Tag: 2020

2020 Regrets – Blogmas

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been straightening up my room for the holidays, and I came across a scrap of paper that had my goals for 2020.

I remember when I jotted those goals down. I was at my old job, having a bad day because of some of the residents were treating me terribly (which was par of the course for those residents). I just needed something to distract myself before I said something I would regret.

For the most part, they were your standard New Year resolutions. Get in shape. Get a new job. Take a night class. Learn Spanish.

Of all of those, I’ve done none of them.

My biggest regret in a year of nightmares is not having a job for two thirds of the year. I left my job in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how my location was handling a potential outbreak. I felt I was being put in to a position that put my family in danger, so I left. Unfortunately, my timing was terrible, as I cannot seem to land a work from home job. Honestly, I’m terrified to go out to stores, even when I need to. I social distance, I wear a mask and gloves. I do store pickup as much as possible, and wipe down everything that enters my apartment. But I’m so scared of getting my family sick that the thought of taking a position that puts me into contact with someone outside my closed circle is nightmare inducing.

Another, less aggravating regret is not reading more. I set a GoodReads goal to read 100 books this year. I added a personal caveat that I wouldn’t count graphic novels or manga or comics. I wanted to read 100 books. As of the time I am writing this post, I’m at 73 book, with at least 15 being manga, graphic novels, or comics. I’ve been on a massive reading slump lately, and I cant seem to finish anything. Maybe 2021 will change that.

One regret that I couldn’t do anything about was travelling. I was hopeful that this year I would see more of California, visit Disneyland again, finally go to California Adventure for the first time in almost 15 years. I wanted to head up into the mountains and see snow, something that I truly haven’t seen since I was four outside of movies, pictures, and fake snow at Disney World.

I had wanted to make streaming a big part of my quarantine life. That was something that my family had discussed prior to leaving my job, that it could potentially be another source of income. But that never came to pass. I can’t stream without kicking my mom off the internet, which she needs for work. So I’d be limited to the two hours after she’s done before I started dinner (one of my jobs since I don’t have a paying one right now, a good trade off), or I could stream after dinner, but that wasn’t feasible due to a variety of issues. I had to put it on hold until a different plan could be put into place. It’s a discussing we’re planning on returning to in 2021.

But honestly, my biggest regret is having regrets. 2020 is a dumpster fire, we all know that. And having regrets over things being canceled and opportunities passing due to it is wasteful. I’ve let so many doubts cloud my mind and make keeping a personal schedule a nightmare.

So, while this is a post about regrets, I’m also posting a goal. There’s still a few things I want to do before the end of the year. I have a couple games I want to finish, some books I want to read (that I mentioned at the beginning of the month), some more cleaning and organization I need to do. I want to do all of it. So I’m making myself a goal to finish the couple games, to read the couple books, and to straightening up the corner of my room that is driving me to insanity.

We shall see how it goes, and how the final days of 2020 treats us.

Until next time.

Holiday Traditions (That My Family Actually Does) – Blogmas!

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

It’s the holidays! My most favorite time of year.

I have a deep love for the lights and decorations and just general holiday cheer, regardless of which holiday (if any) you celebrate. I was raised with Christmas, but I also have taken part in many Jewish celebrations thanks to working at an independent living facility in Florida, where the split was about fifty-fifty.

My family’s holiday traditions really depend on the year. We fluctuate, depending on what had happened during the year, and how we are feeling.

One tradition that has held true for every year, except 2002 and 2018, is that on Christmas Eve, we drive through the neighborhoods ad look at all the Christmas lights, while listening to Christmas music, and talking about Christmas memories. We go out for an hour, or sometimes more. We have only missed this tradition twice to my knowledge. In 2002, we spent the evening with my great-aunt and uncle, who came down to help us get through the holiday season without Dad. In 2018, we’d just moved to California, and were still getting settled into our tiny apartment.

Another holiday tradition is one that I’m not taking part in this year. We always watch Wizard of Oz, Rudolph, Frosty, and A Charlie Brown Christmas every year, though in recent years we’ve missed one show or another. This year, I’m doing something a bit different (more on that tomorrow), so I’m electing to skip the Christmas cartoons and my nightmare fuel (Oz. Fuck those flying monkeys).

One tradition that never goes away is decorations. We always put up our advent calendar on December 1st. There’s always at least two windows decorated, usually mine and a main window. Garland on something, wooden ornaments on something else. Even after all these years, we do the same thing. On that note, I need to find my garland for Kook, our cuckoo clock.

Mom and I have one tradition that has survived all these years, until this year. The first weekend of December, she and I would go to the mall and buy all the Christmas presents for the family, and sneak some for each other. Of course, we would do more shopping later on, but this was the first big shopping trip of the season, so it would be the most important to us.

But perhaps the best tradition of all though, is how we celebrate the day. Regardless of what plans we have, my family always gets up by 7AM. Mom makes coffee, we prep the pancake batter. Then we try to find a channel on TV showing a yule log burning, because we are not graced with a fireplace. After that, we open the presents under the tree. Breakfast is eaten, and then… we all go back to sleep. We never have anywhere that we need to go to before 2PM anyways. After naptime, we spend the afternoon and evening with family.

