I suspect that this blog is in its
death throes – I certainly never seem to be able to motivate myself to write
anything (possibly because even I am loath to moan constantly…).
BUT!
Now is the time (having been totally
silent, absent, whatever since...hmmm...April) for the “traditional” New Year’s
questionnaire. I know you’ve “all” been waiting with bated breath for this!
So. Here we go. A review of what
life was like for Magic27 in 2016...
1. What did you do in 2016 that
you’d never done before?
Tough question. Maybe “nearly die on
a volcano”? (That sounds more dramatic than it actually was, and there was no
actual “volcano” involvement, no explosions or lava I mean.)
2. Did you keep your New Year’s
resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t generally make actual
resolutions. Mainly because I’m crap at keeping to them. I did vaguely play
around with the idea of keeping a bullet journal in 2017, but I’m not sure I’ll
manage it...
3. Did anyone close to you give
birth?
No close friends (I suspect we’re
all mostly too old now...), but my upstairs neighbour had a baby boy in March.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
A very dear friend died suddenly of
a heart attack whilst doing charity work in Africa in July. We hadn’t seen each
other in years, but were very good friends back in our student days and we kept
in touch. His death shook me to the core. And it would have been his 48th
birthday in 8 days.
5. What countries did you visit?
Nothing original: Scotland in April,
Italy in August, Spain in October/November.
6. What would you like to have in
2017 that you lacked in 2016?
Same as last year: a more stable,
less stress-inducing financial situation and a better relationship with my
15-year-old daughter, C.
7. What dates from 2016 will remain
etched upon your memory and why?
11 July, the day my friend Iver died
(see above).
8. What was your biggest achievement
of the year?
Surviving the year and paying off
most of my debt. Translating a series of medical documents that allowed a
French Paralympic athlete to participate in the Games in Rio and win a bronze
medal.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Same as last year, my relationship
with C.
10. Did you suffer illness or
injury?
No, apart from what now appear to be
year-round allergies and my usual blend of psychiatric specialness.
11. What was the best thing you
bought?
Money is always tight, so I don’t
buy much to be honest. I did treat myself to a new duvet cover and pillow cases
set – turquoise blue with watermelons all over. I’m pleased with that!
12. Whose behaviour merited
celebration?
No one that I can think of in
particular.
13. Whose behaviour made you
appalled and depressed?
Long list! The British government, a
large swathe of the British population, Donald Trump, a large swathe of the US
population... Pfff
14. Where did most of your money go?
Paying off debt (always, always).
I’m pretty much debt-free now though – even my mortgage is fully paid off!
15. What did you get really, really,
really excited about?
I’m still not the kind of person to
show that amount of enthusiasm about anything, but I was very much looking
forward to travelling to Naples with the girls and Madrid (supposedly with the
girls, but in fact only with L. as C. refused to come with us).
16. What song will always remind you
of 2016?
Tough one. L. gets “favourite” songs
and plays them to death for a few days before moving on to another one, so I
doubt there’s a single song. But probably anything that was in the NRJ Top
50...
17. Compared to this time last year,
are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same
– definitely not happy, but not utterly miserable either.
b) thinner or fatter? Probably
fatter, but not much.
c) richer or poorer? Thanks to
clients not paying when they’re supposed to, I’m actually destitute right now
(-30 € on one account, +10 € on the other).
18. What do you wish you’d done more
of?
Draw, paint, write, create. Feel
happy.
19. What do you wish you’d done less
of?
Worry, stress.
20. How did you spend Christmas?
C. and my ex travelled to Paris to
be with my ex mother-in-law. L. refused to go, so it was me, her and Y. here
for Christmas. Quiet, uneventful.
21. Did you fall in love in 2016?
No. In fact, my relationship with Y.
is shaky – I think the truth is that I’m just not meant to live in the company
of other human beings; I find people in general extremely irritating. And Y.
rarely leaves the house, meaning that I feel like I’m suffocating, all the
time.
22. What was your favourite TV
programme?
I still (inexplicably) like Le Meilleur Pâtissier, and I thoroughly
enjoyed the Amazon series, Bosch.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you
didn’t hate this time last year?
No.
24. What was the best book you read?
Hmmm. Tough one. I read lots of
books this year, but mainly ones I’d already read. We need to talk about Kevin is one of them, and it moves me a great
deal.
25. What was your greatest musical
discovery?
At a personal level, possibly that I
don’t actually hate Maître Gims’ songs as much as I thought I would.
26. What did you want and get?
Nothing, really.
27. What did you want and not get?
Lots of things: financial stability,
happiness, a better relationship with C., alone time...
28. What was your favourite film of
this year?
As usual, I think I only saw
animated films this year. Of them, I probably enjoyed The Secret Life of Pets best.
29. What did you do on your
birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 47, which seems shockingly
old. The day was dull and non-descript at best, tense and interminable at
worst. Same problem as last year – C. and Y. were both here, and the tension
between them was palpable. I couldn’t wait for it all to be over, to be honest.
30. What one thing would have made
your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Financial stability.
31. How would you describe your
personal fashion concept in 2016?
LOL – unkempt, multi-coloured
scarecrow perhaps?
32. What kept you sane?
My private, inner fantasy world, the
one I escape to when I get into bed or am walking around town on my own.
33. Which celebrity/public figure
did you fancy the most?
Still like Pat Monahan and Johnny
Depp, but could now probably add in Titus Welliver...
34. What political issue stirred you
the most?
I should probably say Trump’s
election, but to be honest, I’m more likely to be affected by the Brexit
stupidity...
35. Who did you miss?
The situation with J. described in
last year’s questionnaire hasn’t really changed – the odd e-mail, a belated
Christmas card, that’s about all the contact we’ve had. It still breaks my
heart. I also miss my dear friend M. in London, because we don’t get to see
each other often enough because we’re both always broke...
36. Who was the best new person you
met?
Given how much I tend to avoid
people in general, I’m not particularly good at “meeting” new ones, so I don’t
think I made any fabulous new friends in 2016...
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson
you learned in 2016
Stop trying to believe that the new
year will be a good one because in reality, my life is a crapfest and there are
only degrees of crap. 2015 and 2016 were a little less crappy than previous
years, but still crap. My hopes and expectations for 2017 are thus
appropriately low.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up
your year
Never changes. Train’s Meet Virginia: She pulls her hair back
as she screams, “I don’t really want to live this life!”
