A belated wrap-up of the year. I almost didn’t post this, because everything went so well this year that it seemed too boring. Ten items seemed like a stretch–here’s the Top 9:

1. I spent five weeks in Egypt and did not get sick. Absolutely astounding. I can’t really take credit. It’s like my stomach bacteria are a separate force from me. Thank you, thank you, stomach bacteria.

2. Bookdealbookdealbookdeal. OMG!!! For realz! 2 legit 2 quit!! Oh hai I can be real awthor? Oh, right–they gave me money to write in full sentences and spell things right. I’d better keep in practice.

3. I was on a boat! I was on a boat! Peter and I took the Queen Mary 2, and even dined with the Commodore Himself.

4. I really felt like this Internet thing is going to work out. This isn’t specific to this year exactly, but I’ve met so many fantastic people through the Internet, from the fabulous Kate Payne of The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking to Christina of A Thinking Stomach to Medo, who just happened by my blog and wound up driving me around Cairo and convincing his incredibly generous mom to make me a home-cooked meal.

In real life, I probably would’ve met Medo’s mother first–she’s only a few years older than me. But this is what happens on the Internet. (Get your pedophile jokes lined right up. I can take it.)

5. I made some jokes in Arabic. I can’t remember them now, but I remember when people laughed. And when the family who shared their picnic lunch with me at the Agricultural Museum in Cairo said, “She’s like us! She’s got the Egyptian spirit!” (I am wildly translating andaha damm khafeef–she has light blood.)

This matters because it was the small goal I set for myself while taking Arabic classes in Cairo. All other forms of fluency in Arabic have eluded me. And nothing gets you so far with so little in Egypt as making a good joke. It made up for my total failure to use the various polite phrases at the right times.

6. I made peace with my hometown. This happened to be via an article I wrote for the New York Times, which is also very exciting. But in the big picture, it’s amazing to me that the place I said sucked so hard for so long is now cool enough to make me want to advocate for it.

Or…could it be…that I’ve changed too? No, that’s just silly!

7. I got into good work habits, with other people’s help. Early in 2011, I realized: all those people who take their computers to coffee shops are on to something. In fact, all those people who go to offices to work are also on to something. You get more done with other people around (up to a point). So I put the call out for people to come over and work at the extra desk in my office. I called it the Queens Writers Fellowship, and it brought some excellent people over. When I’m back and writing this year, I hope to do it again.

8. I started Astoria Ugly. I’ve been meaning to do this for years. Finally Tumblr came along and provided a pared-down enough format that just posting a heinous-architecture photo a day made sense. See how great the Internet is now that we’ve lost all of our attention span? Admirably, David, who’s been babysitting Astoria Ugly while I’m away, has more energy to write things for it. I’ll be back at the helm shortly.

9. People called me ‘teacher.’ In the spring and early summer, I taught several classes on blogging, based on my expertise derived from…this very blog, I suppose. I may not be monetizing or SEO-optimizing or attracting those feverish commenters who fight to be the first, but gosh darn it, I’ve been in this game for (holy crap) eight years now, and tried every random blog thing on for size. It was fun to consolidate all that knowledge–and get up to speed on new developments. And hear all my students’ new ideas and points of view.

It also gave this blog a little kick in the pants. To be honest, I was about to bail. Sometimes it’s more fun to write tweets and snarky Facebook comments. But, yeah, you can’t quit your blog while you’re teaching about blogging. So I buckled down and followed my own advice: I set a posting schedule (and occasionally messed it up–for ex, with this now-dated post), and brainstormed ideas, and wrote in batches. (This is why the blog gets kind of far behind my actual travel timeline–but you don’t mind too much, do you?)

Thanks a million for reading all this time. Greatest respec’ to all the real teachers in the world.