30 things that made my year
(Inspired by Austin Kleon’s “100 things that made my year” but guess what, I’m lazy and only did 30)
It was a pretty hit-or-miss year in reading for me. Books that I liked included Chris Bachelder’s The Throwback Special, Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land, Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads, John Darnielle’s Devil House, Eve Babitz’s Slow Days, Fast Company, Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, and John Crowley’s Engine Summer.
Speaking of Crowley, I reread his novel Little, Big back in 2021. It’s become kind of a touchstone book for me, and in 2022 I followed up with a reread of another touchstone, Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which is totally brilliant and often infuriating. I loved it even more the second time around.
An injured tendon torpedoed our Mount Rainier summit attempt, which was bad, but having a sister who’s a physical therapist and can provide on the spot advice was good! Cheers, Kate!
I changed jobs and got back into a creative department. All my coworkers moonlight as writers or comedians or music producers or chefs—a nice change from the corporate PR world.
I got to watch Lucy pay off several months of hard training by running the New York City Marathon, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.
Finished up working with a wonderful editor through the Center for Fiction Emerging Writer Fellowship. Novel #2 is done (for now) and out to agents.
Speaking of the Center for Fiction, I got to help judge entries for the incoming Fellowship cohort, which was a blast. These people are awesome. One of them sold his novel shortly after we chose him for the fellowship. High caliber folks.
Took a DIY writing retreat in Kingston, NY.
Continued to plug away on novel #3, which is starting to do that great thing novels-in-progress do when they take on a life and character of their own. It’s the moment right before a snowball rolling downhill becomes an avalanche.
I didn’t play a lot of video games this year, but Elden Ring was a stand-out. Also, I loved watching the whole world discover Elden Ring, in all its gothic, inscrutable weirdness.
I dipped into a few old school games this year, and particularly enjoyed Wario Land 4 and Summer Carnival 92 - Recca.
I’ve been streaming KEXP while at work and loving it. Working East Coast hours is a bonus, since I get to listen to all of John in the Morning.
Other than KEXP, this hasn’t been a big music year for me. I did a deep dive on Nirvana and listened to a lot of Car Seat Headrest, but the only new (to me) band that made a big impression on me was The Comet Is Coming. Their NPR Tiny Desk concert was a great intro.
It was a good year for seeing music, though. Bon Iver and David Byrne’s American Utopia were both great, but Rage Against the Machine at Madison Square Garden absolutely blew me away.
I started to actually enjoy living in New York. I took some great solo wanders in Williamsburg, Tribeca, the Village, and elsewhere that helped me appreciate the city.
Going into the office one day a week gives me access to a corner of the city I haven’t spent much time. I’ve enjoyed work field trips to the 9/11 Memorial and the Ghostbusters Fire House, and I’ve enjoyed many delicious sandwiches from Pisillo Italian Paninis.
Had some impromptu adventures with the family closer to home, including an Oktoberfest BBQ and a trip up the Highbridge Water Tower.
Dressing the entire family up for a nautically themed Halloween.
Fall in New York, always.
I saw some good movies. RRR, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus, and 70s neo-noir Night Moves were all cool, as was TCM’s documentary Carl Laemmle, about the founder of Universal Studios. Went on a Terrence Malick kick and really enjoyed Badlands and Days of Heaven (did NOT enjoy Tree of Life). Also finished the Neon Genesis Evangelion Rebuilds, which were pretty great!
I rewatched some good stuff, too: Rear Window, Vertigo, Scanners, King of Kong, and John Woo’s Hard-Boiled. Watched Kiki’s Delivery Service again, the first ten minutes of which hit different when you’re a parent, and got to watch the 4K restoration of Inland Empire in the theater (with my friend Alex, who had never seen it before).
Speaking of seeing things in theaters, I also got to see the premiere of the Heat 4K restoration at the Tribeca Film Festival, complete with Al Pacino chewing the scenery at the pre-show Q&A (and Robert de Niro looking 100% checked out).
Last movie one, I swear. I saw some great horror movies this fall, including The Night House (very scary!), The Faculty (very entertaining!), Mad God (gross!), and Nope. Also saw the 1985 movie Fright Night, which I can’t believe I’ve never watched and is going to be a cheesy Halloween go-to from now on. That theme song, though.
We got to spend a whole month in Maine this year, including several weeks with a house full of friends, some of whom we haven’t seen for years. Clark learned to love the shore. We climbed Cadillac Mountain. I drank many wonderful beers from Maine and Vermont (hello Focal Banger!). Our dog had the best time of his whole life.
I went to the book launch for my friend Vince’s poetry collection, A Grito Contest in the Afterlife. The reading was wonderful, as was bumming around the city for a few days, visiting City Lights and the delightful dive bar Vesuvio Cafe right across the alley, poking around the San Francisco Historical Society and meeting the staff, and eating so much good food I can’t pick a favorite meal. Go buy Vince’s book, it’s great!
I attended an old buddy’s bachelor party on Chesapeake Bay and spent a whole weekend hanging out, kayaking, and playing video games with some of my oldest friends.
We were sick a LOT this year, but hey, we made it. We survived Covid, RSV (we think), countless daycare illnesses, and an incredible one-two punch of norovirus and a nightmare cold.
Spending December with my family in Seattle, with all the attendant Christmastime chaos.
While we were in Seattle, Lucy and I got some time poking around our old neighborhood, visiting our first apartment, and pointing out how much things have changed in Capitol Hill in the last three years.
Watching Clark learn language. Some of it doesn’t make much sense (“iffry” is train?) but watching those neural pathways develop is pretty mind-blowing.
You’ll notice that I changed the name of the newsletter a little bit. Well, my newsletter, my prerogative. I like this better.
You’ll also notice that I switched service providers from Mailchimp to Substack. No big reason, I just prefer Substack—easier to share, easier to archive stuff, easier to find on the internet.
Here’s to 2023. Stay safe, have fun, and happy wanderings.
-Ian