Wrapping Up 2017

Hey look! It’s the last day of 2017! I guess I should put something up here. I’ve got free time. I've got motivation. So! Here are my year-end thoughts, for those of you dying to know.

This year started off kind of rough for everyone in the U.S., but it felt especially so for me and Ari, because we were still living with my parents, after moving in with them *temporarily* in September 2016. It took us until March to feel comfortable looking for our own apartment. We hesitated mostly because Ari was having trouble finding a music teaching gig (or any kind of gig). But then he got a job he really likes, working with kids in downtown LA through the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.

The first couple of months of the year were rough politically and personally. But then we moved into our cute lil apartment in Pasadena (with a balcony! My dream!) and we both were working, and things started looking so much better. So much better, in fact, that I decided to propose to Ari in the summer (July 15^th to be exact, our 8-year anniversary), since I felt like things were pretty darn good. He’d moved to California pretty much just for me, and we had finally kind of found a place that we felt comfortable in. So, he said yes! Our wedding is Feb. 18, 2018! And totally coincidentally, the number 18 is the numerological representation of the word for “life” in Hebrew, so it’s considered an auspicious date, which is kind of cool.

I guess those were the two kind-of memorable achievements of this year for me – moving into our own place (20 minutes’ drive from my parents! Who’d have thunk I’d ever agree to THAT?) and getting engaged to Ari. I still miss New York City quite a bit sometimes (mostly the people; sometimes I miss the snowy, wintery weather), and I know Ari is not sure if he’s OK with living out the rest of our days in the Sunshine State. I am open to the idea of moving again when we decide to buy a house. I just really would like it to be somewhere that has indie movie theaters and doesn’t get snow…..

As I feel most of my friends (and the strangers I follow on Instagram) have been saying at the end of 2017: This year was a pretty terrible year for the world, but personally it has been pretty good. I guess we’ve all gotta keep fighting the good fight against this T character, but we can all love and laugh and enjoy life somewhat while we’re doing it, right?

OK, that is pretty much my wrap-up for the year, except for one more thing. I think I did a pretty good job of seeing new movies this year, so I have compiled a shortlist of my top five of 2017, in order.

1.     The Florida Project

2.     Call Me By Your Name

3.     Lady Bird

4.     The Big Sick

5.     Get Out

Honorable mentions: The Beguiled, Good Time, Logan Lucky, Wonder Woman

Overrated: Baby Driver, Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049

Still want/need to see: Phantom Thread, The Post, Your Name, Personal Shopper

I wish you all a wonderful 2018! 

I think it's summer

Fresh pesto, snap peas from the farmer's market, and a grapefruit La Croix.

Look at what I did!

So, as I am unemployed for the foreseeable summer (hoping I get some substitute jobs, but so far I've missed two subbing opportunities due to not checking my email frequently enough). This extra free time, with limited $$$, means improvements on the new apartment!

Please admire my work lining lots of shelves:

As you can see, I have truly achieved "adult" status. 

Also, below is a panorama I took for a coworker who asked for an update on the apartment. It is unedited (read: no trash/detritus removed) for a totally authentic look: 

It's getting there!

Valbirthentine's Day

I had a good birthday + Valentine's Day this year, not least because my birthday was on a Sunday, and I forgot how wonderful it is to get to sleep in on one's birthday!

My birthday fortune in the LA Times. Not sure it makes sense.....

Ari made me birthday muffins! 

FREE Starbucks drink on my birthday! I got a molten chocolate latte with whipped cream. :D

Ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins with mint chocolate ice cream. By special request. Thanks for fulfilling my dreams, Ari! 

 On Valentine's Day, we had dinner in K-town and went to see Angel Olsen perform at the Wiltern Theater. My first time at the Wiltern; it really is a great venue. Unfortunately, we DID have to stand for over 3 hours to see the whole show, and that was pretty tough to do after a full day of work. There were two opening acts: Chris Cohen (psychedelic rock) and Jonathan Richman, a zany, ridiculous singer who is apparently is a living legend. He was definitely a lot of fun to watch!

But wait, there's more! On Thursday 2/16, we had a belated swing dancing birthday party at Lindygroove, which is where Ari and I take swing dancing classes every Thursday night. If it's your birthday, you get invite up to 10 guests for free, AND they give you chocolate cupcakes at a reserved table. So nice! So my parents and sister and my Aunt Liz came out to dance and/or watch people dance. It was really nice. 

We took this after Aunt Liz left. Oops. 

In case I ever get to walk the red carpet

I have found my dress. I'm not kidding. I mean, I guess Nicole wore it first, but I can deal with that. 

Takin' some action

I couldn't make it to the LAX protest today, so at least I can do this. (They postcards are dirty looking because of our wonky printer, but I like the homemade feel it gives them.)

Reading the news during class and wanting to cry.

That is all for now.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

I, Too

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides, 
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

Taken from poets.org.

Highlights from the end of the year (November 2016 - January 1, 2017)

Pictures!

