2022 year end meme
I haven't seen many of these floating around, so took this one from olamina.
1. What did you do in 2022 that you'd never done before?
Visited Colombia. Cat-sat.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make resolutions, but in 2023 i'd really like to do less binge drinking. It is making me fat.
3. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
4. What countries did you visit?
Panama, Colombia, Canada, Taiwan, Switzerland, France.
5. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
Skin that isn't covered in lesions and itching all the time.
6. What date from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Nothing. I don't really remember dates. Life just goes by.
7. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
I suppose cycling a decent chunk of the way across Colombia was pretty cool, although less so after cycling across Canada and the US in 2021. I made it through the Taiwan immigration system. Any time i make it through immigration it feels like a massive achievement because of how much bureaucracy and frustration is involved.
8. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes. This fucking skin condition. It is the absolute worst, it's been a big contributor to making a good chunk of this year miserable for me.
9. What was the best thing you bought in 2022?
The Buffalo Bike i bought in Colombia felt good, because it was a practical mode of transport and also supporting a cool charity. Haven't bought much else this year that isn't food, and there hasn't been a meal so memorable i'd put it on a best list.
10. What song will always remind you of 2022?
None. There wasn't any particular theme of the year.
11. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I kinda wish i did more biking here in Taiwan when the weather was less rainy.
12. What were your favorite TV programs?
That's a hard question. I watch a bunch of shows but i don't retain most of them because they're just dumb entertainment.
I remember enjoying Panhandle and P-Valley, which are both noirish southern gothic stories that celebrate very particular parts of Florida and Mississippi. In a similar way, Three Pines is a great detective show set in and around a small town that feels authentically Canadian. Other shows i remember watching this year that had a great sense of place were Resident Alien (Rocky Mountains), Troppo (Far North Queensland), Death in Paradise (Caribbean), Acapulco, Tokyo Vice, The Chi and Reservation Dogs. I like shows that make the location a strong character. It's another way of traveling for me.
Star Trek: Prodigy was a surprisingly fun and wholesome young adult take on Trek. Season two of Picard was great. The Peripheral was cyberpunk as all fuck and i loved every minute of it. Also strong Appalachia vibes. Possibly my favorite show of the year. I want more shows like that. The Halo TV show was awesome too, it actually inspired me to play through the first six games.
For lighter fair, Willow is loads of fun and taking the place of my Xena-style fantasy comfort viewing since The Outpost got canceled.
13. What was the best book you read this year?
I didn't read any books.
14. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I heard this Gambian/world music song on The Chi and immediately had to buy it.
Susso - Bani
The other stuff i bought a reasonable amount of this year was synthwave, which i've kinda semi-enjoyed for a while, but i never bought it because there is a lot of drek. Even the artists who i have more than one track of - Emil Rottmayer, Jake the Kid, Krosia, Hotel Pools etc - you really need to dig to find tunes which feel a bit deeper than something churned out by an AI, if AIs were trained on lots of sleazy 80s music.
My most-played synthwave track of the year is Jake the Kid's Astrowave: https://jakethekid.bandcamp.com/track/astrowave
15. What was your favorite film of this year?
The only movie i remember watching this year was Turning Red, maybe on a plane or something. That was cute.
16. Who did you miss?
I missed my mom. We didn't talk all that often, but even now several years after she passed away sometimes i feel like i'd like to share something with her and then i remember she isn't around any more and it's a bummer.
17. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned.
Fucking. Don't get scabies. Or any other kind of weird parasitic skin infection. And, if you do find yourself having a strange itch on your body, go to the doctor immediately. Don't let it spread all over your body for months until you absolutely can't take it any more. Leaving it so long might be why i'm still dealing with the fallout.
18. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder. I miss being free.
ii. richer or poorer? Richer. I have money now but no time to use it.
iii. thinner or fatter? Fatter. I hate it.
19. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?
Same as every other year. Long pants. Tank top. While traveling i switched from jeans to chef pants because they are lighter and dry faster. I also switched from Adidas Superstars to trail runners. But since living in Taiwan i wear flip-flops everywhere, ostensibly to try let my skin breathe and not make the lesions on my heels worse.
20. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I'm not much attracted to people any more.
20. Who was the best new person you met?
Why are there two 20s? I didn't meet any notable new people this year, just random encounters on the road and my new work colleagues.
21. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I don't really listen to music with lyrics.
22. Favorite podcasts of 2022
There was a period a couple years ago when i started listening to podcasts. Then i realized most of them are just an inefficient mechanism for people to share their often-tedious opinions about stuff. I can get the same effect much faster just reading their hot take in a blog and spending the rest of my time with actually entertaining content like TV shows.
23. What does 2023 hold for you?
I hope it holds the resolution to my skin condition. I also hope that i somehow manage to find a way to deal with having a full-time job that doesn't make me exhausted all the time. I would like to finally go clubbing again. I miss dancing.
