One of my goals for 2010 was to read more often. Here’s how 2010 is shaping up so far plus some brief reviews in the style of Rachel:

Veronica by Mary Gaitskill – I was hoping for a seedier description of the fickle world of international modeling but instead got a book on human interaction. I find my tastes are too tawdry for “good” books like this but too picky for drugstore paperbacks. It’s a hard balance to find!!

The Collected Peanuts by Charles Schulz – As a kid I owned a tattered copy of a Peanuts Treasury, which I read multiple times. That being said, I never realised how fucking depressing this comic is. Everyone is such an asshole to Charlie Brown. That being said, look at this picture. LOL.

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey – I have spoken often about my never ending obsession with JC’s Kushiel series. Unfortunately her Mexican-border-town-dystopian-future-genetically-engineered-superhero just didn’t do it for me like her BDSM-loving-alternate-universe-French-tramp-stamped-courtesan did.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld – Growing up I had the immense pleasure of reading all of the stories my mom had written as a teenager. There were boxes and boxes of coil bound notebooks filled with stories that she had written in her formative years and my favourite were a series called “The Super Six” and their sequel, “The Nifty Nine”, about a group of prankster girls (based on my mom and her friends) attending boarding school. I had high hopes that Prep might fill my desire for a grown up Super Six but it was more about the biggest whiner ever to attend prep school. I dunno, maybe I am just spoiled by Gossip Girl and my love for the tawdry. Looks like it’s up to me to adapt The Super Six for modern times. Either way, Prep was by no means an unenjoyable book, I quite liked it, but just wished in my usual manner that it was a bit more… salacious.

Youth in Revolt by C.D. Payne – Unfortunately the library only had the Michael Cera movie adaptation cover copy of this book, so it looked like I was reading a Cera biography. I really enjoyed this book. It had: big words, salacious details, hilarious pranks and was just over the top and wonderful. Believe it or not, I feel Cera was perfectly cast, though I am having a hard time envisioning a decent screen adaption. Will return with further thoughts on that one.

Now I’m reading a random library pick (The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt… I thought it was a Victorian fantasy, turns out it’s an alternate Victorian universe fantasy.) and still slogging through Fraser’s The Weaker Vessel. Will probably read Ysabel by Garth Nix or maybe next or maybe some Faulkner to get me in the mood for the Southern vacation Anja and I are planning. Mazel tov!

ALWAYS ACCEPTING SUGGESTIONS TOO

Alana took me for tea! When she told me she had a special birthday outing planned for me, I immediately guessed TEA TIME. Alana is my tea buddy. Hitting up the Laduree tea salon in Paris was one of the highlights of my last trip to Europe and she is never shy about sharing her precious Rose tea when I visit.

Denys and Jordy joined us at the White Heather Tea Room , where amongst a sea of white haired gentle ladies, we sipped our tea and contemplated our tower of tiny sandwiches, lemon flavoured pastries and miniature cheese crackers. Heaven! I must say however, our tea time conversation somehow turned to how we rated the size of our B.M.s (how many pounds you felt like you list on a scale of 1 to 10 pounds, in Starbucks sizes ie. tall, grande, venti, etc.) so I do hope no one was eavesdropping on our enthusiastic chatter.

We finished our afternoon with a walk in the balmy February sunshine (Victoria!!) through the already-blooming grounds of the Lieutenant Governor’s House grounds.

Thank you, Alana! You made my day so special– tea time will always be our time ♥

I am still basking in the afterglow of the immensely successful karaoke birthday fete held on Saturday night.

It was obvious everything was going to come up Awesome when Alana, James, Jordy, Denys, Christian and Kara all came over from Vancouver to help Jordan and I celebrate our 27th birthdays. After witnessing the amazing karaoke machine Amanda L. rented for her birthday, I was dead set on having drunken crooning as the centre of my own birthday celebrations.

Doug graciously offered his chic urban downtown loft (located in the heart of the ultimately tongue-in-cheek “design district”) as the locale and thank goodness for concrete walls, because that karaoke machine was the STAR of the party.

It probably helped that we procured a keg of delicious Phoenix Gold beer, which we gave away to party guests in the form of Liquid Courage. A few of us were there early, warming up the machine, and as people began to trickle in, the vibe got better and better.

