A welcome back and end of year interview type thingy.

Stolen wholesale from my lovely old chum, Scribsy.


1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Worked as a film extra, went a whole year unemployed (grr),

2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I never make them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My sister in law did. To a child with the world's biggest eyes.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope. Lucky year.

5. What countries did you visit?
Cornwall... well they have their own flag anyway.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A job. Dear god. A job.

7. What date from 2008 will be etched on your memory and why?
The Mexican Christmas party from Christmas eve (with Three Amigos accompaniment) is a candidate. As is the six hour game of Twilight Imperium.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I have had a really shite year for everything. Very little major has gone right for me, but I did record five songs to professional standards so that was good.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting any of the 50 jobs I applied for. I blame the credit crunch, but then I would, wouldn't I?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes. I was diagnosed with an oo-nasty but its not new or curable so there.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I bought much that was shiny and lovely. I believe that the spirit of the question is to describe something meaningless and frivolous and selfish? If not, I would have to say a big kick was buying exactly the right present for Mrs Algo - if its a selfish thing, I'd go with a game; Fallout 3 in the computer world, and probably Shadows Over Camelot in the Board Games.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The majority of the American people. Thanks for sparing the world a Zombie and a Witch.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sarah Palin. What a dumb bitch. But the winner of dick of the year must be the shitcreep that is Robert Mugabe. He is a cock of monumental proportions.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, bills, groceries.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Christmas. I love Christmas.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
Hiphopopotamous VS. The Rhymenocerous.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Same.
ii. thinner or fatter? Slightly thinner, but that's because....
iii. richer or poorer? A lot poorer.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing. HAVING A JOB!!!

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Moping.

20. How will you be spending/did you spend Christmas?
Visiting folks, playing games, entertaining the under 7s.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
No. I fell in love in 2001. Not recovered yet. Hehe.

23. How many one-night stands?
What the hell? Who would say?

24. What was your favorite TV program?
John Adams was good, as was The Devil's Whore, Battlestar Galactica, etc etc.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I'd never heard of Sarah Palin last year. I wish this was still the case.

26. What was the best book you read?
Night Watch, by Timur Bekhmanitov (or surname slightly differently spelt)

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Kings Of Leon. I was slow.

28. What did you want and get?
Android, a rather attractive board game version of Blade Runner so complicated it scared off a lawyer.

29. What did you want and not get?
A JOB!!!

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
It won the Wall Shadows Award! The Assassination Of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford. Closely followed by the Dark Knight.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We were in Cornwall, so just a meal and a pasty or two.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A JOB! A JOB! A JOB!

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Neo-unemployable

34. What kept you sane?
To the extent that it remains a possibility, Mrs Algo.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I saw Volver this year. Penelope Cruz in that is mind blowing.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The US Election, though I should have been screaming about several things going on in Africa.

37. Who did you miss?
My old uni mates, my family. The usual.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
A dangerous question, since I met many nice people and I love them all.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
While sharing your problems is good, some discretion makes you look less like a nutter.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"UH=OH!"

Football - its a silly game.

Regular readers will know yours truly is a long suffering Tottenham Hotspur fan so imagine my glee at seeing us bash local rivals West Ham 2-0 yesterday at their place.

Its becoming a real rollercoaster ride this season since despite having a total turnaround and playing a billion times better since we changed managers we are STILL 15th and not really out of the scrap at the bottom of the league table.

In fact, so incompetent was Juande Ramos he has been rewarded with one of Sports most poisoned of chalices, the managers post at Real Madrid. I can't for the life of me understand what they think he will succeed at there when his affect at Spurs was much like the poisoned Lasagne a few seasons ago which cost us Champions League football.

Never mind. I am cheered up by the way things are going and hopefully I won't have to worry again after January.

A