September 2018 Recap
Gourds, gourds, gourds! Fall is finally here! Even though it’s still about 90 degrees here in Los Angeles, I am going to pretend that fall weather is here. I love the fall. The cooler, crisp weather and cozy nights. The only thing that I don’t love about fall is the loss of sunlight. I’ve learned recently that I actually really need daylight for my mental health. Especially with my dad’s passing recently, I’ve found that having the sun has really helped me. I am not sure how the darker days are going to be. I really hate waking up when it’s dark. When winter comes I’ll be waking up in the dark and also coming home in the dark, which can be pretty depressing for me. We’ll see what I can do to alleviate this. I’ve thought about getting one of those alarm clocks that mimics the sun rising, but they’re kind of expensive and then I start doing too much research and can’t decide on what to get. Does this happen to anyone else? Do you go down the research hole and then into Indecision City? In the meantime, I thought I’d catch you guys what I’ve been up to in the last month or two. Special thanks to my friend K from The Windy Pages for inspiring this.
Books!
Wow, it feels like I haven’t done much reading this past month. I know that’s pretty much impossible but I can’t really think of what I’ve read except for the last two books I finished which were Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh and Uprooted by Naomi Novik. These are very different books but were both awesome for their own reasons. People had been telling me to read Uprooted for the longest time and I am glad that I finally got around to it. It’s a fantastic book if you love old fashioned dark fairy tales. I also started Renegades by Marissa Meyer recently and I am enjoying it so far.
I got to go to a couple of bookish events last month, too. I volunteer every year for the Pasadena Loves YA book festival in Pasadena, CA. We had a really fun lineup this year. I think my favorite panel was the one with Cory Doctor and Mairghread Scott. They were both so well spoken and interesting. Their panel was so much fun and I highly recommend reading their books if you get a chance.
I also got to see VE Schwab in person! I haven’t read too many of her books but I really like the ones I’ve read. My friend K is a big fan of hers so we had a fun day of eating and book shopping before her event started. We actually didn’t have seats at first but a nice young lady gave us some extra wristbands she had for friends who didn’t show up so we got to sit for the discussion, which was very nice. I picked up her new book Vengeful (which means I should probably read Vicious soon, right?).
Watching
I recently re-watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube. If you don’t know, it’s a modern take on Pride & Prejudice told through the eyes of the middle Bennet sister in the form of a video blog. It was just as good the second time around. I don’t know what it is about this story that is so appealing but I like it in all of its iterations. Definitely check it out if you haven’t already.
I’ve also been using my AMC A-List pass a lot. I previously had MoviePass but gave it up about a month ago when all of the restrictions started getting prohibitive. Recently I’ve seen:
Destination Wedding (Keanu and Winona together again! Reminds me of the 90’s. Very interesting film that feels like a play. Lots of dialogue and existential conversations. Unexpected and funny.)
Peppermint (not great but I love Jennifer Garner)
The Predator (fun and ridiculous!)
A Simple Favor (Twisty and I liked it more than I anticipated. Also, great clothes.)
The House with a Clock in its Walls (Never read the books but fun movie. Great special effects.)
Night School (Not my usual thing but I enjoyed it.)
Knitting
I rarely talk about knitting here but it’s one of my favorite things to do (besides eating, sleeping, and reading). I even have a knitting podcast with my friend K. It’s called Twisted Stitches and you can check it out if you’re so inclined. We talk about what we’re reading at the end of each episode but it’s mostly about knitting. You’ve been warned. I’ve been pretty good about not buying yarn lately. I haven’t had much bandwidth to knit anything complicated so it’s mostly been socks. It’s getting cooler here, though, and I am getting the urge to knit a sweater. I’m almost done with the one I started earlier this year but I won’t let myself start another one until my current sweater is finished. I only have a sleeve left to go, so I am almost there.
Health
I am doing OK health-wise. This week was a funky week and I was kind of depressed and also felt nauseous one night. I haven’t had much energy this week either. Hopefully I’ll get some time to recharge this weekend. I kind of feel like I just want to lay on the couch for a few days but I know I will never do that. I get really antsy I’ve been pretty good about exercising in the last month or two. I usually go to the gym at work 4-5 days a week and also take a Jazzercise class that my friend teaches once a week, too. I also like training using the videos from FitnessBlender. The couple that runs the site are really down to earth. Their videos are pretty short which makes them easy to sneak into a workout at the gym or at home if I don’t have time to go to the gym. I just really like how approachable they are and that they don’t play annoying music during their videos.
Looking Forward To
Halloween! I love Halloween. This year my friend is throwing a Halloween party, which I am looking forward to. I think I’ll be dressing up as Wednesday Addams. I have a dress I bought for that costume last year but never wore. Sadly my hair is too short right now for real braids so I am not sure if Ill get a wig or just wing it with short hair. I am also excited because my friend A and I are going to see a live podcast of My Favorite Murder on Halloween! I’ve also got a bunch of scary movies and shows that I want to watch this month (hopefully I’ll have a separate post on that soon). Let me know if you have any scary movie/show recs.
That’s what I’ve been up to lately. How was your September? What are you looking forward to in October?
