Well, this is where I usually do a recap, I guess! Not a whole lot to report, of course, and yet it's home to some of my biggest and fondest memories - mainly my trip of a lifetime to Tokyo with Moose, to celebrate our tenth anniversary! It's honestlty wild to think we managed to do that this year, before the entire world got a little, well, 2020-ish. I still have yet to blog about it, it's so big and there's so much, but I think I'll start posting about it here next week - marking a year on from our trip. I can't believe a year ago today I was gearing up for it. 2020 seems to have gone so quickly. Just as well, really. I think we're all quite happy to see the back of it.
Still, as much as this year was kind of a bust, here's a list of the things I did manage to achieve in 2020! ...I saw in the new year with my best friends, as usual, surrounded by food and games and kind of scary fireworks. ...Went to Japan with Moose to celebrate our tenth anniversary, exploring Tokyo, Hakone and Disney Sea! ...Attended Secret Cinema's 'Stranger Things' event for the second time, which was incredible and I wish I could do it again. ...Had fun at a pop up retro arcade event in Bristol for Matt's birthday! ...Redecorated my room in true lockdown DIY fashion, painted my units, got new furniture, new carpet, repainted the walls... ...Actually managed to attend a second Secret Cinema event, this time a 'Drive In Cinema' where we saw 'Knives Out' from the social distancing safety of our cars. It was amazing. ...Had a wonderful birthday where Moose surprised me with a lovely picnic (no restaurants or pubs open at the time!) ...Attended my one gig this year, a 'No Such Thing As A Fish' podcast recording in London. ...Managed to sneak in a weekend with Moose up in Basingstoke between lockdowns, where he saw 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' for the very first time! He's still not sure what he made of it, haha. ...Took more private commissions this year than any other, sold more woodburnings than ever and did a decent trade at a few 'online' conventions that took place in leu of their real life counterparts. ...Attended Stourhead at Christmas' lights event twice! And avoided the rain both times! ...okay, so it's not the longest list. But this year hasn't exactly offered much in the way of opportunities. So, I watched a lot of television instead. ...Trinkets ...Ratchet ...Dorohedoro ...Jane the Virgin ...Dare Me ...Dash & Lily ...Dynasty ...Kipo & The Age of Wonderbeasts ...Emily In Paris ...Dead To Me ...Selling Sunset ...Dolly Parton's Heartstrings ...Brave New Animal ....Hollywood ...Merry Happy Whatever ...Sweet Magnolias ...13 Reasons Why ...I'm Not Okay With This ...Tiger King (don't judge me, lockdown just started!) ...Beastars ...You I also managed to sneak out to the cinema a few times this year before lockdown, and just after it in that tiny gap between cinemas opening and our local cinema (Cineworld) closing semi-permanently. ...Dolittle ...Sonic the Hedgehog (saw this one twice!) ...The Personal History of David Copperfield ...Emma ...Bill & Ted Face The Music ...Onward ...Tenet ...Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite (last film we saw at our local Cineworld before they closed). ...The Rocky Horror Picture Show ...not a whole lot, as it turns out. Mum and I actually have (or had, I guess) Cineworld cards, which let us attend unlimited screenings of any films we liked, so we used to go to the cinema a fair bit. This year, obviously, they closed the cards down, and then the cinema down, and now the only regular 'entertainment' we had is gone. I know everything's moving to streaming now, but there's something so nice about going to the cinema, grabbing a snack and being in the dark without the temptation to check your phone, or answer the door, or reply to that email. Cinema is an event to me, and it's one of the biggest things I miss right now. 2021 hasn't started brilliantly. We went straight into a full lockdown again in January, and then America started eating itself. Covid cases are currently higher in the UK than they ever have been. It's all still a mess, frankly. And yet I'm trying to go into the year optimistically, with the hope that by the end of 2021, we'll have a little more normalcy to enjoy. The vaccine is under way, and I just booked an actual, honest-to-god convention (Kokorocon, which isn't happening until 2022, but at least it's something to look forward to!) Resolutions? Just the usual, here. I want to draw more, even without the constant motivation of conventions. I'm going to try and make an art book this year, so that when the cons return I have something a little more tangible to sell. "Draw more" and "blog more" have been a constant resolution of mine my whole life, haha. Someday I'll crack it.
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2020 hasn't been a normal year for many people, and even though I was fortunate enough to spend Christmas Day the way I always do, surrounded by the people I usually spend it with, it still felt a little different. Sadly, the day was marred when Dad went to check our café and found that some lowlife had smashed into our gas cage and stolen our entire supply of gas, which means we had to spend hundreds to replace everything before business can resume on Monday. I guess some people really don't have the festive spirit, huh?
Still, as a whole, we had a pretty great Christmas, all things considered. It was, as always, a day full of food, drink and cheesy TV. Oh, and gifts, of course. I was spoilt his year, as always. I think Santa knows I'm always on the nice list ;) So, I thought I'd do a little wrap up of our Christmas Eve, our Christmas Day, and our Boxing Day, in photos. Enjoy! Tags:
For the most part, I haven't minded 2020. I appreciate that I've been incredibly blessed that I can even say that. I can't imagine how difficult the world has been to so many. I've lost work and I miss my friends and boyfriend terribly, but for the most part, I've plodded on, and it's been okay. I got to redecorate my bedroom and I absolutely love it, I got to save a little bit of money due to having nothing to spend it on, and I caught up on a whole lot of Netflix. I'm fortunate to live with my parents still, whom I adore, so I spent lockdown in good company. When the government implemented "Eat Out to Help Out" I helped out plenty, to the sum of an extra half stone on the scales. I'm also fortunate enough to have beautiful garden to relax in, where I spent much of Summer, guilt free and armed with cold wine and sizzling BBQ food.
But it's Winter now. Its Christmas now. And now, for the first time all year, I'm really feeling 2020. We are, as my Dad put it, a 'Winter family'. We're not a beach family. We're not a festival family. We're a theatre, pantomime, Christmas markets and mulled wine family. We do Christmas Big and Hard and this year it's sort of... just there. It's not for want of trying. Mum and I have done all we can to bring forth the festive feeling. We had our usual tree decorating party with lots of sherry and Christmas tunes, we've watched some Christmas movies and we've bought a LOT of food. But, without our usual festive staples, it all just feels like a whimper, not a bang, this year. We usually visit several Christmas markets over the holiday period. We usually go to Gloucester Quays to enjoy the wonderful Victorian Market they host every year. I usually have a wonderful Christmassy weekend with my friends where we share gifts and play games and eat a lot of wonderful food. I usually spend a lot of time in London, visiting Moose's family and hanging out with friends there. We usually have half a pub booked out for the occasion. We usually, we usually, we usually... This year isn't usual. This year, quite frankly, sucks. And it's now, the day before Christmas, where I'm really feeling it. I think for me, the best take away from this year is going to be an appreciation of freedom. An appreciation of being able to make plans, to visit people, to live spontaneously and with excitement. I'm not sure what 2021 has in store for any of us, but I think the important thing is to keep moving forwards and to not dwell on the moments lost this year. Instead, I think we'll all enjoy things a little more feverishly, and I think we'll just plain appreciate them all a little more. Tags:
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Hi! I'm Selena an artist, blogger and gamer!
Dream Somehow is my little corner of the internet where I talk about life, the universe and everything! Here, you'll find travel, adventures, vintage style, life in the South West of England, a little bit of Disney dreaming and a whole lot of geeky nonsense. If you'd like to learn a little more about me, click here! Instagram
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