Annual Survey 2024 in Each Day

I have been doing this same survey since 2014, but since I jumped journals I don’t have the full archive anymore.
2022
2023

What did you do in 2024 that you’d never done before?
Context matters here. 2020 was a terrible year full of terrible events personal, professional and global. I attribute surviving that to Valentino’s arrival, and his tiny perfect helpless kittenness kindling the only maternal instinct I’d ever felt.
This year, at one point I told my therapist that suicide was “inevitable”. And that was with a brand new kitten in the house. I have never been so close to ending my life (and this is without a plan, without any real motivation except to make my experiences stop).

Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I love my New Year Resolutions! I do them every year, but I’m not a tyrant about them. I’ll write a whole entry for them.

2024 Resolutions:

Have a much better financial outlook - Well… aside from a massive shopping spree in December (pretty sure the meds-attributed extra motivation was the cause), I’m feeling pretty good. I did a good job saving, even if I also did a good job spending.

Do the Uncluttered course - Even M got on board for the Uncluttered Course! We did pretty well, but sorta fell off at the end. M went on course and I got sad and lost all motivation. I’d still call it a success, and I’m excited to start both Uncluttered and The January Cure and kick start this year.

Have more time for hobbies - It really helps the doing of the hobbies when you have enough serotonin and dopamine to internally motivate you. I’ve been killing it with hobbies since I started my new meds. It’s GREAT (I’m also very worried about its efficacy wearing off).

Sing - I did not attend karaoke, or even do karaoke in my own home. Though I will always sing when I’m alone in my car or my home.

Stained Glass - I tried, I swear. I was still struggling with motivation when I made an earnest effort, but small setback after small setback, I walked away from it and never picked it back up. I’m still intending to. I was thinking of making little dog paws for Red, Mandy and Lily, something small and easy and doesn’t require a lot of cutting which seems to be my main hiccup.

Embroidery - I definitely am enjoying the embroidery thing still. I did buy 2 thread painting patterns from someone in a FB group, they’re so beautiful. M chose one and I chose the other. I just need to actually do it now.

Dance - I had such good intentions for this. I blame being a chicken shit and also time moving too quickly.

Read 10 books - LOL No. Maybe 3? I did read a few graphic novels… I did listen to well over 300 hours of podcasts though. If those were audiobooks I’d have read a whole bunch.

Ride to work once in a 2 week period, for funsies once a week - No, but I did ride more often than last year. I’m calling it a win.

Move - Summer kicked my ass again (holy fucking understatement Batman), but I started the year going to the gym, and I ended the year going to the gym, so I’m going to call it a win.
Knit: - Ahahaha. I was supposed to finish two already-started projects, instead I bought new yarn and started a new project. THAT I DID NOT FINISH.
Social: Sundays with Red turned into Sunday D&D sessions. I didn’t stretch myself socially outside of Sundays and Wednesday Craft Nights.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not that I know of?

Did anyone close to you die?
My Goodmother.
In similar news, my great aunt has a terminal cancer dx and they’ve stopped any therapies trying to reverse the disease. They said weeks to months to live around the time that my Goodmother died. And my uncle is apparently not doing so hot either, though I’m getting less info about that.

What countries did you visit?
One of these days I’ll cross a border again… it won’t be an American one for at least another 4 years :(

What would you like to have in 2025 that you lacked in 2024?
New windows upstairs.
Better employment prospects.

What date from 2024 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Considering I can’t think of a date of note… I mean, my birthday was pretty notably awesome this year, but it’s the same date every year haha.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Staying alive.

What was your biggest failure?
Getting written up at work.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
I got tennis elbow in my left elbow late last year, and just as I was starting physio to fix it I was still going to the gym, and we were tossing sandbags, and as I tossed one I heard this ~pop~, and then sharp pain in my right elbow. Turns out I sprained it. It felt like it took FOREVER to heal.
And by the time it did, the spring heat had kicked in and I was heat sick from June until October. This caused more mental injury than physical. I don’t know how to get myself through the summer hell this coming summer.

What was the best thing you bought?
I bought a whole ass bed frame! I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how I hate sleeping in a bed without a headboard, and yet I have for years (decades!) in the queen bed. A few years ago we bought a bed frame for the King bed, and I love that thing. The new queen frame is this one from Wayfair.
I wish I could add “a drafting table” to this list. I’m talking to a few people selling them on Marketplace, but I’ve yet to be able to go physically pick it up yet.
I never did talk about my plan for my bedroom. I recently put my bed in my dressing room, and I’m setting up my old bedroom (The Cat Room, as it is dubbed) as an art/craft room. I’m doing a whole Old Hollywood/Regency design in the bedroom. Solid wood 1920’s Waterfall style furniture, this bed, a plush white shag carpet, soft pink curtains, orange accent wall. I need some gold and black accents, but I think this room is going to be amazing. And I’m really looking forward to a dedicated crafting space.

