Friday the 13th was a pretty good day for me: I made the very last payment on a credit card I have had since 1996. (Yes, I am old.) I remember how I got that credit card — it was my first, see. A Very Nice Lady from the bank called my dorm room telephone and asked me if I’d be interested in applying for a student MasterCard, special for college students. And so I did. I have to imagine the bank had the telephone numbers for each and every dorm room at my school and they probably cold-called everyone. At any rate, I opened up the account — a modest $500 credit limit, only to be used in emergencies — and my life as a debtor began.

(I’m sure you’ve heard stories like this before or went through something similar yourself. This is America, after all. I am neither interesting nor unique in my past financial problems, but I’m going to write all about it regardless of just how very unremarkable I am. I think it might be helpful for anyone else who is going through the same thing and I know it will be helpful for me.)

I had the best of intentions for my shiny new MasterCard and I certainly did not plan to use it for any frivolous spending. I only charged what I could afford to pay off each month. The first purchase I made that wasn’t immediately paid off was a set of tires for my superfly 1987 Chevy Calvalier. A legitimate expense, I am sure you will agree. (And one sweet, sweet ride, which is beside the point.)

Over the years, of course, my attitute toward the card and toward my spending relaxed: I was a scholarship student working part time jobs around town for spending money, most of which went for things like books, art supplies, gas, and basic expenses. I was 100% financially independent from my parents, and proud of it. This meant, though, that I didn’t really ever have cash for frivolous things like shopping, clothes, or restaurant meals, and as I got more comfortable with charging those things, the bank continued to increase my credit limit to accomodate my habits.

You can guess, of course, that trouble ensued. I used the card a lot when I lived in Germany junior year. I received a modest stipend from my German university to help with living expenses, but my student Visa didn’t allow me to work there, so I put a lot of things on the credit card. When I graduated college and moved to Oregon for my PhD, there was a 6-week period where I hadn’t yet started my teaching fellowship and couldn’t find a job around town, so ALL my living expenses went on the credit card. Ouch.

Throughout graduate school, I wound up opening up other, smaller credit cards here and there and debt just kept mounting. The $800 monthly paycheck from my fellowship was not cutting it, and the spotty part-time summer employment, even with the help of student loans, still wasn’t enough. Unfortunately, I was essentially unwilling to live the frugal, ascetic lifestyle I would have needed to embrace in order to avoid taking on any more debt. And really, who cared, right? As long as I could afford the minimum payments, and could keep charging things, why worry?

(Ahhhh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Weep.)

Soon enough, though, I could not afford the minimum payment anymore and the card was totally maxed out. Um, oops. At that point I had to figure out some kind of plan of action. Or, maybe instead of figuring out some kind of plan of action, I could, like, maybe just ignore the situation instead? Yeah. Let’s try that. Ignoring the problem (and the letters, and the phone calls) would be just fine.

At some point, things came to a head. I had to actually talk to the bank, on the telephone, like a real grown up lady. I had to look at the actual numbers, instead of squinting at the bills through my nearly shut eyelashes. It was terrifying. There was no way I could see to come correct with this account. The minimum payment alone was more than my rent, both of which were more than half my paycheck. Rent + minimum payment > paycheck. This = problem. Even I, financially challenged as I was, could figure that out.

But when I spoke to the bank, they actually helped me. I in no way expected this, but they made it work. The account was closed and I started a five-year, fixed payment plan, after which the entire balance would be paid off. The interest rate during this period was a mere 3.9%.

I still felt like I’d never get it paid off — the payment amount they set for me was not as cripplingly high as the old minimum had been, but it was still a pretty painful number to think of. Nonetheless, I knew I just had to hold on for five years and I’d be done with it. During that time, I finally figured out how to limit and budget and make my life work with the money I had coming in. It helped that during this time I got a real, post-grad-school job.

