Monthly HapPENings: December

Well, here we are. A new decade lies before us, the old one left behind. I suppose now's as good a time as any to look back at the last month of the 10s, with a few stats from the whole of 2019 thrown in.

Life was pretty normal for December. Well, as normal as it can be for this time of year. I celebrated my birthday, which was a lot of fun! Actually, my whole birthday weekend was absolutely wonderful. One of the best birthdays that I can recall.

I had several Christmas parties/gatherings to go to. My mom's side had theirs fairly early on in the month, while my dad's side had theirs later. I went to one work banquet, then to a party thrown by some of my coworkers. While it was a lot of different things to attend, it was fun!

My Christmas break was a relaxing time at home with my family. I couldn't have asked for a better holiday. It was so lovely to sleep in and just chill most of the time, and I got some wonderful gifts for Christmas. It was a much-needed break, and honestly, I wish it could've been a little longer.

Oh yeah, I also performed in a skit on stage at my church. That was a thing that happened. I was told by several people that I'm a really good actor, so maybe I should look into any acting/voice acting opportunities?

Bookish HapPENings

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I don't usually read books in a series too close together, but I didn't want to forget what had happened in Malice again, so I read Havoc shortly thereafter. It was quite enjoyable! I'd say it was probably better than the first book, but it still wasn't "perfect." That being said, I would still recommend this duology to people who are looking for unique stories. The blending of novel and comic book were done really well, and I'd honestly love to see more authors try new things with their novel's format.

With that, I have read 22 books in 2019. Not as much as I would've maybe liked, but hopefully 2020 will be a more productive reading year, especially if I'm going to be writing more frequently.

HapPENings on the Screen

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I had no doubts that Toy Story 4 would be a worthy entry in the series, and I wasn't wrong. With all the heart and charm of the previous films, it ended the story very well. I fell in love with the old characters all over, grew to love the new ones, laughed a lot at all the humor and jokes . . . and yes, I did cry when the final scene came rolling around. I can see why Tom Hanks and Tim Allen couldn't even look at each other when they were recording their last lines. Well done, team.

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I've been watching a bit more of Once lately, and I'm now getting into the second half of S4. I'm not sure if I really care about the three villainesses so far, but they did do something pretty clever in the last episode I watched. And there was a twist with Maleficent that I wasn't expecting, so props to the writers for that. I'll have to see more before I can fully give my opinion on the second half, as well as the whole season overall.

I finally finished S1 of Trollhunters, and what a finale that was! I mean, the first half of the season was great, but the latter half became even more fantastic. Now I just need S2 to come out really soon (*glares pointedly at Netflix*), because the first season ended on a cliffhanger. Highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a show that captures the spirit of an incredible middle-grade fantasy.

Have I mentioned that S2 of Avatar is somehow better than the first? Because it is. I am very much enjoying the direction it's taking, and I can sense that epic stuff is going to go down as the season progresses. Also, I loved the Ace Attorney flair the last episode I watched had. (Seriously, if anyone wants to get me to like something, just make sure it has some Ace Attorney vibes. I'll probably love it to pieces.)

I knew that S1 of My Hero Academia was going to get more intense, but I just didn't know the when and how. Well, those questions have been answered, and now I am eagerly await how things are gonna end for the first season over the course of the last few episodes I have left to watch. Also, the villain with all those hands over him is both super cool and super creepy, which is what I'd hoped for.

So Attack on Titan is a pretty intense show in general, but holy heck, these last few have been extra thrilling. Especially the last episode I watched. I kid you not, I was actually clenching my hands together or tightly grabbing the couch cushion the entire time, as I sat there upright and stiff. I was so nervous for all the characters, and I have no hot clue how in the world they're going to give the first season any sort of satisfaction in its conclusion.

I have just two episodes left before I'm finished The Flash's fourth season. Things are so up and down for the characters that I feel like everything's going to get messed up in the final two episodes. I know I've said this before, but I really don't know why people have said that this is a sub-par season. It really isn't. I've thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think it's added some amazing characters and built up character arcs very well.

This means that in 2019, I watched 9 TV shows and 14 movies (I did not add any times I saw a movie more than once this year). I'm kinda surprised at how close those numbers are, and yet somehow not.

Gaming HapPENings

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I've enjoyed all of the games I've played on my Switch, but Super Mario Odyssey has to be one of my favorites so far. I know people compare it to Super Mario 64 as that's nostalgic for me, but for me, it brings to mind memories of the two Galaxy titles. I loved--and still love--those games with all my gamer heart, and this feels a little bit like the third entry we never got. And the graphics! I can hardly get over just how jaw-dropping this game looks. From the thread in Mario's clothes to the vast worlds, everything is graphically stunning. I can hardly wait to keep playing!

I decided I wanted to finish the Ace Attorney Trilogy before 2020 rolled around, so I made sure I finished the final case in Trials and Tribulations over Christmas break. Wow . . . my mind is still blown from that conclusion. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. The case was the most intense, the most complex, and my favorite in the whole trilogy. People could honestly take writing lessons from this series.

And no, there's no way I'm gonna be able to figure out just how many games I've played this last year. So don't bother asking.

Writerly HapPENings

Well, I didn't write at all in December. Whoops. I mean, it was a mix of being busy for most of the month (or at least feeling busy) and then just wanting to relax over my break. Ah, well. Hopefully this next month will be more productive in that regard.

If I calculated everything correctly, I wrote approximately 53.2k words in 2019. Seeing as I've never calculated this for any other year, I don't really have anything to compare it to. I think it could be better, but I'm gonna try my best to be satisfied with the progress I did make. After all, any words written is better than none at all.

Well, there you have it. That was my December; how was yours? Did you do anything fun, or did you chill the whole month? Got any fun gifts for Christmas? Any yearly stats you wanna share?