2014: 100 Things That Happened this Year (part 2)

Continuing on from part 1, let's get right into it! Here's more about my year:

51) #BlackLivesMatter
52) Started to appreciate hummus!
53) Joined a group of fellow students to help plan TEDxMSU but had to drop out and felt really bad about it.
54) Briefly considered becoming a tour guide after being the navigator of Ma and I's trip to San Francisco.

55) Briefly considered becoming a professional dogwalker, for obvious reasons.
56) My dad and stepmom started the divorce process.
57) Finally tried this "green juice" that all the hipsters and pretentious healthnuts/trend-followers have been raving about lately. Wasn't half bad.
58) Lost weight then gained weight. Now I'm back at my square one from 10 years ago, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ashamed. BUT! I've been working on it since I got home for break (why wait 'til New Year's when all you need is today?)
59) Discovered travelnoire.com
60) Went to a slam poetry event for the first time and met bomb poets Natasha Miller (T. Miller) and Ebony Stewart.
61) Saw Chrisette Michele in concert for the first time and it was magical! The second concert I've ever been to in my whole life.
62) Had a stupid argument with my best friend since 2nd grade and now it doesn't seem that she wants to be my friend anymore....
63) Had some pretty curious recurring dreams.
64) Unwittingly became part of a community of basset hound owners/enthusiasts on Insta.
65) Senior. year. mannn. Had the most stressful and miserable semester ever, and closed myself off from the outside world because that's what I do when I feel anxious and under pressure. Senior year is no joke! Didn't have much of a life and lost touch with a lot of good people because of it. But like I said, I'm trying to ease my way back.
66) Reached one year of sessions with Sue
67) Read 23 books.
68) Madison turned 11 years old.
69) This email and this other email from Ms. Yvette
70) Still on my unintentional Kpop/Kdrama hiatus that started last year, but I was watching Superman is Back for a little while there.
71) Discovered the big-voiced, petite wonder that is Agnez Mo.
72) Ma got rid of all the themed magnets and plastic cups that I cherished as a kid.
73) Had my first (and let's hope last) encounter with the heartless, ignorant, shameful, pseudo-activist group the Genocide Awareness Project.
74) Skyped with my grandpa for the first time ever. It was hilarious!
75) Visited my great aunt Gladys for the first time in ages.
76) Was exposed to a bit of 'Attack on Titan' and was intrigued by what I saw. Still haven't sat down to watch it through yet. I thought I'd grown out of anime but this might be the one to bring me back.
77) I decided that I have absolutely NO intention of going to grad school in the near future, and I feel no qualms about said decision.
78) Succeeded as a member of Team #oneplate during Christmas festivities!
79) After years of having to put up with BET as if it were the only black channel on Earth/that black students deserved, MSU finally added all the black channels to their cable programming (Aspire, Centric, TV One, and even the Africa Channel). When I did watch TV, those were virtually all I watched the entire fall semester.
80) Ate Vietnamese food for the first time with a couple of friends.
81) Started drinking hot/warm water with my meals. I'd like to think it helps with digestion, but don't quote me on that.
82) Visited the KFC Yum! Center for the first time and went to my first UofL basketball game! My pride in my family's hometown just keeps growing and growing!
83) Visited UofL's campus for the first time!
84) Despite brief glimpses of light and release, continued yet another year of stifling what I hold most dear and sacred. Being a closet artist is equivalent to killing yourself slowly because artists aren't meant to be kept in closets. Always that gnawing feeling that you've got to let it out and show people...
85) My elementary school demolished all remaining remnants of the original playground that had been the site of much pre-pre-pubescent drama and recess merriment for me when I was a student there. Replaced it with a shiny new one. I guess it was bound to happen eventually.
86) Crystal Kay released her first US single and video!
87) Learned that someone in my family is gay but afraid to come out fully, and that a friend of mine had been the victim of rape. Social issues always seem to happen somewhere else, to someone else. But you'd be amazed to find out how much is happening right where you are, if you stay woke and pay attention long enough.
88) Started following Humans of New York/HONY (I know, who isn't by now?)
89) D'Angelo made a comeback! Had the chance to see him perform back when I was in Paris, for cheap! But I didn't go because I figured he was washed up. So. wrong. Dang.
90) In mid-November in Lansing, we went from fall to winter to fall within a span of one week. Snowed for three days straight, then rained for three days straight so all the snow melted away, then it warmed up and the weather was back where it started as if nothing had ever happened.
91) Term paper topics for spring and fall semesters included Black immigrant populations in England and France, reflection journals on my time in Paris (one in French, the other in English), Japanese victimhood in post-WW2 anime films, and Tibetan people as represented through HONY portraits.
92) My crush on YouTube entertainer David So continued. Going two and a half years strong now! Haha. But don't call me a fangirl!
93) Started and ended the year with J-dramas staring Ishihara Satomi, one of my favorite Japanese actresses. In January it was 'Shitsuren Chocolatier', and in December I it was 'Dear Sister'.
94) Sooo many people decided (and felt the need to declare) that they're introverts now, co-opting a hitherto uncool group's behaviors and personalities as accessories that now give you cool points. Like, really? What does that give you? Ultra hipster too-cool-for-life-and-all-people-in-it status?  What?
95) Continued my life-long streak of being single, and at this point in time I can't really be convinced that I'm missing out on anything!
96) Maintained contact with the first Japanese professor I ever had. It's been three years since I was her student and she's retired and moved back to Japan in that time, but we still exchange emails every so often.

