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Decade Retrospective
Dec. 22nd, 2019 12:52 pmFollowing in Village Charm's and Mr. Smearcase's and Microbie's footsteps and writing about the decade. I haven't prepared as well as Microbie, so I am not sure how accurate or specific I will be able to be... Maybe I'll glance back at some entries while writing this? Damn, doing that, I just realized that a) either my life was much more interesting ten years ago, or b) just writing more frequently (five to seven times a MONTH, when I barely manage five times a year these days) made me describe my life more interestingly. I sure hope it's the latter.
1. What did you do in the 2010s that you'd never done before?
buy an apartment -- a condominium, I guess, but that word is so weird -- in April of 2018; have a parent die, in June of 2018; do a cross-country road trip with my stepmother and four with my mother; learn to love doing laundry (in my apartment, nay, in my KITCHEN; it's the best); consider voting for a Democrat (Bernie, in 2016) (and will consider voting for a Democrat this year, too, if Bernie gets the nomination)
2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friends River and Dani had a baby, Juniper, who is now two and a half. All the other children in my life were born in the early 2000s.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My mother died June 25th, 2018. A friend, Mischa, told me the second year can be worse, and so far what she observed is true -- I find myself crying quite often when I think about my mom.
5. What countries did you visit?
None apart from these United States
6. What would you like to have in the 2020s that you lacked in the 2010s?
Health? Retirement! I can't retire at 55, unless we suddenly get Medicare for All... and even then, I would get a monthly pittance compared to retiring at 60... or, in fact, 62 (if I've done the calculations correctly, which I need to check with the California State Teachers Retirement System, CalSTRS) which would give me $2000/more per month than at 60, which seems crazy.
7. What date from the 2010s will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Just the date of my mom's death.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the decade?
With the help of my father (I could never have accumulated a whole downpayment without him; I thought downpayments were 10% or something. No, they're apparently 50% or MORE. I could never have accumulated that on one person's salary, even though I've done much better at regular saving than I ever would have imagined.) I bought property, the apartment I am sitting in right now, with a wonderful layout and a great balcony that is almost an extra room in the summer.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Health and losing mobility; still being vulnerable to the outside judgment of workplace authority figures; I won't say being single because I think I am into that... I'm more chagrined that I ever managed to convince myself that the relationship with Mark (which I'd forgotten continued into this decade) was in any way real. What an idiot.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, illness and debilitation
11. What was the best thing you bought?
This place and a lot of books. It was pretty liberating when I moved, to get rid of SO MUCH STUFF. Two (very expensive) visits from 1-800-Got-Junk? were well worth it. I Marie Kondoed the hell out of my place before that trend even happened. And it is a calm and soothing place to be.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Colin Kaepernick; Greta Thunberg; Bernie Sanders; Jeremy Corbyn; #MeToo; DSA
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
British socialist feminists I know who are fucking TERFs
14. Where did most of your money go?
Buying (and paying for) this place and Amazon for ebooks and groceries and ordering out. I've just about paid back my savings account for the $11 K closing costs, which is a relief.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Honestly, it's exciting to hear the word socialism on news shows, and to see regular ordinary people enthused about democratic socialist political stances from Medicare for All to Free Tuition and cancelled student loan debt; it's exciting that DSA ballooned after the 2016 Presidential bid of Bernie Sanders (who I've adored literally since I was a kid)
16. What songs will always remind you of the 2010s?
I can't do this as individual songs, most of which I become aware of just because I am a teacher and get kids to send me yearly ("appropriate" or clean versions of) songs for a Student Playlist we sometimes have on if they're doing what is depressingly called seatwork. ARTISTS I learned about this past decade... hm. I've mentioned a few in this year's DW/LJ posts... Tyler Childers; The Highwomen; Guy Clark (he's not new ... just new to me)
17. Compared to the start of the decade, are you happier or sadder?
happier
ii. thinner or fatter?
much fatter
iii. richer or poorer?
richer, despite the mortgage. That's "good debt", right? Despite what taking it on did to my stellar credit rating?
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
feeling like I could travel; traveling
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
worry about work, delude myself about Mark, though that is more of a 2000s thing.
20. Did you fall in love in the 2010s?
With Devlin, my cat.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
It's hard to rank older ones from earlier in the decade. I'm not sure when some of them started. Little has eclipsed The Wire. I like the new Trek, Discovery; I like The Expanse; I enjoyed season one of Gentleman Jack and the available seasons of Shetland (written by the same author as Vera. I binge watch things like Queer Eye and The Great British Bake Off. I rewatch things like Marple mysteries, Vera, and Battlestar Galactica. And nevertheless, I spend much more time reading than watching shows.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate at the start of the decade?
