2025 Recap
Every year things just get worse and worse, it seems. While this year hasn't been the worst one of my life, but has certainly been the worst in a while--full of heartbreak, disappointment, anxiety, depression, and struggling to hold onto hope for better outcomes. But that's not very enjoyable to read about, so I'll move on.
My writing goal was to update 3 writing projects and write at least one poem. I didn't write any poems and updated only one project twice (in April and July), so this was not a success for me. At least I wrote a little, I suppose? Maybe being pretty much alone 4-5 days out of the week for the next few months will help ignite some writerly inspiration.
My reading goal for 2024 was to read at least 35 books, plays, and/or poetry collections. I did reach this goal (35 books and 1 poetry collection) and sort of succeeded at choosing books that encouraged cultural competency or taught me something new, but did not fulfill my other goals of maintaining a balance between fiction and non-fiction (ended at 29 fiction to 7 nonfiction if you count the poetry collection), or reading more poetry collections and plays. I enjoyed reading so much this year, so hopefully I can match this goal in 2026 despite all the other things fighting for my attention. I made out like a bandit at the 3 library sales I attended this year, so the huge stack that is my TBR eagerly awaits the new year.
My acting goals for the year were to audition 3 times, get a callback at least twice, and to perform at least once. I did audition three times but only received one callback, so a partial success, partial failure. Not counting a Murder Mystery gig for a party where I was hired to play a guest, I did perform once this year, in a reading for the Waterworks festival (as I did not go on as the understudy for Bountiful). As the winter/spring shows are already cast, Live Arts is not doing Waterworks this year, and I may end up moving to another town before the summer season, it's unlikely I'll get to audition or act at all the first half of the new year. Sad, but unfortunately how it goes sometimes. :(
Personal goals included:
- Initiate more contact with friends, especially ones who live far away - have not been good at this at all. I'm sorry friends; I will do better.
- Increase yearly income - LOL. Everything is just getting pricier and pricier.
- Walk 4+ miles a day, 6-7 days a week - Success! My average at the moment is 5 miles a day, since I kicked up to 12,000+ daily steps from my old goal of 10,000. Current goals are to burn 300-400 active calories and 1,650-1,800 total calories each day. Hopefully I'll keep it up.
- Keep a weekly cleaning schedule - Did okay as far as dusting, but vacuuming and mopping took a backseat in a bad way.
- Continue to post a blog post once or more a month - Check!
- Make at least 1 collage, finish at least 2 puzzles, and complete at least 1 craft - Only finished one puzzle and no collages, but we did several crafts during the Christmas season so at least there's that?
- Prayer journal at least once a month - Huuuuuuge fail. Literally not even once. I pray constantly throughout the day so it's not a huge deal, but I do want to get back into sitting down and formally recording it all on paper again.
- Watch at least 20 Asian dramas - SUCCESS! My sister (TV buddy) and I watched a total of 26 dramas this year, the most in one year since 2020 (when we watched 31 total). We also watched our first Taiwanese BL, first Vietnamese drama, and first GL proper. As far as the minor goals:
- Watch at least one Asian drama from the 1990s - SUCCESS! The Japanese drama Beach Boys is from 1997, and we enjoyed it immensely.
- Watch at least one Asian drama from the 2000s (before the 2010s) - SUCCESS! Japanese dramas Hana Kimi (2007), Kisarazu Cat's Eye (2002), and Galileo season 1 (2007) fulfilled this goal.
- End the year with a country of origin majority that is not South Korea - SUCCESS! Our country of majority this year was Japan (9 dramas), followed by Thailand, Taiwan, and China (4 dramas each)
- Cook at least 3 meals I've never cooked before - Check! I do not enjoy cooking but as the sole chef in the household it is unfortunately my burden, lol. I do not remember most of the meals I cooked to be honest, but some of the new recipes I do recall were a Gambian stew, naan and pasta from scratch (mixed but edible results on both, lol), and a harissa soup.
