2023 In Review

A General Overview #

2023 was a fairly calm year as far as family was concerned. I went on a great vacation to North Carolina, went to two baby showers (one of my close friends had a second child! and another had their first!). My mom’s knee surgery went smoothly.

I got to see the All American Rejects in Connecticut.

I went to visit my sister many times in NYC (and plan to visit her more forthcoming).

My general health seems to be…odd. This year I am getting sick more often although the severity is not as intense but I’m overall always tired (not a fan). And going to the gym wears me out even if the things I do isn’t taxing. I haven’t been as active as I’d like to be. I’m also having difficulties with remembering stuff. Like what I did throughout the day.

Chess #

My chess has gotten a lot worse although I’ve gotten better at the psychology part of tournament play (in the state championships I got 3rd place for my devision so that was cool).

I am making more careless mistakes in online chess. I can’t figure out why. Things like hanging pieces, move slips (accidentally touching the wrong squares and pieces).

Movies #

• Avatar Way of Water: this is such a great movie. Probably my favorite movie of the year. I love the small Moby Dick nested plot.
• Oppenheimer: it was very dissapointing. Was expecting more from Nolen. The black and white parts and legal scenes were interesting.
• Peewee’s Adventures: Enjoyable and fun
• Barbie: It’s fun for what it was.
• Stop Making Sense-The Talking Heads Concert Film: the second best movie I saw last year.
• Office Space: Finally saw it. Very funny.

Books #

I didn’t read much but I did read a variety:

• The Fire is Upon Us: this was such an amazing book. Very eye opening. I do think the author is slightly biased towards Baldwin although the topic of the book and the aims of the two men definitely conflcting. One is clearly advocating for equality while the other for maintaing the status quo. And obviously when the status quo is continuing the subjugation of a group of people that is obviously henous. I think the author gives Baldwin the nuance he deserves (his goals are antithetical to Malcolm X’s) and he recognizes that Buckley doesn’t see himself as a racist (and in fact tried hard to make the Republican party be less intolerable) and he does touch on Buckley’s reform desires as a candidate for the NYC mayoral run
• The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe: The art for this story was so beautiful and the story is very wholesome
• The Biography of X by Catherine Lacey. This book has so many layers. It is a romance book, it is alternative history, it’s philosophical Summerizing the book is difficult to do. A journalist turns her investigative lens towards her dead wife. The book explores who we want to be and the lack of never getting a clear answer of who others want to be. X holds many identities and many past lives. All her. The one thread I think that binds herself to gether is constantly looking inwards, into herself. I almost want to say she’s selfish but even then with the possibility of her maybe being a spy, I’m not so sure.
• The Handmaid’s Tail Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood and Renee Noult. The art is so gorgeous. That said, I’m not sure if I want to read the book or watch the show
• Ephemera by Brianna Lewinsohn. This is autobriographical. It follows the author’s journey coming to terms with the loss of her mother