Over the past two years, I’ve also been working on paying off another credit card from the grad school years — the second one had a balance only 1/4 as high when I closed it and the payment was only 1/2 what the bigger one was. Coincidentally, I made the final payment to that bank in late December. Between these two credit cards and my student loans, I’d been paying about $850 a month toward debt, all of which was incurred while in college and graduate school. Ouch. As of now, though, I am down to only two things in the red-ink column: student loans (which I’ll be paying for the next 9 years), and dog surgery bills. It feels really good. Damn that dog surgery bill, though! I should have nothing on the books right now except my student loans. But I hope to have them paid off completely by the end of 2012.

What’s interesting to me is that the worst of the debt was incurred and mismanaged during the very same years that my weight balloned up from my healthy size to the fattest I’ve ever been. And then during the same years I spent paying off the debt, I got myself back on track with health, nutrition, and fitness, and I lost 120 pounds.

(Hmm, I’ve shared the amount of weight I lost — should I share the amount of debt I paid off? I’m not sure I feel as comfortable with that number being public. Let’s just say… I could have bought myself a fully loaded 2012 Toyota Prius for that amount.)

I have no doubt that these two things, weight and debt, are connected; after all, they are also two of America’s most-noted problems. We are all overweight and in over our heads with debt, too fat and out of shape to climb out of the hole we’ve dug, or so says the news. I won’t wax on about the nation at large, but I can refer to my own case: quite simply, I had a problem with overconsumption. I was not able to limit or to budget, either when it came to calories or to dollars. I was not able to say no — to another beer, to a basket of fries, or to putting the bar tab on my credit card at the end of the night.

As I write this, however, I have a very managable debt situation and I have maintained my weight loss, give or take five pounds, for over 18 months. This is proof that no matter how big a hole you can dig for yourself, there is always the possibility of climbing back out. In both cases, coming face to face with the numbers, no matter how frightening, is a solid first step.

Here we go again, y’all: it’s the end of the year review! I really do love completing this every year, and reading everyone else’s.  Much like Project365, it faciltates self-reflection in an interesting way. Speaking of Project365, stay tuned for my Year in Photos post coming up soon. Please feel free to do the questionnaire on your blog or answer any of the questions you want to in the comments. If you do a blog post, leave me a link so I can go read about your year!

Note: This year, I took the liberty of re-phrasing a couple of the questions. I never liked having the pressure of visiting other countries, so I changed that question to “places.” I also don’t really make “musical discoveries,” so I re-wrote that one, too.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

Had a seriously ill/injured pet — Egon’s back injury and surgery were definitely new for me. I also earned the job title of Lecturer. I had a few photography gigs by special request (some were even paid).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Last year, I wrote: “For 2011, I would like to: run a half marathon in under two hours, bike a half century (50 mile) ride, compete in at least one more triathlon, publish that article, and take action to achieve better job security.”

I came close on the half marathon goal and I’ll keep working on it for 2012. I completed the triathlon in August and earned a promotion at work that allows me a lot more security. I did almost nothing in the way of cycling beyond the triathlon training, and as far as my article, I, well…got distracted.

For 2012: I’d like to keep working on that half marathon goal, ride my bike more regularly (whether for commuting or sport), continue work on the article, and try to make healthier eating more compatible with my relationship (i.e. not just eat whatever he’s eating).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A friend from work had a baby girl in August — cute as a button. I had the pleasure of doing her portrait for both the birth announcements and the family Christmas card — so much fun!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

I’m thankful to answer “no” to this question once again.

5. What places did you visit?

I traveled to the usual destinations in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, went to a conference in Kentucky, had a bachelorette weekend in Savannah, traveled to spectate at a race in St. Louis, ran a race in Savannah, visited with friends in Asheville and family in Tennessee.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

A nice road bike, an HDTV (which is already on its way), a coffee grinder, my own office at work.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 5th – Cinco de Mayo dinner with Golightly, PSP, Brunbec, and W.

May 31st – First date.

