2021 Recap
Well. Another year complete. And what a strange and terrifying year it has been...honestly I don't know if 2022 (a.k.a Year 3 of Pandemic Life) will be any better.
I struggled a lot this year with feeling good enough—at work, as a roommate, as a writer/actor, in sustainability goals, whether I connected with my friends virtually enough and in the right ways. I went through a fiction-writing slump starting in August and only managed to finally break out of it yesterday.
I still feel like I haven’t accomplished enough this year. But every year has its small mercies, be it trying new foods or watching a TV show that makes me laugh or my friends getting engaged, and I will try my best to focus on those. And I have succeeded at meeting some goals I set for myself: I enjoyed several books, I made a few sustainable lifestyle transitions I’ve been looking forward to for a while, I tried some new recipes, and I discovered a lot of new music. Even though I still feel discouraged about my productivity at work, I successfully managed + was the Elf for the second year of Virtual Santa Visits—we didn’t get as many visitors as last year, but every family we did see said they had a fantastic experience. I believe we made a positive impact on the community, albeit a small one.
Additionally, I’ve managed to post on this blog at least once a month for the third year in a row. I don’t get paid to write here, and I don’t allow ads, so it’s in no way a money-making venture or a hustle. It’s strictly a creative outlet, where I can feel free to express opinions, share my thoughts about media, or recap memorable events in my life. Sticking with it has been tough sometimes, but it is honestly a tiny pocket of joy for me. I really appreciate anyone who finds it interesting to read my rambles, so thank you if you are.
Anyway...I'm sure this will come as zero surprise to you, but I'm a 'list person'. So here's the annual set of lists that summarize 2021!
FIRST TIME EXPERIENCES:
I tried a lot of new (to me) foods for the first time this year, including:
- loroco
- curry puffs
- mochi (Thai tea flavor)
- Kao Tom soup (my sister and roommate Alex's favorite)
- laab
- pollada
- chicha morada
- lavender matcha
- red bean cakes
- Euro cakes (Thai version)
- quail egg puffs
- a fog cabin (cinnamon tea latte with steamed milk and maple syrup)
-Tried Dropps laundry and dishwasher pods (now part of our waste-free laundry and dishwashing routines)
-COVID vaccines + boosters
-Visited a taco truck (masked of course)
-White Oaks lavender farm visit (masked of course)
-First time going to Stannardsville & Scottsville - went to help Alex with her weekend work events (masked of course)
-Drove through Rockfish Gap, Afton, and Greenwood
-First time watching an Indonesian (Bali) movie and a Nollywood movie
I've grown up attending shows at Live Arts downtown, and did a playwrighting camp with them when I was young. This past summer, I was able to audition there for the first time (vaxxed, masked + social distanced) and ended up getting cast in their Locally Sourced 2021 event, in which directors stage plays written by local playwrights. I played Lowery in Innovations, and not only had a great time acting after a year-long hiatus, but was also very impressed by the safety protocols during the process. With pandemic optics being the way they are, there is always the fear that theatre will shut down again for a while, so having a small taste of acting again was healing in so many ways. I'm also crossing my fingers that Live Arts here in Charlottesville/Stage Door Productions & FTE in Fredericksburg will offer auditions for virtual Zoom productions again, as I had such an amazing experience doing As You Like It virtually with Stage Door in the fall of 2020. I know virtual theatre isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed my experiences with it and would love to do it again!
We (my sister Alex and I) moved back to Charlottesville in December 2020, meaning we've officially been back for a full year when this post goes up. In addition to leaving behind many lovely friends and businesses back in Fredericksburg and Richmond, we also left behind our favorite local restaurants...which may seem silly but Alex can tell you, I literally mention (i.e mourn how far away we are from) VA Famous Teriyaki at least once a week.
To be clear, due to the continuing pandemic we religiously rely on take-out or delivery and make an effort to support local businesses as much as possible.
FOOD:
-Zaxby’s - I know, I'm ridiculous but we'd never tried it before so it's here on this list!
-Mi Casita
-Al Carbon
-Daily Grind
-Matchbox
-Fuzzys Taco Shop
-El Tako Nako - the nicest taco truck by the laundromat run by the nicest guys!
-Murphy’s Bagels - a long drive but very yummy!
-Ottos Turkish Street Food
-Shenandoah Joe
-Beijing Kitchen - this one is in Scottsville, where Alex has ended up for work events on some weekends. The portion sizes are amazing; we usually split one meal between us and it's lovely.
