A Review of 2010 in Survey Form

This is the yearly meme I've been doing for I think 7 years now (I think this is the 7th Year, I mean).  I love it, some of the answers don't seem to change but others do.

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?


The first thing that comes to mind is getting paid for a piece of writing.  I put a lot more effort into my writing and getting it "out there" then I've ever done before.  Also, learning to crochet, doing the mosaic making day and doing gateway at CAB (although gateway was new for pretty much everyone).  And book reviewing!  That was a pretty huge part of my year and I'd not done it before.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


My only real resolution was to continue with my 101 in 1001 list.  I made some great progress with that and some of those goals led to drastic changes for me - which have all been good.  I hope to continue with these goals and that progress in 2011 but I'm also looking forward to starting a new 101 in 1001 list in September - I already have one or two ideas for it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


No. I have never, ever, been able to answer this question with a yes.  Which is most disappointing.

4. Did anyone close to you die?


No! I most especially like years when I can answer no to this question.

5. What countries did you visit?


None (yet again)

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?


I'm not sure.  The word peace comes to mind but that's mostly because I didn't sleep well last night and my neighbour was playing music whilst I was still in bed this morning.  I suppose the best answer is progress for The Broken of Britain.  And lots more writing opportunities for me!

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?


The day I submitted my magazine article and then heard a couple of hours later that it had been accepted.  It was a Tuesday in late ish September but I can't remember date.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Giving up coke and chocolate for so long


9. What was your biggest failure?


I could (and probably should) have made more of an effort with some of my friends

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?


In a word: Yes.  Several colds, a chest infection (or two, one I had treatment for anyway) and a day of kidney infection and gall bladder nastiness that ended with me at the out of hours GP with him asking me if I wanted to go into hospital and saying he wasn't sure if I needed to be admitted or not (if there is anything more freaky than being asked if you want to go into hospital because the dr isn't sure I've not found it.  Because, no, I didn't but if he was asking the question should I have said yes?). Two injections and sending me home to "wait and see" along with the comment "I think we'll be seeing you again, don't be a hero" turned the corner for me thought.  I was out of action for a week though.

11. What was the best thing you bought?


My Kindle!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?


I don't really want to single out just one or two people.  Lets just say different people at different times and for different reasons.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?


Same as above really.  There wasn't any one major person.  Apart from the duty doctor at my surgery the other day who refused to sort my regular prescription (after snow stopped me getting to see my own GP and the surgery messed it up) as she "didn't know me".  I actually find it very worrying that she could do that.  Well, I find the fact that she had the receptionist call me rather than calling me herself so we could discuss it and maybe reach a compromise to be the most worrying.

14. Where did most of your money go?


Bills, clothes, gadgets.  I seem to have bought a lot of gadgets this year (wii, new tv, kindle).  I still need to work on improving my budgeting and finances although it is getting better.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?


My article being published in Disability Now.  I was running round the house going "oh my god oh my god oh my god" for ages.  I had to wait most of a week to tell my mum which prolonged the excitement.  But then her flight home was so badly delayed I couldn't sp


16. What song will always remind you of 2010?


That's easy - anything from the first season of Glee. Especially What It Feels Like For A Girl

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

i. happier or sadder? About the same. Happier at times but struggling a little at the moment

ii. thinner or fatter? 19lb lighter!  Yayness. That's so great that I'm not beating myself up about having gained a few pounds.

iii. richer or poorer? About the same I think. Not easy but managing.,

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

Spending time with certain friends. Writing.

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

Stressing.  And being snowbound but there wasn't much I could do about that!

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

I was at my parents house. I was supposed to go home late Boxing Day but due to the snow at the very last minute I had to stay another night and go home first thing (literally, much earlier than I would have wanted to be up given it was the best I slept whilst there) on the 27th.  For the most part it was enjoyable but I must admit I did lose it crying when it was decided I needed to stay another night.  My parents house isn't properly accessible and I need a lot more help and support there which makes it difficult.

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?

No.

23. How many one-night stands?

None

24. What was your favourite TV programme?

Downton Abbey. I love period dramas and this is one of the best I've seen in a long time.  Their twitter streams also crack me up!  I also enjoyed Glee but it continually has a very bad portrayal of disability in it which stopped it being the best for me.  If anyone doesn't know what I mean, you tube glee safety dance. Love the song, love flashmobs, hate what they did.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

As I've said before when doing this survey and I'm sure I'll say again, hate is too strong a word.  There are a few people I've gotten to know better and found they weren't who I thought they were though.  That can be disappointing.

26. What was the best book you read?

This is a very very difficult question for me to answer but then it always is!  I've read something like 108 books this year.

I'm very tempted to say Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll because I was given it to review and would never have read it otherwise (it's a paranormal romance which I've been avoiding like the plague) but I really enjoyed it.  I'm not sure I like the precedent which might be set by listing a paranormal romance though.  

Possibly The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is the best but Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte and The Long Reach by Peter Cocks deserve mentions as well for being unputdownable.  Oh and I discovered Sherlock Holmes this year in both film and book forms - great, loved it/them!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Glee!

28. What did you want and get?

To get a magazine article published

A Kindle

A Wii

30. What was your favourite film of this year?

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I was 29. I had "party tea" with my family then we watched Tim Minchin's DVD.  I think I enjoyed it more than most of the fam.

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

I'm pretty pleased with how this year has been overall.  So being slighly tongue in cheek - less snow!

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Very similar to previous years just in a succession of smaller sizes!

34. What kept you sane?

I'm going to repeat last years answer because it's still true.  I will add crafts to the list however.

Different things at different times. Good friends. Reading. Afternoon naps.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I'm not sure there was one.  I'm not a huge celebrity fan. I have enjoyed watching Lord Sugar on both versions of The Apprentice as he cracks me up and I'm looking forward to reading his autobiography but that's not fancying.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

The cuts, especially as they target disabled people the most (or so it seems to me) and the government readily admit they haven't fully researched the impact they are likely to have on disabled people.

37. Who did you miss?

I missed lots of people at different times and in different ways.  My family and friends who are no longer with us, people I didn't see for a while and others too.  I don't want to write a list and possibly miss people off.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

This is my stock answer for this question but - I don't like this question so I'm not answering.  That said I don't think I've met anyone and taken a violent dislike to them.  I might answer the opposite question if that were the case!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:

Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith even if you aren't sure about it - great things can happen as a result.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

But you've got to be tough when consumed by desire
'Cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire 

(From Standing Outside The Fire by Garth Brooks)