I got the idea for this from Mitch Berg, who does the excellent Shot In The Dark blog, and have been doing it more or less consistently since 2006, first on my LJ, then on Dreamwidth, and finally I’ve brought it here, where hopefully there will be more comments.
By Any Meme Necessary, 2024 Edition
1. Was 2024 a good year for you?
On balance, yes. It was definitely better than 2023 in a lot of ways.
2. What was your favorite moment(s) of the year?
a) Son of Silvercon II with Brad Torgerson as our GoH
b) Hanging out with friends (not enough of them and not for long enough) on the annual Not-For-Balticon Excursion
c) Avoiding serious illness and hospitalization. I had a couple of bouts of GI distress, but that was as bad as it got.
3. What was your least favorite moment(s) of the year?
a) Finding out I wouldn't be going back to Reno for second peak because the regional manager threw a fit over my expenses.
b) Having to cancel my trip to Minnesota in October thanks to food poisoning.
4. What did you do in 2024 that you’d never done before?
Toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which had a bunch of really cool stuff, including the K-25 History Center, which you really ought to visit if you're in the Knoxville/Nashville area. I learned a lot.
5. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't do New Year's resolutions because I suck at following through on them. Having said that, I made serious attempts to:
a) stay rested and on track dietarily - Mostly I managed this, which is probably why I was generally healthier this year.
b) especially during tax season - Since I was home for most of tax season, this wasn't the problem it usually is. I have the unfortunate habit of eating a lot of fast food when I'm on the road or up in Reno, but here at home I eat a lot of the same stuff every day, and when I stick to that routine, I lose weight.
c) keep better track of my money and put more of it away - I kept better track of it, but a lot of it went towards Son of Silvercon and the annual hajj unto Northern Virginia/Western Maryland.
6. Where were you when 2024 began?
At home in Tonopah
7. Who were you with?
Nobody
8. Where were you when 2024 ended?
At home in Tonopah
9. Who will you be with when 2024 ends?
Nobody
10. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not that I'm aware of.
11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2024?
My Aunt Pat died the weekend before Thanksgiving, and I was unable to attend her memorial, which hurt a lot.
12. Who did you miss?
Various friends and family members, most notably Holly & Oscar Bambolo and their kids,
who couldn't make it to Son of Silvercon this year.
Also, David Drake, who would have been our second guest of honor but died a week after accepting our offer.
13. Who was the best new person you met in 2024?
Actually, there were a bunch of people. Brad Torgerson, Julie Frost, Alice Dick, Jeff Duntemann, and Rand Simberg among them.
14. What was your favorite month of 2024?
July, because Son of Silvercon.
15. Did you travel outside of the US in 2024?
No. What for?
16. How many different states did you travel to in 2024?
California, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Virginia. The stopover at DFW doesn't count.
I had to detour through Dyer and some small town in California after some shithead killed a couple people and then shot back at the deputies north of Dyer Junction on US-95. Thus I honor my commitment to not voluntarily enter the accursed state of California.
17. What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2022?
A new pancreas. A sugar mama. The usual.
18. What date from 2024 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 9th, my 65th birthday.
19. What were your biggest achievements of the year?
a) Not dying, and not even getting seriously ill.
b) Son of Silvercon
20. What was your biggest failure?
Because I was stupid with discounts, I didn't make commission this year.
21. Did you suffer illness or injury?
This year I have been mercifully spared from either, except for a couple episodes of diarrhea caused by food poisoning.
22. What was the best thing you bought?
There were no major purchases this year.
23. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Brad Torgerson, who filled in as our GoH on relatively short notice after the death of David Drake.
Related: Sandra Miesel, who wrote a very nice memorial to Dave for our program book.
24. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Do we have to talk about politics and international affairs?
25. Where did most of your money go?
Son of Silvercon, in one way or another.
26. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Son fo Silvercon.
27. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2024?
No.I had a glass of wine with my birthday steak, and that was it.
28. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2024?
More than in 2023. I had a lot more slack time this year.
29. Did you treat somebody badly in 2024?
Not this year.
30. Did somebody treat you badly in 2024?
No.
31. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? - I think I'm a bit happier. Little worried about some friends who are taking the election results hard, but generally speaking I'm happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? - About the same as last year, really.
iii. richer or poorer? - A bit richer, despite Bidenflation. Unlike last year, I didn't run out of cash early in December and have to spend the rest of the month
living off my credit cards.
32. What do you wish you’d done more of in 2024?
Gone outside and touched grass, or the local equivalent of same. I blame higher gas prices.
33. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Video games are terribly addictive. So is Twitter.
I could stand to spend a lot less time on both of them.
I probably won't. (And I didn't.)
34. Did you fall in love in 2024?
No, but I lusted in my heart after a fair number of women, mostly of the 2d variety.
35. What was your favorite TV program(s)?
I watched the first five episodes of Fallout on Amazon Prime while I was hanging out at Stacy McCain's place. Not bad.
Didn't watch anything else, so I guess that's it.
36. What song will always remind you of 2024?
There's no particular song that sums up the year, or even reminds me of a particular time this year.
37. How many concerts did you see in 2024?
None. Concerts are insanely expensive these days - like everything else, only worse.
38. Did you have a favorite concert in 2024?
See previous question.
39. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Perturbator. Thanks, YouTube.
40. What was the best book you read?
Holy crap, I bought a lot of books this year, 37 in total. About a dozen of them were duplicates of C.J. Cherryh books I know I have hardcopies of in SOME damn box, but I was in a hurry to write a blog comparing the economics of David Drake's Hammerverse to her Alliance/Union 'verse, so...yeah. I also picked up a couple of books that have moved into the "I'll finish this later" pile, namely THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB and Clemenceau's GRANDEUR & MISERY OF VICTORY, which is not so much an autobiography or history as a response to some smack talk Marshal Foch published in his memiors right before he died. Best book of the year, though, was definitely C.J.Cherryh's ALLIANCE UNBOUND, the second book in her Hinder Stars trilogy. Honorable mention to my man Jon LaForce's Afghan War romance HELL'S BELLES and Michael Flynn's last novel, IN THE BELLY OF THE WHALE. Best nonfiction was Bill James' HANDBOOK: WALKAWAY EDITION, which reminded me of his 1988 BASEBALL ABSTRACT if you took the team reports out.
41. What was your favorite film of this year?
I'm going to sit down and watch JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 on DVD, and since that was released this year I think that counts.
42. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I did a whole lot of nothing before cleaning up and going down to the Pittman Room at the Mizpah Hotel for an outstanding steak dinner.
43. What did you want and get?
I'm at a point in my life where I can actually afford most of the things I want without too much difficulty.
Well, things that have price tags, anyway.
44. What did you want and not get?
See #43
45. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
[REDACTED]
46. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2024?
"The Festive Color Of My Tribe Is Black". This really hasn't changed.
47. What kept you sane?
I was honestly too busy to get anywhere near crazy this year.
48. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Most of the celebrities and public figures that came to my attention this year were fairly appalling people, although Keanu Reeves continues to be an awesome person.
49. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2024.
Sorry, I got nuthin'. Try again next year.
50. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Nope, no joy here either.
Your life sounds a lot like mine.