2023 retrospective + status board
i hope this newsletter finds you well. i, myself, am finding it hard to keep up with things. wasn’t it just august? is it time or is it everything?
doing a recap of the last twelve months feels odd and irrelevant, arbitrary as a calendar. maybe i’m moving into a more seasonal or demi-geologic way of measuring time. maybe i’ve just been more focused on being in the present, so both future and past hold a little less weight. still, my imperfect memory means these status boards are sometimes the summaries i need to re-orient myself with the minutes. so for those i haven’t connected with as much as i’d like this year and for future me, here’s a recap of 2023 in measurable nuggets.
2023 in numbers
# pieces of my writing published: 15
# books of my writing published: 1
# of books read: ~43
# of movies watched: 267
# hours spent watching: 448.6
# of minutes spent streaming music: 100,433
# layoffs in my household: 3
# countries visited: 2
# cities: 50
# miles walked: 164
# miles biked: 100
2023 Greatest Hits
MVPs
dogs, loose leaf teas, AWP2023, agnes varda, my time in two incredible archives, S-TOWN, nerding out about woodcut etchings and vintage illustrations, gay easter, painting my house black, my beloved’s ceramics, store-bought roux in a jar, dennis severs' house, employer-provided health insurance, wearing earplugs kind of everywhere, sublime, pretty much all birds
Film & Television
i returned to sundance in person last january and wrote about it here. (i am not attending 2024’s festival, but hopeful for more accessible hybrid events in the future)
favorite standout films i watched in 2023: aftersun, i am easy to find, cinema paradiso, joyland, 20th century women, george michael’s freedom uncut, petite maman, of an age, ran, the gleaners and i, rotting in the sun, little richard: i am everything, interstellar, the pez outlaw, all that breathes (bold means i loved it enough to watch it twice+ this year)
TV/limited series i loved: normal people, how to with john wilson, true detective season 1, the night logan woke up
still using and loving letterboxd as my sole social media platform
(my year in review is here; unsurprised to learn that my highest-rated theme is “tragic sadness and captivating beauty” and theme is “emotional life of renowned artists”
Music
notable live performances: fever ray, pj harvey, rod stewart
favorites of 2023 (new releases): patrick wolf's enter the day EP, fever ray radical romantics
if you’re a fan of college radio and want to participate in KVSC’s top 88, your ballot is due 1/28
my Best2023 Playlist on spotify
previous years’ BestOf playlists: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Books
i moved my reading list into a Notion database
shortlist of a few favorites: Rebecca May Johnson’s Small Fires: An Epic in the Kitchen, K Iver’s Short Film Starring My Beloved's Red Bronco, Barb Johnson’s More of This World or Maybe Another, Lauren Groff’s Matrix, Kei Miller’s In Nearby Bushes
2023 Firsts
my debut chapbook Root Rot, prescription reading glasses, a halloween without decorating, tattoos, getting drugged at a nightclub, coaching, risograph classes
Leaving Behind
thriving on ordeals (aka crisis addiction), raw oysters, rollercoasters, twitter, possibly substack (here’s why), staying up late, my uterus, owning a scooter, inbox zero, trying to hold back the tide, florida, unnecessary pressure
Keeping
accountability, the good meds, remote work, the portland house, masking, phone dates, rollerskating, a creative practice, low ABV/mocktails
Pondering
place, personal knowledge management systems, histamine’s role in the body, future risograph zines and prints, jericho brown’s duplex
2024 Focus
joy, splendor
<3,
rhienna