I wish I could even remember everything I sang that night. If there was an empty mic, I was there to make it a duet. I had a huge grin on my face for the entire party. Despite some key people missing (Anja, Laura, Jessica, to name a few!) so many of my wonderful friends were in attendance and no one was shy. Afterward people remarked to me how friendly everyone was and I couldn’t have agreed more. It was great seeing the people I love meet each other and hit it off and even sing together.

Artists sung that night included: Christina Aguilera, Roy Orbison, Pat Benetar, Mr. Big, Soul Decision, Blink 182, Heart, Dolly Parton, ABBA, Johnny Cash and June Carter-Cash, Metallica, Garth Brooks (a special all Kamloops group rendition of “Friends in Low Places”), CCR, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, Pussycat Dolls and many more, not to mention various Disney and show tunes (Denys and I ripped it up on “All That Jazz”). My favourite performance, without a doubt, was Kathryn singing “Jolene” with Brooke on harmonies, because it isn’t everyday you get to hear someone with such a fab voice sing your favourite song.

An entire evening spent laughing and singing with wonderful people! It was so special and probably one of the best birthday parties I have ever had. My only regret was not singing more– and missing out on a special duet of “Ice Cream” with Jordy (who took home the honour of Party Dump).

Photo by Jordan

I had the most amazing weekend ever. First of all the Pilau and I went to Vancouver on Thursday night and work put us up in the River Rock Casino and Hotel! We tried our damnedest to get there in time for the buffet, but alas, a ferry mix-up meant we rolled in too late for late night non-stop eating. Instead we hopped on the Canada Line and zipped into downtown Vancouver like a hyper cinche and met up with Jim and Al at the Thurlow Guu. Here’s a hint: order the okonomiyaki, don’t order the oden daikon. Definitely NOT what I was expecting. Back at the casino we decided to try our luck at the slot machines but five bucks later I was bored with the whole “put your money into this machine and probably never see it again”.

The next morning I luxuriated in the amenities of our hotel room: a separate sleeping room that was totally dark, perfect for sleeping away the day after those all nighters around the poker table, a shower the size of my bathroom, a blow dryer (Jordan said my hair looked like Uma Thurman’s in “Kill Bill”??) and “Girl, Interrupted” playing on TV at 11:00am! We hit up the buffet in time for lunch and I have two words for it: CHOCOLATE FOUN-TAAAIN (yelled like Oprah).

Soon we were on our way to East Van to Laura and Kara’s house. Laura was about to begin making a cake so Jordan and I hopped on the B-Line to Main Street so that he could check out Mr. Lee’s Haberdashery. It was $700 straight razor cute. We wandered up and down Main, checked out Umeboshi for shoes, had a delish chai latte from JJ Bean and I bought a Fred Herzog book at Vancouver Special. There was an insufferable pair of brothers there buying an expensive table for their befuddled looking father. Behind the counter was a guy that perfectly matched how I imagine the male singer of the xx looking*.

After our Main Street wander– and, by the way, the weather on this particular day was incredible, we left our jackets at home, bless thee, west coast winters– Jordan headed downtown to meet Douglas, fresh from his Saskatoon sojourn, and James and Al, and I headed back to Commercial Drive to have some quality time with Laura.

There’s nothing like good chats over cheap sushi and giant Japanese beers! My dinner with Laura was amazing, simply because there is nothing like the conversation that comes from someone you’ve known for many years and who still interests and impresses you. Also, the bowl of hazelnut buttercream frosting on her kitchen table helped too.

Soon I was back downtown in the West End, drinking wine and getting ready for Phoenix! The show was at the Orpheum, where I had never been, and it was an amazing venue for an awesome show. We arrived right before Phoenix went on, with me, Alana, Mandy and Amanda in row 8, and the boys somewhere back in the 20s. As soon as the band hit the stage, the crowd was on its feet and going crazy. Despite Hot Hot Heat’s giant hair blocking our view at times and the endless trash talking that seemed to emanate from it, we never stopped dancing and lovin’ it. The finale was “1901″, a stage full of dancing kids and a French band with the fear in their eyes. Here’s a great video shot from the balcony of the encore. It’s worth watching just to see Electric Circus busting some sweet moves at the start:

Afterward we met up with Jordy and Denys at the Templeton for beers and interactions with the world’s surliest waitress (part of her charm, I guess, we got our revenge by playing “Mambo #5″ on the jukebox). Kara and Christian stopped by! Meta too! Combined with running into Timmy on Commercial, January 22 was apparently the day to see all of my friends in Van City.

