2006: A Survey For The New Millenium!

Third year of me doing this survey. Off we go!

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
I snowboarded. The first two days were really tough, but the last two days were super-fun. This was back in January 2006 and I told myself, "See, Paul, it's good to try new things. Keep it up." It's now December 2006 and snowboarding has remained the only "new thing" I've tried all year. Oh, well. Snowboarding was fun.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I guess "trying new things" was sort of 2006's New Year's Resolution, so... no, I didn't keep that. My resolution for 2007? MORE SNOWBOARDING!!!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. But by the looks of it, this question's answer will be three paragraphs long next year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. But by the looks of it, this question's answer will be three paragraphs long next year (psssst - I'm murdering all my friends and loved ones)

5. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (21 dollar signs)

6. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory?
April 14, 2006

7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Neil and I selling show ideas

8. What was your biggest failure?
Neil and I not getting into the Aspen Comedy Festival.

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yet another clean bill of health. My secret? Eating a lot of food that's bad for you and rarely exercising.

10. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Earth, Fire, Water, all my Wiccan brothers and sisters

11. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Air. Sometimes I wonder why we even praise you every fortnight!

12. Where did most of your money go?
Rent. Not the Broadway musical, but for my apartment... which is located directly underneath the stage for "Rent," the Broadway musical.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Writing and performing

14. What song will always remind you of 2006?
"Common People" by Pulp

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
Happier! Paul Rust: Increasingly Happier Since 2000.
b) thinner or fatter?
The same.
c) richer or poorer?
Poorer! Paul Rust: Increasingly Poorer Since 2004.

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Practicing my magic skills, so I can become a more responsible magician (particularly my skills at making audience volunteers disappear)

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sending that small child to Magic Land: Level 7 and not being able to bring him back

18. How did you spend Christmas?
Having fun with friends and family in LeMars, Iowa.

19. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Nope. Did America fall in love with Benji? Definitely!!!

20. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
THE BACKSTREET BOYS, N'SYNC, AND ALL THOSE ANNOYING BOY BANDS!!! SOMEBODY STOP THEM!!! PLEASE!!!!

21. What was your favorite TV program?
Stella

22. What was the best book you read?
Do all the Wikipedia entries on Oasis count as "a book?"

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
"The Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance. Best album of the year. (Yes, snobs, I'm being serious)

24. What did you want and get?
Sexual intercourse - every single day, 365 days of the year.

25. What did you want and not get?
Acceptance into the "I'm Addicted to My Sex Robot" support group.

26. What was your favorite film of this year?
"The Departed"

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Celebrated with friends at Chuck E. Cheese, then watched "The Garbage Pail Kids Movie." Quarter of a century.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I don't know about "immeasurably," but it'd been nice to own a beagle.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
"Celtic Pride" (I wear the VHS around my neck on a chain)

30. What kept you sane?
Www.Google.com!

31. What political issue stirred you the most?
Unfortunately, politics weren't discussed much in those Wikipedia entries on Oasis that I read

32. Who did you miss?
Friends and family not living in Los Angeles

33. Who was the best new person you met?
The fellas of Hendershaw

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
Um, I'm just beginning to understand things I learned in 1996.

Last week, I read Pitchforkmedia's "200 Best Singles of the 1960's." I like lists like that. It helps me understand a very wide canvas through key examples. I wanna' make a list like that, but I probably don't have the authority to do so. Because I don't have that breadth of knowledge on any topic.

Except, of course, my own life. I know that pretty well.

I'm considering making a "Top 10 Most Pivotal Moments in My Life" list - although as I wrote that right now, I wanted to punch myself in the face. That's pretty dumb, huh? Awfully narcissistic, too. And who cares outside of me? (These are the main reasons I haven't regularly written in my blog for nearly two years now)

The idea would be to choose specific scenarios that shaped me as a person (for good and for bad). I think I'd be interested in reading that if somebody else did it. I'm 25 years old. Seems like a nice, round year to do some reflecting.

After all, at "Motown 25," Michael Jackson moonwalked to "Billie Jean." The least I can do for "Pauly Dangerfield 25" is write a few blog entries.

What's that called when prisoners carve lines onto their cells walls to indicate how many days they've spent in prison? Y'know, the four vertical lines and then a fifth line across them? I can't remember what those scratches are called. They're not exclusive to prisoners. I mean, people use them all the time - like to keep track of points during a game of "Hangman" or something.

But it's been on the tip of my tongue for the past 5 days now and I've been avoiding writing this particular blog entry ever since because I can't remember the term.

Anyway. Trying to remember the term isn't the point of this blog. This is:

Ever since I was a kid, I thought about how if I was a prisoner, I'd be bad at scratching lines onto my cell wall. Physically, I could do it. But mentally? No. Like my first day in prison, I'd be like, "Alright, one scratch" and then I'd do it. But I bet it'd be kinda fun (carving walls is cool) and since prison is boring, I'd be like, "Okay, I'll carve one... for tomorrow. And then I just won't do one tomorrow." But then the next day would come and I'd be kicking myself for having done it the day before and not getting to have the fun for that day. So I'd be like, "Okay, one more. Then that's it... for real."

But then I'd do another one. And another.

Until I'd be like on my 17th scratch, but only on my third day in prison.

It's like eating Flinstone vitamins as a kid. You only get one a day, but you're like, "They taste like candy! I want another one!" In that case though, I'd control myself from taking another Flinstone vitamin. Because I thought it was like real medicine and if I had more than one a day, I'd get really sick and overdose or something.

Fortunately, I never overdosed or something.