-El Amanecer
-Cville Coffee
-The Luv’n Oven - also in Scottsville, run by a very sweet lady
-Akira Sushi & Ramen
In other news, I finally dug myself out of my reading slump this year and managed to complete some books/poetry collections, thank the Lord. Writing is always easier when you've read something recently, even though most of my picks ended up being memoirs. Hopefully next year I will be able to list many more books, poetry collections, and plays--my "to read" list is massive and I'd like to chip away at it if I can.
I do have a post of mini-reviews for most of these books here, if you're interested.
BOOKS:
-Bad Theology Kills by Kevin Garcia
-Normal People by Sally Rooney
-Luna by Julie Anne Peters
-Some Boys by Patty Blount - this book is terrible, basically the perfect example of of how not to respond to r*pe culture, but in such a way that it deserves its own post. Like there were several times I asked myself "Is this actually satire?" because it was just too perfectly bad, you know?
-One Day in December by Josie Silver
-Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
-On Her Knees: Memoir of a Prayerful Jezebel by Brenda Marie Davies
-Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters
-In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
-Miss Austen by Gill Hornby
-Know My Name by Chanel Miller - technically I'm not done with this one yet (which I've been saying for two months but it's a difficult subject to read about, so go easy on me okay?)
POETRY:
-Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced by Catherine Barnett
-Nothing is Okay by Rachel Wiley
-If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird
PLAYS:
-Rules of the Lake by Irene Ziegler
As one is wont to do when spending the majority of their leisure time in their home (for safety's sake), I watched a lot of TV this year. It's one of my favorite things to do with Alex because we are both movie talkers--or movie discussers, in that we will pause and psychoanalyze the characters or theorize what will happen next/complain about what should have happened instead. This means it almost always takes twice as long for us to get through anything, but we have a lot of fun and at this point I'll take any little bit of joy I can get.
As with the last three years or so, we continued binging various Asian dramas in their original languages + subtitles, adding our first Malay, Filipino, and Singaporean shows to the list. We also discovered the secret to finding Filipino movies we actually like: anything with Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla is sure to be entertaining!
I also watched two shows without Alex this year--"Unorthodox" (which really wasn't as good as I had hoped" and the docuseries "Sophie: A Murder in West Cork" which was fascinating without giving me nightmares, which I would say is a win!
TV:
-Ugly Duckling (Thai drama with 4 storylines: "Perfect Match", "Pity Girl", "Don’t", "Boy’s Paradise") - Our favorite storyline was "Don't", so much so that we've watched it three or four times at this point. I love Mek and Mild, so any show with both of them in it is a win in my book.
-The Way We Love (Taiwanese drama)
-Winx Club (seasons 1-4) - We don't play with the weird seasons 5-8 reboot that infantilizes the characters and acts like none of the previous seasons ever happened and I refuse to endure the garbage that is the live action Netflix remake. Honestly we should have just stopped at season 3 but I wanted Alex to see how badly the writers screwed us over by killing [no spoilers but if you know you know]
-Murder Among the Mormons (docuseries)
-Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (docuseries) - major trigger warnings if you're planning on watching this one; not just for the content regarding s*xual assault, grooming, and ab*se but also because they show Epstein's autopsy photos without warning you first
-The Big Day (seasons 1&2)
-The House Arrest of Us (Filipino) - our first Filipino show and one actually addressing life during the pandemic! On the first episode Alex and I were squealing over how great the chemistry between the leads was and lo and behold, they are a couple in real life!
-The Wallflower (Japanese drama) - We watched the anime version of The Wallflower waaaaay back in middle school and also read the manga and found them both kind of strange, but man--this live action version is by far the best adaptation of the storyline. It's incredibly rewatchable & entertaining, and I absolutely adore how they took two dimensional characters and revealed their humanity on a deeper level than the source material.
-Memory Love (Taiwanese drama) - Everything was going well and then the ending was a HUGE shock/disappointment.
-The Irregulars - sad this was canceled. It was by no means perfect (and what on earth was their interpretation of Sherlock???) but it had its merits and I would have watched a second season had they ordered one.
-My Little Happiness (Chinese drama) - WE LOVE FAIR XING IN THIS HOUSE.
