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December 07, 2005
Looking Ahead, Looking Back
Last year, I played along with a meme, and figured I'd do the same one again this year:
01. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Wrote and drew a comic for a major metropolitan newspaper.
Built my own website from scratch.
Broke up with a girlfriend I'd been with for three years.
Toured a brewery.
Broke a 25 year bad habit of not exercising and eating crap.
Got my dad to say he was proud of me.
Grossed half a million dollars for my dayjob. Personally.
Drew over two hundred pages of comix art.
Saved my cat's life, after almost killing her.
Had someone tell me they're intimidated by me because of my intelligence.
Turned a quarter of a century old.
02. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more?
Almost all of them were kept, or exceeded, or kept in ways I hadn't planned on. I'll have an exact list of what wasn't kept at the end of the month (Not Through Yet!).
Yeah, I've made my list for next year. 440 things to get done.
03. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.
04. Did anyone close to you die?
Carol Moore, mother of my best friend for twenty years, Brandon Moore. She was my second mother, really. I was very fond of her, and am blessed to bear memories of her with me for the rest of my life.
05. What countries did you visit?
The US of A.
06. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
Love. (Yes, mom, I know you love me. Listen to what I mean, not what I say...)
A finished, printed copy of The Black Chamber.
Balanced finances.
A weight of 200 pounds.
07. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 18th. "Rob, I'm moving into my dad's house."
08. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Damn, it's really hard to narrow it down to just one thing. My biggest achievement? The whole year was dedicated to making my life better in every way, and I can honestly say that I accomplished that.
09. What was your biggest failure?
Well, the obvious answer is "Breaking up with a girlfriend of three years." But, honestly, by the time it was over, it was time for it to be over. In the bigger picture of the rest of my life, I'd say not focusing more on my finances.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not in any way worth mentioning. After the brewery tour I puked on my bathroom floor. That's about it.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Little Nemo In Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays! is the best graphic novel.
North Mississippi Allstars: Hill Country Review is the best CD.
The Man Who Fell To Earth was the best novel/DVD.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My cat Monkey. She's my very best friend. Always there for me, always keeping it real for me.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My own. The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent.
Comic books.
Utilities.
Payment towards my debt to my mom.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Drawing. Exercise.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Conversation Piece by David Bowie, from the special edition of 'Heathen'
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?
Happier. By far.
ii. thinner or fatter?
Quite thinner.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Being mindful of my money.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Living with Chris for five months. Worst decision made for the whole year. But, unfortunately, a decision that was the best of the options available at the time.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Beats me. Probably eating with my folks.
22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
Fell out.
23. How many one-night stands?
Three.
24. What was your favourite TV program?
Monday Night Raw on equal basis with CBS' Sunday Morning
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't hate. That's a weak emotion.
26. What was the best book you read?
Novel? The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis
Comic? Let me think on this one. I feel it deserves its own post.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
North Mississippi Allstars
28. What did you want and get?
A published comic.
29. What was your favourite film of this year?
That came out this year? Jarhead
That I saw this year? The Man Who Fell To Earth
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
25. First went to the dayjob, where they treated me very well and warmly, which I hadn't experienced on a birthday at a dayjob in a long, long time. Mission Bank days, really. Then had dinner with my folks. I believe I had fried mushrooms and onion rings, washed down with a nice Boulevard Wheat. After that, Jason and Sarah Preu hosted a mini-party for me at the River Market Brewery, where good friend Mike Sullivan also showed up. We had a lot of fun, and drunkenly sang karaoke. I did "Folsom Prison Blues", "Desperado", and a horrendous dryraping of "Modern Love". Best birthday since my 21st.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
That's a 'gift horse in the mouth' question. I had the best year of my life, hands down, and I did it through my own dedication, perseverence, and ingenuity. Or, to quote the immortal bard Kurt Angle, "Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence."
There are certain actions that I wish I could have redone. Certain people whose hearts I broke. Certain words that I either would have added or taken back. But, really, those are the same things that we all have to deal with all of the time. Those bad things we've done, that for some reason we have to do, so that we can learn from them.
I guess the biggest thing was seeing my good friend Chris deteriorate into a place that I had to give up on him. He stared into that abyss for far too long, and ultimately, there was nothing I could do for him, and had to cut him out of my life before I got sucked into it.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Buying smaller sizes, bay-bee.
34. What kept you sane?
Comic books.
Monkey.
Mom's words of wisdom.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
David Bowie.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The fact that all politicians lie. I can't get past that.
37. Who did you miss?
Nichole, Chris, Carol, Thom
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Dale Morton
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
The only thing holding you back is you. This is no lie. You are capable of doing anything and everything that you want, but you have to, you know, do it. This is YOUR LIFE, and yours to do with as you wish.
I went from being a sub-par artist to having editors soliciting work from me, from being fat and lazy to in-shape and active, from miserable to excited, from a rut to an open highway, from angry to even-tempered, from taken advantage of to admired.
As much as I talk about myself, I really don't like tooting my own horn. But, really, if what I accomplished over this last year inspires even one person to do the same for themselves, then it's worth it.
Go out there! Seize your life and mold it into your dreams and desires! Show ME how it's done!
Posted by Schamberger at December 7, 2005 08:39 PM