Monthly HapPENings: January

Why, oh why, is the first month of the year over already? Seriously, though! I could've sworn it was Christmas break just the other day.

There weren't really any special events or notable occasions that occurred in January. It was pretty much life as usual: work on weekdays, relax on weekends, and everything else in between. I did go into the nearby city with a couple of my cousins to eat supper and watch a movie in the theater, but other than that, there wasn't much out of the ordinary. Life goes on.

Bookish HapPENings

While I was hoping to finish at least one book this month, that goal was not met. Hopefully I'll get more reading done in February. It's just something that I need to make more time for in my life. It's too easy to do things like waste time on my phone when I could instead read more often.

HapPENings on the Screen

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After being very disappointed with how Justice League turned out, I went to watch Aquaman with little to no expectations. I was blown away by how great it turned out to be. Honestly, I'd have to say it's one of my favorite DC movies to date. I did a full review on my blog, which you can find here.

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Venom was another movie where I had low expectations at first and was blown away by the end. I had no idea the movie would end up being so comedic at times. Hardy's Venom was a lot more enjoyable than the one in Spider-Man 3, lemme tell you that much. While a couple of plot points were predictable, and while I wish the final battle had been drawn out longer, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and am looking forward to the sequel.

My youngest two sisters and I are finally rewatching the second season, which is just as good as it was the previous times I've seen it. As I'm remembering things that happen in this season, I'm looking forward to it more and more. It's also fun to pick up the hints and clues that you had never noticed the first or even second time. (Also, the last episode of S1 made me cry a lot once again . . . it always does.)

I'm enjoying Avatar: The Last Airbender the more I watch it. It's actually making me want to look into other anime, even though it's technically not a "true anime" or whatever. The show's got some great humor, and while it doesn't always stay focused on the plot, I'm still very interested to see where it all goes.

Looking at Trollhunters, and seeing that its animation is very similar to that of How to Train Your Dragon, I assumed the show would be . . . I dunno, family-friendly? And it is . . . but at the same stuff, there's stuff that catches me off-guard, particularly with some of the violence. For example, there's a little goblin that gets run over by a delivery truck, and even if we don't see the incident itself, we get a look at the aftermath: a crushed corpse with a tire track down the middle and green goop splattered around. I mean, HtTYD has gotten somewhat dark at times, and I guess I've forgotten about that.

Nothing that I've mentioned above has lessened my entertainment, and I do hope the next two seasons are released on DVD. It's a great show, and one that should get as much as love as possible.

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I just saw Day of the Departed for the second time, and I quite liked it! I remember there not being a whole lot of plot, and there wasn't. At the same time, there was more than I remembered, and honestly, how much can you really do in a 45 minute special? It definitely had some great humor, and it was fun to see (almost) all of the villains back in action. But what I'm most excited about is that Hands of Time, the seventh season of Ninjago, is up next, and I've never seen it before. I can hardly wait!

Gaming HapPENings

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This is virtually the only game I've played on my 2DS XL this month, and my gosh, is it ever so good! Like, I'd recommend the crap out of it. Not only has it made me love the titular characters from both the Professor Layton and Ace Attorney franchises, but it's done so without me having ever played any of those games before. The plot is so intriguing, the music is epic (one of the only games where I'll stay on the title screen until the song is finished playing), the characters are brilliant, and it's just spectacular overall. Plus, it's caught me by surprise a few times, and it's even made me cry. And trust me, I cry over very few games. If the 15 hours I invested in the game last month doesn't convince you that I'm in love with it, then nothing will.

Writerly HapPENings

I didn't do a whole lot of writing in January--1,340 words, to be precise--but at least I got some stuff done. I added a prologue to the story and a couple pages to the chapter I'm currently writing. I'm nearing the point where I don't really have anything planned, but I'm sure I'll figure out. I'm also finding it easier and easier to ignore the editor side of my brain and tell myself, "If this needs fixing, I can do so later."

I will mention here a quick update about the "choose your own adventure" post series. I have mentioned that I wanted to start it in early 2019, and in my head, that meant January. Obviously, that's not going to happen, as January is over and I don't really have anything planned out yet. So hopefully I'll be able to start within the next couple months.

That's it, that's all! I hope I didn't bore you all with this post. What did you do in January? Are you happy or disappointed that it's now February? What're your plans for this next month? Do tell all!