-Code Lyoko (season 1-4)
-OHSHC (Japanese live-action drama) - Unlike with "The Wallflower", Alex and I LOVE both the original anime and manga of OHSHC. I was pleased to find that the live-action version was just as funny and heartwarming. Honestly, I don't know if there has ever been another case where I've enjoyed every adaptation of the same thing, so that's pretty cool.
-Vincenzo (Korean drama) - don't kill me, but found this to be a little overhyped. Loved Taecyon (and the rest of the evil Babbel gang, tbh) and I thought the motley crew of residents was the heart of the show. Additionally, Alex (our house's resident queer person) pointed out that episode 8 was pretty homophobic, and as the token straight ally of the house, I have to support her by agreeing with that.
-Bride of Habaek (Korean drama) - I don't care what people say, I thought this was AWESOME.
-Hilda (seasons 1&2)
-Way of the Househusband (Japanese webtoon)
-Hey Ghost Let’s Fight (Thai drama) - we adore the Korean version and it was so cool to see how the Thai writers changed the plot and ghost lore to reflect their own culture. I will say that the villain was not as magnetic as the Korean version and they did Namwun and Orn's characters SUPER dirty, but otherwise a fun time!
-The Hollow (seasons 1&2)
-Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness (docuseries)
-An Innocent Man (docuseries)
-The Wedding Coach (reality series)
-Extreme Sisters (reality series) - Well, this made me feel better about my and Alex's sister-relationship. Turns out we could be WAY more enmeshed and creepy, haha.
-SMothered (seasons 1-3) (reality series)
-Virgin River (season 3) - My man Preacher is still suffering but he looks good doing it, y'all.
-Scum’s Wish (Japanese drama) - Viki LIED when they said this was rated PG-13 but it was weirdly heartwarming in addition to being super dark and depressing? I picked it because Dori Sakurada was in it and had never read the manga or seen the anime (and tbh I probably won't) but I wouldn't say it was bad, just a strange journey.
-Trial by Media (docuseries)
-Falling Into Your Smile (Chinese drama) - Delightful--do I know more about esports now that I've watched it? Not really, but I had a good time anyway!
-Tattoo Redo (reality series)
-Kipo & Age of the Wonderbeasts (seasons 1-3) - Super cute, also Benson is my son.
-The Fierce Wife (Taiwanese drama) - I chose this classic from 2011 thinking it would be a fluffy or melodramatic piece and was shocked by how fantastic it turned out to be. Yes, there was a ton of drama, but the journey of the characters was full of nuance and I appreciated the grace shown to every character, regardless of their bad decisions.
-I’m In Love With a Mama’s Boy (reality series, seasons 1&2)
-Haikyuu (anime, seasons 1 to halfway through season 4) - I feel like I know SO much more about volleyball now...although I knew nothing before, so I guess that isn't a huge feat. The characters are lovable and every episode with a match truly feels as intense and high-stakes as if you're watching a sports game for real. I am strongly considering purchasing a "Date Tech" sweatshirt because I'm that much of a nerd for this show now.
-What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? (Korean drama) - this one lived up to the hype y'all. Probably one of the top 3 things I watched this year.
-I Heart Arlo - I love kids' shows and the music was catchy. I regret nothing.
-Bake Squad (reality series) -
-Best Leftovers Ever! (reality series)
-Cinta Si Wedding Planner (Malay drama) - had I known the strict level of censorship in Malaysia (you can't even show hand-holding onscreen) I probably wouldn't have picked it, but it was something different and that's always good, right?
-Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan (docuseries)
-Love on the Spectrum (reality series, season 2)
-Unforgettable Love (Chinese drama) - we keep calling this Forgettable Love because it wasn't that great, but the secondary leads were cute so there's that at least.
-Pretty Smart
-Great British Bakeoff (season 9) and Holiday Bakeoff (seasons 2-4) - I'm in love with Chigs. That's all.
-Mystic Whispers (Singaporean drama) - Our first Singaporean drama! Cute, a little spooky with a dash of whimsy, and perfect for the Halloween season.
-School Nurse Files (Korean drama) - we needed something playful and joyous because we had just tapped out of "Possessed" (a Korean drama) after three episodes after finding out spoilers that EVERYBODY DIES. This was the perfect antidote to our depression. The storyline was completely bizarre but the humor was delightful and the strange creatures and characters felt had Studio Ghibli vibes, which is always a win.
