I was thinking that maybe I should go back to the way I was in high school, and wear crazy vintage unmatched stuff, the Syd Barrett look. I never wore any black or neutrals, only bright colors. In 12th grade I was voted "Most Creatively Dressed" (and "Most Intriguing") out of a class of 700. Going to Reed made me a lot less original -- something about Portland made me want to wear black. And I never had time to think about my clothes as much. But I miss that feeling that every day is a costume party.

The Coat (these pictures suck, I'll have to take some of my own):

Ok, I'm going to answer these questions about 2006 that I lifted from hungryghost.

What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before? Learned to teach English. Went to Asia. Stayed clean for longer than three months. Lived in Northeast Portland. Got married. Lived in San Diego. Got a laptop. Rode on a motorbike. Drove a motorbike. Drove on the left. Had a job in a foreign country. Heard the call to prayer from a mosque. Ate dinner off a banana leaf. Used a squat toilet. Took acid and ketamine at the same time (amazing). Went rock climbing in a pitch black cave wearing flip-flops. Got proposed to by one of my Thai students. Got proposed to by a Mexican heroin dealer in Portland. Lived in a city that got bombed. Hung out for 24 hours in the Bangkok airport. Rode in the back of a cop car -- twice in two weeks -- without getting arrested.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't think I made any last year. Maybe it had started seeming hopeless. If I did I would have resolved to get/stay clean, which I did. I don't want to make any this year, though there are things I want to do -- continue to stay clean, have a stable life, do whatever it is that gives me joy. Treasure my freedom.

Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! And this gives me an excuse to type this again -- my favorite cousin, Natalie, gave birth to Ursula Ray Chicago Molena Brewster Nguyen! She was born a day after my 25th birthday and she has her own myspace page. She's going to be fucking gorgeous. This picture is too big but I love the emo haircut Natalie gave her -- she looks like Conor Oberst!

Did anyone close to you die? No... not that I know of. I didn't die either, but almost.

What countries did you visit? Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia. And Japan, if the airport counts.

What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? To live somewhere for longer than two months. To have the same job for longer than two months.

What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 20. June 24. July 27. November 25. December 23.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting clean, duh. Plus saving a bunch of money and traveling to another continent. And leaving it alone, that was quite an achievement, as it turned out.

What was your biggest failure? Um, well I guess doing heroin from February - April was a failure. Also deciding to get married before I was actually clean, that was pretty fucking stupid.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Illness -- withdrawal. Injury -- I burned my arm on the oven at work in January. I burned my leg on a motorbike exhaust pipe. Track marks, which are almost gone. I overdosed in my car in Portland and got woken up by cops, who injected me with Narcam "to see if she's a junkie", which made me feel like my heart was going to explode and I thought I was dying, literally.

What was the best thing you bought? Hmm, this coat I just bought today. Probably other stuff but it's all in Portland and I don't remember it. Books. My Thai purse.

Whose behaviour merited celebration? Damn, I'm full of myself, I was going to say "mine". Really, Donna's, for being an amazing friend and keeping in touch this whole time. Everyone else, for putting up with me. I would have said Brian, for changing, but unfortunately he changed back. Pete, for helping me get a job and keeping all my shit at his house while I went to Asia.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Mine, until I got clean. Brian.

Where did most of your money go? Heroin, either mine or J's. Actually if I add up all the plane and train and bus tickets I bought this year, they probably cost more than what I spent on drugs.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Everything! Really. Books, love, new places.

What song will always remind you of 2006? Wolf Parade, "Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts." Sufjan Stevens, "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!"

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder? Happier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ii. Thinner or fatter? The same.
iii. richer or poorer? Poorer. But richer in spirit.

What do you wish you'd done more of? Thinking for myself. Acid. Hanging out with Donna.

What do you wish you'd done less of? Heroin. Whisky. Smoking. Self-doubt. But I stopped doing all those things. Except self-doubt.

Did you fall in love in 2006? Constantly.

What was your favourite TV programme? Uh, watching the news in Thai.

Do you hate anyone that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't know if I've ever hated anyone.

What was the best book you read? "Of Human Bondage" by Somerset Maugham. "The Idiot" by Dostoyevsky. "Plainwater" by Anne Carson (that was a re-read). "Self Reliance" by Emerson.

What was your greatest musical discovery? The Decemberists, Wolf Parade, Sufjan Stevens.

What did you want and get? Everything. Everything important.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 25. I had been clean for 5 days and I was really really dopesick. I think Brian and I went out to eat but I was so tired we had to go back home and I lay on the couch for the rest of the day, shivering.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Nothing, really. Other than being a different person who would have made different choices. But that's impossible.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005? January: "snow queen." Feb-April: "dirty junkie" (wearing the same thing every day, corduroys, T-shirt, jean jacket). April/May: "withdrawal" (pajamas). Thailand: "tropical apathy" (whatever was most comfortable in the heat, with flip-flops).

What kept you sane? Donna. My friend J in Portland. Self-control. Books. That place in my head where everything is quiet and no one can hurt me.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I don't know. Nancy Pelosi.

Who did you miss? Donna. Portland. America.

Who was the best new person you met? Abby. My students, whom I will never see again. Robin in Thailand, whom I will never see again. Prince Myshkin, whom I have never met.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006: Actions have consequences.