Greetings, Internet! Happy New Year! I just passed 100 subscribers on YouTube (feel free to subscribe if you haven’t yet!), started bingeing “Binge Mode,” and I’ve got my 2021 resolutions all set. Daily summaries are below!

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight (12/25/20)

• A very merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!
• My parents came over, we ate lots, and watched “March of the Wooden Soldiers.” It’s tradition.
• After that, we listened to Leon Redbone’s “Christmas Island” album. Again, it’s tradition.
• Got to FaceTime a bit with my sister and niece! My niece opened her present from me before we could get on FaceTime, but she seems to like it?
• Do Star Wars movies count as holiday films? Seriously, I’m curious. Those and LOTR films. There’s always a Harry Potter marathon around the holidays, but I’d never really considered them holiday films (I mean, sure, there’s usually a Christmas scene or two, but those usually aren’t pivotal to the plot). I don’t know, I watched “The Empire Strikes Back” yesterday thinking about how there’s a snow-covered planet, and a family reunion. So, I don’t know, maybe?
• Wound cleaning, because duh.
• Currently feeling: I’m going to use this section this week to go down my list of last year’s resolutions to see how I fared and how I feel about that. First item on my list last year? Twelve blog posts. I was intending to do one per month, but then the pandemic hit and I ended up doing a weekly blog. This would be my 45th post for the year, so it’s safe to say that I nailed that resolution. I had intended for my blog posts to consist of more than “here’s what I did today,” but it’s a pandemic and I’m a historian. I needed to record everything. And holy cow, I started off recovering from wisdom teeth surgery. It feels like so long ago. Also, I’ve written more blog posts this year than the number of times I’ve gone outside. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
• Currently looping: Leon Redbone’s “Christmas Island.” Again, it’s tradition.

Day Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine (12/26/20)

• Did arm exercises while listening to Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s podcast, because there was an episode on medieval astronomy, so I kind of needed to have a listen.
• Found out that one of my doormen is something of a medieval history enthusiast. He asked if he could read some of my research, so I lent him a copy of my undergrad thesis (which I’m still super proud of). I hope he likes it!
• Recorded the video for Thursday’s cover. Five screens. It’s happening.
• Wrote out some holiday cards while watching “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” If you get a card from me that randomly starts talking about going to see the elves, I apologize in advance.
• Wound cleaning! Ugh, what else is new?
• Guys, I’m at 97 subscribers on YouTube. That’s hilarious. I don’t pressure people to subscribe, so I’m shocked that the number has been creeping up steadily. Although now that I’m so close to 100, I might pressure you, dear reader, to subscribe (but I’m half joking, because if you subscribe and basically ignore my channel, I think YouTube automatically unsubscribes you over time).
• I’m kind of tired, but that’s probably from drinking two days in a row. And from going to bed around 1am last night and setting an alarm for 7:30am. And from having a small surgical wound that needs to be cleaned twice a day. And from filming the video portion of a cover for three hours straight. Yeah, those are all plausible reasons for being tired.
• Currently feeling: Another resolution from last year was to get three written pieces published for pay. This was a fail. I got one research project (non-academic) that paid me, but it was a scout report more than something publishable. But at least they paid?
• Currently looping: Norah Jones’ “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” live cover (like a “live from home” cover). She’s such a calming presence.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety (12/27/20)

• Went outside for groceries and a matcha latte!
• Drank my latte while watching “Soul” (the new Pixar movie). Hit me in the feels. It does for life purpose what “Inside Out” did for feelings. Now someone else needs to watch it so I can talk to them about it, because it reminds me of a Buddhist teaching my mother told me about years ago. Also, between this and “The Good Place,” there’s a lot of Buddhist teaching going around. I dig it.
• I’ve been listening to “Binge Mode” more than before. I went hard when “Game of Thrones” was airing (although I think I was listening more to their post-episode commentary than the actual “Binge Mode” series), but now I’m hooked on their Marvel episodes.
• Ordered discounted holiday cards for next year. Also mailed some cards out.
• I’m at 100 subscribers on YouTube. Um. Wow. It might go down to 98 subscribers tomorrow (I tend to lose subscribers on the daily as I gain them because some channels have realized that, no, I do not wish to subscribe to their video game reviewing channel), but still, wow. Again, I really don’t pressure people to subscribe, so this is a pleasant surprise.
• Total times outside: Thirty-nine!
• Currently feeling: Another resolution from last year? I told myself that I would either ask someone out or go on a date five times. Given that most years, I went on zero dates or one date, this seemed like a lot (I just really liked my work, okay?). The pandemic kind of foiled me on this one (pandemic dating may work for some, but I’d feel awful if I connected with someone over video chat, and then they saw me in person and thought, “Nope! Call me when there’s a cure for paralysis!” And then the guy might get curb stomped). I went on one bad date back in January, and asked one guy out (he said no), so I’m two out of five (and, really, 0-5). Next year (well, this year, as I’m posting this) will be better. 
• Currently looping: Dolly Parton’s “Holly Jolly Christmas.” The internet has made a rather convincing argument that she’s basically a living saint, so I’d better listen to her holiday music.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety-One (12/28/20)

