Oh My Gosh, Man!

A blog of introspection, exposition, and bad jokes.

for and by the easily amused

January 01, 2008

2007 Reflections

I've been doing this survey every year since '04, so here it is for your viewing pleasure.

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?

I think the big one would be getting my own apartment! I also joined a union and got my equity card, which was a big goal of mine, and clearly something I had never done before.

Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more next year?

I didn't make any, at least not out loud, and I think I'm going to stick to that for this year as well.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Nope, not this year. Jenn and Rose got a puppy, which is probably the closest thing.

Did anyone close to you die?

My great aunt, but truthfully we weren't very close, and she'd been suffering from alzheimers for years.

What countries did you visit?

I went on a cruise to Bermuda and the Bahamas. Well, Bermuda is a British territory, so you can coult that however you'd like.

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

More money. Possibly a significant other. It's been long enough that I've forgotten why I prefer being single. I need a reminder.

What dates from 2007 will remain etched in your memory and why?

Probably the most notable day that I can pinpoint is September 25th, which was the first day I was officially working under an equity contract. I probably won't remember that date by next year though. A lot of good things happened this year, but most of them I can't trace to any one day.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Moving to Connecticut and everything that entailed. I guess it started with getting the PSM job at Stamford, then finding a roommate, finding an apartment, getting the money together, buying furniture, making it all happen, and not flipping out. It was definitely a pretty big deal.

What was your biggest failure this year?

I don't really think there is anything I would classify as a failure. I definitely had some learning experiences, particularly in relation to my work. There were some situations during some of my shows, specifically I See London, I See France, that I might have handled differently, but I can say I learned and grew from it all, and it was not by any means a bad experience or a failure. It was probably one of my favorite projects this year.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

Thankfully no. At least, nothing major.

What was the best thing you bought?

My Palm Treo, and/or my lovely Ikea bedroom furniture… The first because it's incredibly useful, the second because of what it represents (living on my own!)

Whose behavior merited celebration?

I have a lot of friends who merited celebration this year. JanieD for being incredibly strong and dealing with major life changes, Georgie for starting to accept herself and let her friends into her life, Kim who pretty much always merits celebration for dealing with all the challenges life constantly throws at her while remaining a wonderful person, TJ and Jenn for knowing when it was the right time to put themselves first and step back from the beast that is CM and just for being generally awesome (and add Rose in on the generally awesome count)... I'm sure I'm forgetting more, but those are the ones I can think of.

Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed?

I've been a bit depressed especially lately about certain groups of old friends who seem to make no effort at all to stay in touch. I've decided to move on and not cry over spilled milk, but it's definitely hard spending most of your college years hanging out with a certain group of people, and then two years later some of them won't even answer your e-mails.

What did you spend most of your spare cash on?

Who had spare cash? I spent most of my credit card debt on gas. I have really been super-frugal this year about buying things I don't need. I probably wasted the most money on eating out, which is an unfortunate side effect of this business.

What song will always remind you of 2007?

Any song from any show that I worked on this year? Particularly anything from Rodgers & Hart or The Underwear Musical. Yes, really… show tunes is pretty much it.

Happier or sadder?

That's a tricky question. Happier about where I am, in terms of living situation and career, though I live far away from most of my friends, so I've been a little sadder on a day to day basis lately, probably loneliness related.

Thinner or fatter?

Probably a little fatter. See above answer about eating out.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Let's not talk about it.

What do you wish you'd done less of?

I think I've answered this question with "work" for the last two years, and I think this is the first year since graduating college that I haven't nearly given myself a breakdown from overwork, so work is not my answer. I don't know what my answer is though. I think this year has been pretty good all around, and particularly the last few months have been very balanced.

Did you fall in love in 2007?

Nope, just the usual amount of stupid crushes.

What was your favorite TV series?

I still don't watch TV.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I still try to avoid wasting energy on hating people.

What was the best book you read?

As always, I can't possibly narrow it down to just one, so here are the highlights. Asimov's Robot books, The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Helen of Troy, The Time Traveller's Wife, Middlesex, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Vampire Chronicles, The Twilight Trilogy, Mary Modern, Broadway Nights, Cloud Atlas, The Memory-Keeper's Daughter, Three Cups of Tea.

What was your greatest musical discovery?

Hedwig. It hasn't left my CD player in 2 months.

What did you want and get?

An apartment. An equity card. A steady paycheck.

What did you want and not get?

I can't think of anything.

What was your favorite film this year?

Sweeney Todd.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Winning the lottery? I know they say you can't buy happiness, but it's been a really rough year financially, and I am really getting tired of being poor.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Amazingly, I’ve started to pay a tiny little bit more attention to clothes this year. It has been slightly less men’s jeans and t-shirts and slightly more women’s jeans and sweaters (or tank tops in the summer). Crazy.

What kept you sane?

Who says I'm sane? No, seriously, I think I stay sane because I'm so focused on my goals, particularly those surrounding my career. And this year, the idea of having my own apartment for the first time was a big motivator in my life.

What celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

This question cracks me up every year, but I never have a good answer for it. If "fancy" means… well… "fancy"… I guess I would have to say Johnny Depp, as ever. I didn't enjoy his Willy Wonka, but he totally redeemed himself with Sweeney Todd.

Who do you miss?

I always miss my grandfather. I miss college still, though that's not a person. I miss a lot of the people I used to be close to in college. I miss Kim and Yaelie who live too damn far away (Yaelie lives farther, but I can't seem to manage to see either one of them). I miss all of the casts of all of the shows I've worked on in the past few years… each one really does have a special place in my heart, as cheesy as that sounds.

Who was the best new person you met this year?

As usual, I can't possibly pick just one. I meet too many awesome people in this business. The ones who have really become friends are Nikki, Dayon, and Emily... and I think Cory is going to make that list as well. Other awesome new people include everyone from STW (staff,designers, directors, and all the wonderful actors), everyone from Farmtrucks, everyone from the Underwear Musical, everyone from Westport. It always shocks me how many amazing people you meet in this business every year.

What did you learn in 2007?

I learned how to appear more confident, which I think in turn resulted in me actually becoming more confident. I probably learned a lot of things that I'm not thinking of right now, but I don't think there was any overarching life lesson this year. I'm still growing and learning more of the same things that I have been for the last few years... namely, how to be an adult.