​It's cold here now. March and April felt so long, but everything else ran by so quickly.

Now it's December, and it's time to look back. Some of these series have been around a while, but I only got around to watching this year (who knew what free time could do).



​Here are my Favorite Series 2020:

The Boys
- Broken superheroes and the equally broken vigilantes trying to expose and take them down.
Streaming: HBO/ Crave Canada

I May Destroy You
- Michaela Coel has something that makes her the perfect storyteller for black millennials who don't quite fit into the stereotype. In I May Destroy You, Coel plays Arabella, a young woman searching for the truth after a brutal assault turns her world upside down.
Streaming: HBO/ Crave Canada

Raised by Wolves
- Humans try to colonize an alien planet after fleeing near future earth, deep in the grip of a religious war that may be the result of an alien god called Sol. Lots of mysteries going on here. This one is co-produced by Ridley Scott. Streaming: HBO/ Crave Canada

Tales from the Loop
-A collection of strange stories about people in a town that has an alien device known as an eclipse, which leads to everything from time loops to body switching. Streaming: Amazon Prime

Castle Rock
- Sadly canceled, but an anthology series based on the worlds/novels of Stephen King.
Streaming: HBO/Crave Canada

His Dark Materials
- Based on Phillip Pullman's trilogy about a young prophesied girl in an alternate world where people have daemons (external sapient souls that take the forms of animals).
Streaming: HBO/ Crave Canada

The Expanse
- Finally gotten around to watching this near future series about the politics that follow humans after they have colonized nearby planets.
Streaming: Amazon Prime

Star Trek: lower decks
- From the co-creator of Rick & Morty comes an animated comedy that centers the exploits of low-ranked crewmembers in the world of Star Trek.
Streaming: HBO/Crave Canada

Lovecraft Country
This is a little more controversial. It fits more into my gripe about "black trauma" cast under the umbrella of speculative fiction. It's also not very Lovecraft.
Streaming: HBO/Crave Canada

Upload - a cross between The Good Place and the Black Mirror episode, San Junipero. The afterlife goes digital. Streaming: Amazon Prime

Trickster - based on a FANTASY trilogy by Eden Robinson, Trickster follows teen Jared who discovers he is the son of a Trickster/shapeshifter. When his Trickster dad returns to his life, Jared and his mom become wary of his motives and baggage.
Available on CBC Gem app.

This was a tough year for me. It started off well and progressed well but ended horribly with the death of my mom. It has not been easy going forward, and probably won't be easy ever again. Nonetheless, there were some things that I loved about 2018. Inspired by ForeverPresident Obama, here's my list.

Favorite Things 2018

1. Podcasts -
a. Lore (created/hosted by Aaron Manke). If you're not listening, you are missing out. Aaron Manke, in only the way he can, brings to life the creepiness of real world mysteries, lores and legends. Listening to this, I find myself questioning if any of it was really true. The answer? YES! Well researched, Manke is a storyteller at heart, and has done a good job creeping out his listeners.

-b. -.Stuff to Blow Your Mind/Stuff You Should Know
 Another podcast that has done a good job educating me about just about everything, and has made me want to look up everything they mention. You won't regret it.

2. Tdotspec --the upstart publishing company has made me a published author (Strange Economics). Please check it out, if you haven't already.

3. Winners -- I'm addicted and really should cut down on my shopping addictions. In the mean time, I am always looking for the next great find.

4.  Matcha -- I am late to the matcha latte/everything party, but am glad I arrived anyway. By the way, try the matcha green tea chocolate bar (Kitkat/nestle). You won't regret it.

5. Essential Oils --this was the year I was to discover my inner natural goddess. Lavender became my go-to color/choice of oil, but I'm loving peppermint, tea tree and milk thistle.

6. Oversized sweaters/shirt-dresses. Ironic that now that I have hit my weight goal, I am more determined than ever to cover up. Oversized sweaters/shirt-dresses are cozy and comfortable. A girl never can have too many oversized sweaters. They're practical for winter, and even summer when the air conditioning is simply too high.

7. Musical Artists:
a. Jessie Reyez. My new Amy Winehouse. What a voice, and what an attitude. According to the 'loco Colombiana', her "straight jacket's custom-made.'
b. Janelle Monae's "Dirty Computer.' The archandroid is everything I wish I could be --cool and nerdy, and this album is catchy and sing-a-long. PERFECT. Blerds represent.
c. Buju Banton --the Jamaican Reggae artist was released from prison in early December 2018. I rediscovered his 'Til Shiloh' album. It's a classic. I've been obsessively listening to it for months.

8. Marvel Studios. Thanks for giving me lighthearted entertainment to get me through tough times. I loved the Black Panther. I was mad, sad and happy about Infinity Wars, and look forward to Endgame. 

9. My Fitness Pal -- this is a little tricky. It's a "health/diet" app. But, I am in agreement that anything that helps me track what I am eating/putting in my body is good. And it's free!

10. Google Home --I am of the desire that someday, and I hope I live to experience it, we'll all have robots and AIs in the home called genie/avatars that do our bidding. Google Home (and other assistants) is the first step. Not great. I'm still waiting for it to read me my horoscope and give me life advice. In the meantime, I take comfort in asking it odd questions.

​Every year at this time, I think about where I am versus where I want to be and I become depressed. I am never where I want to be, and as the years drag on, the further I feel I am drifting from my goals.

 This may very well be what I call the "science of aging." In the book, 'The Science of Why,' Daily Planet host, Jay Ingram discusses the belief humans have that "time flies " as you age. The feeling that, getting older, the years blend together. Our memory of time becomes faulty, which is described as a "forward telescoping." An episode we pegged to have happened a year or two ago actually happened six years ago, and so on. Ingram suggests the "time flies" phenonomenon is chalked up to us  having experienced most of our "novelty" life experiences early in our life--most of us reached milestones by the time we're 25,  and so there are fewer "eventful" experiences we have as we age, so years blend together, perhaps out of mundanity.

Of course, depending on who you are and the life you've lived, you may feel more depressed about the passage of time. After all, if you had an active and enviable social life, you may miss your youth more than if you never had much of a social life, anyway. You may feel time more and feel the change of its weight more than someone who hadn't the numeber of "eventful" experiences you've had.

 My father used to describe me at 'old before Iam young," but the truth is, I was never young. I'm not even much of a late bloomer. I never had much of a social life; yet, this doesn't mean I don't feel the weight of time--the sluggish pull of middle age that is creeping up on me. It never was lost on me that by the time my parents were my age, they had two children.

At this age--early 30s, I am childless, and fine with it. It was never my goal to be married with children, yet there's a certain pressure women of a certain age feel to procreate. Maybe the Germans have a word for it, I don't know. It's the feeling of exclusion--that there's something everyone's doing that you're not, or that you can't do something others can do. A limitation. A loss of options--choice.
 
 I always say, you're not old until you're off the calendar. The calendar has 31 days, and this year I passed that. There's also a "what now?" question that repeats itself in my head--a kind of desperate rush to do things, so I can get it over with. This year I had more things going on in my life than previous years. I made the effort to meet new people and find more like-minded companions, and it was worth it.
 
 Yet, end of year is another reminder of unstoppable time. I guess I'm saying: live life to the fullest, and have a Happy New Year!