The next morning was an early start in order to drive to Kamloops in time for Wade’s wedding at 1:00pm. The wedding ceremony was a very nice affair. Jordan remarked that it was “weird how they stared into each other’s eyes for the whole thing”. Obviously I’m dating a deep, romantic soul. Between the wedding and reception we visited with Papa Schmidt, our photography teacher from high school, and I bought a photo of a bicycle from him (classic Schmidt photo subject). We wandered up and down Victoria Street, got dissed by Kelly O’s when we went in for some pachos (NO, you may NOT take my coffee, I will be LEAVING NOW) (I was cranky, tried and hungry, okay?!) and went to Jordan’s parent’s house for a desperately needed nap. The reception can be summed up with: white wine, seeing my old neighbour, more wine, long ass speeches in which I drank almost the entire bottle of communal white wine, dancing and talking about dirty things, probably more white wine, being driven home by Jordan’s brother, watching Steven Seagal’s cop show on which they were shooting rats and then… the toilet bowl. Hoo boy.

I am a Sunday child and thus assumed to be full of grace, but the only thing I was full of that morning was a hangover. Not even a roast beef sandwich at the family Arby’s could soothe what ailed me and soon I was safely esconced in my parent’s mercifully dark basement watching dog knows what on their satellite.

Only for thee would I learn Joni

Thankfully I felt better by the time I went to Shannon’s party. My dear, beautiful friend Shannon is currently on the long road of recovery from a terrible car accident back in September and her family and friends had been gathered for a rare out-of-hospital visit. It was amazing to get a hug from her and sing the (shudder) Joni Mitchell song I learned specially for her. It really made my trip to see her improvements since December.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with my parents and the next day was equally relaxing, as Jordan was involved in some work events. I went through some of my old sketchbooks and marveled at the comics I used to draw consisting solely of heads talking to one another. I was seriously productive at one point in my life!

The trip home was long, long, long and only made tolerable by watching the entire third season of 30 Rock. We got home so late there was nothing else to do but tumble into bed and have sweet dreams about my lovely friends and family.

(And seriously, screw you Kelly O’Bryans, if you won’t let me have my Cowboy Coffee chai latte and my pachos/Emerald Island sauce too, then I refuse your invitation to “eat, drink and be Irish”. Mountain High Pizza was exactly what I needed anyway.)

*WOW I just imaged searched the xx and they look NOTHING like this person. Do you get an image in your head of what a singer might look like? When I saw Beach House live I was almost intimidated by how “cool” they were. I had always imagined them looking like fragile nerdy types. Also, just looked up Hot Chip and ummmm….

Booyah, internet! It’s January! You know what that means? It means I don’t want to leave the warm, dimly lit confines of Rockridge Manor! Every fibre of my being is fighting lately, half tells me I should be out seeing people and working on LIFE projects, the other half reminds me that there are still two seasons of “30 Rock” to be watched.

Isn’t “30 Rock” the best? Yes, I am very late to that party but oh! Banter! Wit! Being attracted to Alec Baldwin even though it feels so wrong! I want to be late to every television show party because then I have SO many wonderful things to watch. I made the mistake of starting on “True Blood” fairly early in the season and now I have to wait until next summer to see new episodes. (I was forced to sustain myself on the tasteless but nourishing pablum that is the “Southern Vampire Mysteries” series by Charlaine Harris. I think I read 15 of the things this summer.) I want to shout from the rooftops: I love good TV!!! My brother and I always are debating the merits of television. I still don’t quite comprehend why he thinks it’s such a waste of time: from what I can understand, his opinion lies somewhere between “feeding the fat cats in Hollywood” and controlling his own destiny. Alls I know is that “Teen Mom” exists and thus my own existence is a little more special.

This last weekend I was struck with an unshakable urge to join my friends for a night out on Friday in Vancouver. With the help of Denys, I showed up at Guu with Alana in tow. Jordy stared at me with a thrilled but confused expression. “How did you know where I was?!” He asked.

