In no particular order.
Trips to Marina’s cabin in the woods: 1
Octopus necklaces: 1
Octopus necklaces that need a new clasp: 1
Tire blowouts on the freeway: 1
Books Read and Reread: 75
(Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo; The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey; State of Wonder by Ann Patchett; The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern; The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec*; Middle-Game by Seanan McGuire; A Darker Shade of Magic (and its two sequels) by V.E. Schwab*; Vicious and Vengeful by V.E. Schwab; The Illigitimates by Killam, Andreyko, Sharpe, and Pantazis; Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley*; Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir*; 1st two books in The Sixth World series by Rebecca Roanhorse; The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi; The Will and the Wilds by Charlie N. Holmberg; The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo; The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab*; McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories; The Sunset Route by Carrot Quinn; The Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi; Mrs. March by Virginia Feito; City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab; The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantú; The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman; The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova; The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik; Sistersong by Lucy Holland; Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood*; Artemis by Andy Weir; The Witching Hour by Anne Rice; How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Easton; The first six books of the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch; Fuzz by Mary Roach; Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson; The Tale of the Wicked by John Scalzi; An Election by John Scalzi; The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss*; Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne; Snow White, Blood Red Anthology; Across the Green Fields by Seanan McGuire; the first three books in the Glass and Steele series by C.J. Archer; the four books in The Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas; Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells; the first three books in The Frost Files series by Jackson Ford; Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg; Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells; Unexpected Stories by Octavia E. Butler; Kindred by Octavia E. Butler*; Passage by Connie Willis; The Master Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg; A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher; the last two books in the Parasitology series by Mira Grant; I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land by Connie Willis; Take a Look at the Five and Ten by Connie Willis; four back issues of Asmimov’s)–asterisks denote the most beloved
The book from last year I can’t get out of my mind: Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
Books I’m reading right now: 7
Haircuts: 2, which is 2 more than last year!
Bras worn since I fucked up my shoulder a month ago: 0
Average number of times I scream during the day by moving my arm wrong: 3
Average number of times I scream and wake myself up at night by moving my arm wrong: 5
Dishes I made with my 2021 New Year Ham: 8
(Split Pea Soup; Baked Potato Soup; Ham Dinner; Herbed White Bean Soup; Ham Tetrazzinni; Jambalaya; Ham & Zucchini Bread; Quiche)
Letters of Rec written: 12 (they’re down because of the pandemic)
Magazine Subscriptions: 6
(Discovery; The New Yorker; Food and Wine; All Recipes; Asimov’s; Science Fiction and Fantasy)
Uncomfortable, unadjustable treadmills bought: 1
Other health and safety setbacks to my attempts to be in better shape: 5
Pounds I lost, slowly, anyway: 15
Equity Professional Development workshops attended: 3
Times I rolled my eyes when in equity workshops I was told that we shouldn’t ever count work as late, give zeros to missing assignments, or give credit to students who actually do all the assignments well (they are apparently all wealthy and entitled), or count anything in the final grade except the one assignment they did the best on: SO many.
