A Holiday Letter: 2018 edition

Dear Readers,

I suppose this is a like a Holiday letter of sorts, although I'm not actually sure how those work... Not really a thing my family has ever done. It has been an inappropriately long time since I last posted anything here (January 3rd, 2018). It has not been for a lack of trying, however it has been for a lack of... myself.

This past year has been a trying one, and an exalting one. January saw me at the lowest I've been in an extremely long time, while months later had me at one of my highest highs. Writing this is hard, not because of the subject matter, merely because I have not exercised these muscles in some time, and forming the sentences is literally a struggle. I hate this, but it's my own fault.

I said this was a Holiday letter! I'm pretty sure people usually write these by dividing the letter into monthly sections? Sure.

January:
January was bad. Like I said earlier, January saw me at one of my lowest points. I have been open in the past about my mental health issues, and the struggles that come with. I am bad at being open with my depression, and even worse at dealing with it. Well, January saw me check myself into the local hospital on a suicide watch. It was an exhausting time, to put it mildly. Much of the following weeks and months were a dull blur due to the new medications that I was on. A convenient excuse for not writing!--if I were looking for one. There was a bright spot at the end of January, my roommate Bethany invited one of her co-workers over for some Dungeons and Dragons. Her name was Ashton, and she was (and is) radiant.

February:
My birth month has been historically a bad one for my mental health, but luckily for me there was no way it was going to be worse than January. Bethany surprised me by inviting several friends over, and getting a nice big ice cream cake for my birthday. Ashton, and her brother (who was also now playing dnd with us) were there as well. By this time, Ashton and I were messaging each other constantly, and we were both hoping to become more than friends. I had planned to ask her out to Black Panther as our first date, but because of the medication I was still getting used to, I wasn't comfortable driving, so it ended up being more of a group thing, than a romantic date. We still had a great time though. The pub we went to for supper after the movie was hosting Disney Trivia that night. We do consider this to be our first date, but it wasn't officially anything?

March:
This was the month we officially started dating according to our friends and families. I don't remember too much else about March. I know that this was the month I stopped going to counselling, which was stupid of me. We went to my parents at the end of the month for Easter. Ashton and my parents hit it off quickly, with my mom showing her all the embarrassing childhood pictures.

April:
April started with archery, a skill I used to teach at summer camps. We all went out to our friend Andrew's farm and shot arrows for a few hours. There was still snow on the ground, but the air was starting to warm up, and it felt really good to get outside and do something like that. April also included Ashton and I going to pretty much my favourite restaurant in the province: DeJa Vu Cafe, a chicken joint in Moose Jaw. April also included the release of Infinity War, which ended up being a very emotional date for the both of us.

May:
May marked our first out of province trip as a couple: unfortunately it was to Edmonton to visit her uncle in the hospital (he recovered, and is fine now). While the circumstances around the trip were not exactly the greatest, the trip was still nice, and did provide a nice escape from our every day. And, randomly, my adopted sister Katrina was in Edmonton at the same time, so we had a nice meal out with her. May was always when we began talking about moving in together.

June:
June was the month we moved in together, officially, although if I'm being honest, we had basically been living together for a while at that point. June also marked the beginning of Summer! My favourite season in Canada. I love the outdoors and swimming. I began to drag Ashton out to the local lake as often as I could. We took some amazing photos over the summer at that lake.

July:
July marked the first time we spent significant, well, time apart from each other. I did not like it. That's all I'm going to say about the time apart. Picking her up at the airport felt amazing though, it was hard not to cry when I saw her walk through the gate.

August:
I don't know exactly when I knew that I was going to propose to Ashton, I do know that it was ridiculously early in our relationship (especially since in August our relationship was only 6 months in). On August 4th, I asked Ashton to marry me; she said yes. And as she is currently sitting beside me working on her art, I'm pretty sure she meant it. August, and July before it, had a lot of time spent with friends and at the lake, soaking in as much of the summer heat as possible. August also saw the introduction of Jack-O, an orange tabby that was an engagement present from her parents.

September:
In September, Doug Jones (Star Trek: Discovery, Hellboy, The Shape of Water) touched my beard and it was amazing. I'm fairly certain some other stuff happened in September as well, but that's all I can remember right now.

October:
Our first Halloween. A big one. Turned out, Halloween was super important to both of us. I went as one of my DnD characters, and Ashton went as Hawkgirl. We ended up spending the day in the city with Andrew and his girlfriend, Marin. It was really nice; Ashton and Marin got to go trick or treating (only one house told them that they were too old), and we all got to spend some stress-free bonding time together. Plus we saw a car decked out like Ecto-1, the Ghostbusters' car.

November:
Oddly enough, November is the month I'm having the hardest time recalling. Like, I know stuff happened? Maybe? I don't actually know. Ashton's 28th birthday happened, which I tried my hardest to make as special as possible. Her favourite food is spaghetti, so I made a sauce from scratch, and baked her a french vanilla cake with a maple frosting. We had a bunch of our friends over, hung out and played dnd. It was a good night, one which I hope to top next year.

December:
Well, December is now, so I can't say too much about it yet.

That's it, a whole year distilled into a short letter. A year that began terribly, but ended up being one of the best.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Much love,

Top Pop Culture Moments of 2017!