Now, for the lists of the year:
TV:
-Fermat’s Cuisine (Jdrama)
-XO Kitty - season 2
-Cinderella & the Four Knights (Kdrama)
-My Lover, My Killer - season 2 (docuseries)
-Kimi ni Todoke - season 3 (anime) - I LOVE THEM SO MUCH
-Delicious in Dungeon - season 1 (anime) - Chillchuck is my son idc if he's not actually a child
-American Murder: Gabby Petito (docu)
-Kiseki: Dear to Me (Twdrama)
-The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist (docuseries)
-Akuma-kun (anime)
-Public Affairs Office in the Sky (Jdrama) - MY SHAYLAS
-Crazy Delicious
-Sakamoto Days (anime) - season 1
-Ready, Set, Love (Thai drama)
-Good Girl’s Guide to Murder - season 1
-Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (doc)
-Dalah: Death & the Flowers (Thai drama)
-From Rock Star to Killer (French doc)
-Bad Influencer: The Great Insta Con (doc)
-The Residence
-No Regrets in Life (Tw drama)
-Blossom (Cdrama) - BEST DRAMA OF ALL TIME!!!
-Agents of Mystery (K variety show) - season 1
-Stage of Love (Viet drama)
-Love is a Poison (Jdrama) - shockingly wholesome
-Dept Q (Scottish) - every secondary character is more interesting than the main guy
-Strongest Delivery Man (Kdrama)
-Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld
-Kevin Can F**k Himself - seasons 1&2 - so fascinating
-The Hero Yoshihiko & the Demon King's Castle (Jdrama) - season 1
-Reverse 4 You (Thai drama)
-Galileo (Jdrama) - seasons 1&2
-Amy Bradley is Missing (doc)
-The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman (British doc)
-Angi: Fake Life, True Crime (Spanish doc)
-The First Frost (Cdrama) - loved this one
-Ossan’s Love: Thailand (Thai drama) - You can pry EarthMix from my cold, dead hands
-Dan Da Dan (anime) - seasons 1&2 - surprisingly really enjoyed this!
-Beach Boys (Jdrama)
-Fit for TV: Reality of the Biggest Loser (doc)
-My Happy Marriage (anime) - seasons 1&2
-Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (doc)
-The Masked Lover (Twdrama) - secondary couple was way more interesting than the mains
-Love Con Revenge (doc)
-Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities (Twdrama) - DRAGGED
-From Now On, Showtime (Kdrama) - really enjoyed this one
-Is It Cake? Halloween
-Kisarazu Cat’s Eye (Jdrama)
-Closet Battle (Korean reality) - season 1
-My Little Princess (Cdrama)
-Marahuyo Project (Filipino drama) - first time seeing an intersex character represented!
-Hana-Kimi (Jdrama)
-Meet You at the Blossom (Cdrama)
-Grantchester - season 1
-Murder She Wrote - season 1
-Noble Boys (Jdrama)
-The Christmas Killings (doc)
ON MY OWN:
MOVIES:
-Kang Mak from Pee Mak (Indonesian)
-Wallace & Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl
-City Hunter (Japanese)
-Missed Connections (Filipino)
-Umjolo: There Is No Cure (South African)
-An Invisible Victim: The Eliza Samudio Case (doc)
-Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare (doc)
-Con Mum (doc)
-The Hating Game ❌ - awful
-A Deadly American Marriage (doc)
-Kpop Demon Hunters
-Dead Talents Society (Taiwanese) - soooo underrated albeit a little gory
-I’m Your Venus (doc)
-The Cult of American Apparel (doc)
-Bride & Prejudice (Bollywood) - Balraj is king
-My Love Will Make You Disappear (Filipino)
-Trainwreck: P.I. Moms (doc)
-The Cliche (Thai)
-The Truth About Jussie Smollett (doc)
-Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (doc)
-The Thursday Murder Club
-Pride & Prejudice (1940)
-And the Breadwinner Is… (Filipino)
-Tinder Swindler (doc)
-Bat War (Thai)
-The Wrong Paris
-Same Day with Someone (Thai)
-Love Untangled (Korean) - cuter than I expected
-Ruth & Boaz
-404 Run Run (Thai)
-My Father: The BTK Killer (doc)
-Yes Chef! Christmas
-A Holiday I Do
-The Christmas Contract
-Becoming Ms. Bennet: Pride & Prejudice - terrible
-Scents & Sensibility
-The Perfect Neighbor (doc)
-Let’s Meet Again on Christmas Eve
-Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
-Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas
-It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder
-A Merry Little Ex-mas 🤮 - tradwife propaganda garbage
-It’s Christmas Carol
-Just Like A Christmas Movie
-The Carman Family Deaths (doc)
-Merry Little Mystery
-Marry Christmas 🤮 - unwatchable if we're being honest
-A Very Merry Beauty Salon
-Santa Bootcamp
-My Secret Santa
-The Thin Man (1934) - iconic
-In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
-Persuasion (1995) - SO good
-Bachelor Mother (1939)
-A Christmas Mystery
-Nancy Drew…Reporter (1939) - I'm in love with Ted Nickerson and I don't care who knows it
-Christmas at the Chalet
-Nancy Drew…Detective (1938)
-Nancy Drew, Trouble Shooter (1939)
-Nancy Drew & the Hidden Staircase (1939)
-Merry & Gay
-Wedding Planner Mystery
-10Dance (Japanese) 👑 - best movie of the yearrrrrrr (will be rewatching)
-The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (doc)
BOOKS:
NOTE: 🚩 denotes a "red flag read", or books about purity culture that I am reading as part of a critical study on the subject, not because I enjoy them or endorse their teachings.
