BLOG (PERSONAL) -- Perspectives/Memories in 2013, Top Whatevers, Top Exposures, and New Year's Resolutions

Around this time, there are always a lot of things I could blog about -- Christmas day + Christmas gifts, Boxing week spoils (because passing up sales is very hard for me), reflecting on the current year. Since I cringe every time I think about my Boxing week purchases this year (I didn't buy them during Boxing week, but during their Holiday Sales -- to me they count as Boxing week purchases), I'm going to do my year-in-review blog. But first, I'll revisit my New Year's Resolutions for 2013, and list my resolutions for 2014.


(REVIEW) New Year's Resolutions for 2013
- "Work out" at least once a week (not sure how I will define "work out" right now) -- NOPE

- Save money -- DONE (On top of my regular monthly savings, I was able to save some more)

- Work out a monthly budget -- DONE (I set this up soon after New Year's)

- Sell more of my stuff (I have a lot of stuff on my "to-sell" pile; I need to take the initiative and sell them) -- DROPPED (I did sell a good number of my stuff this year, but I also bought a lot of stuff; I'm not sure how to gauge this)

- Read at least 100 pages of my Python textbook -- NOPE (I read about 20 pages)

- Read at least 50 pages of one of my Japanese textbooks -- DONE (Woot!)

- Create a text-based game -- NOPE (I was planning on creating one for this holiday, but I ran out of time :()

- Watch a play (if something good is on) -- NOPE (Didn't get a chance to check out any listings) 

- Watch a musical (if something good is on) -- NOPE (Didn't get a chance to check out any listings)

- Write a story (short story, play, whatever) -- NOPE (Not completing this bothers me -- I don't want to be a "person who calls themselves a writer, but DOESN'T write" :( )

- Read a book (not manga) -- DONE (Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion)

- Expose myself to at least 12 games that I physically own -- DONE 

- Beat at least 5 games that I physically own -- DONE (Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd | Samurai Western | Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale | WarioWare D.I.Y. | Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth || + 7 more physical games)

- Beat at least 5 games that I digitally own -- DONE (The Walking Dead | Fable | One Piece: Pirate Warriors | Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble | Sound Shapes || + 3 more digital games)

- Reach Chapter 600 in One Piece manga so I can play One Piece: Pirate Warriors without worry about spoilers. -- DONE (This took a while. But I did it!)

To sum up: Out of my 15 resolutions, I completed 8, dropped 1, and did not do 6. That's... not good, in my opinion. I need to step up my game! Especially with my writing and learning Python / Japanese. I completed my Japanese-related resolution, but I can do so much better than that. I know I can! With that, here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2014:


New Year's Resolutions for 2014
- "Work out" at least once a week (I still want to do this. Even if it's just me stretching every morning or lifting weights while watching Youtube videos -- I want to establish some kind of routine that will keep my joints active)
- Save money
- Spend at least 100 hours on learning Python
- Spend at least 100 hours on learning Japanese
- Finish "scripting" (not sure if that's the right term) my text-based game that I started about 4 years ago
- Create a text-based game
- Create at least 1 story (short story, play, whatever)
- Create at least 1 song with the Hatsune Miku English program
- Watch at least 20 (or ALL) anime series I haven't watched that are in my collection
- Read at least 5 (or ALL) books (not manga) I haven't read that are in my collection
- Listen to at least 10 (or ALL) music CDs I haven't listened to that are in my collection
- Expose myself to at least 20 games that I physically own
- Expose myself to at least 10 games that I digitally own
- Beat at least 5 games that I physically own
- Beat at least 5 games that I digitally own
- Read up to the latest chapter in the One Piece manga -- simply because I want to be all caught up.
- Take that trip to Japan (I'm excited, but am also nervous -- it will be my first time travelling out of the country)


Now... I think this list is very ambitious. It's time-consuming, no doubt. I don't expect to complete them all, but I want to do this. For all my collection-related resolutions -- I'm tired of having so much media backlog. I want my collection more defined and polished so that whenever I move out, I have a clearer idea of what's coming along with me. 

Now, if you wonder: why don't you just throw out some of your collection to reduce your backlog?, my response is that I can't. If I threw something out, and later found out that I loved it, I would regret it. And as small as that may seem, that kind of regret is something I'll always remember, so no. I can't do it. 



2013 in Review
2013 was a year full of changes -- externally and internally. In comparison to last year, there were a lot more staffing changes (people leaving, mainly), and some of those affected me directly this year. The team I've been used to for the past 2 years was dissolved and now I answer to a new boss, and have new team-mates. It's different, that's all I'll say.

Internally, I feel myself slightly changing. My priorities are shifting. Maybe I'm finally "growing up" (My inner voice says, Nooooooooooo!!)? Let's just hope my changing doesn't make me out to be a jerk in the end. If it does, somebody please tell me! 

"My theme song" this year: 1/6 -Out of the Gravity- by Pokariodo-P (AKA Odo-P or Nao). Ever since I found the Youtube video for this song with English translations, I love it. While it's not always the case, knowing a song's meaning can really make a difference sometimes. I haven't memorized the Japanese lyrics, so I can't really sing it, but I hum it a lot. When I do hum it, I feel better about my situation sometimes (during those times when I feel really swamped with / overwhelmed by my never-ending To-dos).