We went to Honey that night. They were playing Motown and Alana could barely contain herself in the line. She knew every song. By the way: BAR CULTURE. I don’t GET IT. Wait in line to get inside (watch d-bags pay the bouncer fat hunnies to get in ahead of you). Wait in line to check your coat. Wait in line to buy a drink. Wait in line to use the washroom. Thank DOG Alana is the most amazing person to dance with to Motown EVER. I had the weirdest sensation that dancing to that genre with Alana is the closest I will ever come to getting in a time machine and going to the era and dancing with the denizens of Motown in the 1960s. Al is that legit. Twisting and shouting aside, I think maybe watching youtube videos of our favourite MuchMusic Video Dance Party hits at Denys’ condo was preferable to wrastling girls in tube dresses and denim skirts and touseled Blake Lively hair for a spot at the bar. We ended the night with Jordy and I on the balcony talking about Highway 97 and Denys and Alana chatting en francais in the living room.

The next day Alana, Jordy and I attempted a shopping trip but I was burnt out after braving the Saturday Urban Outfitters crowd. After an afternoon of watching bad yet glorious cable at Alana’s, Jordy and I decided to fulfill one of our dreams and go to the huge Japanese dollar store, Daiso, in Richmond (with Darcy Tucker, of course). It was two stories of practical and kawaii every day objects and I was in HEAVEN. I had to put so much stuff away before we even got to the til. Afterward we trekked out to East Van and I ended the day chatting sleepily from the couch with Laura.

I went home on Sunday, but had to reflect on all the amazing restaurants I had tried that weekend as well. On my fourth attempt, I finally got to try Guu (Thank you Denys!), which was ridickalus. Deep fried BRIE!!!! Also finally tried La Taqueira (tasty but damn you Hernande’z, you still own my heart) and Vietsub (though I tasted those meatballs for hours) and BEARD PAPA!!! Beard Papa is a Japanese cream puff store! Can you even believe it? It got Jordy and I talking about Japan– we want to go together in the early summer this year. I think it would be the most enchanted trip ever, just me and Jordy and a million super cool things like funny uniforms in every store and tiny things to hang off my cell phone and Nomihodai. The South and Japan? That would definitely make for a happy year in traveling.

Oh yes, in order to balance out a month of TV watching, I am also trying to read more and keep a tally of what I’ve read so I can sneak an intelligent book in here or there. After an aborted attempt at “The Weaker Vessel: Women’s Lot in 17th Century England” by Antonia Fraser (okay, this one is just on pause) and “The Mists of Avalon”, so far this month I have read “Veronica” by Mary Gaitskill. Although I sought this book out because it was apparently about the seedy underbelly of the world of high fashion modeling, it was one of the 10 Best Books of the Year, as chosen by the New York Times Book Review, and it was a National Book Award finalist. Therefore, I will file this under “smart” books. I am also reading “The Collected Peanuts”, which is melancholy and clever and perhaps could be considered “smart” as well, and “Santa Olivia” by my patron saint of “dumb” books, Jacqueline Carey. JC, I worship at your feet.

Happy birthday to my pal Al!

Alana is a most wonderful friend. She can speak Parisian French. She has glamourous hair that will stay in place if you just mash it together (see above). If you begin singing a good song from the 1960s or 70s she will join in, because she knows all of them. She stands by her man. She has excellent dance moves. She has impeccable taste in tea and pastries. She let me sleep at the foot of her bed for two weeks once.

Bon Anniversaire ma cherie!!

JANUARY

Spent New Years in a hotel room with about twelve of my closest friends. Went to the Vancouver Aquarium. James and Alana moved to Paris. Went out with Starbucks girls while completely sober and came away with a new appreciation for alcohol. Laura came for a surprise visit. Watched “The Wire” and “Flight of the Conchords” obsessively.

FEBRUARY

Went to Arizona and stayed at my Grandpa’s. Did something that I still cannot remember for my birthday. The night after my mysterious birthday party, Kevin, Kara and I watched three romantic movies. Anja and I said “OMD” (“Oh my dog”) a lot.

