2021: A Year In Review
We made it! Another year down and maybe five more down the line until climate change ruins everything and I’ll have bigger problems than coming up with something to write about for a newsletter every week. Lots of stuff happened this year, both good things in my life and bad things in the world as a whole. Because I’m really good about consuming media and culture in a timely fashion (I absolutely am not good at this), I’ve taken it upon myself to review the year as a whole.
My Review of Coronavirus
Gotta say, I am not a fan of Covid-19. It’s still very much in the way of everything, and despite that brief moment of optimism with vaccines from this summer, the whole situation has kind of gotten worse. -1000/10
My Review of Vaccines
Pretty good, actually.
My Review of Workout Routines
There’s no better way to spend winter in isolation quite like getting into a workout routine, which is saying something because typically working out and maintaining a routine are both things I hate. I only did Jane Fonda’s Original Workout (1982), so there’s nothing else I can compare it to, but I had fun and got a little tiny bit more jacked. 8/10 (Points lost for it getting taken down on YouTube, and then me having to pay $9.99 for it on Amazon, only for it to get taken off of Amazon too. Also more points lost for the fact that any workout from the 80s is going to try to reduce your ass as much as possible, so I had to come up with some workarounds.)
My Review of Television
I honestly don’t know what I do with my time because I have a lot of it but I somehow never have watched a relevant television show ever in my life. That being said, I did watch Bridgerton at the start of the year (that is a show that came out this year, Jesus Christ), and the first season of Ted Lasso (which was fun) and the first two seasons of Succession (haven’t even gotten to the good part). Let me know what shows I should watch because I’m behind by ten years at least at this point, so I need help becoming cultured. Also of course, watch I Think You Should Leave on Netflix. I definitely watched all of that.
My Review of Movies
Just like television, I am horrible with keeping up-to-date with movies. I haven’t watched a Marvel movie since 2015 so I’m happy for everyone who liked Spiderman (heard it was good, can’t wait to watch it in four years!). The movies I did see this year are as follows: The Green Knight (fine), Last Night in SoHo (I liked it a lot), and House of Gucci (Lady Gaga’s accent is very similar to my impression of my Polish mom, if that means anything to you).
My Review of Music
Once again, I haven’t listened to much new music this year. This is because I only listen to music from my teenage years because I haven’t really grown much as a person. I did, though, listen to Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour and liked it a lot. I didn’t relate to it much because it turns out that most eighteen year olds have more life experience than I do! But then I had some life experience later on in the year and now I am able to relate to an album written by a teen. Ain’t life grand?
Also I lied, I listened to another album in full. That album? Robot Civil War by my friends’ band also called Robot Civil War. They are good and fun!
My Review of Books
Something I did actually do a lot of this year was read. This is because I started commuting on the train again and wanted to maximize my hotness factor on the train, so I started to read more. Here are my favorites:
The Bridget Jones series: As a single person, I enjoy self-harming by consuming media of other girls who are complete messes with body issues, but they actually find love with Colin Firth. I read all four of Helen Fielding’s books and related to Bridget hard. Until the last one where she’s in her late 30s and really wants to have a kid. I don’t agree with that.
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby: This was a really good read. It’s a bunch of funny essays and I didn’t stop enjoying reading the whole time. I still have to read Irby’s other books next year.
Well, This is Exhausting by Sophia Benoit: I typically don’t like reading books written by funny people on Twitter because I am a jealous asshole, but this book kept popping up on my Goodreads so I gave it a shot. Turns out that Benoit lived a similar childhood of being a “good kid” (read: emotionally constipated) and it was really cathartic to read a book of essays about an experience similar to mine (there really are NOT many books/art/media about being a late bloomer and I’m going to keep saying it until I die).
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson: Only putting this on my list because literally everyone is reading it and it’s about Chicago (the place I live!). It was really good and very informative, but also took me like seven billion hours to read (it is very dense).
My Review of Soup
They’re all still really good!
My Review of Alcoholic Beverages
PBRs taste not great, but they’re a great option when you frequent a lot of bars during the week and don’t want to spend too much money and get too drunk. Gin and tonics are still the perfect beverage. Besides Coca-Cola classic, but I’m talking about alcohol here.
My Review of My Job
I don’t like it anymore. If you want to hire me, I am very good at working! Just if you want me to be a front desk person, no you don’t.
My Review of Reviews
Any other year-end review besides this one is boring! Don’t read them!
Things I Wrote That I Still Really Like
I wrote more things than usual this year, which is cool! Here are some faves:
I Am Your Coworker Who Microwaves Fish, and I Cannot Wait to Come Back to the Office
Help! My Sleep Paralysis Demon Is The Snowman From Michael Keaton’s “Jack Frost”
Makeover Guide for People Who Already Wear Their Hair Down and Don’t Have Glasses
Some Unique Sexy Halloween Costume Ideas for this Year Specifically
Also just a shout-out to everyone who subscribes to this newsletter and reads it every week. It means a lot and without you I would not have written as much as I did! I’ll be writing even more nonsense next year, so get ready!