First, camping in Cottonwood Spring, in Joshua Tree National Park. (November 5-6)

Dad, Ari, Aunt Liz, Me

Watching the sunset from the car while driving back from Jumbo Rocks

Important sharing of Hello Kitty filter on Instagram. My dream come true.

Heard David Sedaris speak for the first time, at the Pasadena Civic Center. (November 15)

Saw an NBA game for the first time on November 23rd. Go Cavs! (In Cleveland with Ari and his brother Ben.) 

With the Kessler family for Thanksgiving, in Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, Ohio.

Half-Marathon Weekend  (December 3-4)

Anja makes delicious crepes the day before our big half marathon, using her parents' awesome crepe-making tool.

Lunch and a tour of the Presidio with Alicia

Sunset over the Sutro Baths. 

The actual run! (This was right near the beginning). 

We all finished it in under 4 hours!! 

Nessa's wedding in Jersey City, December 10

Speeches

View of Manhattan from the Jersy City Hyatt

Christmas/Holiday stuff

Arty blurry photo of our tree (before it inexplicably started smelling bad...) 

Ari's parents visited and we joined them for a rainy but fun trip to Catalina Island on December 20.

Hanging and Bruce and Kathy Carter's house on Christmas Eve. 

Fiddler on the Roof singalong at the Laemmle on Christmas Eve

Mexican Train dominoes after brunch on Christmas 

Hike to Henniger Flats on December 28 with Erik, Cammy, Dad, and Aunt Liz (and her dog Axl) 

New Years with Ari's siblings visiting from Ohio

One warm day of sunshine! (But the water was FREEZING)

Everyone! At the park. We asked a stranger to take a picture of us and he asked us to hold onto his dog while he took it. 

Rainy San Clemente Pier on New Year's Eve

San Juan Capistrano Mission on New Year's Day

"Worth a Visit" -- Indeed, it was! 

My lame-ass attempt at wrapping up 2016

So, as has been widely discussed on the Internet (and among real people), 2016 was not such a great year, speaking generally. I agree with this assessment, the biggest downer of the year being Trump's election. I was so conflicted and upset about it that I couldn't come up with a blog post about it, even though I wanted to write one. I couldn't decide if I wanted the post to have an optimistic, sad, or angry tone. I still don't know which tone to strike when I think about Trump or talk about the future of our country with friends. So...yeah. Time will tell, I guess?

Bowie's death was the celebrity death that meant the most to me this year, although Debbie Reynolds was a close second, due to my longtime love of Singin' in the Rain.

In happier, more personal news, this year Ari and I moved to Los Angeles. This was a change I'd been pushing for since 2013! I really didn't know if I would ever be able to convince Ari to do it, but I did. We gave away 90% of our stuff (we kept no furniture) and drove cross-country from New York to Monrovia, arriving at my parents' house on Ari's birthday, August  31st. As I type this we are still in Monrovia, living with my parents, partly because it's been hard for Ari to find work as a music teacher (he wants a full-time job) and also because my bosses at USC waited till the last week of the semester to tell me whether I was hired back or not (I got hired back! Yeah!).

Four months in to California life, Ari and I are still figuring out how to live in Los Angeles, and hopefully finding our own place to live in the next month or two will help make us feel more settled. It's going to be expensive, buying all that furniture. grumble, grumble. But so far the lack of true winter weather has been wonderful, and I love being near my parents and family. Ari's parents came out for a visit a couple of weeks ago, and his brother and sister joined us at San Clemente for New Year's. A lot of our closer friends are still in NYC or in northern California, but I know Ari and I will grow more comfortable and build our own community here, with time.

Other highlights from 2016:

-Visiting Cuba! Went to Havana for 5 days with my parents and my good friend Alicia as part of a people-to-people guided tour, before Cuba totally opened its borders to U.S. travel.

-Visiting Mexico City! This was an unplanned trip that I adapted to travel by myself after a trip to Acapulco with some work friends that fell through when there were shootings in the tourist area, and I couldn't get a refund on my ticket. Leah ended up joining me for a few days, and it was a great experience overall.

-Completing a half marathon! I ran it with my friend Anja in the Marin Headlands, in northern California. Beautiful weather and REALLY difficult, hilly terrain.


Now, onto my lists of the year!

Favorite books read in 2016 (not necessarily written in 2016):

• Under the Skin, by Michel Faber
• Bring up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
• The Color of Water, by James McBride
• Pictures at a Revolution, by Mark Harris
• Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Nix, by Nathan Hill
• You'll Grow Out of It, by Jessi Klein 

Favorite new music from 2016 (I made the effort to listen to some new stuff):

• Lemonade, by Beyonce. Duh. 
• Skeleton Tree, by Nick Cave
• My Woman, by Angel Olsen (Favorite musician discovery of 2016: Angel Olsen) 

Favorite 2016 movies* (loosely organized in order): 

1. Manchester by the Sea
2. Everybody Wants Some!! 
3. Moonlight
4. One More Time with Feeling
5. Certain Women
6. La La Land
7. Hell or High Water
8. Arrival

*My FAVORITE movie of the year was definitely The Lobster, which came out in the U.S. in 2016, but is technically a 2015 film, since it took so long to reach us.