Last year, I did an a cappella version of my theme song. I just tried it now with a karaoke track, and I sound terrible. So no singing from me this time. ^.^'



Notable/Significant Memories/Events in 2013
Cherry Blossom-watching: Despite having such difficulty meeting up with my friends, the cherry blossoms were very pretty, and I enjoyed it.

Attending Anime North 2013: It's been years since I last attended, and it was fun.

Attending Fan Expo 2013: I wanna see that hot guy again! Lol.

Finding out that William Sleator passed away: This shifted my world somewhat. Thinking about it still makes me sad.

Having group gaming days with friends: Fun times. I'm looking forward to the next one. :)

Spending time with my friends: Didn't get much of a chance this year to spend some time with friends, so I was always glad when I could.

Blogging for two years: Woot! I'm still proud of myself.

Getting the PS4: I really didn't need to get one on launch day, but I'm happy to have it.


Top Whatevers in 2013
This is my top list of what was released in 2013 that I experienced. This list will be really short since most of what I experience are released before 2013.

(Movie): Warm Bodies
I love this movie so much. I actually consider it one of my all-time movie favourites.

(Video Game): Shin Megami Tensei IV [PS3]
I love the SMT series. I didn't start playing SMT 4 until months after I got it. But as soon as I did, I fell in love. <3



Top Exposures in 2013
This is my top list of what I was exposed to this year, regardless of what year it really came out in. Any titles with two years indicate the original release date, then the English release date.

(Anime): Tari Tari (2012)
Tari Tari is a really nice series. It's mainly about high school characters chasing their dreams / desires, which definitely appeals to me. There are also tons of singing. If I like the music (which I do here), that's a big plus! It's such a sweet show.

(TV show): Tie between Legend of Korra -- Season 1 (2012) and Dragon's Den (2006-ongoing)
I loved Avatar: The Last Airbender, so I was really glad that Legend of Korra was on par. I wished there was a bit more characterization, though. For Dragon's Den, it's the only TV series that I tend to watch whenever I visit my sister. I've only watched Season 5 and a bit of Season 6 so far, and it is interesting, for the most part.

(Movie): Warm Bodies (2013)
Still the top amongst all my movie exposures this year.

(Video Game): Tie between 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (2009/2010) [DS] and The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) (2012) [PSN]
These two games are really great. They both have strong storytelling, and they have their own plot-altering interactions. It just adds that much weight to your choices. They also have really strong characterizations.

(Song - English): Yamaha by Delta Spirit (2012)
There's this hopeful, determined feeling to this song that I like, even though the lyrics seem a little sad.

(Song - Japanese): 1/6 -Out of the Gravity- by Pokariodo-P (AKA Odo-P or Nao) (2010?)
I've tried searching for an official release of this song (I want to own the CD single or whatever!), but to no avail. So I don't really know for sure what year this song was created / published.

(Book): Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (2011?)
You may think I chose this because I really loved the movie. That is not the case at all. The hopeful and hopeless atmosphere, the fleshed out characters and universe, the writing style... that is why Warm Bodies the novel is my top book exposure this year.

(Manga): Azumanga Daioh (1999-2002/2003-2004)
It took me long enough to start reading the series, even though I absolutely loved the anime. Reading it makes me very nostalgic -- I want to watch the anime now, lol.

(Celebrity): Nicholas Hoult (as R)
I didn't know who Nicholas Hoult was until I watched Warm Bodies. After that, he was on my radar like you couldn't believe. I even watched another movie just because he was in it (Jack and the Giant Slayer). He did that good a job of playing R. He also looked super-cute as R. :)

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And that's that for my review of 2013.

Last year, I noted a few things / changes that I anticipated in 2013. Here they are again and what happened with them:
- A better phone (I did get a better phone)
- Possibly signing up for Netflix (This didn't happen)
- Getting a passport? (Done!)
- Something (I did experience a ton of changes this year, so yes, this happened)


 
Now, here are a few things / changes I anticipate in 2014 for me:
- Having less media in my collection (If I can really do all that I listed in my New Year's Resolutions, then I expect this!)
- Possibly subscribing my life away to Final Fantasy XIV (I did buy the game -- it's just a matter of when I create an account and start my free month)
- Possibly preparing to move out (Key word here is "possibly". I don't know -- I guess I am in that phase, desiring to leave "the nest" as they say)
- A completely new experience (I imagine this will happen from going to Japan)
- Bags under my eyes, and tons of it (I hope that this doesn't happen, but, well, I can't be too sure, lol...)



If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you all have a great 2014. And just for fun (I blame my work for me getting excited over this), here's a % breakdown of my spending in 2013 (excluding necessities like my cell phone plan, transportation expenses, etc.).

I think I need to spend more money on clothes. "Misc" includes stuff like lotto tickets, movie tickets, course registrations, birthday / special occasion gifts, etc. I think I'll want to add a "Movie / Venue Ticket" category in 2014.
 
 
Anywho, thanks again for reading and have a Happy New Year! You will most likely read this same line when I post my end-of-month blog for December. :)