97) My middle school arts camp buddy and longtime pen-pal released her first single!
98) Matcha became more and more trendy over here. Drank my first matcha latte ever, and was able to enjoy real-deal matcha ice cream for the first time since going to Japan.
99) Celebrated the first anniversary of this very blog, DeelaSees!
100) Never stopped writing. Whether it was songs or journal entries or blog posts; even if I wasn't sharing or singing as much as I would've liked, I never stopped writing.

And those were my 100 things! I hope you enjoyed reading my list of happenings. If you don't have time to come up with your own list for 2014, I encourage you to try for 2015. But jot stuff down as you go; that's what I'm going to try to do. Don't do like I did and wait until December, and then spend two weeks wracking your brain trying to come up with all that happened throughout the year. Haha. Make it easy for yourself.

Happy New Year's Eve to you and yours!

Outings: Go Cards!

Louisville (30 December)

• University of Louisville Cardinals v. Long Beach State 49ers (...who??)
• Wasn't gung-ho about going to a basketball game,  but glad I did!
• First Louisville game and first time at the Yum! Center            
• Got a late start and trying to find parking was a nightmare; made it to the game halfway through first half
• Aunt Fay got us great seats! Not too high up, and just a couple dozen rows above the band!
• Some kids were occupying our seats when we got there. They moved reluctantly but without argument
• Not as big as the Palace (Deee-troit Basket-baaal!), but the Yum! Center is impressive!  It feels a little intimate almost
• Appearance from Stephen Van Treese (player on the 2013 NCAA Championship team); he's playing pro in Japan right now (Albirex Niigata)!
• Band playing "Still Fly" by the Big Tymers, out of nowhere!  I lived!
• Aunt Fay told me that Cardinal fans have a bad habit of leaving games early. She wasn't lying; 4:19 left on the clock and the place was half-empty
• Especially today, which also featured a UofL football game; as one man muttered on his way out, "Welp, it's football time"
• 63-48 victory!
• Had to drive the car around to get everybody; first time starting a car by pressing a button
• Through downtown, back to my cousin's house for another round of sitting around the TV, all of us in our Cardinal gear, eating bad food while enjoying a good game
• UofL v. UGA; Shoutout to #7  QB Reggie Bonnafon! His family's been going to church with ours for the longest
• Aunt Fay and Aunt T discussing a wayward young girl they know who keeps running away from home;  how to set these kids straight; preventative programing; how to engage parents in a potential support group
• The basketball game wasn't worth watching on TV because it was too easy, Long Beach State didn't have a chance; conversely, the football game wasn't worth watching because UGA came ready to play and we just couldn't get it together
• Left good n' full n' sleepy though! It was a great evening!
  
  
  
  
  
  

2014: 100 Things That Happened this Year (part 1)

It's that time of year again! I was inspired to do this last year to reflect on 2013 (check out part 1 / part 2), and I've decided to keep it going. For some reason I wasn't as excited to do this as I remember being last year. No lofty mission of trying to be deeply reflective or exceedingly grateful this time around (no energy to be virtuous right now), just trying to remember the most important things that happened. But I was determined to put this list together anyhow, so here it is. Here's a glimpse of what 2014 had in store for me:

1) I started doing Zumba and other dance workouts.
2) I learned how to use Prezi.
3) I found out that I passed the JLPT (N2).
4) My friend and I formed a band! It lasted for two months, haha. But we just might be coming back...
5) As said band, we performed at "the Grammys"
6) Ma and I went to San Francisco for a week.
7) I met Cyril Payen.