Simpsons/Davis/Doctor Who paintings acquired: 1
New to me TV watched/binged: 51
(Bridgerton; Supernatural; Star Trek Lower Decks*; All Creatures Great and Small; The Flight Attendant; Miss Scarlet and Duke; Mr. Mayor; Flack; Resident Alien*; Call My Agent; The Watch; Luther; It’s a Sin; The Bureau; Staged*; Lupin; Made for Love; The Nevers*; Family Business; Shtisel; Falcon and the Winter Soldier; Hacks; Ted Lasso*; For All Mankind*; Atlantic Crossing; Wandavision; Loki*; Feel Good; Us; Ragnarok; Blindspotting; Schmigadoon; I’m Sorry*; Dickinson; Katla; Harley Quinn*; Only Murders in the Building; The Chair; The Cook of Castamar; Reservation Dogs; Y The Last Man; Ghosts*; Seaside Hotel*; Landscapers; Station 11; The Miniaturist; The Chaperone; The Long Song; Dexter: New Blood; Another Life)
Air fryers bought and used SO much: 2
Spiders falling into in my wine, drowning, because they were hiding in my aerator: 1
Shows I kept up with: 28
(Doctor Who–I actually finished rewatching all of them again, which I started last year; His Dark Materials; The Discovery of Witches; SNL (except Musk); Seth Meyers (not the interviews, though); Disenchantment; Ramy; The Simpsons; Bob’s Burgers; Stath Lets Flats; John Oliver; Avenue 5; Breeders; The Handmaid’s Tale; The Daily Show; Shrill; Kim’s Convenience; the end of Conan’s show; The Kominski Method; Miracle Workers; AP Bio; After Life; Dead to Me; The Great; Star Trek Discovery; Lost in Space; Grace and Frankie; Woke)
Not-new shows I rewatched in their entirety: 8
(The Expanse; Star Trek: Voyager; Brooklyn 99; Torchwood; Futurama XMas episodes; BBC’s Pride and Prejudice; Call the Midwife; finished rewatching Schitt’s Creek again)
Seasons of The Simpsons the boy and I rewatched: 27
Campus Book Project Talks Given: 2
Postcards and letters sent: not sure, but about 200
Awesome Keynote Speeches Given: 1
Amazing Online Margaret Atwood Conferences: 1
Favorite New Recipes: 13
(corn ice cream; skillet enchiladas; air fryer katsu; greek chicken; air fryer tandoori chicken; harissa chicken; lentils with sausage and apples; drunken noodles; gingerbread cake; green curry chicken with green beans; salmon in fig sauce; fig cake; honey-glazed chicken and shallots)
Average number of health appointments per week: 3
Average number of pills I take first thing: 10
Time-to-take-my-pills times per day: 5
In-person conferences: 1
Audience members at the in-person conference presentation who were not the chair, a speaker, or a speaker’s boyfriend: 1
Movies watched and rewatched: 176
(The Thin Man Returns; Another Thin Man; WW84; Soul; That Touch of Mink; Elizabeth is Missing; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Nomadland*; The Thin Man Goes Home; Coming 2 America; The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone; The Age of Innocence; How to Be A Good Wife; The Adventures of Margo and Marguerite; SFFF Short Films; Judas and the Black Messiah; Minari; Trial of the Chicago Seven; Mank; Over the Moon; Oscar Shorts; Borat Subsequent Moviefilm; Sound of Metal; Wolfwalkers*; White Tiger; Covergirl; Tenet; Hopscotch; Thunder Force; The ABCs of Love; Army of the Dead; Wild Irish Thyme; Shrek 1 & 2; Song of the Thin Man; 36 Hours; The Goonies*; Willow; Rava and the Last Dragon; Murphy’s Romance; Design for Living; Eat a Bowl of Tea; SFFF Shorts (2nd set); Love Affair(s); Faithful; Live Flesh; Dark Habits; The Sunshine Boys; De Gaulle; Delete History; Josep; The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily; Red Soil; The V.I.P.s; A Son; All Hands on Deck; June Bride; Appearances; Chariots of Fire; In the Heights; Blue Bird; The Circus; Passion Fish; Waiting for Guffman; Ready or Not; Torn Curtain; The Madness of King