JANUARY:

• starting off the New Year with new firsts by leaving the continent for the first time, spending two days in Asia and a month in Oceania
• experiencing the true colours of nature in New Zealand: turquoise water, rolling green hills, lavender fields, multi-coloured thermal wonders
• hiking & climbing mountains and pushing my limits both physically & psychologically
• swimming in lakes, hot pools, and the open ocean (with Dusky dolphins)
• meeting various quirky Kiwi characters (surfer dudes & cowboys) and making new temporary friends/crushes

FEBRUARY:

• readjusting to cold climates, grey & dreary cityscapes and the daily humdrum of office life
• catching up with family, delivering souvenirs & trying to make up for my absence to my little niece and nephew
• binging all the music & television I missed in the past month
• becoming immersed in the mesmerizing world of RUSSIAN DOLL
• deep-diving into the Lou Reed discography

MARCH:

• getting back into reading with GOOD OMENS
• picking up the ukulele again and finally making some progress
• listening to Vampire Weekend on repeat
• getting a new television as an early birthday present and catching up on films: SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, THE FAVOURITE, PHANTOM THREAD, COLD WAR & FIRST REFORMED
• the brilliant mind of Phoebe Waller-Bridge: FLEABAG & KILLING EVE

APRIL:

• seeing Beirut live, listening to new albums by Weyes Blood, Jenny Lewis, Billie Eilish, Lizzo & the BARRY soundtrack (Charles Bradley, Khruangbin, Roxy Music)
• watching mind-bending, apocalyptic sci-fi: BIRD BOX, ANNIHILATION, THE OA, THE TWILIGHT ZONE (revival)
• falling asleep repeatedly on the couch & at the cinema
• watching the nightmarish MOTHER! with a splitting migraine
• stress getting the best of me with the flu & nocturnal panic attacks, not being able to breathe & waking up gasping for air

MAY:

• rediscovering comedy classics: films by John Hughes, Judd Apatow etc.
• obsessing over Paul Rudd & binging his movies
• teen stars of the 80s: Alan Ruck, Jon Cryer, John Cusack
• dancing to 80s soundtracks: Dexys Midnight Runners, Simple Minds, Psychedelic Furs, Duran Duran, etc.

JUNE:

• taking a new route to work, walking by the canals with colourful boats, seeing the city with new eyes
• finally getting into podcasts (other than true crime) and having my mind blown by S-TOWN and RADIOLAB
• reading THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE in the park
• watching GOOD OMENS, BLACK MIRROR & CHERNOBYL
• taking a trip to Amsterdam to see Andrew Bird live & being in awe by his virtuosity

JULY:

• watching beachy rich people drama (BIG LITTLE LIES, DEAD TO ME & THE AFFAIR) and quirky horror shows (LOS ESPOOKYS & STRANGER THINGS)
• reconfiguring my future after finding out my contract won't be renewed
• binging podcasts at work: SERIAL, CALIPHATE, WTF WITH MARC MARON & HOW I BUILT THIS
• attempting to get back into yoga (but only managing to do so sporadically)
• revisiting Audrey Hepburn films with mom (ROMAN HOLIDAY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S & FUNNY FACE)
• trying out new recipes: beetroot salad, rocket spinach salad w/ avocado and lemon juice/cucumber and yoghurt dill, leek quiche w/ walnut & goat's cheese, vegan lime coconut pie (failed), oven-baked chicory w/ cheese and garlic
• listening to great new albums (Purple Mountains & Jesca Hoop)

AUGUST:

• David Rose, Moira Rose, and the endlessly quotable SCHITT'S CREEK in general
• listening to a lot of throwback girl pop and the new Sleater-Kinney
• day trip to Den Bosch with mom, having lunch at a plants/health cafe & browsing vintage shops
• saying goodbye to my work place of 2,5 years and trying to set up a freelance career

SEPTEMBER:

• listening to Lana Del Rey's new album on repeat & Brittany Howard
• reading Ursula K. Le Guin's THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS
• watching MINDHUNTER and WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (both the series and the film)
• seeing IT CHAPTER TWO and getting into Stephen King
• watching US, PERSONAL SHOPPER, AMERICAN HONEY, BURNING & THE HANDMAIDEN

OCTOBER:

• watching all horror all month: MIDSOMMAR, DON'T LOOK NOW, THE LADY VANISHES, SHADOW OF A DOUBT, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, THE 'BURBS, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, EVIL DEAD, HAUSU, POSSESSION, THE BROOD & AUDITION
• with intervals of feel-good comedy: CRASHING, GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE, MAN UP, LIVING WITH YOURSELF & HEARTS BEAT LOUD
• seeing AD ASTRA in cinema for mom's birthday, the first time in family history we've all gone to the movies together, including dad
• reuniting with a friend we met in NZ and spending the day in Amsterdam, hanging at the Vondelpark and canals, strolling the markets, tasting free food & catching up over dinner and drinks with M
• an unusually newsworthy month in my hometown and surroundings: farmers invading the city on tractors in a political protest, a cult family isolated on a farm for 8 years & a double murder at the local cinema
• becoming acquainted with the laundromat after my washing machine broke down

NOVEMBER:

• cozy dishes with potatoes, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, carrots and broccoli (all the vegetables)
• discovering the genius of FKA twigs and obsessing over MAGDALENE
• seeing Vampire Weekend live in Amsterdam, getting stuck in a crowd of thousands at the station and nearly missing my train home
• reading Margaret Atwood's ORYX AND CRAKE
• watching the masterpieces SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS, TOKYO STORY, SEVEN SAMURAI, M, KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS & MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, CACHÉ, JAGTEN, TONI ERDMANN & BLUE JAY
• trying to learn the basic foundations of the Japanese language
• binging all of BIG MOUTH, MIRACLE WORKERS, THE KOMINSKY METHOD, ALAN PARTRIDGE, SPACED & THIS WAY UP
• taking a road trip with my sister to a remote village for an unlikely job interview & taking the bus to a different part of the city for a job trial at another company

DECEMBER:

• visiting the new local cultural center, taking pictures of the views and reviving my love for the city I live in; becoming a born-again library member and watching PARASITE at the cinema
• watching THE IRISHMAN, SCARFACE & THE GODFATHER I + II or: solidifying my crush on Al Pacino
• at last making my way back to THE OFFICE & starting PARTY DOWN
• starting a new job just before Christmas – perks being a gift basket, drinks at the office and dinner at an Italian restaurant; downsides being 9-to-5 stress
• finally getting to write for a living and call myself a professional writer
• spending Christmas with family: midnight mass, unwrapping presents at my sister's house, dinner, watching bad movies picked out by others, fighting exhaustion the entire time and in bed before 11; Boxing Day was slightly better with a visit from grandma, board games and watching Pillow Talk with mom
• the accumulation of stress and contagious family members resulting in the stomach flu immediately after Christmas, followed by bronchitis and spending New Year's Eve entirely in bed