Nicholas Laughlin's blog etc.

2005 at a glance

Or, a squib for posterity

Key adjectives: restless, anxious, hopeful, grateful, tired
Published words (print): approx. 34,000
Published words (online): approx. 32,000 (but this includes vast chunks of quoted text in blog posts)
Months in which I did not blog: May, August
Months in which I blogged most: October, November
Emails written: approx. 5,000
Emails received (excl. junk): approx. 6,500
Photos taken: 955
Major authors: V.S. Naipaul, W.G. Sebald, Bruce Chatwin, Ted Hughes, John Berryman
Major texts: Naipaul, The Middle Passage; N. Guppy, Wai-Wai; E. Waugh, Ninety-two Days; Chatwin, Songlines & In Patagonia; P. Melville, The Ventriloquist's Tale; A. Salkey, Georgetown Journal; D. Williams, Prehistoric Guiana; N. Baker, U & I
Major literary pilgrimage: visit to Yeats's grave, Drumcliff, Co. Sligo, 26 April
Books read (at least two thirds of): approx. 60
Soundtrack: Elvis Costello (My Aim Is True, This Year's Model), the Pixies (Doolittle, Surfer Rosa), the Beatles ("You've Got to Hide Your Love Away"), jointpop ("King Radio", "After Half Past Nine", "The Water Supreme" etc.)
Best movie: Rules of the Game (J. Renoir), StudioFilmClub, 2 February
Best live musical performances: 3Canal, 17 June; jointpop, 5 November; 12 the Band, 30 December
Months abroad: 3
Countries visited: 7
Modes of transport: airplane, car, Land Rover, speedboat, horse, train, bus, canoe, motorbike, feet
Airplane flights: 17
Furthest point south: Boa Vista, Brazil
Furthest point west: Minneapolis, USA
Furthest point north: Cambridge, UK
Furthest point east: Florence, Italy
Most useful foreign language phrase learned: "Posso avere un gelato di pesca, per favore?"
Best meal: Cafe Paradiso, Cork, Ireland, 28 April
Most visited restaurant: Giuliano's, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain
Strange beds slept in: 24
Mountains ascended: 2
Major rivers crossed: 9
Most visited beach: Macqueripe
Key purchases: Wai-Wai seed necklace (Amerindian Craft Centre, Princess Street, Georgetown); maps of Guyana (Stanfords, Longacre, London; Lands & Surveys Commission, Durban Backlands, Georgetown); camera (Amazon); 12-inch PowerBook (Amazon); stylish but practical moleskine notebooks (Foyle's, Charing Cross Road, London); Diego Martin t-shirt (3Canal, Ariapita Avenue, Port of Spain)
I still do not own: a car, real estate, a mobile phone
Dark nights of the soul: 24 May, 16 July, 5 August, 27 August
Moments of grace: 7 February, 18 May, 25 May, 3 September, 5 November, 16 November
Most unexpected good thing: J'Ouvert
Encounters with important people from my past who I hadn't seen in over seven years: 2
Major encounter with sacred monster: tea with V.S. Naipaul, 25 May
New pets: 0
Cups of coffee: approx. 400
Cups of tea: approx. 1,000
Gin gimlets: 1
Nights I didn't get to bed till 4 a.m.: 3
Average bedtime: midnight
Average wake-up time: 8 a.m.
Nights I felt I didn't get enough sleep: approx. 350
Unofficial motto: No time to waste