July 2nd – Golightly and PSP’s wedding, my first photography gig

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

The job promotion, I suppose. It was neither likely nor easy. I’m proud and satisfied and I just hope I can do it right.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Second-guessing myself and my judgment in a few personal situations; being immobilized with indecision. But not in a major way — I wouldn’t say anything’s been a real failure this year, thank dog.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No illness; only minor running overuse unjuries.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Renting my new apartment was a pretty great thing: it is by far the nicest place I’ve lived and I still love it even after the shine’s worn off. Of course, I did not “buy” it. Let’s say the washer and dryer. I still love doing laundry in my own machines enough that it is not a chore.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My dog. After a rough start, he wound up dealing with the surgery and recovery very, very well. Certain students were wonderful as well.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Plagiarists and cheaters. I simply cannot brook these behaviors; I cannot.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Paying off old debt (and acquiring new debt in the form of dog surgery bills, goddammit), general overhead. I’m a teacher, so I feel like it’s pretty probable that my answer will always be “general overhead.” Rent and basic necessities/bills are by far the bulk of what I spend money on.

15. What did you get really excited about?

Watching the finish line at the St. Louis marathon, shooting my good friends’ wedding, eating vegan food in Asheville, Egon coming home from the hospital, meeting someone new just when I needed to.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Florence + the Machine’s “Heavy in Your Arms”

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? happier, maybe, but probably the same
b) thinner or fatter? fatter by five pounds — thank you date nights at restaurants!
c) richer or poorer? richer — thank you salary bump!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Reading for fun, strength training. (Oh ho ho, same as last year. I need to create space in my life for these things, apparently. I will officially…try.)

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Feeling guilty for saying “no.”  I always feel as if I am “working on” this issue but I never feel that it’s resolved. I try.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

In Tennessee with my family, trying (successfully) not to strangle anyone or get disgustingly drunk. Cooking dinner with my brother, fretting about gifts, and trying to mind my dog.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

You know I did; don’t make me say it like some kind of big goober.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Doctor Who. I always knew I would love this show but it seemed so overwhelming and I didn’t know how to get started. I mentioned this to W on our first date, during the inevitable “What do you watch on TV?” conversation, and he was all like, “Oh, I can help you with that.” So we watched all 6 seasons of the new version of the show together and I fell in love. Someday I’ll watch the older show, too.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nope, but this year it’s just barely.

24. What was the best book you read?

I would love to say it was David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King, but I didn’t get very far into it before I started re-reading Infinite Jest for work. I very much enjoyed Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches and Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake.

It wasn’t a really big reading year for me, though: I read a lot of things I wasn’t thrilled about, and am at the moment partly finished with more novels than I actually finished! I blame W. My normal reading time has always been at night, in bed, before I fall asleep. That’s not what I’m doing with that time slot now.

25. What music did you get excited about?

Nothing new this year, really! Hence, my normal year’s-end mix CD did not happen this year. Bummer.

I listened to Adele and to Mumford & Sons, just like everybody else did. I got the new Decemberists album (“The King is Dead”) and EP (“Long Live the King”), and the new Death Cab for Cutie album (“Codes and Keys”) but I didn’t get too excited about any of that. I think my favorite album from this year was Kanye’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” which was actually released in 2010. Oops.

26. What did you want and get?

*blush*

27. What did you want and not get?

An injury-free year of running, a sub-2:00 half marathon, a road bike.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

What did I see…hmm… Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part II), Breaking Dawn (part I), The Hangover II, Paris at Midnight, Bad Teacher, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Contagion, In Time, Super 8, Bridesmaids, Captain America, Our Idiot Brother, Source Code, The Adjustment Bureau, Horrible Bosses, and probably a few others. Early in the year I caught up on 2010′s Black Swan and 127 Hours. (To figure all this out I had to consult both the blog and a list I found online of 2011 movies.) I’m hard pressed to pick a favorite. I did really love the final Harry Potter movie: every single scene was good. Bridesmaids was great, too.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

On my birthday, W took me out to a really nice dinner and then we stayed up a little late drinking champagne and singing along with the stereo. The next day I had friends over for a small get together and very nearly everyone showed up whom I’d invited and a lovely time was had by all. I turned 34.

30. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?

Honestly, I can’t think of anything. Maybe spending the Christmas/New Year’s week holed up in a little cabin in the Smokies with a case of Champagne and my boyfriend and our dogs and some snow. That would have beat the pants off of Reality Christmas.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Desperately Wishing for Cooler Weather. I hate trying to get dressed for work in hot weather; it is impossible. I would like for my personal fashion concept to involve as many blazers and cardigans as possible.

32. What kept you sane?

Twitter. Mostly.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

David Tennant. Man, he is just fabulous. Also The Doctor, as a character.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Protests around the world (in the Middle East and the Occupy movement) and, to a lesser extent, the Republican primaries.

35. Whom did you miss?

Far-flung friends, as usual, but no one person in particular this year.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Willard.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

Qui patitur vincit. Trust your instincts. Wait and watch and see. Don’t run Rock ‘n’ Roll branded races. Drink more champagne.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

This on is always a stumper. Here. Have this:

Sigh no more, no more.
One foot in sea, one on shore.
My heart was never pure
And you know me
You know me.

And man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing.

Love: it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you,
It will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be.
There is a design, an alignment, a cry
Of my heart to see
The beauty of love as it was made to be.

– Mumford & Sons

Do you have a blog? I know a lot of you do, but a lot of you out there don’t. For a while, back when I first started blogging years ago, there was a brief, glorious period of time when almost all of my friends had blogs of their own. Most of those blogs have slowly died or sit languishing in internet limbo these days, still up but without any new posts in the last couple of years. I loved it back then, though: seeing another side of my friends, getting to look at their lives in writing and photography and sharing stories online. It didn’t matter if these were friends I worked with, went to school with, talked with on the phone, or went out to the bar with every week — I still loved following their lives online.

I wish everyone still had blogs, man. I miss all that. Of course most of us are on Twitter. Facebook, for my purposes, does NOT count. I believe the adage is true: Facebook is where you learn to hate the people you know; Twitter is where you learn to love the people you’ve never met.

I also have all of my online friends that I’ve met through various outlets (blogging, Twitter, Flickr, DailyMile, and so on) whom I correspond with in writing, pictures, training updates, and 140-character witticisms all day long. I LOVE that. Just love it. We get to know each other through the pieces of our lives we share online, whether it’s personal narratives, recipes, workouts, or anything else. Friendships grow out of that.

What’s funny is that if all my in-person friends had blogs, I would be OBSESSIVELY reading them. If I met someone new and we became friends and I found out the person had a blog? You had better bet I would begin archive stalking post haste. You could simply not stop me from devouring each and every post. People writing about their lives is one of my very, very favorite things to read and one of my favorite ways to get to know someone.

If you’re here reading this blog, you probably feel the same way. You probably read plenty of blogs and enjoy following them on the regular. Cheers to you, like-minded person on the internet!

But here’s something I wonder about — a few things, really:

Do you have friends in person who know about your blog but don’t read it? Or, do you have in-person friends whose blogs you don’t read?

Do your in-person friends bring up things they read on your blog when they talk to you, or is it like what happens on the blog stays there? Do you assume your friends read your blog, or not?

I am curious about how these things work in other people’s lives — I have a few friends who will call me up and we’ll get to talking and they’ll say, “Oh, I read about X on your blog, what’s happening with that?” and then we’ll have a chat about it. And then I have other friends who are like, “Hey, is it cool if I ask you about that Y thing on your blog?” which of course it is, so we have a chat about that. And then there are those who are all, “Hey, what ever happened with Z?” and I’m all, “DID YOU NOT READ MY BLOG HELLOOOO,” just like Barney Stinson, and they get all awkward like, “Um, no, I have better things to do, PLEASE.”

So it’s a mixed bag over here.  What do you think? How does blogging (or other social media) intersect with, you know, your “real” life?