Here's to you, 2022

   Fuckin' hell mate... I don't post here nearly as much as I used to since being able to let off steam on so many other platforms, but I kinda miss it to be honest. An opportunity to rave and rant a bit without having to assault my friends with all of it.
   However, The Year Review is one of the few cinsistently remaining posts of the blog and so also this year. Here we go!

 

   Our Honoured Dead this year: The absolutely extraordinary Sidney Poitier passed. Rock legend Meat Loaf Aday left us. Ivan Reitman. Bernard Cribbins. The groundbreaking Nichelle Nichols. Our wonderful Angela Lansbury. Robbie Coltrane. Leslie Jordan was a shocker.
   Rest In Power and may you never be forgotten. Thank you.

   2022 started much the same way as 2021 - 'Rona did another victory lap around the globe and in it's wake parties, concerts, and shows got cancelled or postponed.  I was going to go see Henry Rollins together with a very good friend of mine, but no - cancelled. Amaranthe was supposed to play in February but postponed until November and by then I couldn't see them due to double-booking. As I Lay Dying cancelled their whole Europe Tour.

   February was holiday time for me, during which everything seemed to happen all at once; it was another end of covid restrictions, I tried new things (bouldering is fun!), parties returning (damned good fun), Galentine happening (damned good food with damned good company)...
   After that it was booster shot time - cue living with an arm for two days that felt like it'd been in a serious fist fight without the rest of me. Good times.
   Then came more "good times" (sarcasm y'all) with that psycopathic Russian trying to "take back"(?!) Ukraine by late February. Like I said: everything all at once. I'm so fucking DONE with humanity I'm almost hoping for a catastophic nuclear event to wipe us out completely - this planet will be better off without us, believe you me.

   So I donated blood to give at least something to someone.

   The sun started coming out properly by March and I felt like Wall-E soaking it in for energy. Which led to a lot of socialising, and unusual amounts of spontaneity. For instance: I wasn't planning on going to see Eivor live, but when I realised that hers was a concert I could actually attend I went for it like a dog after a rabbit. Her voice is fucking breathtaking.
   Having forgotten all the inconvenience that comes with romantic feelings I was also just about bouncing in my seat to get out there and meet more people, and I think I've been doing ok to be honest. 

   Starting off the first historical market season in two years was Ale Viking Market which I attended with gusto. A few hours was enough though, because people... people be people-ing.

   Russell Howard - a show for which I bought tickets in FUCKING 2019(!!!) and so by May 2022 the whole thing had already been on Netflix for nearly six months. My friend and I were livid, but weren't ready to just do a no-show when we had tickets. Russell's funny and my face hurt afterwards, but I'm still not sure it was worth the wait.

   Between May and when I finally went on holiday in July, I worked my ass off and had time for little else but schooling my new collegues in how not to piss me off. Wilful and strategic ignorance will always grind my gears, which was something they learned very quickly. And harshly. I'm not known to mince words.

   But in between my angry outbursts a friend dragged me along to the Medieval Days at Bohus Fästning just so I could run around and happily play dress-up for a while.

   My four week holiday kicked off with a Rammstein concert, holy hell. Yet another last second decision that, while I love Rammstein's music, it made me realise that huge arena concerts isn't my thing. Give me the smaller venues any day. We couldn't see shit from where we were standing and people in general are assholes. Another solid case of People Be People-ing.

   My first Medieval Week since 2019 brought me good friends, good ale and... COVID. Yeah. Stayed safe for over 2,5 years only to catch a light version while on friggin' holiday. However, my gastritis certainly didn't like being exposed to first massive amounts of alcohol and then antipyretics which meant I had to deal with that particular pain for a while. 
  But then it evened out a bit and I got to actually enjoy a week of holiday with my nearest and dearest.

   Back in 2018 I was furious with elections results but holy shiet...  This time WE ARE DOOMED. I mean, are you kidding me? Over a fifth of all voting Swedes chose to vote for literal nazis?! Fuck right the hell off. Ugh. There are no words for this kind of stupidity.

   Birfday #34 shortly after was a real treat though. Celebrate all the good things in style. 

