Sort of an end-year meme for 2011
Dec. 31st, 2011 12:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petroniaAll the ones I've seen are too long and require too much thinking about points that are not that relevant. XD; So I have made my own.
TRAVEL: 2011 - Austin, Texas in March (to attend South By Southwest, mostly on company funds). Barcelona, Spain in May (Primavera Music Festival). Venice, Italy in September (the Biennale, and the Film Festival). Ottawa, several times, for client work and to see T. and family. Probably Toronto, at some point, but going to Toronto for business has the impact of taking a bus to Laval for all the sense it gives me of the city beyond two specific blocks of downtown.
2012 - Less artsy, more family and friends. The plan is a Chicago run around my birthday in February, then Asia in mid-spring - I'm tentatively thinking Tokyo (and something of the rest of Japan?), Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Then Europe again toward the end of the year (London/Paris). Which means I have to start saving up now now now, and hope that raise comes through. XD;
WRITING: 2011 - very little to show that is finished. Literally, there is just the Madoka short, which at this point I may just amnesty so I can put it up publically, and the Yuletide 2011, which won't be revealed until tomorrow. I did do a lot of prep work for original fiction, though - worldbuilding, plotting, a few thousand words of "colour swatch" writing - one piece that will be novella-length, probably, and another that's definitely novel-length. And I'm currently working on those Christmas drabbles, so they'll be ready to go in January. XD Non-fiction-wise, wrote a lot of short movie reviews, and guest-blogged for Passion of the Weiss during SXSW. (I'm going to try to keep track of this stuff as Actual Writing; it's not like it doesn't take effort.)
2012 - actually write the origfic, rather than just prep work! In the short term, other than the drabbles I have One Week One Band coming up on the 9th, which I'm going to try to work on in advance since Igloofest will be starting then.
BOOKS: 2011 - Raffles to start the year and Gabaldon to end it. I have adopted the strategy of reading Serious Books Without Pictures(tm) downloaded with iBooks on my iPod Touch, in bus queues and on planes: I read all of The Origin Of Species, even the footnotes, and am about a third of the way through The Wealth Of Nations. I have lots of Feels about both these books; they make me unexpectedly happy. I think this is because in the sweepstakes of thinkers who are misrepresented by people who have not actually read them, Charles Darwin and Adam Smith come in right under the founders of major religions (...as they both are, in a sense? /rimshot). When you read them you discover that they're not only smart, they're careful and humane, and unafraid to admit to limitations. At the same time, geebus, every argument I have ever heard anyone make against evolution was refuted IN THE ACTUAL BOOK. It's almost like Darwin, idek, talked to other people when he was writing it.
Then there was Dunnett, which, XD. I have yet to finish the last book, actually; I think I'll do that in January. I wonder if reading Dunnett has made me a better writer? I know I've been cribbing techniques from her, but successfully or not is a different question.
2012 - finish the shelved backlog, because it's getting ridiculous.
MOVIES: 2011 - so many movies. So. Many. Movies. My chilling-at-home task for New Year's Day will be to compile all the writeups I did over the course of the year, and blurb the ones I saw but didn't manage to. Just over the past week, I saw Hugo, Tintin, and Pina (that Wim Wenders 3D dance documentary I kept missing), all of which were gorgeous.
2012 - no plans. I have hit the point with movies that I did with techno music back in '06-'07, namely "become an actual DJ or get a life". Since I'm too busy on half-price Tuesday evenings, it's also a shockingly expensive hobby. But I am sure eg. we'll do something ridic for the Avengers premiere or whatever. XD
MUSIC: 2011 - despite all the concerts and festivals, it didn't feel like a vintage music year. It was very, very easy to draw up my Top 20 Songs Of The Year list for the poptimists comm (I'll repost it with Youtubes), which I choose to interpret as a bad sign. Um... I've been steadily getting into more R&B? Listened to a lot of Sade and Aaliyah? Talked to a bunch of srs music writers?
2012 - who knows, with music? I'm super-excited for Igloofest, anyway.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS: 2011 - sororial unit graduated. Parents took off to China for a good chunk of the year. H. and C. got married. T.'s Baby Heero arrived in July, with fanfares. Some illnesses, no close deaths - thank goodness. That's enough to go by, isn't it?