But this year some of the traditions have changed.

Considering the pandemic, as well as the lockdown that will go into effect at midnight tonight, we decided to switch things up this year. We’re still planning on driving around and looking at lights, because that can be done safely. We’re still watching some of the holiday movies (around my project to be discussed tomorrow). We over decorated the apartment, but we didn’t do much outside on our patio. We did our traditional shopping trip via the internet, two computers side by side.

And as for Christmas morning? Well, the morning has changed. But we won’t see the family this year. We’re planning on dropping off safely wrapped presents for the kids a day or two before Christmas, but that’s it. I’ll probably spend the day playing video games or reading. Mom will definitely be reading. But no family.

But that’s ok. 2021’s holiday season will be just as bright, if not brighter. Provided that people are safe. So wear a mask (I have a holiday-themed one for shopping now), wash your hands, and social distance. Make the sacrifice this year so that the family table can be filled next year.

Until next time!

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled- *Record Scratch*

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

I had all sorts of plans for what I wanted to post for my first regular post after a month of daily entries.

And then the election happened. Or rather, is still happening.

I won’t lie, I am very much on one side (though I’ll keep my political leanings away from here). The past now thirty six hours have become the most stressful hours of my adult life thus far.

I honestly don’t really know what to say right now. As I type this, the race is getting closer.

Hopefully by Friday my brain will be back to normal. But today I’m calling it done for now.

Until next time?

2020 Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

So, I saw that this tag was going around Youtube and all the writing blogs. I may be new at this, but I feel like I might as well jump on the bandwagon. Now, I’ll be totally honest, I tweaked a few questions (and added a couple), mostly because the ones that I took out were ones I didn’t really want to answer. Please enjoy, and let me know in the comments if you want me to elaborate on any others.

1. How much have you read?

As of the writing of this post, I have read 60 books in 2020. This is a combination of physical novels, ebooks, novellas, comics, graphic novels, and manga.

2. Best book you’ve read so far in 2019

I have five 5 star books so far this year. Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda and Valynee E. Maetani, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth, and These Witches Won’t Burn and This Coven Won’t Break, both by Isabel Sterling. All four were amazing in their own ways, and I can’t really pick which one I love the best.

3. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2019

This Coven Won’t Break is hands down the best sequel I’ve read lately. It continued the story from the first book, without treating the reader like an idiot. The first part of the book is a bit slow, but it picked up pretty quickly, and the payoff was worth it.

4. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to

I have too many to list, so I’ll just grab the latest ones. Seasons of the Storm by Elle Cosimano, I Killed Zoe Spanos by Kit Frick, Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova, and The Unstoppable Wasp by Sam Maggs.

5. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini and Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahurin. Both were immediately preorders. I will say that while writing up this post, I ended up on Barnes & Noble’s website… and now I have a new list of new releases that I need ASAP. My poor wallet.

6. Biggest disappointment

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. I have been a fan of the Hunger Games for years, and I was privately hoping that Ballad would surprise me and I’d actually like it. Instead, I was sad that my already low expectations were not low enough.

7. Biggest surprise

I started reading the manga Bloom into You in at the end of June. It’s blown my mind with good writing, amazing art, and a story that doesn’t actually suck! I have four volumes as of the publishing of this post, with the next three shipping or in my cart (and the last one preordered). Am I insane that I completely became obsessed with this small little series? Yeah, probably. But I do not care.

8. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Seanan McGuire. I didn’t read her Wayward Children series until June, and it has blown my mind. I am in heaven, and dying until the six novella comes out in January.

9. Book that made you cry

I totally cried while reading The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth. Something about it just made me cry like a little baby by the end.

10. Book that made you happy

Not so much book as series of novellas, but the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire is spectacular. Plotlines that span different stories, dynamic characters, and LGBTQ+ representation all over. Yay!

11. Rereads this year?

Magic Knight Rayearth I and II (all six volumes total) and my yearly Harry Potter series reread, which for arguments sake was back in February when the series was merely problematic. I’m planning on taking a couple days and rereading Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, which is a 600+ page guilty pleasure on how to write diverse characters with a huge cast.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)

Oh wow. There’s a lot. The Owlcrate versions of Incendiary and Where Dreams Descend. The Light Between Worlds. I Killed Zoe Spanos. Seasons of the Storm. And more. So many more. The cover game has been stepping up in recent years.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

The Shadow and Bone series, the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, all of Percy Jackson ahead of the finale… Actually… I’d love to make a dent in my Quarantine Reads pile… which is a post all to itself.

14. Goals for the rest of the 2020

  • Keep a consistent update schedule for this blog
  • Become more active with quality content on Twitter and Instagram
  • Set up and use my new bullet journal (photos coming soon)
  • Complete my Goodreads challenge with minimal rereads
  • If possible, stream twice a week on Twitch, both book-related and gaming.
  • Complete my Lego Xbox One challenge (including the new game when it bothers to release)

So there you have it. Fourteen questions relating to my reading. I actually had a lot of fun thinking back on my reading this year, which of course has been heavily impacted by everything going on in the world. It’s been a trying year thus far, but I cannot wait to see what comes in the next few months. Who knows what dumpster fires will start. 🙂

Until next time!