   LEVELLERS YAY! Third time's the charm, they say. Amaranthe played another venue on the very same night but since I KNOW Levellers to be a good party I went with that. And I was right. A good night with good people.

   And then... Krimmus. Ugh.
   You should know by now how much I hate X-Mas. So I tried to do things a little differently this year: I spent one day with family, one day gaming with a very dear friend and then a one day absolutely decked out with a cold. Ok, so the cold was old hat, but gaming is new!

   New Year's Eve was spent as tradition required of me: with a glass of bubbly neck deep in a tub of bubbles. I've been doing this since 2018, but this year marked the first year since 2016 that I had any kind of company other than my furry ginger flat mate. I had a bath, and he had a post dinner nap (my human company, not the cat).

Best of 2022 experiences:

Movies: The Adam Project was a true Ryan Reynolds movie - tight, not too intellectually taxing and a good ride. I liked it a lot. I finally caved in and started leeching off of a friend's Disney+ and watched Encanto - it's quite lovely y'all. Don't Worry Darling with Florence Pugh was quite... disturbing... but chillingly engrossing.
Shows: Lets see, lets see... PEACEMAKER. Wow. So much better than I expected it to be. I want to put The Magnus Archives here as well, despite it being a mix between a podcast and an audiobook. An audio show, and quite brilliant at that. Stranger Things, OBVIOUSLY because friggin' awesomeness. HOLY SHIT, MOTHER OF FUCK - season 3 of The Boys! Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy was far superior to season 2. Aaaand, finally, the first Marvel show I've enjoyed since Daredevil; Hawkeye. *chef's kiss* Loki was ok too I guess.
Literature: As previous covid years, this year has gifted me many a literary experience, though because I could finally hang out with my people I "only" went through 75 books this year. I was enthralled entirely by 'The Testaments' by Margaret Atwood. 'The Fifth Season' by N.K. Jemisin was extraordinary. "The Past Is Red" by Catherynne M. Valente was an engulfing read. Someone handed me a copy of 'Daggerspell' by Katharine Kerr to read and WOAH did I enjoy it. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse was bloody brilliant - exceptional - FANTASTIC. Sir Terry Pratchett's 'I Shall Wear Midnight' was equal parts sweet and brilliant, and 'The Blacksmith Queen' by G.A. Aiken was a silly romp. Recommended, all of them.
Events: I made some crazy good food y'all! Though I've never been a party gal I've enjoyed more than a few decadent parties during the year. I persistently tried building relationships in new ways to find a way working for me. I can't say I've found My Way yet, but I've also yet to give up. As a human species we've managed to grow food in lunar soil, instal enought solar panels to be able to power all of Europe and we've eaten more plant-based foods than ever before. Also we've finally mapped the entire humane genome and may have found a cure to most common cancers. There's hope for us yet.

I made my girlfriend a Chocolate Death cake
and she loved it.

   I'm grateful for the people I've met during 2022. I'm grateful for the things I've dared say yes to. I'm grateful for the changes I've been forced to make. I'm proud that I've made efforts to maintain friendships and relationships during 2022. I'm proud that I've dared open up to people and let them in despite being absolutely terrified. On a personal level, I'm hopeful for 2023 and looking forward to breaking through new walls.

   However! 2022 was also yet another sickening roller-coaster I can't wait to get off. Though I've had some emotional positive highs, them lows were real gut-punchers that left me gasping for breath (remember: literal nazi's in government). SO FUCK YOU 2022.

   Am now expecting nothing less than earthquakes, flash floods, vulcano eruptions, several cyclons and actual nuclear fallout in 2023. Will honestly be disappointed by anything less. But we've proved to be a sturdy bunch us humans, though we might break apart a little now and then. We've survived this far.
Bring it, Universe 💜 

Bubbly in Bubbles is the stuff. 

Happy Hobbit Day

   I have celebrated this glorious day all according to tradition by dressing up hobbit-y and preparing plenty of food. Admittedly, it was mostly lunch prep for work but it still counts.
   As a way of luring myself out of the flat I also went for a coffee with a new friend at my local nerdy café. It'll have to do for celebration, and truly, I don't think Bilbo nor Frodo would mind having their birthday celebrated that way.

