My year of feet

The mighty fabulous Jo Hubris checks in at the start of each year by asking herself the same 40 questions. What a great idea, I thought, except in answering her 40 questions I mainly came up with the same 40 answers. So I’m reducing her extensive list to 20 questions, and this is what I came up with …

What did you do in 2007 that you'd never done before? Got knocked up. Spent a day as a patient in hospital. Went to Australia. Cried at a TV commercial. Had a facial. Phoned up Michael Palin at home while he was eating breakfast. Was featured in a National Radio documentary on climate change digging a hole and panting. Stayed up 25.5 hours without drugs.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t do resolutions, I set goals. I achieved some of them – did the Oxfam 100km walk for example. I also followed my friend Susie’s advice to tie a ribbon to a tree and say ‘welcome love’, which seems to have resulted in Tiny.

Did anyone close to you die? No, but two of my parents’ cats went missing when they moved to Christchurch, presumed dead. We miss you Suzie and Oliver.

What countries did you visit? I went to Australia for the first time and fell in love with lorikeets.

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? A Qantas Media Award. This is unlikely though, so I guess I’ll just have to make do with my son being outside my body.

What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? 27 May. The day we found out about Tiny. I bought a pie and a pregnancy test at the supermarket that morning, went to the costume cave and got an outfit for a fancy dress party on that night, ate the pie, did the test, and the next six hours were a blur. I remember sitting in Monique’s flat watching the tui flutter from tree to tree and thinking ‘I can do this’. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to the party.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Walking 100km for charity – the Oxfam Trailwalker, and raising nearly $5000 with my team in the process.

What was your biggest failure? Not doing the Trailwalker in under 24 hours, but really, completing the thing without needing to be booked into a mental institution is not to be sniffed at. I also did a pretty bad job of keeping away from the snack drawer at work.

Did you suffer illness or injury? I lost some toenails on the 100km walk and had some blisters in unusual places, but compared to the man in the first aid station who hadn’t changed his socks for 80-something kms, I was in relatively good shape.
I also had a rough few months with morning sickness, which let me tell you, has not much to do with the morning. The worst incidence of it was about 11.30pm at the after hours medical centre, where the nurse continued to ask me my symptoms while I vomited into a rubbish bin. Not my most glamorous hour.

Post 100km-walk feet - bruised and blistered, but with toenails intact. They later came off in spectacular, not-for-blog fashion

What was the best thing you bought? My stretchy waistband jeans that enabled me to keep looking like a slim hipped rock star even though my belly looked like I’d had too many pancakes.

Whose behaviour merited celebration? The Postie – for being so calm, reliable and awesome in the face of such a life-altering curve ball. He also continued unflinchingly in the 100km walk despite having severe blisters from about the 10km mark.

Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? I saw a movie called Jesus Camp a week ago. It made me despair for the human race. The documentary is about evangelical ‘Christians’ who use the word enemy far too often and believe it's ok to brainwash children because that's what them Muslims do. They were so sure they were right about everything, and that kind of closed-mindedness gives me the willies.

Where did most of your money go? Tiny’s savings account, walking shoes and a raincoat.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? The 20 week scan, where we found out Tiny is a tiny boy. Feeling his first kicks, which was like having a lava lamp in your belly, all soft and floaty-like. My pal Janna's wedding was pretty exciting, and seeing old faces at the Tokoroa High School reunion also rocked.

What song will always remind you of 2007? Into My Arms by Nick Cave. It made me cry on the bus to work one morning.

What do you wish you'd done more of? Jumped up and down, done cartwheels, ridden my bike. I wish I’d walked and tramped and done more physically active stuff more while I was able. Now it’s a major achievement to make it down to the shop and back without an ambulance.

What do you wish you'd done less of? Vomitting.

Did you fall in love in 2007? Um, yes. With two boys at once. And with fizz-it lollies and lorikeets.

What did you want and get? A good payrise with accompanying rave reviews from my bosses. A pretty choice partner. Phoenix Foundation’s Happy Ending for Chrimbo.

What did you want and not get? An Asia New Zealand scholarship to do stories in India and China. Getting pregnant kind of put paid to those aims. I’m now looking at applying in 2010.