Year in Review

1.) Where did you ring in 2006?
At my boyfriend’s best friend’s wife’s parents’ house. Follow that? We’ll be spending New Years with the same couple this year (and several other friends), but this time at their new house, instead of Erica’s mother’s house.

2.) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
In a relationship.

3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Yes. I was in school the entire year, and I will be in school the entire year for more years than I care to admit.

4.) How did you earn your keep?
By very unsuccessfully attempting to cure cancer, on the Department of Defense’s dollar. That’s right – your taxes pay my stipend. Thanks, guys!

5.) Did you ever have to go to the hospital?
Yes. I spent all summer in the hospital, actually. When you work in a hospital, you go to the hospital on a daily basis.

6.) Have you encountered the police this year?
Not that I recall.

7.) Where did you go on vacation?
Aruba in January, Jersey shore in July. Nothing particularly exciting as graduate school has sucked up all my time.

8.) What did you purchase that was over $500?
A fantastic Yamaha electric piano with money I received for my birthday.

9.) Did you know anybody who got married?
I went to my second cousin’s wedding in January and my boyfriend’s friend’s sister’s wedding in July. One of my best friends from high school also got married in September but the wedding was in Oregon and I couldn’t make it out there because of lab. :o(

10.) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Yes, but nobody with whom I was close enough to go to the funeral.

11.) Have you ran into anybody you graduated high school with?
Yes, but always planned with high school friends. I don’t think there were any random runnings-into.

12.) Did you move anywhere?
No.

13.) What sporting events did you go to?
More than I can remember – a couple of basketball games for my undergrad alma matter, a handful of Washington Nationals games this summer, at least one or two AHL games, and I was sitting in amazing JOE GIBBS BOX SEATS for the Redskins-Jaguars overtime game this year and it was awesome.

14.) What concerts did you go to?
I went to see Ben Folds with my boyfriend a month or two ago. I’m not sure that I went to any other concerns this year…

15) Are you registered to vote?
Of course. I was a political science major undergrad.

16.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on Nov. 7?
YES!! I HELPED TO KICK RICK SANTORUM OUT OF CONGRESS!!!

17.) Where do you live now?
Washington, DC.

18.) Describe your birthday:
I was actually at my parents’ house for my birthday, so I played a round of golf in the morning, drove to Pottsville and took a tour of the Yuengling brewery (for those of you in deprived areas which do not have Yuengling, it is the best beer ever. Seriously.), and then went out to dinner at a new Irish restaurant in downtown Harrisburg.

19.) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006?
Watched the sun rise from the lab, because I was insane enough to be in lab pre-dawn. This happened multiple times, actually. Also, I had the opportunity to scrub in on monkey surgery which was not something I expected out of my life.

20.) What is one thing you regretted this year?
Spending too much time in the lab and not enough time with friends? Nothing really. Perhaps not studying for comprehensive exams sooner, and then spending the time I should be studying procrastinating with things like this.

21.) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I learned that I might actually be competent as a scientist and worthy of a Ph.D. And that I am surprisingly talented at oral gavaging laboratory mice.

22.) Any new additions to your family?
No. I am the only unmarried individual and only person under 50 in my immediate family. Therefore, there will be no new additions until I tack on a spouse or a child.

23.) What was your best month?
July, because I was at the NIH all month and I loved what I did.

24.) What pop culture event will you remember 2006 by?
THE STEELERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!

25.) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (crappy) to 10 (amazing)?
I’d give it an 8. I have no complaints.