Jenna's House of Idiosyncrasies Version 10.0 [Focus.]

There is not much to report this year, but this is a Christmas tradition.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
   I lived with my parents as an adult with a job for more than a summer.
2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
   My cousin Sabrina, who we used to say was the Mini-Me [mini-Jenna] of the family, had a beautiful little girl named Scarlet.

   
   Scarlet and her Mom

3. Did anyone close to you die?
   No.
4. What would you like to have in 2010 that you didn't have in 2009?
   My own place. Living with one's parents is hard.
5. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
   The day my dear friends, Emily and Greg, were married. Those two beautiful kids were simple made for each other. It was a lovely ceremony and a fantastically fun reception and just a great day.

   
   Emily and Greg at Karaoke Summer 2008

6. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   It honestly doesn't feel like I've achieved anything this year. It feels like I'm treading water.
7. What was your biggest failure?
   I haven't admitted it to anyone, and I haven't even cancelled my membership, but I've basically quit going to the gym. My energy level is down, I've gained a little bit of weight, and for some reason I can't make myself go back to even walk on a treadmill. Maybe it's because of the same reason I'm so big in the first place: I hate exercising. It's boring, it's tiring, and it often feels like a giant waste of time in which I could be programming or running down leads. I do need to get back to it. And I will.
8. Did you suffer illness or injury?
   I have lots of migraines and I think I'm grinding my teeth in my sleep. Nothing else though.
9. What was the best thing you bought?
   My first smartphone, a HTC T-mobile G1.

   

10. Whose behavior merited celebration?
    My Athens friends. Who are all awesome. Even those who don't technically live there anymore.

    

11. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
    Mine? I guess? All of the bad stuff that has happened to me lately is totally my fault.
12. Where did most of your money go?
    Bills. Business expenses. Food. Gas.
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
    I went to two weddings this year and I was super stoked about both of them. Also karaoke.
14. What song will always remind you of 2009?
    Lost Coastlines, by Okkervil River.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
    Sadder. I am sad all the time, crying at inappropriate moments and wondering if I am going to make it.

    ii. Thinner or fatter?
    Fatter.

    iii. Richer or poorer?
    Poorer.

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
    Seeing my friends. Reading. Learning more new things about my profession.
17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
    Sleeping in the daytime.
18. How will you be spending Christmas?
    With my parents and baby sister exchanging extremely inexpensive gifts.
19. Did you fall in love in 2009?
    I have officially given up on that front. I'm focusing on my friends and my career and my family. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm done.
20. How many one night stands?
    None.
21. What was the best book you read?
    Didn't crack a book this year as far as I can remember.
22. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    White Rabbits, The Heavy, Salem Al Fakir
23. What did you want and get?
    After nearly a year without one I got a new cell phone. Makes all of life better.
24. What did you want and not get?
    To get fit.
25. What was your favorite film of this year?
    I'm pretty sure the only 2009 film I saw was Public Enemies, which despite it's all star cast and period setting was not good. I guess I'm just more of a tv watcher.
26. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
    The Saturday after my birthday Mom and Dad took me for lunch, a hike and then ice cream.
    I was 26.

    

27. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
    To have done something worth writing about. Also a surprise birthday party would have been neat.
28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
    I have my own style. I have started thinking a lot about what my clothes say about me and rather than hide I try to dress my figure as best I can.
29. What kept you sane?
    Listening to podcasts, playing lots of Sims, and being invited to hang with my Athens homies.
30. What political issue stirred you the most?
    The more I learn about the economy and healthcare and the war, the more I can't make up my mind.
31. Who did you miss?
    Is is possible to miss a whole city? Man I miss Athens.
32. Who was the best new person you met?
    This is super cheesy, but I have to say Scarlet. She's a new person, right?

    
    Babysitting

33. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
    If you get to the end of the year and can't think of anything that you've achieved, much you are proud of and not even a movie you've seen, it is time to make a change.
34. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
    "And every night finds us rocking and rolling / On waves wild and wide / Well, we have lost our way / Nobody's gonna say it outright / Just go la, la, la la la la"