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Aaaah, publishing under the influence... I have now re-read, edited and updated this post with added links! I was going to add some photos but I'm just too hungover - there are quite a few if you click on the links though.
soulmining - 09/12/05 17:33pm ]
I don't often post personal stuff on here but I saw this Q&A on Tatiana's website and thought I'd nick it and share my own reflections on the past year with you all.
1) Was 2005 a good year for you?I’m finishing the year in a positive and optimistic frame of mind. Work hasn’t been very fulfilling this year, but starting this blog and writing about the films and gigs that I love has opened up a number of doors for me which I wouldn’t have believed twelve months ago.
2) What was your favourite moment of the year?Hanging out at the
FrightFest launch party with the
Eat My Brains guys, taking full advantage of the free bar and chatting to Simon Pegg and Chris Smith. I also recall driving back from Crawley late at night in the middle of a
snowstorm was quite a magical (if a little scary) experience and really reminded me of my childhood days up North when we used to get snow all the time!
3) What was your least favourite moment of the year?Watching the news of the London bombings unfold just hours after returning from
The Descent premiere party in Leicester Square.
4) Where will you be when 2005 ends?I'll be somewhere in Brighton, most likely at home.
5) Who will you be with when 2005 ends?Don’t know yet. I’m not one for making big New Year plans so it’ll be a last minute thing as always, dependent on who’s around. Last year I welcomed in the New Year on my own, watching the fireworks along Marine Parade.
6) Did you keep your New Year’s resolution of 2005?I don’t remember making any New Year’s resolutions, but looking back at my diary I apparently made three of them. The first was to see my cousin Paul who I hadn’t seen for three years – we went to Goodison Park to watch
Everton play Chelsea in February. The second was to cut down on sugar which has been a partial success – I’m down from three sachets to two in coffee. The third was to be more confident around women – I’m naturally shy – which I think I have achieved.
7) Do you have any New Year's resolutions for 2006?Nothing concrete… perhaps something healthy like drinking more water and eating more fruit and veg?
8) Did you fall in love in 2005?No, I just had a number of small, unrequited crushes.
9) Do you regret it?Not at all. No regrets.
10) Did you break up with anyone in 2005?No, not to my knowledge.
11) Did you make any new friends in 2005?Yes, definitely, and I'd like to take the time to thank them here:
Mike – you’ve become a close and valued friend this year and I really appreciate all the support and encouragement that you’ve given me with my movie-related writing.
Russ – it was great to finally meet you at
The Descent premiere, and the FrightFest events since then have been such a blast in your company.
David – thanks for sharing the load on the festival
review and it was great to see you in Brighton for
The Rakes & Louis XIV.
James – I’m full of admiration for what you’ve achieved this year, your enthusiasm is infectious. Thanks for agreeing to be my second
interviewee and I wish you continued success in 2006!
Kelly – I’ve only just met you recently and am still getting to know you but your words are always full of warmth and honesty and always put a smile on my face.
There’s also a few fellow bloggers that I’ve never met but consider to be new friends:
Nikita – thanks for your advice and insight into life in Hong Kong;
Courtney – yours was one of the first blogs I ever discovered and has become one of my essential bookmarks. Thanks for all your musical tips this year!
Tatiana – thanks for sharing your tales of life on the LA rock scene, your writing inspires me like no other.
12) What was your favourite month of 2005?May, for a number of reasons: Brighton Festival took over the city; Everton qualified for the Champions League; Dave and Justin came back to Brighton after five months away; FrightFest’s one day
event at the Prince Charles Cinema in London.
13) Did you travel outside of the UK in 2005?Sadly not this year.
14) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2005?We lost our family cat,
Pickles.
15) Did you miss anybody in the past year?I didn’t see my family as much as I should have. I haven’t seen my friend Chris – who became a father last year – since January and I keep meaning to pick up the phone to call him to see how he is.
16) What was your favourite movie that you saw in 2005?Ironically the one film I
didn’t see at the cinema –
DiG!17) What was your favourite song from 2005?An Honest Mistake by
The Bravery, or maybe
Dare by
Gorillaz, or maybe
Sugar by
Ladytron. They’re my top three tunes.
18) What was your favourite record from 2005?I’ll probably post a list later this month, but if I had to choose one record it would be
Cuts Across The Land by
The Duke Spirit.
19) How many concerts did you see in 2005? Forty-six.
20) Did you have a favourite concert in 2005?I’ve seen some great gigs this year but the one that really stands out was
Soulwax at the Concorde in Brighton back in February. It was also good to finally see
Nine Inch Nails and
New Order play live this year.
21) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2005?Yes, a fair amount. This year I discovered Jim Beam & ginger ale!
22) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2005?None. Well, one cigarette – does that count?
23) How many people did you sleep with in 2005?Unless I get lucky in the next three weeks, none!
24) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?Playing devil’s advocate between a couple of friends who’d fallen out with each another. Complaining about working conditions without realizing that one of my colleagues was even more worse off than myself.
25) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2005?One of my friends quit smoking this year and still insists that they have given up when I know for a fact that they haven’t.
26) What was the best practical joke that you played in 2005?We’ve done tons in the office this year. The best ones were signing up Bennett to the
G4 mailing list and downloading their songs onto his iPod, and sticking lots of
Ocean Colour Scene AAA passes onto Dom’s jacket and him not realising until he was being served at the counter in the Pound shop.
27) What was your proudest moment of 2005?Being asked to be Best Man at Stephen & Caroline’s
wedding was a great honour. Also, doing my first feature for EMB and having the director say that I’d handled the
interview “professionally and sensitively”.
28) What was your most embarrassing moment of 2005?Blatantly flirting with DJ Steve's girlfriend for about an hour right in front of him (while he was on the decks) was pretty bad - although in fairness we were both
very drunk. Getting threatened by
EMI Records for trying to sell a promo
Fischerspooner CD on eBay was pretty embarrassing as well.
29) If you could go back in time to one moment in time in 2005 and change something what would it be?Hmmmm… maybe staying in the pub with Natalie during the comedy festival would have been fun, although perhaps might have ended up as one of the moments I was most ashamed of. I might also have ensured that I’d booked days off work to attend EMB’s “
Night Of The Night Of Movies Night” Zombie Club event, and James’
Severance screening. And perhaps I’d have made sure I’d charged my camera battery before seeing
The Pipettes at the Pavilion Theatre in January.
30) What are your plans for 2006?I’m hoping to spend some time in Hong Kong and Thailand next year, and will endeavour to continue my writings and make the most of any opportunities that come my way in 2006.
