Survey of 2013

1. Where were you when 2013 began?
I was in my new house with Joshua, Dani, and friends hosting a New Year’s LAN Party for the second year in a row. It’s becoming a New Year’s tradition!

2. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?

• Saw Wicked! at the Orpheum Theater
• Was promoted to Lead Web Designer and took on more of a management role
• Tried Indian food
• Tried and became addicted to Sriracha Sauce
• Went to WordCamp Reno and WordCamp SF
• Had a website I designed featured on WordPress
• Was a judge for the NextTalent Awards
• Got a passport
• Launched three websites in one week (two in one day)

3. Did you keep your 2013 resolutions?

• Sign up and stick to Weight Watchers – Signed up and went to meetings yes, but I need to work on being better at tracking
• Create and stick to a budget – Created one but the holidays made it difficult to stick to
• Blog more – Yes!
• Finish my scrapbooks – No, hopefully will get this done in 2014
• Eat at home more – Eh, hard to tell

4. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope!

5. Did anyone close to you die?
No one close to me died, but the death of Cory Monteith hit me pretty hard. He was gone way too soon! My heart breaks for Lea Michele.

6. Go to any concerts this year?
Yes! I saw Phillip Phillips and John Mayer!

7. Will you be looking for a new job in 2014?
No, I love my job. I love what I do and the people I work with.

8. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2013?
Maybe? I discovered SkinnyGirl drinks so I was able to enjoy alcohol a little more without the guilt. Plus my sister turned 21 this year, so there was a lot of celebration drinking happening.

9. Did you go on any vacations? If so, where?
In March I went to San Diego with Joshua and coworkers for a travel trade show. For family vacation in July we went camping in Washington. Then in November we went to Disneyland for our anniversary!

10. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting my grandpa out of his home and into an assisted living community. Also, getting Joshua’s Mercedes back on the road.

11. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2013 and change something, what would it be?
The first time I had a confrontation on the phone with a particular client. I wish I could change my reactions and how I handled things.

12. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, I actually did pretty good this year. I got a couple of colds but nothing serious.

13. What was the best thing you bought?
Mr. Big!

14. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My sister! She truly is my BFF!

15. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A few clients at work REALLY stressed me out this year! Luckily the amount of awesome clients I have outweigh the stressful ones, and I guess it made me appreciate them even more!

16. Where did most of your money go?
The automotive category. We spent a lot of money this past year to get Joshua’s car back on the road. Shortly after I traded the Beetle in to lease a new car, so I had a monthly car payment again.

17. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing Wicked on my birthday, the launch of a few websites, the release of a few movies, going to Disneyland, and getting my puppy!

18. What song will always remind you of 2013?
Oh boy, quite a few. Blurred Lines, We Can’t Stop, and What Does the Fox Say?

19. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?
Happier and a bit more optimistic. 2013 had a lot of crappy things, but the good things that happened definitely outweighed the bad. Plus 2013 seems to be ending on a good note.

ii. thinner or fatter?
Fatter. After a full year of working at a desk 5 days a week/8+ hours a day plus commute time in my car, my metabolism took a major hit.

iii. richer or poorer?
Richer, hah! My promotion in April came with a raise, so I’m definitely making more money this time of year than I was at this same time last year.

20. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Cooking at home. It was so easy when we first moved out together to just go out all the time, but now the bad habits are catching up with us.

21. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Stressing over certain clients. I can tell my emotions affected other people in the office.

22. How did you spend Christmas?
Christmas was very similar to last year. In the morning, Dani, Joshua and I exchanged gifts; then we went over to my in-laws’ house for more gift exchanging. In the afternoon, my family came over to my house for dinner and gift exchanging.

23. Did you fall in love in 2013?
Nope, just kept a good thing going, as usual. 🙂

24. What was the biggest change for you in 2013?
Becoming a partner/lead web designer at my company.

25. What were your favorite TV shows?
Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hannibal. I got into a lot of new shows this year!

26. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate? No. Don’t care to deal with? Quite a few.

27. What was the best book you read?
The Hunger Games. I started on Game of Thrones, but I got sidetracked with the show; hoping to read more of the Songs of Ice & Fire series in 2014.

28. What did you want and get?

• A dachshund!
• Owl Umbrella Stand/Vase
• iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot
• Clarisonic Mia2 Sonic Skin Cleansing Acne Clarifying Collection
• Bliss Lemon + Sage Body Butter
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Soundtrack, Special Edition]

29. What did you want and not get?

• Nest Protect
• A new mouse
• PetSmart gift card
• Hoshall’s gift card

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Below are the movies I saw in 2013. I’d have to say Catching Fire was my favorite.

• Jurassic Park: 3D
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Iron Man 3
• Now You See Me
• The Great Gatsby
• The Lone Ranger
• The Wolverine
• Thor: The Dark World
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
In 2013 I turned 26. I had the day off from work. I went down to the Bay Area with Joshua and met up with my sister and mom. For dinner we went to The Melting Pot.

After dinner we went into the city (San Francisco) where I FINALLY saw the musical Wicked! It was amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
My property getting sold! I’ve been in escrow twice and both times the buyer flaked out halfway through. I just accepted an offer today, so I’m crossing my fingers that this one goes through!

33. What kept you sane?
Honestly, my pets. I was able to bring Mr. Big with me to work for a couple weeks, and having an adorable little puppy on my desk definitely helped with the stressful times!

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I didn’t rally fancy anyone in particular. I was too sad over Cory Monteith.

35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I can’t think of a lyric that could sum everything up!

36. Who did you miss?
Honestly, I missed my mom. My mom spent more time in the Bay Area than at home this past year, first dealing with my grandpa’s care and then ultimately dealing with his house. I’m proud of what she has accomplished, but I did miss having her around.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
A couple people that started working at Digital Gear this year!

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
I’ve learned the 90%/10% rule. Focus 10% on the problem, 90% on the solution. In other words, when I deal with a stressful situation, I get about 10% to focus on the problem (vent, rant, complain etc.) but focus 90% on the solution (what can be done about it in a positive way).

39. What are your resolutions for 2014?

• Be a better Weight Watchers tracker
• Lose weight in time for our April cruise
• Get back on a consistent exercise routine
• Stick to a budget
• Finish my scrapbooks
• Don’t dine out as much

40. What are your plans for 2014?
Continue working on fun projects around the house. Hopefully a kitchen remodel will be in our near future.