Trump, of course. Also Boris Johnson. And Freddie Bolsonaro, if I am spelling that right.
24. What were some of the best books you read?
This question is too hard! I really liked Anathem and SevenEves by Neal Stephenson, and read his other recent works without liking them as much, especially Fall, or Dodge in Hell. Jo Walton's work is a discovery of the past decade, and her stuff is great. There are a lot of authors I intend to read in the NEXT decade.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
This was answered earlier.
26. What did you want and get?
I didn't know I wanted to own a place until Oakland rents went through the roof and my apartment building went on the market, taking with it my far, far, far below market-rate rent.
27. What did you want and not get?
Hillary Clinton would have been better than Trump, much though I dislike her. Palatable neoliberalism.
28. What were some of your favorite films of the decade?
I agree with Microbie on Black Panther, Bridesmaids, and Coco... I haven't seen Sorry to Bother You yet! I don't see a ton of movies in theaters.
29. What one thing would have made your decade immeasurably more satisfying?
not having diabetes
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept during the 2010s?
someone who wears clothes that are comfortable and not actual eyesores
31. What kept you sane?
My nieces, my friends, my sister, my Devlin, some work mates for sure
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hahaha, Microbie -- John Cusack IS crushworthy, I agree! Who else? I don't pay a lot of attention. Aishwarya Rai (I agree with my younger niece on this); Alan Rickman, now dead, sigh; Edward Snowden, sure.
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
Medicare for All; #MeToo on the microlevel (that is, once it percolated down below celebrities); fucking TERFdom; endless racism and anti-immigrant actions
34. Whom did you miss?
my mom, really... also, my grandmother, who died back in 2002, and whose 104th birthday today would have been. There are so many questions I would ask her; and she would be better able to answer them than my mother. I kind of wonder if I am becoming more like my grandmother, though I hope not in the way that she verged on solipsistic narcissism.
35. Who were the best new people you met?
I agree about VillageCharm, who is a LiveJournal gift of the past decade, for me! KS, a workmate at the school I transferred to in 2011. LP, another teacher, who moved on from my school but is crazy and interesting and creative.
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in the 2010s.
Becoming more introverted as you age is okay. Boundaries are hella important.
37. What are you looking forward to in the 2020s?
Actual rather than peri-menopause; retirement; continuing to watch my nieces become excellent people; seeing the DSA continue to grow
1. What did you do in the 2010s that you'd never done before?
buy an apartment -- a condominium, I guess, but that word is so weird -- in April of 2018; have a parent die, in June of 2018; do a cross-country road trip with my stepmother and four with my mother; learn to love doing laundry (in my apartment, nay, in my KITCHEN; it's the best); consider voting for a Democrat (Bernie, in 2016) (and will consider voting for a Democrat this year, too, if Bernie gets the nomination)
2. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My friends River and Dani had a baby, Juniper, who is now two and a half. All the other children in my life were born in the early 2000s.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
My mother died June 25th, 2018. A friend, Mischa, told me the second year can be worse, and so far what she observed is true -- I find myself crying quite often when I think about my mom.
5. What countries did you visit?
None apart from these United States
6. What would you like to have in the 2020s that you lacked in the 2010s?
Health? Retirement! I can't retire at 55, unless we suddenly get Medicare for All... and even then, I would get a monthly pittance compared to retiring at 60... or, in fact, 62 (if I've done the calculations correctly, which I need to check with the California State Teachers Retirement System, CalSTRS) which would give me $2000/more per month than at 60, which seems crazy.
7. What date from the 2010s will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Just the date of my mom's death.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the decade?
With the help of my father (I could never have accumulated a whole downpayment without him; I thought downpayments were 10% or something. No, they're apparently 50% or MORE. I could never have accumulated that on one person's salary, even though I've done much better at regular saving than I ever would have imagined.) I bought property, the apartment I am sitting in right now, with a wonderful layout and a great balcony that is almost an extra room in the summer.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Health and losing mobility; still being vulnerable to the outside judgment of workplace authority figures; I won't say being single because I think I am into that... I'm more chagrined that I ever managed to convince myself that the relationship with Mark (which I'd forgotten continued into this decade) was in any way real. What an idiot.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, illness and debilitation