1. What did you do in 2022 that you'd never done before?
Visited Colombia. Cat-sat.
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make resolutions, but in 2023 i'd really like to do less binge drinking. It is making me fat.
3. Did anyone close to you die?
No.
4. What countries did you visit?
Panama, Colombia, Canada, Taiwan, Switzerland, France.
5. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?
Skin that isn't covered in lesions and itching all the time.
6. What date from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Nothing. I don't really remember dates. Life just goes by.
7. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
I suppose cycling a decent chunk of the way across Colombia was pretty cool, although less so after cycling across Canada and the US in 2021. I made it through the Taiwan immigration system. Any time i make it through immigration it feels like a massive achievement because of how much bureaucracy and frustration is involved.
8. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes. This fucking skin condition. It is the absolute worst, it's been a big contributor to making a good chunk of this year miserable for me.
9. What was the best thing you bought in 2022?
The Buffalo Bike i bought in Colombia felt good, because it was a practical mode of transport and also supporting a cool charity. Haven't bought much else this year that isn't food, and there hasn't been a meal so memorable i'd put it on a best list.
10. What song will always remind you of 2022?
None. There wasn't any particular theme of the year.
11. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I kinda wish i did more biking here in Taiwan when the weather was less rainy.
12. What were your favorite TV programs?
That's a hard question. I watch a bunch of shows but i don't retain most of them because they're just dumb entertainment.
I remember enjoying Panhandle and P-Valley, which are both noirish southern gothic stories that celebrate very particular parts of Florida and Mississippi. In a similar way, Three Pines is a great detective show set in and around a small town that feels authentically Canadian. Other shows i remember watching this year that had a great sense of place were Resident Alien (Rocky Mountains), Troppo (Far North Queensland), Death in Paradise (Caribbean), Acapulco, Tokyo Vice, The Chi and Reservation Dogs. I like shows that make the location a strong character. It's another way of traveling for me.
Star Trek: Prodigy was a surprisingly fun and wholesome young adult take on Trek. Season two of Picard was great. The Peripheral was cyberpunk as all fuck and i loved every minute of it. Also strong Appalachia vibes. Possibly my favorite show of the year. I want more shows like that. The Halo TV show was awesome too, it actually inspired me to play through the first six games.
For lighter fair, Willow is loads of fun and taking the place of my Xena-style fantasy comfort viewing since The Outpost got canceled.
13. What was the best book you read this year?
I didn't read any books.
14. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I heard this Gambian/world music song on The Chi and immediately had to buy it.
Click to viewSusso - Bani
The other stuff i bought a reasonable amount of this year was synthwave, which i've kinda semi-enjoyed for a while, but i never bought it because there is a lot of drek. Even the artists who i have more than one track of - Emil Rottmayer, Jake the Kid, Krosia, Hotel Pools etc - you really need to dig to find tunes which feel a bit deeper than something churned out by an AI, if AIs were trained on lots of sleazy 80s music.
My most-played synthwave track of the year is Jake the Kid's Astrowave: https://jakethekid.bandcamp.com/track/astrowave
15. What was your favorite film of this year?
The only movie i remember watching this year was Turning Red, maybe on a plane or something. That was cute.
16. Who did you miss?
I missed my mom. We didn't talk all that often, but even now several years after she passed away sometimes i feel like i'd like to share something with her and then i remember she isn't around any more and it's a bummer.
17. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned.
Fucking. Don't get scabies. Or any other kind of weird parasitic skin infection. And, if you do find yourself having a strange itch on your body, go to the doctor immediately. Don't let it spread all over your body for months until you absolutely can't take it any more. Leaving it so long might be why i'm still dealing with the fallout.
18. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder. I miss being free.
ii. richer or poorer? Richer. I have money now but no time to use it.
iii. thinner or fatter? Fatter. I hate it.
19. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?
Same as every other year. Long pants. Tank top. While traveling i switched from jeans to chef pants because they are lighter and dry faster. I also switched from Adidas Superstars to trail runners. But since living in Taiwan i wear flip-flops everywhere, ostensibly to try let my skin breathe and not make the lesions on my heels worse.
20. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I'm not much attracted to people any more.
20. Who was the best new person you met?
Why are there two 20s? I didn't meet any notable new people this year, just random encounters on the road and my new work colleagues.
21. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I don't really listen to music with lyrics.
22. Favorite podcasts of 2022
There was a period a couple years ago when i started listening to podcasts. Then i realized most of them are just an inefficient mechanism for people to share their often-tedious opinions about stuff. I can get the same effect much faster just reading their hot take in a blog and spending the rest of my time with actually entertaining content like TV shows.
23. What does 2023 hold for you?
I hope it holds the resolution to my skin condition. I also hope that i somehow manage to find a way to deal with having a full-time job that doesn't make me exhausted all the time. I would like to finally go clubbing again. I miss dancing.