OTHER LIFE EVENTS: 2011 - moved to a different neighbourhood and furnished the apartment. Work had its ups and downs; the downs mostly related to organizational uncertainty, people getting fired, politics, etc. The job itself is a lot of fun. Good money, great environment, challenging projects, and if I don't have some kind of client-facing meeting, nobody cares when I come in or how I dress. I also feel appreciated, which is a if not the main thing.
SKILLS AND GOALS: 2011 - a whole bunch of minor apartment-related stuff. Dealing with a dickish landlord? Opening oysters? XD Learning how to count in Catalan?
2012 - I had a sub-section called "Dating" but I didn't know whether it ought to go under "Life Events" or "Skills And Goals", which I guess says something. I've deleted some stuff here, because I've never blogged about "dating", so why should I start now? XD; Neuroses aside, I really-truly have zero emotional need for coupledom and am happy to stay single. Which leaves subtle societal pressure and the question of whether or not this means I don't have children.
INTERNET: 2011 - gave up Farmville around the time of Lady Gaga's album release (was talking with someone about how Gagaville was weirdly underreported on by the music crit sector of Tumblr??), don't really miss the time suckage - sadly I've come to realize that to the primate brain, there is NO DIFFERENCE between decorating one's browser game farm and one's actual, physical, IRL apartment. I played a lot of browser games in the beginning of the year, actually.
2012 - several separate fails from Delicious and LJ have accelerated momentum toward AO3, DW, Tumblr... I used LJ a lot even this summer, but it feels right now as if the trend is irreversible. Which, well, a nice round decade's run and more if that's the case - I started using LJ regularly in January 2001.
FANDOM: 2011 - Sherlock Holmes, Dunnett, Madoka, X-Men (and the rest of Marvel-verse that followed along), Penguindrum, back to Sherlock Holmes. Some discussions among friends, a lot of fanart reblogs and fic reading, not a lot of writing or public participation. XD I watched Doctor Who S6 while I was at it, but not sure if I'll be watching S7.
2012 - we shall see, shan't we? XD
TRAVEL: 2011 - Austin, Texas in March (to attend South By Southwest, mostly on company funds). Barcelona, Spain in May (Primavera Music Festival). Venice, Italy in September (the Biennale, and the Film Festival). Ottawa, several times, for client work and to see T. and family. Probably Toronto, at some point, but going to Toronto for business has the impact of taking a bus to Laval for all the sense it gives me of the city beyond two specific blocks of downtown.
2012 - Less artsy, more family and friends. The plan is a Chicago run around my birthday in February, then Asia in mid-spring - I'm tentatively thinking Tokyo (and something of the rest of Japan?), Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Then Europe again toward the end of the year (London/Paris). Which means I have to start saving up now now now, and hope that raise comes through. XD;
WRITING: 2011 - very little to show that is finished. Literally, there is just the Madoka short, which at this point I may just amnesty so I can put it up publically, and the Yuletide 2011, which won't be revealed until tomorrow. I did do a lot of prep work for original fiction, though - worldbuilding, plotting, a few thousand words of "colour swatch" writing - one piece that will be novella-length, probably, and another that's definitely novel-length. And I'm currently working on those Christmas drabbles, so they'll be ready to go in January. XD Non-fiction-wise, wrote a lot of short movie reviews, and guest-blogged for Passion of the Weiss during SXSW. (I'm going to try to keep track of this stuff as Actual Writing; it's not like it doesn't take effort.)
2012 - actually write the origfic, rather than just prep work! In the short term, other than the drabbles I have One Week One Band coming up on the 9th, which I'm going to try to work on in advance since Igloofest will be starting then.