11. What was the best thing you bought?
This place and a lot of books. It was pretty liberating when I moved, to get rid of SO MUCH STUFF. Two (very expensive) visits from 1-800-Got-Junk? were well worth it. I Marie Kondoed the hell out of my place before that trend even happened. And it is a calm and soothing place to be.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Colin Kaepernick; Greta Thunberg; Bernie Sanders; Jeremy Corbyn; #MeToo; DSA
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
British socialist feminists I know who are fucking TERFs
14. Where did most of your money go?
Buying (and paying for) this place and Amazon for ebooks and groceries and ordering out. I've just about paid back my savings account for the $11 K closing costs, which is a relief.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Honestly, it's exciting to hear the word socialism on news shows, and to see regular ordinary people enthused about democratic socialist political stances from Medicare for All to Free Tuition and cancelled student loan debt; it's exciting that DSA ballooned after the 2016 Presidential bid of Bernie Sanders (who I've adored literally since I was a kid)
16. What songs will always remind you of the 2010s?
I can't do this as individual songs, most of which I become aware of just because I am a teacher and get kids to send me yearly ("appropriate" or clean versions of) songs for a Student Playlist we sometimes have on if they're doing what is depressingly called seatwork. ARTISTS I learned about this past decade... hm. I've mentioned a few in this year's DW/LJ posts... Tyler Childers; The Highwomen; Guy Clark (he's not new ... just new to me)
17. Compared to the start of the decade, are you happier or sadder?
happier
ii. thinner or fatter?
much fatter
iii. richer or poorer?
richer, despite the mortgage. That's "good debt", right? Despite what taking it on did to my stellar credit rating?
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
feeling like I could travel; traveling
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
worry about work, delude myself about Mark, though that is more of a 2000s thing.
20. Did you fall in love in the 2010s?
With Devlin, my cat.
22. What was your favorite TV program?
It's hard to rank older ones from earlier in the decade. I'm not sure when some of them started. Little has eclipsed The Wire. I like the new Trek, Discovery; I like The Expanse; I enjoyed season one of Gentleman Jack and the available seasons of Shetland (written by the same author as Vera. I binge watch things like Queer Eye and The Great British Bake Off. I rewatch things like Marple mysteries, Vera, and Battlestar Galactica. And nevertheless, I spend much more time reading than watching shows.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate at the start of the decade?
Trump, of course. Also Boris Johnson. And Freddie Bolsonaro, if I am spelling that right.
24. What were some of the best books you read?
This question is too hard! I really liked Anathem and SevenEves by Neal Stephenson, and read his other recent works without liking them as much, especially Fall, or Dodge in Hell. Jo Walton's work is a discovery of the past decade, and her stuff is great. There are a lot of authors I intend to read in the NEXT decade.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
This was answered earlier.
26. What did you want and get?
I didn't know I wanted to own a place until Oakland rents went through the roof and my apartment building went on the market, taking with it my far, far, far below market-rate rent.
27. What did you want and not get?
Hillary Clinton would have been better than Trump, much though I dislike her. Palatable neoliberalism.
28. What were some of your favorite films of the decade?
I agree with Microbie on Black Panther, Bridesmaids, and Coco... I haven't seen Sorry to Bother You yet! I don't see a ton of movies in theaters.
29. What one thing would have made your decade immeasurably more satisfying?
not having diabetes
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept during the 2010s?
someone who wears clothes that are comfortable and not actual eyesores
31. What kept you sane?
My nieces, my friends, my sister, my Devlin, some work mates for sure
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hahaha, Microbie -- John Cusack IS crushworthy, I agree! Who else? I don't pay a lot of attention. Aishwarya Rai (I agree with my younger niece on this); Alan Rickman, now dead, sigh; Edward Snowden, sure.
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
Medicare for All; #MeToo on the microlevel (that is, once it percolated down below celebrities); fucking TERFdom; endless racism and anti-immigrant actions
34. Whom did you miss?
my mom, really... also, my grandmother, who died back in 2002, and whose 104th birthday today would have been. There are so many questions I would ask her; and she would be better able to answer them than my mother. I kind of wonder if I am becoming more like my grandmother, though I hope not in the way that she verged on solipsistic narcissism.
35. Who were the best new people you met?
I agree about VillageCharm, who is a LiveJournal gift of the past decade, for me! KS, a workmate at the school I transferred to in 2011. LP, another teacher, who moved on from my school but is crazy and interesting and creative.
36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in the 2010s.
Becoming more introverted as you age is okay. Boundaries are hella important.
37. What are you looking forward to in the 2020s?
Actual rather than peri-menopause; retirement; continuing to watch my nieces become excellent people; seeing the DSA continue to grow