   I myself have also reached a whole new age level, and am now... mostly overwhelmed to be honest. In the last year I've become romantically close to a select few people that has come to mean very much to me. Together with my best friend they decided that this was the year that I'd be spoiled rotten as a way of making up for the covid years of no celebration at all. I was wined and dined by friends the night before my birthday and as for my birthday I went from a dreamy breakfast in bed worthy of a hobbit with one partner (and my metamour) to a movie night drowning in cuddles and cheesy pizza with another person I'm dating.

   It feels a bit bizarre to be a reasonably functional adult reduced to some childish goo by the simple act of receiving thoughtful gifts. I've never been very good with compliments or being in the centre of attention because I keep asking myself about other people's hidden agenda, so birthdays are a strange lil' challenge for me. Don't get me wrong, I love being celebrated and noticing people making an honest effort on my account, but I'm still incredibly uncomfortable with it. I get awkward and act like I'm an embarrassed five-year-old.

   However, now as I wear the clothes, or read the books, eat the chocolate, or watch the movies I was gifted I won't be able to deny that there are people out there who likes me. People who made an effort for me. And that sure is a fantastic feeling.

The Hutt Recommends: The Past Is Red

 The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

   A novella set far into the future when we, the Fuckwits of the past, have finally destroyed the planet with our constant consumerism and greed. The ice caps are gone and the oceans have swallowed everything in blue endlessness except for small patches of human resiliance. Our girl Tetley lives on an island of garbage floating above the ruins of cities that were once taken for granted the way Garbagetown will never be. Especially not by Tetley who's sacrificing so much for its continued existance. She will tell you that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place, that it's full of hope but that there are some secrets that are better kept secret.

I LOVED IT THOROUGHLY.

   Beautiful language and imagery for a future we fear. Phenomenal pacing; everything fell into place right when I needed it to. It took me three days to get through in the middle of a work week and I'll gladly sacrifice some more sleep to read this again when time's right.

The Hutt Recommends: The Magnus Archives

 The Magnus Archives by Jonathan Sims

The Magnus Archives is a horror audio series written by Jonathan Sims distributed by Rusty Quill and can be easily accessed through Spotify.

I usually get bored with horror podcasts, but after being recommended The Magnus Archives from two independent sources I was ready to give it a try. My expectations were as low as they could get, but I'm ready to admit I was hooked after the first episode; lured in by the bait of an angler fish in a dark alley in Edinburgh... Every episode is a manageable 20 minutes long and consists of interweaving stories of paranormal experiences - on the one hand there are the witness statements, but then what really happened to the old Head Archivist of The Magnus Archives? And what was she looking for in all those old statements? What's going on in the basement?!

I've gone through three seasons already and am going to start on season four soon. It's an excellent balance between suspense and pure creepy.

My favourite national holiday: BOKREA

 This tuesday was the start of every book worm's favourite annual holiday

 - BOKREAN, or THE GREAT BOOK SALE.

Once started as an initiative to pump up dwindling book sales figures and blowing air into the dying corpse of the book market. To think it used to kick around larger amounts of money than Christmas... But while I detest Krimmus The Great Book Sale is something I look forward to every year. This despite the fact that book shops these days seem to raid the same wholesalers for whatever 5 different thrillers and detective novels someone forgot in a dusty corner of a warehouse. Or some cook book that didn't do too well when first published.

If you're lucky though, like me, you live in a city with a book shop dedicated to all things nerdy which means you'll instead find an assortment of scifi, urban fantasy and fantasy books with savagely reduced price tags. They'll also cull "shelf warmers" to make space for new fun stuff.

I start with a budget. A reasonable amount of money.

And then I break that budget. With gusto.

I don't dick around when I get the opportunity to make new imaginary friends.

Just get the jab

 94% of all Intensive Care patients with Covid in Sweden right now are unvaccinated. 88,6% of everyone dying from the virus is above 70 years of age.

Get vaccinated you filthy animals. If not for you, then for your elders.

Have some fucking respect - show some empathy.

Edit 2022-02-17: Took the booster. Am boosted.