It's a new year, so let's reflect on 2017's best pop culture moments! This list will cover films, television, and games from January to the end of December, so there will be spoilers! Consider yourself warned! 

The list will be numbered, but it's all arbitrary--numbers just make things easier! 

1. Logan: Laura's big reveal

We knew going in that X-23 would be making her film debut in Wolverine's last outing. What we didn't know was how amazing it was going to be. The film itself is full of heartbreak and real emotion. It's pretty hard not to cry during several of the film's more emotional moments. On the bright side, it was pretty hard not to cheer when Laura popped her claws for the first time, and even harder not to when she showed off her talons.

You can watch the scene here. 

2. Wonder Woman: No Man's Land

If you've seen the movie, you already knew that this would be on the list. In this moment, this wonderful moment, Wonder Woman is fully realized. This scene shows perfectly who she is, and what she fights for. I had goose bumps watching this scene in theatres, and I felt a similar thrill watching it again at home.

You can watch the scene here (and I really think you should).

3. Game of Thrones: Loot Train Attack

Picking a single moment from season 7 of Game of Thrones was a hard thing to do. There were several scenes that were in contention, but the loot train attack won out in the end. This was the first time that the dragons were truly and fully unleashed upon Dany's enemies, and the battle where the Lannisters found out what their new enemy was capable of. And to be frank, their new enemy was way more capable than them. Fun side note: HBO broke the world record for most stuntpeople on fire for this scene! 

You can watch the scene here. 

4. Mass Effect Andromeda: Arriving in Helios

Say what you want about the latest entry in the Mass Effect franchise, but that opening scene and mission was epic. The hopeful colonists arriving in a new galaxy only to find out nothing is how it's supposed to be, and no contact from the other ships? Everything really felt hopeless, and that feeling only grew when Alec Ryder, your characters father, and humanity's Pathfinder, died. Alone, leaderless, and trapped in another galaxy? This was a huge shake up to the franchise. 

The whole thing takes a fair amount of time to play through, so instead I'll leave the trailer here, and a scene with one of my favourite lines here. 

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2: Yondu's Sacrifice

Volume 2 was all about family. Peter Quill finally met his biological father (who turned out to be a dick), and then realized that Yondu had been his dad this entire time. As Yondu himself put it: "He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn't your daddy." Volume 2 was full of emotional beats, and I almost went with Yondu's funeral, but I feel like his sacrifice stands out just a little more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a tissue for an unrelated reason. 

You can watch the scene here. 

6. Wolfenstein The New Colossus: Starting the Second American Revolution

Wolfenstein takes place in an alternate history where the Nazis won WWII. Not only did they win, they conquered the entire planet. Your character, doesn't think that's right, and with the help of a few like minded individuals they start a revolution in Europe, and in The New Colossus, they bring that fight to America. The game is full of newspaper articles and postcards that fill in the fictional history and bring the world to life. And, bonus kinda, with how the real world was in 2017, it was cathartic to mow down fictional Nazis. The game is surprisingly emotional and heavy for a shooter, but it does have plenty of moments that get the player revved up! Especially the ending. You kill the Nazi general that's been your main rival for the past 2 games on live national television, and then your partners give a rousing speech to the American people. And then the credits roll. 

You can watch the scene here.

7. Star Trek Discovery: Cadet Tilly Swearing

Discovery is the first new Star Trek TV series since Enterprise went off the air. The showrunners wanted to create a series that reflected Trek's vision, and make it a show for the modern audiences. I personally think they have achieved this goal. One of my favourite moments of the first season was a simple one. Cadet Tilly, Specialist Burnham, and Lieutenant Stamets were doing some sciencey stuff, and Tilly got excited at a discovery. She called it "fucking cool". Star Trek has dropped some swears in the past, not many though, and never the f-bomb. But it worked. 

You can watch the scene here. 

8. Stranger Things: Steve giving Dustin hair advice

I loved Steve and Dustin's banter in the second season of Stranger Things. Steve grew into an amazing character, and was so protective of the kids. I loved listening to Steve and Dustin complain about the women in their lives, but it was was when Steve gave Dustin hair advice, that I really fell in love. 

You can watch the scene here. 

9. Star Wars the Last Jedi: Throne Room Fight

I'm not going to go super into this one, because I know there are still people who haven't watched the latest Star Wars, and would get upset if I ruined something this cool. 

So instead of the scene, here's one of the trailers. 

10. Spider-Man Homecoming: Peter meets Liz's Dad

I saw someone else describe this scene as the moment Peter realizes he can't be a normal teen and Spider-Man at the same time. I think that's a good thought. Personally, I see it as the moment Peter realizes that even the bad guys can have families, and that maybe life isn't black and white. But no matter how you interpret the scene, it is fantastically done. 

You can watch the scene here. 

11. Thor Ragnarok: literally the entire thing

This entire movie is wonderful. The character's relationships, the cast's chemistry, the writing. Everything. So many quotable lines, so many stunning shots. Every scene with Korg. Thor and Loki being brothers and adversaries. Go and watch this movie. Right now. Seriously. 

Here's a random scene with Korg to watch! 

Alright, those are my top 11 pop culture moments from 2017! I hope you enjoy! Here's looking forward to what 2018 will bring!