let's give it up for the new year

[ What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? ]
i actually committed to something.

[ Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? ]
i don’t really remember making any but if i did they were probably like stop drinking pop and things like that, which i definitely didn’t follow through on. the resolutions for this year are vague and broad and leave lots of room for interpretation so i hope i can at least stick to them a little bit. draw more, study harder, get drunk less, stop being such a drama queen, better money management.

[ Did anyone close to you give birth? ]
nope. i think that’s a good thing.

[ Did anyone close to you die? ]
not this year.

[ What countries did you visit? ]
mexico, belize, united states.

[ What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? ]
a cumulative gpa above 7.

[ What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? ]
let’s say april 20. pete and i hit the one year mark and even though that’s not all that long and even though we weren’t together for it, it feels pretty huge to be with someone for so long and to get through so much and end up where we are now.

[ What was your biggest achievement of the year? ]
the year was more an academic one than anything so all i really have to show for it in the end is being two terms closer to graduating.

[ What was your biggest failure? ]
eating meat again.

[ Did you suffer illness or injury? ]
a cold maybe here and there but nothing lasting or terrible.

[ What was the best thing you bought? ]
i can’t even think of anything that i actually bought. all the stuff we’ve bought around the apartment has been pretty good, the little things that add up and make it feel like our place.

[ Whose behavior merited celebration? ]
pete’s, for sure.

[ Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? ]
mine, mostly.

[ Where did most of your money go? ]
eating out.

[ What did you get really, really, really excited about? ]
september. when pete and i moved in here.

[ What song will always remind you of 2006? ]
pump it by the black eyed peas.

[ Compared to this time last year, are you: ]
[ i. happier or sadder ] happier!
[ ii. thinner or fatter ] mostly the same
[ iii. richer or poorer ] the same, unfortunately

[ What do you wish you'd done more of? ]
dancing.

[ What do you wish you'd done less of? ]
being a psychotic dramatic girlfriend.

[ How will you be spending Christmas? ]
with my family, as always. that’s the only way.

[ Did you fall in love in 2006? ]
in 2005, yes. but it’s a continual process.

[ How many one-night stands? ]
never ever.

[ What was your favorite TV program? ]
csi.

[ Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? ]
no hatred to be found around here, pals.

[ What was the best book you read? ]
on beauty by zadie smith – well that was over the new year so maybe it doesn’t fully count?
cloud atlas by david mitchell

[ What was your greatest musical discovery? ]
it was a rediscovery of third eye blind.

[ What did you want and get? ]
pete back.

[ What was your favorite film of this year? ]
i can’t even think of a single one.

[ What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? ]
i turned 20 and went crazy all around kelowna. it’s actually pretty embarrassing how out of hand i got.

[ What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? ]
if pete and i hadn’t been apart for six months of it.

[ How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? ]
huh?

[ What kept you sane? ]
school, more or less.

[ Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? ]
john cusack.

[ What political issue stirred you the most? ]
i don’t get stirred anymore. i wish i did, but i don’t.

[ Who did you miss? ]
pete, alie, my family, taryn circa grade 10.

[ Who was the best new person you met? ]
jeffrey (don’t give me any philosophical bullshit, i’m counting my cat as a person) and my summer work gang.

[ Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006 ]
well, learning is different than living, i hope. i learned to relax. to not always take myself so seriously and just relax sometimes. now, to implement this may be a different story.

[ Quote a song lyric that sums up your year ]
And I know why they hatin' on us (why)
Cause our style's so fabulous (what)
I'ma be real on us (c'mon)
Nobody got nuttin' on us (no)

07

new years resolution #4
"stop being such a drama queen"
status: failed

is it really too late for new years resolutions like that or is it just a consistent effort? i think probably the latter because it's pretty lame to just say "oh, i screwed that one up. better luck next year!" and just carry on being an emotional fuckwit in all possible aspects of my life.


christmas was fun but the break was too long (!!!) and i really am happy to be back in victoria. this is more my element, even if i seem to want to be anywhere else but here. i mean, seriously, how could i be unhappy in a city that is home to jr's indian curry house? impossible!

notable

so far this christmas break

1. my baba, who is 88, was giving my littlest sister tips on her dance dance revolution technique. "taylor, you stand too far forward your back foot doesn't reach" and "taylor, can't you look down when you play? look where you stand that's why you get all the boos."

2. i ate meat. i still don't think i could go to a restaurant and order a steak or anything like that, but it was christmas dinner and i had a little bit of turkey. it was delicious, that's a fact. but i don't think it's going to be a common theme in my life. i'm happy being a vegetarian. am i still a vegetarian? well, i don't know if i still want to lay claim to that title. it's either all or none, there's no middle ground. but all of a sudden after dinner last night it clicked again and i'm feeling good about the meat-free lifestyle. we'll see. i'm not making any rules or laying down any guidelines. i'm just gonna see how i feel.

3. victoria is home. i can't really explain how hard this has hit me over the past ten days. i guess homesickness is the appropriate phrase for how i've felt. last christmas or even at the end of this summer i would have said i was "going back to school" because that's all victoria meant. but in a week i'm going back to victoria. i'm going back home.

4. i vowed not to go skiing. snowboarding. and yet i've agreed to two days of it. gaby and i are going to attack the slopes in a beginner snowboarding class tomorrow, unless i can get out of it somehow. on saturday we're all trekking out to big white for a day of "fun." pete's super stoked on it and so is my little sister and i don't know why i agreed but if i play my cards right i can sneak away to the lodge and drink coffee all afternoon, make it out for one last run and pretend i've been ripping it up all day.

5. jeffrey. umm. best ever.

start with the end in mind

last exam celebrations. taryn style.

step 1.
have a nap.
(intersperse with pleasure reading, a highlight of life without school)
current read: oryx and crake by margaret atwood

step 2.
rent christmas movies.
picks: elf, christmas with the kranks, the santa clause 2

step 3.
get snacks.
picks: pepsi and salt & vinegar chips

step 4.
watch the santa clause 2 (on vhs!) and eat snacks at 4 in the afternoon.



yahoo.
but i am done like dinner.
half way through third year. half way through my degree.
(half way? halfway?)
to kelowna on the 16th and back to victoria on january 1st.
all i know is that i will be trying not to kill jeffrey (or let my mom kill him) who is coming with me, checking my marks compulsively, scoping out all the best toboggan hills in kelowna with my littlest sister who is the most enthusiastic person in my family and spending new years with pete. the rest of it is very up in the air and as long as i don't get conned into going to the ski hill it will be a very merry christmas.

hippo hero

my new favorite website:
christmas radio stations!

i feel like i have some serious christmas frenzy and no outlet for it so all i do is scan the radio for stations playing christmas music and come home and listen to more christmas music. pretty sweet, ja?

ps.
i want a hippopotamus for christmas
only a hippopotamus will do
no crocodile
no rhinoceroses
i only like hippopotamuses
and hippopotamuses like me too

i'm totally down with this song, man.
"mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then / teacher says hippo is a vegetarian"?
lyrics don't get better than that.

man, christmas is the best.