- The Silence of Bones by June Hur - I always learn so much from Hur's books
- Showmance by Chad Beguelin
- Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren - ugh (never reading these authors again)
- The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim - disappointing
- Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida (translated by Haydn Trowell) - LOVED
- If You Tell by Gregg Olsen
- The Takedown by Lily Chu
- The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews - better than Anne's story, not as good as Evie's or Julia's
- A Good Indian Girl by Mansi Shah
- Raised by a Serial Killer by April Balascio
- The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
- Drop Dead by Lily Chu (ebook)
- Twelfth Knight by Alexene Faron Follmuth - cute
- The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan - disappointing
- Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma (ebook)
- Kismat Connection by Ananya Devarajan (ebook) - poorly conceived, poorly written
- Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James (ebook) 🚩 - DANGEROUS
- When Young Men Are Tempted: Sexual Purity by Bill Perkins & Randy Southern (ebook) 🚩 - DANGEROUS and incredibly self-contradictory
- A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd - hated this one
- Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage by Joe, Alina, Vicki, and Valerie Darger with Brooke Adams (ebook)
- Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan (ebook) - underrated
- The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye
- Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
- Carry the Ocean by Heidi Cullinan - so good
- When the Church Harms God’s People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded by Diane Langberg
- Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen
- Pride, Prejudice, and Peril by Katie Oliver
- A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews - so heartwarming and perfect for kicking off the holiday season!!!
- A Murderous Persuasion by Katie Oliver
- The Teacher’s Match by Kristi Hong (ebook)
- The Lost Letter by Mimi Matthews
- Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku
- Chinatown Christmas by Kailin Gow (ebook)
- The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park (ebook) - really enjoyed the banter in this one
- A Shore Thing by Joanna Lowell - give me a sequel about James x Posenby please
POETRY COLLECTIONS:
- The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté
FOOD:
-Bethel Brews (Louisa)
-Brazos - overrated and pricey
-Shenandoah Pizza & Taphouse (Staunton)
-Micah’s Coffee (Staunton)
-Mint Kitchen - their dosas are everythingggggg
-Camellias Coffee & Tea - pricey but good
-Kokee Bubble Tea (Fredericksburg)
-Sal’s Pizza (Crozet)
-Hunan Express (Isle of Wight)
-Cure Coffeehouse (Isle of Wight)
ACTING:
- Murder Mystery gig (Lillian Lewis)
- Understudying Thelma and Jessie Mae (Trip to Bountiful at Live Arts)
- Devon in The Big One (Waterworks Festival at Live Arts)
EXPERIENCES:
-Kaitlyn’s test class (wine charms)
-Photoshoot (Murder mystery gig)
-Mystery puzzle
-Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection - very cool
-Spotts-Coffman House Victorian Museum - really nice folks, no ghost sightings (we wanted it too much, haha)
-Bennet Sister Sleepover
-Murder solving game
-Natural Bridge (Rockbridge County) - the most stunning thing I've ever seen
-Fredericksburg trip
-Waynesboro trips
-Fluvanna trips
-Scottsville trip
-F1 Watch Party at Kaitlyn’s
-Pleasant Grove House Museum
-Ivy Creek Natural Area - our new favorite outdoor walking spot
-Dogsat my parents' dog, Beckett, for 4 days and 3 nights - he was a very well-behaved boy and we took lots of walks
-Jane Austen Board Game - received this as a Christmas present and we've already played about 10 times; it's so fun!
-Isle of Wight/Smithfield Trip - such a beautiful and rejuvenating trip!
- Smithfield Courthouse
- Fort Huger
- Fort Boykin
- Windsor Castle Park
- Smithfield Historic District
- Little Free Library hunt (7)
- Thrifting/charity shop (3)
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