George; The Man Who Came to Dinner; Father of the Bride; Pulp; Body Heat; Rachel, Rachel; Running on Empty; Gypsy; Antonio Gaudi; Stowaway; Deathtrap; They Met in Bombay; And So They Were Married; Black Widow; Spider-Man: Homecoming*; Spider-Man: Far From Home; Tequila Sunrise; Secrets and Lies; Any Wednesday; Fun with Dick and Jane (the original); Beverly Hills Cop (all three); The Hard Way; The Suicide Squad 2; Bowfinger; City Slickers; After Earth; French Exit; Greed; See No Evil, Hear No Evil; Batman; Shang-Chi*; Gunpowder Milkshake; Star Trek; Xanadu; The Extra Man; Addicted to Love; Reminiscence; Their Finest; Contagion; Free Guy; Practical Magic; A Promising Young Woman; Primal Fear; No Reservations; Cabin in the Woods*; Blood and Wine; Get Out*; The Witches of Eastwick; Scotland, PA*; Hocus Pocus; Death Becomes Her; The Addams Family (2019); Beautiful Creatures; Super 8; News of the World; What About Bob; Edward Scissorhands*; Ruthless People; Let the Right One In*; The Philadelphia Story*; Alien*; And So It Goes; My Octopus Teacher; Journey 2; Jungle Cruise; Dune; Psycho; For Your Consideration; Shaun of the Dead*; Cinema Paradiso*; Single All the Way; Six Minutes to Midnight; Bridget Jones’s Diary; The Electrical Life of Louis Wain; Russell Howard: Lubricant; The Nightmare Before Christmas; Ironman 3; Jim Gaffigan: Comedy Monster; The Power of the Dog; The Matrix Trilogy; Ocean’s 11; Four Weddings and a Funeral; Breaking News in Yuba County; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; new Pixar and Disney and Marvel shorts; Silent Night; Oceans 12; Oceans 13; It’s a Wonderful Life; The Bishop’s Wife; Miracle on 34th Street (original); Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable; Eddie Izzard: Definite Article; Eddie Izzard: Glorious; The Matrix Resurrections; Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill; Seven Psychopaths; Spiderman: No Way Home; Encanto; Rush Hour; Deadpool*; Deadpool 2*; Eddie Izzard: Circle; Tig Notaro: Drawn; Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis?; Daniel Sloss: X; Daniel Sloss: Dark)
Movies in a movie theatre: 3
Times I’ve watched Labyrinth since Vanessa moved to Indiana: 0
Plans to watch Labyrinth on 1/1/21: 1
Movies I watch without cleaning, answering email, or otherwise trying to be productive: almost none
Days without period blood this month: 8
Days until my hysterectomy: 14
Wine advent calendars: 1
Whiskey advent calendars: 1
Things I didn’t do, places I didn’t visit, friends I didn’t see, because of Covid: innumerable
Classes taught: 16 (four in person)–it’s one line, but this was the bulk of the year
Plays, live, on PBS, and on Zoom: 18
(Angry Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous; Joy, Unboxed; Smart People; The Baltimore Waltz, Content; On the Rhine; The Sisters Rosensweig; Writing Fragments; Dear Elizabeth; Small Step; The Brunch Club; A Bee in a Jar; an MFA project on food; Ripe Frenzy; Freedom of Speech; Still Will Be Heard; Ann; Gloria: A Life; Admissions)
Days I didn’t do school or admin work this month: 6 (the most of any month!)
Wisconsin things I tried: 5
(A brandy old-fashioned (I prefer an old-fashioned old-fashioned); fried cheese curds; local sausage; local beer; apple pie in a paper bag)
Public Service Loan Applications I filed: 2
Times the DOE gave me terrible advice, which caused the first application to be rejected, which upped my monthly payment amount to more than my rent, which restarted my PLSF clock, which would have changed what I ultimately paid to the DOE to a quarter of a million dollars, and which caused incredible tension and stress: 2
Fingers I have crossed that the second application works: all of them, toes too. Please cross yours.