BOOKS: 2011 - Raffles to start the year and Gabaldon to end it. I have adopted the strategy of reading Serious Books Without Pictures(tm) downloaded with iBooks on my iPod Touch, in bus queues and on planes: I read all of The Origin Of Species, even the footnotes, and am about a third of the way through The Wealth Of Nations. I have lots of Feels about both these books; they make me unexpectedly happy. I think this is because in the sweepstakes of thinkers who are misrepresented by people who have not actually read them, Charles Darwin and Adam Smith come in right under the founders of major religions (...as they both are, in a sense? /rimshot). When you read them you discover that they're not only smart, they're careful and humane, and unafraid to admit to limitations. At the same time, geebus, every argument I have ever heard anyone make against evolution was refuted IN THE ACTUAL BOOK. It's almost like Darwin, idek, talked to other people when he was writing it.
Then there was Dunnett, which, XD. I have yet to finish the last book, actually; I think I'll do that in January. I wonder if reading Dunnett has made me a better writer? I know I've been cribbing techniques from her, but successfully or not is a different question.
2012 - finish the shelved backlog, because it's getting ridiculous.
MOVIES: 2011 - so many movies. So. Many. Movies. My chilling-at-home task for New Year's Day will be to compile all the writeups I did over the course of the year, and blurb the ones I saw but didn't manage to. Just over the past week, I saw Hugo, Tintin, and Pina (that Wim Wenders 3D dance documentary I kept missing), all of which were gorgeous.
2012 - no plans. I have hit the point with movies that I did with techno music back in '06-'07, namely "become an actual DJ or get a life". Since I'm too busy on half-price Tuesday evenings, it's also a shockingly expensive hobby. But I am sure eg. we'll do something ridic for the Avengers premiere or whatever. XD
MUSIC: 2011 - despite all the concerts and festivals, it didn't feel like a vintage music year. It was very, very easy to draw up my Top 20 Songs Of The Year list for the poptimists comm (I'll repost it with Youtubes), which I choose to interpret as a bad sign. Um... I've been steadily getting into more R&B? Listened to a lot of Sade and Aaliyah? Talked to a bunch of srs music writers?
2012 - who knows, with music? I'm super-excited for Igloofest, anyway.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS: 2011 - sororial unit graduated. Parents took off to China for a good chunk of the year. H. and C. got married. T.'s Baby Heero arrived in July, with fanfares. Some illnesses, no close deaths - thank goodness. That's enough to go by, isn't it?
OTHER LIFE EVENTS: 2011 - moved to a different neighbourhood and furnished the apartment. Work had its ups and downs; the downs mostly related to organizational uncertainty, people getting fired, politics, etc. The job itself is a lot of fun. Good money, great environment, challenging projects, and if I don't have some kind of client-facing meeting, nobody cares when I come in or how I dress. I also feel appreciated, which is a if not the main thing.
SKILLS AND GOALS: 2011 - a whole bunch of minor apartment-related stuff. Dealing with a dickish landlord? Opening oysters? XD Learning how to count in Catalan?
2012 - I had a sub-section called "Dating" but I didn't know whether it ought to go under "Life Events" or "Skills And Goals", which I guess says something. I've deleted some stuff here, because I've never blogged about "dating", so why should I start now? XD; Neuroses aside, I really-truly have zero emotional need for coupledom and am happy to stay single. Which leaves subtle societal pressure and the question of whether or not this means I don't have children.
INTERNET: 2011 - gave up Farmville around the time of Lady Gaga's album release (was talking with someone about how Gagaville was weirdly underreported on by the music crit sector of Tumblr??), don't really miss the time suckage - sadly I've come to realize that to the primate brain, there is NO DIFFERENCE between decorating one's browser game farm and one's actual, physical, IRL apartment. I played a lot of browser games in the beginning of the year, actually.
2012 - several separate fails from Delicious and LJ have accelerated momentum toward AO3, DW, Tumblr... I used LJ a lot even this summer, but it feels right now as if the trend is irreversible. Which, well, a nice round decade's run and more if that's the case - I started using LJ regularly in January 2001.
FANDOM: 2011 - Sherlock Holmes, Dunnett, Madoka, X-Men (and the rest of Marvel-verse that followed along), Penguindrum, back to Sherlock Holmes. Some discussions among friends, a lot of fanart reblogs and fic reading, not a lot of writing or public participation. XD I watched Doctor Who S6 while I was at it, but not sure if I'll be watching S7.
2012 - we shall see, shan't we? XD
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Date: 2012-01-01 05:18 pm (UTC)