I went to England, but that wasn't
really a holiday at all. We're hoping to spend a few days down the south
coast somewhere over the Christmas break recuperating. Someone has some
holiday house somewhere around there.

8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?

Airline tickets to England paying that off is gonna eat up most of my
Christmas bonus – but I suppose that's what things like that are useful
for – those extra bits of money which cover all the unexpected expenses
when you're feeling broke. Apart from that, we're still in a
post-purchasing-house-mortgage-meltdown-period and have tried avoiding
anything too costly.

9) Did you know anybody who got married?

Yes, a good friend from my PhD years got married in September and had a
lovely wedding.

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?

Yes, and it still seems not real.

12) Did you move anywhere?

Nope. I'm such a homebody that I bought a house 5 mins away from where I
grew up. You can't pick this girl up and dump her somewhere else!

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?

Oooh, not as many this year as usual, actually. I was lucky enough to get
to see a lovely production La Traviata at the Opera House at the start of
the year. I sung in a choir in a concert in October (but I hate that I
never actually get to *see* the concert when I'm in it!). I'm singing
again in the same choir in three performances at the Opera House in a few
weeks' time (gaaah – three hour rehearsal tonight!)
I probably saw a couple of plays...but I'm having a mental blank at the
moment.

15) Are you registered to vote?

Of course. This is Australia and I don't want to be fined!

16) Who did you want to win Big Brother?

n/a at the moment. Besides, it was so crap this year and I'm not watching
next year – I hate Kyle – I can't believe how stupid he is!

17) Where do you live now?

Sydney. Although that means a lot - it's a wide, spread out city. I'm in
the suburbs. But not in a wanky/swanky area and not in that horrible
south-western, sprawling wasteland and not in the soulless north-western
Bible belt. I'm in sweet, relaxing, safe suburban Sydney and I hope it
stays that way!

18) Describe your birthday.

Fairly ordinary, as always. So ordinary, I can't remember it! (Or I'm going
senile). That being said, I'm sure I got some lovely gifts and nice words
from the people who really matter.

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?

Gosh. Go unexpectedly to England? Be at the funeral of poor Hubby's daddy?
That's the reoccurring theme in this meme.

20) What has been your favourite moment?

Hmmm, this is hard. I guess knowing that I really do have good friends who
really do care about me after all. That bit's nice.

21) What's something you learned about yourself?

That being a "nice girl" will be my downfall with regards to my career.

Watch while I let vile people stomp all over me while I'm too frozen to do
anything about it.
Watch while I yet again let all my potential go to waste.
Watch while my Performance Reviews state the same thing as my school
reports did: "She is a very diligent worker but very quiet."
Bleh. I have gone nowhere and I'm still in the same social mess I was in 20
years ago.
I got a fairly good promotion two weeks ago and felt nothing. It's that
whole issue of having the mean girls overpowering me even though they're
less talented and certainly less nice.
But I don't want to not be me just so I can get ahead, just so I can be
noticed. There's got to be away I can be less invisible yet not annoying
or up myself.

On the other hand, I have a bit more perspective about all of this – I know
at the end of the day, it's just work.

But I spend too much time here and I care too much about what others think
and I mull too much about why I'm such a wallflower to not worry about it.

22.) Any new additions to your family?

Nope. I did get clucky after spending time with my cute niece, but I'm not
ready yet.

Stay tuned...

23.) What was your best month?

Well, October was going really, really well but I jinxed it all by saying
"looks like life is finally calming down". I will never do that again!

24.) Where will you be ending 2007?

Probably in a very similar way to which it started. It's all cyclical,
isn't it?
Despite everything, it's been a pretty good year. There's been some
heartbreak and sadness, but it's not pushed us apart. I'm sad still but
it's okay, you know?

There's been good news – Hubby was recently declared cancer-free after two
years and that means there's a low chance of it ever coming back!

That's great! But I also don't want to have to deal with such things.

I think another thing I've learnt from 2007 is that things aren't going to
get all better someday. There will always be shit to deal with and there's
no use in postponing life until such things resolve thinking "I'll be happy
when such-and-such is over and then maybe we can think about starting to do
such-and-such" because sometimes there isn't time and there certainly isn't
a "good time" for it.

I just wish for some peace in our lives.
At least for this time of year.

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