I have a tendency to think in quotes from my favorite movies, and one quote I try to pigeonhole into far too many situations is “We’re in the endgame now.” I’m not sure why this one is on repeat in my brain, but it is. As we round out November and head into December, I confess I’m already thinking about the feeling of a fresh new year, full of potential.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the cozy holiday season, but really, I’m a January 1st kinda girl. I adore a reset, a chance to set new goals and crack open a fresh planner (or three, because I have a problem). So, as soon as we hit December, I’m not dreaming of a white Christmas so much as I’m dreaming of a new 30-day Yoga with Adriene challenge and flipping open my new planners. I’m imagining all the ways I’m going to be a better version of myself, even though most of my New Year intentions will drift away before my birthday in March.
What I’ve Been Up To
Work/Writing
This is my first holiday season as someone who’s primarily a freelancer / part-time gig worker, at least since I was in college. I definitely struggled a bit with the reality that if I’m not working, I’m not making any money. Holiday pay is a thing I’ll sorely miss, because it felt like tacit permission to relax.
I still got a bit of writing done last week but I also tried to give myself permission to rest, at least a little.
General Life Updates
My husband and I alternate which family we spend the holidays with. This year, his family gets Thanksgiving and mine gets Christmas. So, this was the easy holiday, the one with no travel. I made my husband’s favorite cranberry mousse pie and we spent the day at the in-laws.
Then, I spent the rest of the weekend playing a lot of video games, reading, and generally trying to get some emotional rest before we crank through the last few weeks of the semester.
Current Obsessions
Gaming
I finished the main storyline of Pokemon Violet at long last and have begun the first half of the DLC content. I’ve played the Pokemon games my entire life, and I have to admit I’m surprised to enjoy the new and different angles in Violet. The game is a bit more freeform with more to do besides just take on the Elite Four and collect all the critters.
Even if it’s a bit cheesy, I liked the other storylines a great deal, and having a DLC to look forward to makes the game feel so much richer. After wishing for a long time that they'd just remake all the older games a la Let’s Go Eevee, I’m coming around to the new. I still don’t like most of the Pokemon designs in Paldea, but so it goes.
Books
Over the holiday, I finished Beth O’Leary’s The Wake-Up Call. O’Leary is one of my favorite authors, and I felt so confident this book would be a slump-breaker. I did enjoy it, but not as much as I expected to. I remain uncertain if it was the book or if it was me. I think a bit of both, since I can pretty easily pinpoint why this didn’t work as well for me as many of O’Leary’s other books.
Movies
I’ve been irritating my husband by putting on Spider-Man (2002) during dinner the last week or so. Back when I was still teaching my superhero-themed section of First Year Writing, I had a built-in excuse to revisit this movie every fall. I was feeling the lack, so I decided my brain needed an infusion of Spider-Man.
Of course, I have the memory basically memorized, so I like to say my favorite bits along with the characters, which is the bit that annoys my husband. Every single time I watch the movie, I notice something new, and this time is no different. The huge American flag in the background of the wrestling match scene? Never caught my eye before, but this time, there it was, and I’m wondering if it was added in post like the one at the end of the film.
Words on the Web
A slow week for me, so not much to report in terms of new words on the web. I did get to write up a witchy gift guide for a new-to-me publication called The Pagan Grimoire, which was very fun.
Also spent a bit more time on the book blog last week since my energy and attention were spread less thin, so that was a welcome return to a favorite hobby. Now that it’s Monday, we’re back to the clickity clacks as my husband would say.