2007 Survey

In which I play it pretty straight. Don't expect my typical rapier wit. Sorry.

1) Was 2007 a good year for you?
Yeah, actually it was a pretty good year for the most part.

2) What was your favorite moment of the year?
Finding Aubrey on MySpace

3) What was your least favorite moment of the year?
I guess it was when the power went out for a couple of days last Monday...but I can't complain. We got lucky. There are still homes without electricity a week later.

4) Where were you when 2007 began?
Asleep in my bed...exactly where I wanted to be.

5) Who were you with?
Myself...my wife was up with my son watching that stupid ball drop.

6) Where will you be when 2007 ends?
Asleep in my bed.

7) Who will you be with when 2007 ends?
Myself...I imagine Stacie and Bryan will want to see that infernal ball drop again.

8) What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before?
Played a show in a casino.

9) Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make New Year's resolutions. Why set yourself up for a fall?

10) Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. If any of 'em did they didn't want me to know about it.

11) Did anyone close to you die?
My wife's grandfather. He was a good guy.

12) Did you travel outside of the US in 2007?
Not only did I not travel out of the country, I didn't travel out of the state. Hell, I rarely ventured out of town.

13) How many different states did you travel to in 2007?
See above.

14) What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A monthly check.

15) What date(s) from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 31, and not because it was Halloween.

16) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Teaching myself how to type.

17) What was your biggest failure?
Having to retire from performing music, although there were good reasons and I wouldn't exactly call it a "failure" but that's about as close as it came. I told you it was a pretty good year.

18) Did you suffer any illness or injury?
I dropped a bass amplifier on my big toe and it looked pretty bad for several months.

19) What was the best thing you bought?
I would say my copy of the Sigur Ros "Heima" DVD, but I didn't really buy it...my wife bought it for me as an early Christmas gift (thanks, dear).

20) Whose behavior merited celebration?
Docky Pecky

21) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The collective news media.

22) Where did most of your money go?
Down the drain.

23) What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The first message I recieved from Aubrey on MySpace.

24) What song will always remind you of 2007?
Any and every song from Sigur Ros' 3rd and 4th albums.

25) Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? Maybe just a little thinner.
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer for the time being. Hopefully 2008's survey will have a different answer to this one.

26) What do you wish you'd done more of?
Getting out of the house, visiting friends.

27) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Screwing around on the internet.

28) How will you be spending Christmas?
Alone. Don't feel sorry for me. That's how I like it, although I suppose I would be glad to change that if the right situation presented itself, but I don't see that happening so I'll just rent a few DVDs or finish up a book. Ho ho ho.

29) Did you fall in love in 2007?
I fall in love every day of the week.

30) If yes, with who?
All that is beautiful to my eyes, my mind and my senses

31) If yes, do they know?
They haven't told me whether they do or not

32) Are you still in love with them?
I never fall out of love...it's just hard for most people to tell that I am capable of loving.

33) You regret it?
No

34) Did you breakup with anyone in 2007?
I deleted a few friends from my MySpace "friends list...does that count?

35) How many one-night stands?
None

36) How many people did you sleep with in 2007?
1

37) Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

38) Did you make any new friends in 2007?
I met a few nice people this year but I wouldn't say they reached the level of "friend".

39) Who are your favorite new friends?
No new friends...only old ones.

40) What was your favorite month of 2007?
October

41) Did you miss anybody in the past year?
A couple of friends...Daniel, Warty

42) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
I snapped at our keyboard player when he rightly suggested I remove the earplugs from my ears because they were affecting my performance, causing me to sing at too low a volume.

43) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2007?
I'm pretty gullible. If anyone lied to me I probably still think they were telling the truth.

44) Did you treat somebody badly in 2007?
I'm afraid so.

45) Did somebody treat you badly in 2007?
The manager of Dietrichs Club never gave our band weekend shows, just Wednesday and Thursdays. We got back at him, though, when one of his weekend bands cancelled. He called us at the last minute begging us to fill in. We told him to shove it. HA!

46) What was your proudest moment of 2007?
The point where I was able to type pretty fast without having to hit the backspace key very often.

47) What was your most embarrassing moment of 2007?
I'm sure there were a few but I have successfully managed to block them from my memory.

48) What was your greatest musical discovery?
I wasn't really out to "discover" new music this past year. I was more into re-visiting stuff I'd listened to most of my life. I guess you could say that I "discovered" Modern Jazz, though I've heard some of it over the years, but I was exposed to a lot more of it via XM Satellite radio. Same thing with Death Metal.

49) What did you want and get?
Another year of XM service.

50) What did you want and not get?
That monthly check.

51) What was your favorite new film of this year?
"Heima" and "Reign Over Me"

52) What was your favorite TV program?
All In the Family

53) What was your favorite record from 2007?
Mark Kozelek "Little Drummer Boy Live"


54) How many concerts did you see in 2007?
One. Bryan's Christman concert. It was the only one I wanted to see since Sigur Ros didn't play anywhere close.

55) Did you have a favorite concert in 2007?
See above.

56) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2007?
There are people I know who drink more alcohol in one night than I drank all year.

57) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2007?
Not as many as I did the year before. HA!

58) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I think Stacie may have taken me out to eat. I can't remember where, though. I had reached the ripe old age of 45.

59) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I hate to admit it, and I'm sure this is the most popular answer to this question by a huge margin, but it's true: money.

60) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Sloth chic.

61) What kept you sane?
The memory of what it's like to be insane and the fear of it ever happening again.

62) Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
You know, I can't think of a single one. I don't care much for the whole concept of "celebrity".

63) How much money did you spend in 2007?
Too much, not enough..

64) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007:
Some, maybe even most, of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers, but every once in awhile He'll surprise you and give you your heart's desire.

65) What are your plans for 2008?
Move into a new house. Get some nice stuff for myself and my family. Read a few more Charles Dickens novels. Read more of the classics. Learn more about history and Western Civilization. Write a lot of junk on my blog, maybe learn some new HTML tricks. Try to write a few more songs that I'm not emberassed to play for friends. Continue to improve my typing skills to the point where I can type faster than my wife. Listen to lots more music. Get out of the house more.

66) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"I don't give a damn what anybody thinks...what do you think about that?"