• Wound cleaning. Follow up tomorrow. Please tell me what’s wrong with my body so it can be fixed up.
• Guess who spent an hour on the phone with insurance. This girl, right here. #adulting
• No lesson today. Went outside and got myself a matcha latte instead.
• Total times outside: Forty!
• Currently feeling: Last year I made a resolution to remove all my wisdom teeth. They were out by March, and I spent all of the recovery period being in super lockdown mode anyway. Very thankful I got that out of the way before all the NYC lockdowns, especially because they were giving me earaches.
• Currently looping: Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm.”

Day Two Hundred and Ninety-Two (12/29/20)

• Scheduled hospital visit. Was supposed to have an examination of sorts, but that got delayed due to some inflammation. That certainly explains why I’ve been so tired this week.
• My mother and I got some takeout from an Indian restaurant we really like in the Princeton area and drove it back to NYC. That’s right, there’s a place in the Princeton area that we like more than the places around my apartment. I’m not ashamed to admit when New Jersey beats NYC at something.
• My mother is having some issues with transferring music from her old phone to her new phone. Cue me having to manually put my mother’s preferred music onto another device. But! I got to curate a driving playlist, which I very much enjoyed doing, because my mother is one of the few people who would also put Disney music and Hans Zimmer scores on the same playlist.
• Total times outside: Forty-one!
• Currently feeling: Last year, I made a resolution that I would read 90% of my bibliography. This was overly ambitious and ridiculous. But! I have enough items in my bibliography that it’s respectable, and that I have some idea of how to organize my dissertation. Now I just have to attack my primary sources, come up with a game plan, and start writing. That last part might take a while to start, but it’ll happen.
• Currently looping: Ingrid Michaelson’s “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” (featuring Grace VanderWaal). How could anyone not dance to this?

Day Two Hundred and Ninety-Three (12/30/20)

• Wound cleaning. This is my life now.
• It’s been a few days. I think I can say safely now that I have 100 subscribers on YouTube. All without pressuring friends and family to subscribe. Perhaps now’s the time to start. Or to start a dedicated Instagram.
• Started watching the “Star Wars: Clone Wars” series. Animated Anakin > Hayden Christiansen’s Anakin. By a lot.
• Currently feeling: Resolutions for 2021 coming tomorrow! Gosh, I love planning things.
• Currently looping: Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “O Come All Ye Faithful / O Holy Night (Instrumental).” Their rendition of “Carol of the Bells” gets most of the love, but this is probably my favorite song of theirs.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety-Four (12/31/20)

• Wound cleaning.
• Posted my cover of “Greensleeves.” I went hard.
• Watched more “Clone Wars.” There is a Jar Jar episode. Why.
• Therapy!
• Music lesson! Improvising music is hard, guys.
• I love Floor Jansen for teaching her fans how to warm up. Fun fact: Floor Jansen and I have the same birthday, just ten years apart.
• Had a #triotime virtual hangout! This time last year, we were eating tacos and doing YouTube karaoke in my apartment. Oh, what a year it’s been since then.
• Rang in the new year with my sister via FaceTime. She encouraged me to drink, and drink I did.
• Currently feeling: Resolutions! I treat my resolutions as tangible things that are possible to accomplish (because few things are worse than setting a goal that you very likely won’t accomplish, or that is too vague to reasonably accomplish). In no particular order: 1. Start writing the dissertation in the fall; 2. Perform live at least once (when it’s safe); 3. Write seven original songs worth posting on the YT channel; 4. Have three pitches accepted/three writing gigs; 5. Five dates (again, when it’s safe); 6. Learn to use a curling iron; and 7. Present (dissertation) research at a conference/workshop.
• Currently looping: Liz Callaway’s rendition of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” Yes, Liz Callaway is the singing voice of Anastasia from the animated film.

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, wear a mask, and have a happy and wonderful new year! May we all be able to hug each other safely in 2021!!