40 questions to ask yourself every year – 2022 edition

What did you do this year that you’d never done before?

• Drove to North Carolina by myself. Thought it would be weird. Audiobooks for the win.

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?

• Yes because I never make one.

Did anyone close to you give birth?

• No but the lovely lady in the deli is now gone because she had her kid. We were all sort of worried the jokes we made about her giving at work were going to come true.

Did anyone close to you die?

• No, but in classical Western tradition I hate the idea of even thinking about those closest to me dying yet at the same time excercise World-Class self-loathing. It’s ridiculous. Almost like.. NO! That’s good enough of an answer.

What cities/states/countries did you visit?

• Draw a line from home to North Carolina and I was everywhere in-between. Only really stopped at truckstops along the way. We dipped into Georgia to go to Brass Town Bald but that was about it.

What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?

• meh

What date(s) from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

• Life is always a blur. Keep focused on work and things at home. Wash, Rinse, Repeat & Enjoy!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?

• Not hurting my coworkers.

What was your biggest failure?

• Not hurting my coworkers.

What other hardships did you face?

• My coworkers.

Did you suffer illness or injury?

• (finally?) caught COVID in late November. Was not fun. Had much darker thoughts than usual around day three. Glad its over.

What was the best thing you bought?

• a water bottle

Whose behavior merited celebration?

• Greg when he first arrived at our location. Turns out he’s just a politician like every other person that has held his position in the past.

Whose behavior made you appalled?

• Everyone in my department, every boss we have had in that time, and every hourly employee. The younger generation is garbage when it comes to doing work that will make you sweat. Fucking lazy. I wish I could make their phones not work. They all look the drug addicts stuffed in the corners in New Jack City. It’s nuts. Probably put in 150-200 hours of unpaid time and three times that amount would not have been enough. Nobody fucking cares about nothing anymore.

Where did most of your money go?

• Software and Pokémon

What did you get really, really, really excited about?

• Obsidian
• Pokémon
• my last ditch-effort into making the Meat Brotherhood a real thing.
  • It never was, and is not a thing.

What song will always remind you of this year?

• No song in particular really. If we’re talking songs from work it’s gotta be that one about having fingers crossed when telling someone you love them.

Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?

• Happiness is just a word.
• Probably thinner. I am almost invisible.
• Montearily I make more an hour than I did at this time last year. Emotionally bankrupt compared to even six months ago. Hollow as the “O” in God. There is nothing there to see.

What do you wish you’d done more of?

• Writing of course. And actually putting it online if for no other purpose to make someone think to themselves: “At least I’m not as stupid as this guy!”
• Also riding my bike.

What do you wish you’d done less of?

• Worked off the clock.

How are you spending the holidays?

• At work for every one except Christmas, which will be normal procedures this year. Bigger steamer!

Did you fall in love this year?

• With Obsidian, sure over and over again. 💜
• In real life? You have got to be to be joking. Those days are over for me, pal!

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

• Hate is a powerful word. It’s fair to say I do hate everyone close to me at work. At my best, I hope they feel the same way.

What was your favorite show?

• I don’t watch things. Paid for HBO for a couple months so the family could watch the Game of Thrones spin off. Didn’t get any rave reviews.

What was the best book you read?

• Four Thousand Weeks by lightyears.

What was your greatest musical discovery of the year?

• I was pretty deep in the SomaFM and lofi pool this year. If I didn’t know of DaniSogen last year maybe them. Or Aesir but I don’t know too much of thier work but that album with In Harmony done in both language is just hardcore.

What was your favorite film?

• I went and seen Batman alone in the theater three times alone. So, Batman for sure.

What was your favorite meal?

• Anything Mom or Nicole made.
• Also ate like a king in North Carolina that whole week.

What did you want and get?

• Basically anything I bought.
• My bike was a rather large decision. The technology on these things nowadays blows my mind.

What did you want and not get?

• a Brotherhood

What did you do on your birthday?

• Nothing serious. Family stopped over to give love. That’s all that is needed when you’re old and lame like I am.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

• This space intentionally left blank.

How would you describe your personal fashion this year?

• Carhartt

What kept you sane?

• Same as always.

Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most?

What political issue stirred you the most?

• I’ve given up on all politics. I don’t speak my opinions in a public space and don’t give a shit about what other people believe in.

Who did you miss?

• It sucks having Dad across the country but our relationship is sure better. It’s probably because you want to make better use of your time together. We should all think that way about everything and everyone. But we don’t.

Who was the best new person you met?

• No one. Everyone I see in the real world is thru work and they’re seeing a version of me that doesn’t exist in the real world so it all really means nothing even if I meet someone at work. If we’re talking online, I could write an entire article about the countless great people I’ve met on Medium, PKMsocial and Twitter right before the Great Flight.

What valuable life lesson did you learn this year?

• Nobody cares and everyone is winging it.

What is a quote that sums up your year?

• Probably my favorite of all time. I must have joined PKMsocial at just the right time because my small group of followers represents the most I have had on any platform. I have not done a single thing differently on Mastodon than any other platform but the things I have been sharing actually get engagement from real people who matter on levels I will never understand or be a part of. That brings me a little bit of joy.