MARCH

Kevin and I bundled up and sat on the beach for hours on the first “warm” day of the year. Doukhobor choir put on a big show. Moved around my bedroom. Was obsessed with flowering trees on my street. Kevin bought me a fish named Penelope and made her a home in a jar. Went to a “Hippie Sing-a-Long circle”. Walked around the lake listening to Dan Savage a lot.

APRIL

Doug and I were in a furious bout of text message “rap battles”. Sample: “I ain’t steppin on number one, so don’t get mad at me / Remember Tasha Yar? She felt Data’s grey anatomy.” I went to Portland for an amazing three days. Laura came to visit and “Cool Buddies”, the buddy cop series about two cops with opposite ‘tudes work on a boat show (I think?), was born. Kevin and I bundled up and laid in the park for hours on the second “warm” day of spring. Hosted “Project Runway Canada” nights with Kevin, Gill and Emily and the occasional grilled pineapple. Brunched with nice friends. Went on sexy goodbye dinner date with Kevin in honour of his move to Vancouver. Patronized the Urban Oasis for the first time.

MAY

I practiced singing and playing the guitar a lot when Jordan moved to Kamloops for a month to work on the election. Epic brunches were a continuing theme. Went to Immaculate Machine show. ANTM finale included theme cupcakes with captions such as “Waste of a Body” and “Pretty Ugly/Ugly Pretty”. Kevin moved out of his apartment in Victoria. Vancouver weekend included bowling for Kara’s birthday and seeing Jordan. Went to Castlegar to perform in annual Doukhobor festival and had an okay time. Went to LONDON and walked to an average of 2.5 galleries and historical sights every day. Took the Chunnel to Paris.

JUNE

Hung out in Paris with James and Alana. Went to San Sebastian for two days and felt like a bummer. Went back to Paris and felt very happy. Had a “stagette” for Jessica. First lake swim of the year at Thetis. First sunburn of the year on the Canoe patio with work friends. Actually hung out with people from work. Was a bike warrior in an Immaculate Machine video. Played board games in a backyard.

JULY

Jessica and John got married on Little Shuswap and I was a bridesmaid! Slept over at Cathy’s mom’s house in Sorrento for the first time since grade 7 and floated on the lake. Went to Quiz Night and played baseball and the Urban Oasis. Saw the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Went to Anacortes for What the Heck Fest with Anja and dalas and saw some nice shows. Took my bike to Vancouver and cycled every where (mostly to the beach) and watched the fireworks from Cathy’s apartment. Also that weekend I saw the craziest sunset I have ever seen where everything turned orange and there was thunder and lightning and sunshine.

AUGUST

TYEE 2009 CABIN V. Did an epic hike in Garibaldi park and swam in an ice blue lake beneath a glaciar. Between those two behemoths, nothing else appeared to have happened this month.

SEPTEMBER

James and Alana move to Vancouver! Jordan and I take the Helijet to Vancouver and also see an Immaculate Machine show. Kevin moves back to Victoria! I go to Portland for a chill hangout visit. James and Al come to Victoria for Dougie’s kegger. We go to the Rifflandia music festival. Jessica and I see Philippa Gregory speak and she is glorious.

OCTOBER

We got to Vancouver for Laura’s birthday. Work friends have a sleep over at Stacy’s. Host the second annual epic Thanksgiving and Karaoke weekend. Anja comes for Thanksgiving! Fall is beautiful. Witnessed the courage and drama that is the Olympic torch route trying to figure its shit out. Halloween at Atomic Vaudeville.

NOVEMBER

Laura comes for a visit! James and Alana come to visit and Toban passes out in the stairwell and we go to an Immaculate Machine show but just sit backstage. My parents come to visit and we go out for two fancy dinners and debate a lot. We go to the beach for Remembrance Day.

DECEMBER

Kim and Luke get engaged. I wore plastic poinsettias in my hair a lot. Ate fresh oysters. Overdosed on Christmas activities. Hosted an eventful Gingerbread Showdown. Went to Kamloops and had a relaxing time. Rang in the New Year barely paying attention to Atomic Vaudeville.

Naomi and Ashley held my hand and led me into the world of CHAT ROULETTE

We had a very delicious dinner for seven at our place (curried vegetable soup, black eyed pea fritters with mushroom sauce, spinach salad, lemony orzo, ginger carrots, and the most tender beef tenderloin with an herb crust from Slaters in Oak Bay). I decided to serve dinner “courses style” but it meant I was running around a lot and we had to rush out of the door right after eating so our apartment was a disaster. We went to Atomic Vaudeville but got stuck sitting way in the back where we couldn’t hear the show so we just got drunk. Ended up back at our place doing chat roulettes and eating Dons. I had a blast with our little group but dang I missed those Vancouver kids. 2010!!

Okay last night we warped to the Future (aka 2010) and now, having just polished off a bowl of pho and with the sounds of boys playing video games in the background (weirdly soothing), I am ready to do my most comprehensive year in review YET!!

2009 was great. Sounds like a lot of people had a rubbish time with it, but I went traveling and hung out with some real cool people this past year.

THE SURVEY:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Learned an instrument with some success (still learning), wrote a song, was a bridesmaid (with the chillest bride), did an overnight hike, traveled by myself in a non-English speaking country, flew in a helicopter, rode my bike in Vancouver, had a pet fish

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

My goals for 2009 were:

I checked last year’s survey for this and it just said “I never keep my resolutions”.

I am going to try some Anja-Style Goals for 2010:

CREATIVITY

-Fill one notebook with comics/sketches etc.
-Finish writing one thing
-Take voice lessons -OR- sing in something outside of choir
-learn to do something other than strum chords on the guitar

CAREER (this stresses me out the most, I will keep these private ha ha)

HEALTH

-Stop drinking Coca Cola (sob)
-Join another exercise class (boot camp, yoga, etc)
-Hike more (at least five decent hikes)
-Eat breakfast every day
-Limit eating out to once a week (weeeeep)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

It feels like I looked at about 3000 baby photos on Facebook in the last year, so sure.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Almost.

5. What countries did you visit?

USA (Oregon, Nevada, Arizona), England, France, Spain

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Boots that don’t fall apart.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory?

Swimming in the glacier lake in Garibaldi park.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Traveling

9. What was your biggest failure?

Amount of delicious food consumed (usually at restaurants)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

People around me seemed to take the brunt of it this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Sunglasses, brown boots, capo, every meal at Brasserie l’ecole, train tickets to Portland, several vintage dresses

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Anja kept me sane at work.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Baby daddies and man babies

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food

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

Seeing London for the first time, especially the National Portrait Gallery

16. What song will always remind you of 2008

The Cabin Song

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Happier.
ii. thinner or fatter?
Fatter
iii. richer or poorer?
Richer!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercising, drawing, music

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Procrastinating

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

Had breakfast with my parents and Jordan, went hiking with Mom and Jordan’s dog, had amazing turkey dinner courtesy of my dad, saw SHERLOCK HOLMES

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Penelope

23. How many one-night stands?

A few with Jordy here and there

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Mad Men, True Blood, Top Chef, Gossip Girl, ANTM, Project Runway, Venture Bros, Teen Mom, The Wire

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

I am sort of coming to terms with my Most Hated Enemy but she still appalls me.

26. What was the best book you read?

The third Sookie Stackhouse book and A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Blitzen Trapper’s Black River Killer EP (PERFECT cabin/summer album)

28. What did you want and get?

Le Creuset dutch oven, a Gemloopa

29. What did you want and not get?

Large, south-facing, airy and well maintained heritage character suite with large closets, built-ins, claw foot tub, hardwood floors and dishwasher for under $1000/mo.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

Sherlock Holmes, Die Hard

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I cannot for the life of me remember what I did on my birthday. Did I go to Vancouver? I have no idea. Anyway, I turned 26.

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

Spending more money in Spitalfields Market.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Vintage, cosy n’ country (at the cabin), tights, Princess Di, bangs n’ nailpolish

34. What kept you sane?

The tiny voices of Kevin and Laura telling me to “get over it”

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Redheads in fashion magazines

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Whatever stirred the letter writing public

37. Who did you miss?

Duh I missed Anja and I totes missed Jim and Al, before I visited and even MORE afterwards

38. Who was the best new person you met?

DOCK SUN, Blair (~reconnected~) and all the pals that came with him

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

“C’est un super cinch”

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“He opens up the door!
Ladies, men, they scream for more.
Jeff Goldblum, he’s the one: DOCK SUN!”