Goodbye 2020 - Hello 2021!

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.