8) I did an interview that got featured on my school's honors college website.
9) After two years, returned to Tunnel of Oppression as a scriptwriter and sort-of-not-really acting coach.
10) I had a breakdown that lasted two months. Six months later I had another one. But during this month-long winter break I've been easing my way back.
11) "Type of Way", "My Hitta", "No Flex Zone", "About the Money" = songs that I'm embarrassed to admit I love. What can I say? Trap music grew on me, I couldn't fight it!
12) Celebrated my yoga-versary. My yoga practice became on-and-off throughout the year, but I'm on the "on" side of it now. :)
13) I went to Paris for two and a half months.
14) I did homestay for the first time, with a wonderful non-traditional, not-quite-nuclear family of kind and open-minded French people.
15) I went to London for two days with the help of a high school friend.
16) Being in France improved my tolerance for alcohol. I still prefer not to drink it, but when I do I no longer feel like I'm drinking acid.
17) Favorite song of the year: "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit. Watched it blow up in France, then watched it blow up all over again when I came back to the States. Same for "Waves" by Mr. Probz.
18) Interviewed for a job leading a help lab for advanced French classes for high school students. Didn't get the job but the interview went swimmingly!
19) Became the Communications and Events Intern for the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. My job: treasure-hunting for art.
20) Had a falling out with my dad. For the first time in my life I tried to be honest with him and it blew up in my face. We're no longer on speaking terms (read: I've chosen to cease communication for the time being). One of the worst yet best things that could've happened in my life right now.
21) Became an oatmeal addict.
22) Discovered soy/almond/rice milk, in that order.
23) I went to my first career fair.
24) I gave up Instagram for Lent. And I don't even celebrate Lent!
25) Dear White People, The Book of Life, Big Hero 6, and Beyond the Lights! Fall 2014 was a great movie season.
26) I turned 22 and wasn't happy about it. First case of birthday blues ever. But I'm cool with it now.
27) I rode a train by myself for the first time!
28) Did two internships.
29) My uncle had a heart attack, but was on the mend in no time thanks to medical attention, rest, the love of family and friends, and the grace of God.
30) I went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time since 1st grade.
31) I went to ArtPrize for the first time!
32) Got profiled on ACGL's website for my work as an intern.
33) I applied for the JET program.
34) I had a conversation with my uncle about my dad for the first time ever. My dad's one of the few topics of discussion that can make my uncle angry, and so I'd always avoided mentioning him in his presence.
35) I applied for graduation!
36) Did my first successful twist-out!
37) Discovered the joy that is making YouTube playlists to collect music that I come across during significant periods in my life. Did one for my time in Paris and another for my internship this semester. They're like mixtapes, or musical time capsules, or something.

38) I wrote my 500th blog post!

39) After two years, I re-read La vie devant soi, the first French novel (first full-length French book) that I had ever read. Was amazed by how much easier it was the second time around.

40) I signed up for JLPT N1, then decided not to take it.

41) I found out that I'll be walking away with two bachelor's degrees when I graduate in May!

42) Decided I wasn't going to attend commencement but then learned I was getting two degrees and changed my mind.
43) Celebrated 1 year as a volunteer at the Capital Area Humane Society! Dogwalkers unite!
44) Got acquainted with my uncle's family dog, Cooper!
45) Continued my streak of not going to a single MSU sports game. Absolutely nothing against my school, just not into sports. No one can take my title of "Spartan" away from me, but then again no one will be able to attest for my school spirit, because I have very little. I'll wear apparel, but I'm just not here for the hype and the cult of sports fandom.
46) Avoided joining Twitter (and any other popular or newfangled social media sites) for another year! FB, YT, Insta, and Blogger are more than enough. Cheers to anyone out there trying to be connected but not consumed!
47) Two of my friends from school started their own inspiring, introspective, beautifully-written, truth-telling blogs!
48) Being one of those shining stars who graduate with a 4.0 would've been nice, but maybe that just wasn't supposed to happen for me and I've made peace with it. Hoping I can maintain my solid 3.9 through next semester (the last one!)...
49) Was fortunate to receive enough funds so that my second time studying abroad wasn't a burden. Going to France, we (and by we I mean Ma) didn't have to pay for anything other than the round-trip plane ticket.

