1. What did you do in 2004 that you’d never done before? I went to the former Eastern Bloc. I worked in a law firm. And I drove to Delaware.
2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn’t make any last year. This year I am trying to read 50 books and blog about them.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No.
4. Did anyone close to you die? No.
5. What countries did you visit? Turkey, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovak Republic (on the train only), Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004? Ten straight board game victories over Will Baude. Admission to the bar. A job I am passionate about.
7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory? June 12.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting a federal appellate clerkship.
9. What was your biggest failure? Getting terrible grades.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No more so than usual.
11. What was the best thing you bought? New sneakers.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My sister transferred to Rice University.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Everyone involved with the election of 2004.
14. Where did most of your money go? I buried it in a hole in the ground. No, really, I saved a lot of money in 2004. Yay for firm jobs.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? My personal life. Living in D.C. again. Traveling.
16. What song/album will always remind you of 2004? A Kiss to Build a Dream On, by Louis Armstrong. And Fighter, by Christina Aguilera.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
• Happier or sadder? Oodles happier. But perhaps more stressed.
• Thinner or fatter? My NP says I am the same. My pants agree.
• Richer or poorer? Slightly richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Working on my paper last spring, reading books.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Surfing the internet. Seriously, it’s unhealthy how much I’m online.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? Pbbth.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? My boyfriend.
22. Did you fall in love in 2004? See above.
23. How many one-night stands in this last year? Zero.
24. What was your favorite TV program? No TV.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Yes.
26. What was the best book(s) you read? Don Quixote.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Mashups.
28. What did you want and get? A certain someone.
29. What did you want and not get? A certain geographical proximity to that someone.
30. What were your favorite films of this year? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Incredibles, Garden State, and Saved!
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I went to Monticello. I was 24.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A winter escape to New Zealand.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004? Preppy slob in winter, flappy dresses in summer.
34. What kept you sane? The light at the end of the tunnel: graduation.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I didn’t fancy any particular celebrity.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? Reproductive rights.
37. Who did you miss? Just about any pop culture not filtered through Fametracker.com, most major media news that didn’t get filtered through blogs, and all the election debates. On purpose.
38. Who was the best new person you met? See Question 21.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004. If people say, “nobody cares about grades if you went to Harvard,” kick them in the knees.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I feel the sun on my back/I smell the earth in my skin/I see the sky above me like a full recovery . . .