Snagged this from starterpack@DW
What did you do in 2020 that you’d never done before?
I’m surviving through a pandemic! Experienced Emergy Powers Act, something my country hadn’t declared since the wars in 1940s. That felt odd, and drove home how serious the pandemic is.
Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Didn’t make any! I won’t now now either – I half-heartedly made some resolutions when I was younger, and then promptly forgot about them within like a week.
Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
Did anyone close to you die?
Nope.
What countries did you visit?
None.
What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020?
I’d like the pandemic to come to an end, without anyone I know dying from it and preferably not even getting sick with it *knock on wood*. I’d like to be bit more financially secure, have more energy and better sleep so that I don’t feel so tired all the time.
What date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Just the whole March – December because of, you guessed it, the pandemic!
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I’m going to say going on about my life as normally as I can in the middle of a pandemic. It didn’t actually affect my daily life much because I don’t have the money to things like museums, eating in restaurants, going to concerts etc. and due to not having much energy, my social life has been limited for years already. Things I had to learn to accept like that wearing masks worsens my migraine, shopping outside rush hours etc. were rather easy in the end, if just because I’ve been on sick leave half the year and so don’t need to wear a mask more than 30mins to an hour most of time, and like only on two days a week. It’s the mental side of things that’s been harder – but even there, I’ve been living with uncertainty for the last 12 years so and I had already learned how to handle much of that. So I’ve been putting those lessons into practise regarding the worry cause by the pandemic – such as not letting myself read the news all day long, only twice a day, doing things that bring me pleasure (reading, watercoloring, writing with my fountain pens) and staying in touch with my Mom and friends with phonecalls and Skype. My Mom and I actually learned how to Skype because of the pandemic, so that’s a good thing.
What was your biggest failure?
There were no failures.
Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just my existing chronic ones, nothing new came along thank goodness.
What was the best thing you bought?
I love my TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR Punch Pink which I bought this year, and I also love all the fountain pen ink samples I’ve bought. So many pretty colors! I also adore the Clairefontaine Sakura Dream notebooks I bought (3 different sizes, https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0835DXNP2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and pen holder (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0835F43CS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). They’re absolutely stunning, and the paper is wonderful to write on!
Whose behaviour merited celebration?
I’m really proud of our Prime Minister Sanna Marin and how she and her goverment has handled the pandemic, yet still have also handled big upcoming things like the reform of schooling, and reform of medical care structure. The medical care structure reform has been tried for many, many years and many governments, most famously when Juha Sipilä was the PM and he totally messed it up, running into constitution and trying to privatize everything. I’m so glad that if there had to be a pandemic, it started on this current government’s era instead of Sipilä’s. Marin and her govermnet ahs also unfucked a lot of Sipilä’s fuckups.
Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Perussuomaiset (The Finns Party) all of them, Donald Trump.
Where did most of your money go?
Um, I think the term is “maintenance charge” – that’s like rent but when you own your apartment, so it’s much less than the rent of rented apartments – groceries and medications. In that order.
What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Star Trek: Picard! New Star Trek, looking into future past TNG movies 😀
What song will always remind you of 2020?
Nothing.
Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? I’m about the same, but I’m more worried.
ii. richer or poorer? The same.
What do you wish you’d done more of?
Going out for walks. Seen my friends and Mom more, but we’re being responsible and social distancing.
What do you wish you’d done less of?
Brooding, giving into the tiredness.
How did you spend the Holidays?
On the 24th (which is the big day here), I was just home and had some Christmas Ham and Christmas mashed potato casserole (traditional Christmas food here). On the 25th, my Mom drove over to pick me up and spend a few hours with her and her SO. It was a calculated risk.
Did you fall in love in 2020?
Nope.
Did your heart break in 2020?
Nope.
What was your favourite TV program?
Star Trek: Picard for giving us a look into what’s going on after the TNG movies, instead of looking back. The Expanse for the story. Star Trek: Discovery S3 for how they’re handling characters this season, and not having a break-neck speed for once.
Where were you when 2020 began?
Home.
Who were you with?
Alone.
Where will you be when 2020 ends?
Home.
Who will you be with when 2020 ends?
Alone.
What was the best book you read?
I read 50 novels this year. I’m working on the 51st, but I won’t finish it before the year changes in little over 7 hours. I’ve been enjoying Elly Griffiths and Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s crime novels a lot this year. Griffiths because archeology and bodies, and Sigurdardottir because the stories take place in Iceland. And I like their writing – it’s easy to read to me.
What was your greatest musical discovery?
None.
What did you want and get?
Fountain pen inks!
What did you want and not get?
Health, no migraines.
What was your favourite film of this year?
I can’t remember what I’ve watched and they all blur together. Of course, there are my favorites such as The Last Of The Mohicans and Piano, which I watch every year, and are always my favorites. But new/unseen films? Can’t remember. I watch more tv shows these days than films – they have better stories and characters now IMO.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
46, and my Mom and her SO came over. I don’t like parties so nothing like that for me, and things like restaurants were closed due to the pandemic, and going to a movie theatre always triggers a migraine so I’d rather just spend it home with either my Mom and her SO, or my best friend.
How many different states/cities did you travel to in 2020?
None.
How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2020?
Fashion? What fashion??
What kept you sane?
Reading scifi and crime mysteries, doing creative stuff and talking about things with my Mom and best friend.
Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I’m not sure I fancied anyone…
What political issue stirred you the most?
Issues that the unemployed and the poor face in my country. How embarrasing Perussuomalaiset are.
How many concerts did you see in 2020?
None. I don’t go to concerts, too loud and crowded – I wouldn’t survive.
Did you have a favourite concert in 2020?
No – see above.
Who was the best new person you met?
My manager/contact person in the kuntouttava työtoiminta (rehabilitation activity) – she’s kind and friendly, and truly cares about the people she’s directing/managing and supports them in what they want to do and how they feel about their health, illnesses and ability to work with them (or disability, as the case might be). Instead of trying to force them into what TE-toimisto and TPTB would prefer (work either for pay, or for free in various “supporting” projects).
What are your plans for 2021?
Continue to survive the pandemic and keep doing what I’m doing as best I can.