(no subject)
On a plane, doing a belated end of year meme as copied from ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
eccentric_hat
What did you do in 2017 that you'd never done before?
Actively managed my career. Served on a promotion committee (twice, the second time as committee chair). Decided that my nonbinary gender mattered enough to me that I should start asking the rest of the world to acknowledge it.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t really do the annual resolutions thing but I had a lot of success defining six-month themes and framing my goals actions around them, and I plan to continue doing so. The first half of 2017 was “maintaining momentum”; the second half was “reducing chaos”. My early 2018 theme is still a paragraph instead of a catchphrase, but it is something along the lines of “accelerating others”.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
The spouses of several good work friends did.
Did anyone close to you die?
No.
What about weddings?
I attended none, but spent a lot of the year focused on/planning my own upcoming wedding.
What countries did you visit?
Only the one.
What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
I would like to stay on the same team at work, with the same manager, for the entire year. (I’ve been on my current team since March but the further behind me I can put the chaos of 2016, the better.)
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
More than anything, I made consistent, incremental change for the better everywhere I had power to do so. None of the individual things I did was particularly striking or dramatic, but in aggregate there are a lot of places I can look and see that things were better because of my actions.
This was mostly in a work context. I did a fuckton of mentorship. I did a metric fuckton of networking, on behalf of myself and others. I improved my team’s coding practices; I improved our code; I improved our processes. I did so very much labor, emotional and otherwise. And I did so in a way that was very visible, that encouraged others to do the same, and I was rewarded and appreciated for it.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. I did go through a shitty transition between ADHD prescribers that resulted in my being unmedicated for a month and only partially medicated for another two; that sucked.
What was the best thing you bought?
A bespoke suit. I don’t actually have it yet (final fitting and adjustments will be this month) but the fitting and decision-making process was very, very good. My local queer suit maker is another light in the darkness, and interacting with him made my world better.
(Among other things, his nonjudgmental totally open way of asking about my gender expression for the purpose of making the right suit turned out to be the last nudge I needed to come out as nonbinary rather than butch.)
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Everyone who did anything to fight the darkness in the last year. I’m particularly impressed with those who made more fundamental change, and who did so in more adverse conditions than I was in.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A lot of people, in particular several in politics.
Where did most of your money go?
Wedding planning
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Final Fantasy XV lit my fannish fire after a long period where it was banked. I have. So many feelings about those boys and their road trip and their fight against literal darkness.
Also there was a new Star Trek!
What song will always remind you of 2017?
It honestly wasn’t a very musical year for me. “No Children” maybe for FFXV reasons?
Compared to this time last year, are you:
More stable, more self-aware, less afraid, more dedicated to being on my bullshit.
(I was going to say “more determined”, but no. This time last year was the peak of work chaos, when everything was obviously about to come crumbling down but none of the layoffs had actually happened yet. I was a fucking sword in a forge this time last year.)
What do you wish you'd done more of?
I’m satisfied with my choices.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
I’m satisfied with my choices.
How did you spend Christmas?
With H’s family
New Year's?
With H’s family.
Did you fall in love in 2017?
No, but I spent the year deeply in love with H, who was my rock and who gave me all the emotional support I needed to keep projecting positivity into the world. (I’m going to marry her! I can’t wait!)
How many publications?
None
Most surprisingly memorable blog post?
Not really
What was your favorite TV program?
Didn’t watch a lot of TV this year, but what I watched was very good. Bojack Horseman continues to blow my mind. The Good Place and Brooklyn 99 were both warm and cozy blankets.
But I think my favorite was Star Trek: Discovery. Which was a STAR TREK that HAPPENED and so far has not betrayed me like the Abrams movies did.
What was the best book you read?
I didn’t do much reading. I think Ann Leckie’s Provenance was my favorite fiction. And Apprenticeship Patterns by Hoover and Oshineye, which I first read in ‘16, was the book that had the most dramatic impact on my life.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Mountain Goats probably doesn’t count as a discovery given that I’ve been listening to them for years, but the last album of theirs I was really obsessed with was Life of the World to Come. And then Goths happened to me and WOW.
Just wow.
What did you want and get?
Star Trek: Discovery. And a team that I love and trust more than I thought possible.
What did you want and not get?
President Hillary Clinton.
What was your favorite film of this year?
I saw better movies than Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, but any other answer to this question would be a lie.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I have no memory of the day, but I turned 33.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
Tech company t-shirts under video game hoodies.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
No non-fictional person holds a candle to my feelings about Ignis Scientia, Gladio Amicitia, and Libertus Ostium. *shrug*
What political issue stirred you the most?
A lot of them. But Nazi techbros affected me the most personally and combating their damage was the main thing I focused on.
Who was the best new person you met?
Probably a tie between several work people. Team-mates K and S stand out in particular.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:
Increase the fucking thing. Not a new lesson so much as one I put into practice effectively.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“I’m hardcore but I’m not that hardcore”
eccentric_hatWhat did you do in 2017 that you'd never done before?
Actively managed my career. Served on a promotion committee (twice, the second time as committee chair). Decided that my nonbinary gender mattered enough to me that I should start asking the rest of the world to acknowledge it.
Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t really do the annual resolutions thing but I had a lot of success defining six-month themes and framing my goals actions around them, and I plan to continue doing so. The first half of 2017 was “maintaining momentum”; the second half was “reducing chaos”. My early 2018 theme is still a paragraph instead of a catchphrase, but it is something along the lines of “accelerating others”.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
The spouses of several good work friends did.
Did anyone close to you die?
No.
What about weddings?
I attended none, but spent a lot of the year focused on/planning my own upcoming wedding.
What countries did you visit?
Only the one.
What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
I would like to stay on the same team at work, with the same manager, for the entire year. (I’ve been on my current team since March but the further behind me I can put the chaos of 2016, the better.)
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
More than anything, I made consistent, incremental change for the better everywhere I had power to do so. None of the individual things I did was particularly striking or dramatic, but in aggregate there are a lot of places I can look and see that things were better because of my actions.
This was mostly in a work context. I did a fuckton of mentorship. I did a metric fuckton of networking, on behalf of myself and others. I improved my team’s coding practices; I improved our code; I improved our processes. I did so very much labor, emotional and otherwise. And I did so in a way that was very visible, that encouraged others to do the same, and I was rewarded and appreciated for it.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. I did go through a shitty transition between ADHD prescribers that resulted in my being unmedicated for a month and only partially medicated for another two; that sucked.
What was the best thing you bought?
A bespoke suit. I don’t actually have it yet (final fitting and adjustments will be this month) but the fitting and decision-making process was very, very good. My local queer suit maker is another light in the darkness, and interacting with him made my world better.
(Among other things, his nonjudgmental totally open way of asking about my gender expression for the purpose of making the right suit turned out to be the last nudge I needed to come out as nonbinary rather than butch.)
Whose behavior merited celebration?
Everyone who did anything to fight the darkness in the last year. I’m particularly impressed with those who made more fundamental change, and who did so in more adverse conditions than I was in.
Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
A lot of people, in particular several in politics.
Where did most of your money go?
Wedding planning
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Final Fantasy XV lit my fannish fire after a long period where it was banked. I have. So many feelings about those boys and their road trip and their fight against literal darkness.
Also there was a new Star Trek!
What song will always remind you of 2017?
It honestly wasn’t a very musical year for me. “No Children” maybe for FFXV reasons?
Compared to this time last year, are you:
More stable, more self-aware, less afraid, more dedicated to being on my bullshit.
(I was going to say “more determined”, but no. This time last year was the peak of work chaos, when everything was obviously about to come crumbling down but none of the layoffs had actually happened yet. I was a fucking sword in a forge this time last year.)
What do you wish you'd done more of?
I’m satisfied with my choices.
What do you wish you'd done less of?
I’m satisfied with my choices.
How did you spend Christmas?
With H’s family
New Year's?
With H’s family.
Did you fall in love in 2017?
No, but I spent the year deeply in love with H, who was my rock and who gave me all the emotional support I needed to keep projecting positivity into the world. (I’m going to marry her! I can’t wait!)
How many publications?
None
Most surprisingly memorable blog post?
Not really
What was your favorite TV program?
Didn’t watch a lot of TV this year, but what I watched was very good. Bojack Horseman continues to blow my mind. The Good Place and Brooklyn 99 were both warm and cozy blankets.
But I think my favorite was Star Trek: Discovery. Which was a STAR TREK that HAPPENED and so far has not betrayed me like the Abrams movies did.
What was the best book you read?
I didn’t do much reading. I think Ann Leckie’s Provenance was my favorite fiction. And Apprenticeship Patterns by Hoover and Oshineye, which I first read in ‘16, was the book that had the most dramatic impact on my life.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Mountain Goats probably doesn’t count as a discovery given that I’ve been listening to them for years, but the last album of theirs I was really obsessed with was Life of the World to Come. And then Goths happened to me and WOW.
Just wow.
What did you want and get?
Star Trek: Discovery. And a team that I love and trust more than I thought possible.
What did you want and not get?
President Hillary Clinton.
What was your favorite film of this year?
I saw better movies than Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, but any other answer to this question would be a lie.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I have no memory of the day, but I turned 33.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
Tech company t-shirts under video game hoodies.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
No non-fictional person holds a candle to my feelings about Ignis Scientia, Gladio Amicitia, and Libertus Ostium. *shrug*
What political issue stirred you the most?
A lot of them. But Nazi techbros affected me the most personally and combating their damage was the main thing I focused on.
Who was the best new person you met?
Probably a tie between several work people. Team-mates K and S stand out in particular.
Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:
Increase the fucking thing. Not a new lesson so much as one I put into practice effectively.
Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
“I’m hardcore but I’m not that hardcore”
no subject
Cheers to increasing the fucking thing. Also I'm glad you finally got on a plane! Also I'm excited to see your suit. <3
Go go go!
I wish you joy, love, and happiness in the year to come. (Also, Oxford commas.)
Here's to more smiles as we cross the courtyard in opposite directions, waving. *grin*
no subject
no subject
Glad this year was positive for you overall.