Whose behaviour merited celebration?
It’s been a rough year, but Mandy saved my stranded ass on at least two occasions. Nothing like a friend who can drop everything to come to your rescue at zero notice.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
I’m pretty sad/upset about the US right now. Their election had no small hand in my absolute spiral at the end of the year. I still feel pretty anxious about the world, but the drugs are keeping that from sliding into despair.

Where did most of your money go?
I have spent a considerable amount of money on my sith costume. But holy crap am I excited about how it’s turning out.
In other categories, Approximately:
10.2% went to savings
0.063% went to charity/causes I believe in (this number is so small but I assure you it’s not an insignificant amount.
28% will go to taxes
I don’t want to do the breakdown for household expenses. But let me tell you heating this drafty ass house eats a whole lot of money. We’re getting committed to doing the windows this year.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Oh man I could not stop thinking about those crab legs, and getting to trip to Meat Cove was WILD. It really was a memorable birthday.

What song will always remind you of 2024?

I don’t go for all the Swiftie speculation about the lyrics, so I may be way off the mark, or hit the nail on the head.
I listened to it on repeat at times. It’s fun to sing, and I feel like there’s dual meaning, “You’re on your own kid” sounds like “you” have been abandoned, but the verses are all about overcoming challenges (from longing to finding power in herself), the “you always have been” really drives home that despite being on your own, you’re going to be ok. In a time when I have definitely not been ok, this song told me I’d get through it.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or sadder: I spent most of the year sadder, but damn am I ever happier thanks to these meds.
Older or wiser: I’m going to say wiser. Getting myself through the year was no easy feat.
Thinner or fatter: Every year I think about taking this category off. Every year I think it’s interesting enough to keep it on. I’d say fatter this year, even if it’s marginal.
Richer or poorer: Richer. Getting a promotion saw to that.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Being in the moment. I was so deep in a hole that I couldn’t see past the anguish. If I think about specific things I remember about the year, sitting on the back deck with M and Valentino, the video games that helped me live in another world, long nights with M, it was a good year.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Raging over the heat. Thinking about dying. Getting stuck in ADHD paralysis at work.

How did you spend Christmas?
I have really not been feeling it, even once the meds started working. We barely got lights up outside (and only because they were still there from last year!), the tree went up late and came down early. We still have some decorations around, but they’ll be away before we return to work.
But we committed to roasting a turkey this year, so we did that up in all its glory, eating delicious turkey dinners for the next few days before I made a turkey pot pie and we froze the rest of the bird. We also watched Muppet’s Christmas Carol this year, so at least that felt normal.

How did you spend New Year’s Eve?
We kept our tradition of “Fucking in the New Year”, after an hors d’oeuvres dinner and a whole lot of video games.

Did you fall in love in 2024?
In a total contrast to last year, M gave me a thousand reasons to fall for him again. He came back from training in the spring an entirely new person. Almost his old self from before MB days, but like, better. It persistently amazes me how open minded, inclusive, and thoughtful he is about the state of the world, about women’s experiences, about systemic injustice.

How many one-night stands?
None again this year. Bastet remains our focus, but our lives are so different it’s hard to get together.

What was your favourite TV program?
This has been a weird year for TV. We rewatched The Venture Bros. and True Blood, we finished Doom Patrol, we’re finishing up What We Do In The Shadows, and we’re on the last episode of The Penguin (if you haven’t omg it is amazing. I fucking LOVE Sophia). Plus, of course, each Star Wars and Star Trek show humanly possible.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is such a useless emotion. I prefer apathy, it takes up far less mental space
(No one. I hate no one).

What was the best book you read?
I did not expect to like the Jem (and the Holograms) graphic novels as much as I did.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
I listened to them before but Phantogram is really killing it. Also Cannons.

What did you want and get?
Promotion to Captain!
An adult bed!

What did you want and not get?
to win the lottery
inner peace

What was your favourite film(s) of this year?
It was another year of shit tracking.
10/10 - Brothers (2024) despite it giving me an existential crisis because I was high.
9/10 - The Wild Robot (2024)

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We drove around the island, stopping at beautiful scenic locations at the end of a terrifying road, ate crab legs for lunch, found a waterfall, and spent the night in a cute fishing village where we made spaghetti and ate coconut cream pie. I also went for a dip in the ocean.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
My brain not trying to kill me.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024?
Having rainbow coloured hair pulls a lot of weight in the looking good in public, if all the compliments were any indication.

What kept you sane?
Literally, medication and therapy.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Leave it to my brain… I recently thought about this question and got excited because the person wasn’t a white dude… but like I could manage to remember who I was thinking about? Ugh my brain is so frustrating.

What political issue stirred you the most?
There’s just so many people suffering, trying to rank them or put them in a hierarchy just feels so disrespectful.

Who did you miss?
Considering how close Bastet is, it’d be nice to see her more than twice a year. I miss my friends from home, and my ladies from MB.

Who was the best new person/people you met?
I don’t think I have a single new person, let alone a best new person. maybe if I include work, there’s a new woman and a new man, the woman might be interesting but I have zero interest in the man. He has weird vibes.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024:
If you’re not getting the help you need, keep asking.

Quote that sums up your year: