For the year gone by..

So we have been tagged by her. Thank you, Subs! I know I already did a post that detailed the events of the past year, but here is one more. This one is more condensed.

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before? 
I jumped out of a plane.
I traveled all alone, to another city, in an overnight train journey. Multiple times.
I managed a bank account in India, all by myself. I even put some money in an FD.  On my own, with no assistance!
I drove my car into a ditch on a dark, rainy night.
I participated in a fashion show and actually walked the ramp.

2. Did you keep your new years resolutions, and will you make more for next?
I don’t remember having made any resolutions last year. That should tell you how seriously I take my resolutions, if I do make any.

3. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 
21st March. It signifies a new beginning. It is the date we moved back to India.

4. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I managed to live without Mint around.

5. What was your biggest failure?
Failure? Well, I really wanted to learn Tamil. But there has been no progress this year. My small vocabulary showed no signs of expansion. I blame Mint. The guy is too lazy to teach me. He is comfortable speaking to me in Hindi and English. Anybody willing to teach me Tamil? My inlaws will bless you.

6. Did you suffer illness?
I have lived with acute pain in my neck and shoulder area. It has really hampered my life style. Some days are good. Some days are awful and unbearable. Doctors say nothing is wrong, but the damn pain returns every few days. I don’t know what to do.

7. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? 
My boss’s. She appalled and depressed me beyond words.

8. Where did most of your money go?
Eating out. Our bank account wouldn’t have been this injured had we not spent such obscene amounts on food.

9. What did you get really, really, really excited about? 
Our European holiday. Spending Diwali and Christmas in India, with my family around. Experiencing the Mumbai monsoon after years.

10. What song will always remind you of 2012?
I can’t choose. Forgive me.

11. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Happier, definitely. This time, last year, we were in the US. Confused and stressed out. We are confused and stressed out even now, for other reasons. But last January was very exhausting.

12. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Blogging. Calling my extended family. Organizing my wardrobe.

13. What do you wish you’d done less of? 
I wish I had spent less time aimlessly floating around the world wide web.

14. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Yes, very much.

15. What/Who was your greatest musical discovery?
Nothing. Nobody. I just stuck around to listening to the music I have always been listening to.

16. What did you want and get?
A chance to live at home with my parents and sister. A new job. A holiday in Europe.

17. What did you want and not get?
A job that makes me happy. Clear skin. Savings. More time with Mint. Certainty.

18. What was your favourite film of this year?
I am not passionate about movies. I liked a few films I saw this year, but I won’t go through the effort of evaluating them and picking a favourite.

19. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I did the usual. Cut a cake, went out for lunch with friends and dinner with family. I turned 26.

20. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having a job I liked. I do realise I am being repetitive, but this is true. Not hating my work environment would have made a world of a difference to my emotional and mental well being.

21. What kept you sane?
Meditation. Cups of tea and coffee. Mint. My family. This blog.

22. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.
You can’t have it all, and that is okay. As long as you know to choose well.

23. Which new places did you visit in 2012? 
Ahmedabad. Prague. Paris. Amsterdam. Brussels. Venice.

24. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
Bhag bhag DK Bose! The year rushed by, and each time the speeding events would make me sing this song.