50) During my final fall semester, I overloaded myself and went on a really unhealthy sleep schedule of 3-5 hours a night on the weekdays. But I'm happy to say that after 3 1/2 years of college, I still have yet to pull an all-nighter!

Click HERE for part 2!

You are your own good thing!

More inspiration via Kim Katrin Milan. Props to anyone who knows which Toni Morrison novel I paraphrased the above line from.

Warning for Monopoly Players

Note to self,

Monopoly, while a classic, is not for the gentle, the honest, and those who don't care that much about money. Only the ruthless survive, which means this is not your game. You play this game and you. will. lose.

Signed,

The first person out of the game (a.k.a. the one who lost, a.k.a. you)

 

Buttermilk Pie with a Side of Wisdom

"Looking back, you know, if you didn't have people around you wouldn't be able to do what you needed to do... There's no telling what'll happen to you in life, just keep living." -Grandpa

BOOKS! (Songbook)

Finally, I'm writing about the last book that I read between the summer and the end of this semester! This is another used book section find. When I started reading it I almost gave up on it because... well, I'll explain that later. This probably isn't a book that I'd read again, but it's a decent read if you're into music and don't have much to do.

Songbook by Nick Hornby

Written by Nick Horby (About a Boy), this book is composed of essays about Nick Hornby's favorite songs, and five essays on albums/artists that he finds notable. I say his "favorite songs" but not all of them are all-time favorites. Some of them are songs that he liked or loved at the time of writing; some are songs that mark or remind him of important moments in his life; some reveal much about the music industry or the artistry of the people who perform them; and some just make him think a lot about art and life. So I should rather say that they're 31 songs that Hornby found noteworthy at the time.

The reason why I almost gave up on this book is because it was kind of a snoozer for me at first. Let me just put it like this. There are many different ways to be human. And if listening to and enjoying music are part of the human experience, then there are also many different ways to appreciate music. So I won't criticize Hornby's taste in music,  per say. But... let's just say we're of two different minds musically. Furthermore, he lumps a number of genres under the dreaded "pop music" umbrella that shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence with pop. Reggae? Not pop. Soul? Again sir, not pop. "Black music"? Our contributions to music in their original forms have always been an alternative, challenge, or antithesis to the mainstream, and therefore, again, NOT pop. I understand what he's saying when he argues that genres are fluid and often speak to each other, but there's a difference between that and labeling all music that a lot of people happen to like as "pop".

My issues with his taste and word usage aside,  it's obvious that Hornby loves music, knows a lot of it, and understands it beyond what the average listener does. He often writes as a music critic,  but in this book his approach to each song isn't exactly criticism. He talks about song structure, why a song is worth listening to, what songs do for people, what allows certain songs to survive, and how music transcends many things, including speech. In discussing each song he also draws many comparisons between different musical genres, between songs and literature, and between songwriting and poetry. As someone who is also a novice songwriter and a great fan of literature, I greatly appreciated the depth of his reflections when making these comparisons.

Additionally, I looked up and listened to each song as I went, and while most weren't my style, quite a few were pleasant surprises. These included "I'm Like a Bird" by Nelly Furtado (#3), "Samba Pa Ti" by Santana (#6), "Smoke" by Ben Folds Five (#16), "Caravan" by Van Morrison (#19), "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Gregory Isaacs (#22), "Hey Self Defeater" by Mark Mulcahy (#25), "Needle in a Haystack" by The Velvelettes (#26), "Let's Straighten it Out" by O. V. Wright (#27), "Röyksopp's Night Out" by Röyksopp (#28), "People Ain't No Good" by Nick Cave, and "Sabor a Mí" by Los Lobos.

Favorite quotes:

"But sometimes, very occasionally, songs and books and films and pictures express who you are, perfectly... I'm talking about understanding−or at least feeling like I understand−every artistic decision, every impulse, the soul of both the work and its creator. 'This is me... I'm not a character, I'm nothing like the author, I haven't had the experiences she writes about. But even so, this is what I feel like, inside. This is what I would sound like, if ever I were to find a voice.' And I did find a voice, eventually, and it was mine, not hers" (9).

"music, like color, or a cloud, is neither intelligent nor unintelligent−it just is. The chord, the simplest building block for even the tritest, silliest chart song, is a beautiful, perfect, mysterious thing, and when an ill-read, uneducated, uncultured, emotionally illiterate boor puts a couple of them together, he has every chance of creating something wonderful and powerful" (96).