May the new year bring you an abundance of amazing opportunities, beautiful moments, and joyful experiences. May your positive actions & attitude inspire others. May you be brave enough to take on and overcome rewarding challenges. May you find yourself in high spirits & excellent health. May you love with all your heart and find peace in even the most turbulent of times. May the love you give find its way back to you. And may you forever be filled with the hope & strength necessary to make your dreams a reality.
And here it is, ladies and gentlemen, my first annual year review!
1.What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?
I started living on my own.
2.Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any last year, because "Depression is the inability to construct a future." Will I make some this year? No. But I have plans.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friends Fie&Pie had their first baby
4.Did anyone close to you die?
No. I try to change seats when I notice someone's number's up ^eg^
5.What countries did you visit?
Austria. I'll travel more next year.
6.What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
More travelling, obviously. More fun in general
7.What date from 2013will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
02/10. The day I moved into my new apartment, into my new life.
8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Telling my GP that I needed help. He devised a plan for me, including medication & therapy.
9.What was your biggest failure?
I failed to say proper good-byes to my colleagues at work.
10.Did you suffer illness or injury?
I finally made an end to illness. But speaking about it with friends & family sometimes seemed like me dealing with depression overshadowed the fact that I had finally found help. I think most people were embarassed they didn't know I was depressed until I told them that I was receiving care for it.
11.What was the best thing you bought?
A round-trip ticket to Antwerp with entrance fee to the zoo. This day trip marked my "re-entering" the world.
12.Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Each and every friend who played a part in my moving out.
13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Mine, until May.
14.Where did most of your money go?
Furniture for Poppins
15.What events did you get really, really, really excited about?
Belgium Strikes Back, the move, preparations for a birthday party in February.
16.What song will always remind you of 2013?
None, but maybe "Daniel" by Elton John will remind me of my therapist, one of the most important people I met in 2013.
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
i.happier or sadder? Happier!
ii.thinner or fatter? Thinner!
iii.richer or poorer? Probably poorer, but hey, see i. & ii.
18.What do you wish you'd done more of?
Loving myself
19.What do you wish you'd done less of?
Compulsive Skin Picking
20.How will you be spending Christmas?
I think I've started a nice new tradition of flying home to Austria for Yule.
21.Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Helen
22.Did you fall in love in 2013?
No, but I had a tiny crush on someone and one of my eternal loves re-surfaced.
23. How many one-night stands?
Zero
24. What was your favorite TV program?
I watched so many series... I can tell you that this was my favourite scene (NOT safe for work): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzxRBvEqPUg
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.
26. What was the best book you read?
Outch, books... "Every Day" by David Levithan looked promising, but I didn't get far.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery or rediscovery?
I tried to get into classical music, but didn't pursue it much.
28. What did you want and get?
Freedom. A degree of sanity.
29. What did you want and not get?
A bath tub.
30. What were your favorite films of this year?
I enjoyed taking myself to a small cinema in Brussels to watch "Michael Kohlhaas". The entire experience was magical.
31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
36 and I spent the day at the office. Other than that, memory fails.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A bath tub?
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
"LOOK AT ME!"
34. What kept you sane?
Bouncing my thoughts and ideas off my therapist.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most/least?
Most: Venus Van Dam
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
LGBT issues
37. Who did you miss?
Towards the end of the year: Plumsie. Where are you?
38. Who were the best new people you met?
"Daniel", many of Cookie's friends.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013
40. What are your plans for 2014?
Find a temporary job, travel to Mexico, start college in October, go back to Austria after the Winter Solstice.
