End of Year Annual Report 2011

Didn't quite make it to 50 books. (Darn it.) Got to 49 only because of the six volumes of manga I read. New authors I discovered whose writing I loved: Guy Gavriel Kay, Sarah Monette, and Lois Bujold McMaster. Best non-fiction book: Poetry in Person: Twenty-five Years of Conversation with America's Poets ed. by Alexander Neubauer.

I watched 17 movies. My top three are all Japanese: Solanin, Instant Numa and Detroit Metal City. The first is based on the manga and is heartbreaking. The second is just crazy crazy, and the third is super funny in spite of the music. Best documentary: Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer.

A lot of new dramas I got into this year. My favorite Japanese drama is Keizoku Spec 2. My favorite Korean drama is Secret Garden. American ones: Chuck, Psych and (BBC) Sherlock. I also got into a bit of White Collar and Fringe (just the last couple of seasons).

In terms of fanfic, the fandoms I spent most time on: Stargate Atlantis, BBC Sherlock, X-Men First Class, Hawaii Five-O, and Inception.

New band I started listening to: Airborne Toxic Event. Top three songs for the year are all by the same band (Asian Kung Fu Generation); they are "Solanin," "Mustang," and "All Right Pt. 2." New websites: 8tracks.com and radiolab.org. (Plus all those food/art/style blogs such as: shewhoeats, waterhalo, hipstermusings, etc.) Favorite new illustrator: Yelena Bryksenkova.

I bought a new laptop, and got my first free pair of glasses at work. I made my first rubber stamp: a mushroom. I sponsored a child in India. Got into podcasts. Attended one wedding (Janrose) and missed another (Nesmarie).

And the top 5 life changing events this year: I got certified with a raise after Frank left for Toronto; I got heartburn which enforced a diet and started losing weight; I started a poetry log, sporadically but regularly updated; I joined CYWA on FB and might be published in 2 places?; and I took the citizenship exam!

P.S.
I spent the first day of the year hunting down the first sunrise.

I spent the last day of the year browsing through stalls at the Vancouver Flea Market. I bought old pictures, postcards and stamps. And then I went to my favorite store Regional Assembly of Text and bought two rolls of washi tape, 3 postcards, and a five year memory book. I also bought a set of Pantone postcards, just because I love colors.

I also made two small notebooks using my new paper trimmer, my beloved long-arm stapler, long bond and an old cardboard I got from an old job. I showed them gleefully to my little sisters, and then they both asked for one. Oops.

Yesterday I made the poetry zine, one for my colleague and the other for my sister. I decorated them with stamps. I'm going to make more and more and more...