-You Make Me Dance (Korean drama) - Saw the summary and was like "Gay love story for Alex, contemporary dancing for me." 10/10, a very gentle and sweet love story between a debtor and his creditor.
-Refreshman (Taiwanese drama) - Um, holy blackface Batman. Avoid avoid avoid.
-Blown Away (reality series, seasons 1-3) - who knew blowing glass could get me so hyped up that I'm yelling at the TV. The holiday-themed season was way better than both the regular seasons, so I recommend watching just that one if you don't want to get your blood boiling.
-School of Chocolate (reality series) - the nicest French man in the world teaches a group of chocolatiers/pastry chefs how to do fancy stuff with chocolate and no one gets eliminated? Sign me up!! (Also Tyricia is the best)
-Inborn Pair (Taiwanese drama) - this baby was a magnificent ending to 2021. I was worried 84 episodes would be too long (we've never watched a drama with that many) but the pacing was so good, you could watch four or five episodes in a row without feeling like things were dragging. The storyline was imperfect at times, but it had all the classic romcom tropes and warmth that I look for in a drama and the male lead was an absolute doll!
WEBSERIES:
-My Big Fat Blonde Musical - we only watched one webseries this year, but this one was cute.
MOVIES:
I don't know what it was this year, but we really struggled with picking movies that weren't boring/terrible. I have marked those with a big red X so you can avoid them at your leisure...unless you're into that type of thing, I suppose. Christmas movies in particular were a massive fail this year--I have no clue what happened.
-Charming ❌ - came for Avril Lavigne, regretted it because she was only in like 2 minutes of it
-Maniyarayile Ashokan (Indian) - the man was in love with a tree but it was still kind of sweet?
-To All the Boys I've Loved Before 2
-Mary and the Witch’s Flower
-Winx Club: Secret of the Lost Kingdom - okay we hate Sky, and Tecna barely spoke, but it could have been worse (and it was, because seasons 5-8 were the definition of worse)
-The Guardian Brothers ❌
-Namaste Wahala (Indian/Nollywood)
-Secret Magic Control Agency ❌
-Arlo the Alligator Boy - The music is BOPPING, y'all.
-Can’t Help Falling in Love (Filipino)
-Barcelona: A Love Untold (Filipino)
-The Mitchells v. the Machines - so entertaining!!!
-Finding Ohana
-OHSHC Live Action Movie - I wanted more closure on the Tamaki/Haruhi romance in this film but I was tickled by how it incorporated so many storylines from the manga!
-Thunder Force
-This Lady Called Life (Nollywood)
-Why Did You Kill Me? (documentary)
-The Fierce Wife movie (Taiwanese) - not as good as the series and I was shocked that people said it was a necessary followup? Like the characters did not need this to finish out their stories, the "open ending" of the series was just fine in my opinion.
-Resort to Love - I wanted so badly to like this but in no world can you date your ex-fiance's brother and have everything turn out fine.
-Kung Fu Panda 1-3 - I had a good time and I have zero regrets.
-Afterlife of the Party
-Nightbooks
-A Perfect Fit (Indonesian - Bali) - Our first Balinese movie!
-Good on Paper
-Love Hard
-Holiday Rush
-Santa Girl ❌ - PLEASE SKIP IT I PROMISE YOU DON'T NEED TO SEE THIS IT WAS LAUGHABLY BAD BUT NOT LIKE IN A WAY WHERE THE LAUGHTER MAKES IT WORTH IT
-Snowbound for Christmas ❌
-My Dad’s Christmas Date ❌
-Christmas in the Castle ❌ - Oh Carey Elwes, I had such high hopes for you.
-Single All The Way
-A New York Christmas Wedding ❌ - What in the heck was that plot twist?
-She’s Dating the Gangster (Filipino) - sad ending but a good time nonetheless
-A Naija Christmas (Nollywood)
-Must Be Love (Filipino)
-Encanto - Luisa Madrigal is my hero and "Surface Pressure" is a BOP
-Luca (+ the follow up short Ciao Bruno) - Absolutely adorable!!! Yes I'm late to the party what of it?
-Here and There (Filipino)
-Hilda and the Mountain King - such a great wrap-up to the series but I want a season 3!
All in all, I expect 2022 to be just as full of amazing books, food, movies/TV shows, and quality time at home. I know this probably isn't a super interesting recap, but I hope you got some recommendations out of it, at least. Sending you so much love and hoping you have a safe, happy start to the year!
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