Nights of shagging: 1, which is one more than last year
Trips to Indiana: 1
Incredible birthdays in Indiana, which included “duck and duck” and “corn brulee”: 1
Trips to Chicago: 1
Atwood Presidencies ended: 1
Atwood Journal Editorships that continue: 1
Merit raises I won in the last three-year review, on top of my regular cost of living raise, because I am a bad-ass: 1
Fights the union won, after years of negotiations: 1
Strikes averted: 1
Raises I’ll get because of my union in the next few years: several
Cable cords cut: 1
DVRs the company said I didn’t have to give back: 1
Subscription streaming services, though not usually at the same time: 8
Cars in our household: 2
Currently working cars in our household: 1
Energy to deal with the non-working car: 0
Kimonos bought: 6
Kimonos kept: 5
Days I tried to edit an essay about the Sons of Jacob right-wing overthrow of the American government in The Handmaid’s Tale while an actual right-wing coup happened: 1
Republican officials who seem to take a fucking coup seriously: 1
(Oh, wait: her party voted her out.)
Republican officials with any integrity or moral compass on this issue, now that the one is kicked out: 0
Atwood journals out: 1
pages of the Atwood journal: 340
Great covers for the Atwood journal by Scott Shaw: 1
Toes I quickly dipped in the dating pool: 1
Times I was stood up: 1
Times I wasn’t stood up: 1
Toes pulled back up out of the dating pool: 1
New slogans, taken from student evals: 1
(“terrifying in all the right ways”)
MLA presentations in slippers and pajama bottoms: 1
Zoom classes, presentations, and conferences without shoes: all of them
Museums/Exhibits attended: 2
My back going out ruining the first week of class: 1
An ER trip ruining a last class: 1
Facet injections: many, but just one session
Colonoscopies and endoscopies: 1 of each
Uterine scrapings: 1
New xmas tree ornaments: 1
Christmas trees put up, with just lights and that one ornament: 1
Handmade figurines of Emmet Otter’s Jug Band: 4
Christmas card to (and from) a penpal I’ve been writing to since middle school: 1
Presents the boy got me after I nursed him through his oral surgery: 1
Double Mix CD for Valentine’s Day: 1
Double Mix CD for Halloween: 1
Double Mix CD for Christmas: 1
New artists I like that I discovered by listening to NPR’s New Music Playlist on Spotify each week: about two dozen
Live and Zoom Stand-Up watched: 30
(Judah Friedlander; Judy Gold; Dr. Katz Live (3); Todd Barry; SF Sketchfest; my students 7 times; Invisible Disabilities; Birbiglia (2); Maria Bamford (2); Myq Kaplan; Sarah Silverman; the Sklar Brothers; Greg Proops; Todd Barry + Natasha Leggaro birthday show; Pete Holmes; Star Wars Day Show; Louie Anderson; Keith Lowell Jensen; Jackie Kashian; New Year’s Eve Show)
Grief counseling in office hours: many
Night guards made: 2
Night guards I had to stop wearing because it made me grind more: 1
Night guards that may help with something, not sure yet: 1
Students who got into Prized Writing: 2
Podcasts: 21
(Radio Lab*; You’re Wrong About*; Fresh Air; This American Life*; Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me*; Morning Edition; All Things Considered; Working it Out; The Improvement Association*; WTF; 1619; Don’t Ask Tig; Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend; The Experiment; On Our Watch; Invisibilia; Savage Lovecast*; Sex, Death & Money; LeVar Burton Reads; This Podcast Will Kill You; Reveal)
(The two episodes of Radio Lab I most recommend: “Everybody’s Got One”; “Oliver Sipple”)
My stand-up performances: 3
(mon chatte; my partisan pussy; bikes)
Times I got to geek out over Zoom with Ellen Forney: 2
Vaccine Doses: 3
Primary care physicians who retired but came back, like they said they would, despite what everyone thought: 1
Letters from Atwood: 1
Days the cats made me a little happier than I would have been without them: 365
Years I’ve wanted eggnog pie, but not made eggnog pie: so many
Times I finally made eggnog pie: 1
Times I screwed up the texture of the eggnog pie, because I got distracted by Betty White, one of my heroes, dying and thus let part of it set too long while I cried: 1
Slightly-screwed up eggnog pies that I’m going to eat anyway: 1
