General life stuff
Most memorable in 2013 is the fact that I got to meet my family again after 2 years! They came to the US and we took a mini road trip (only a week long) around the north east. I planned on doing a write up on the trip and post it on this blog, but my laziness got the better of me, once again.The other pretty significant thing that happened: I lost my job because my visa expired, therefore I'm going to have to leave the US in 3 weeks. I have to be honest, this is terrifying, but I have been enjoying my "forced vacation" so far. Yes, I'm afraid that I'm getting used to all these free time, and I'm worried that I haven't been coding since my last day at work, but I'm enjoying myself. I really should start applying for jobs, start a new programming project to practice my coding, and sell my furniture! Still have no clue what I'm going to do with my beloved iMac. I also only have my 2006 MacBook as a portable computer, so that's gonna be rough.
I went to quite a few comic cons this year: ECCC (Seattle), C2E2 (Chicago), Wizard Worlds in Philly, Chicago, and NYC, and NYCC. Went to a few Firefly panels and they're always awesome. I also went to a handful of concerts: a bunch of JT ones that I will talk about below, a Maroon 5 concert (with Neon Trees as opening act), a Summer Mixtape thing, and the Made in America festival.
And I ended the year taking a road trip that I talked about on my last post.
Justin Timberlake
I don't think I can talk about 2013 without mentioning JT; the whole year has been quite a ride with him. And I thought I was past that teenage girl fanaticism of celebrities. Not with JT. I've loved him since I was 10 years old, and that love is still as intense today as it was back then. Seriously, he's invoked so many fangirl moments this year.It started with a teaser video, "I'm Ready," back in January. He dropped his first single in 6-7 years, "Suit & Tie," and then performed it (along with "Pusher Love Girl") at the Grammys:
After the Grammys, he released "Mirrors" as his second single, and performed it at the BRIT Awards. Leading up to the album release itself, he was the host and musical guest on SNL -- which he was once again awesome in --, and then he was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for a whole week -- they called it "Justin Timberweek" -- being interviewed, performing, and was on a few sketches.
Just because he released an album, doesn't mean that he's done. He teased a second part of the album to be released in the fall. The name "20/20 Experience" makes more sense now because he made ~20 songs in 20 days in the summer of 2012. I really loved iTunes' free streaming of both albums a week before their official releases.
So, after years of absence, in 2013 Justin released TWO albums (well, one two-parter album), and I went to THREE of his shows! All three are different shows, though. The first one was MasterCard's Priceless Premieres, live at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. It was a smaller, more intimate show. Then, the second one was the "Legends of the Summer" tour he did with Jay Z. It was amazing; easily the best show I've been to. The last one was a couple months ago, his "20/20 Experience Tour" in November. I just realized that I didn't do a write up on it, but I had a blast. Justin really is an amazing performer; his albums are great, but his live shows are even better.
Justin has filled my 2013 with a lot of teasing (#youneverknow), and a lot more entertainment and joy. I'm quite sad that 2013 is over, because it means that I wouldn't have this JT filled year anymore. His tour is still going on until halfway through 2014, and even though he's said that he wouldn't wait another ~7 years to release another album, I doubt it would be that soon. But there's one little thing that's making me excited: at the end of the 2 of 2 promo video linked above, a Making of 20/20 "coming soon" and I would definitely be waiting for that.
*NSYNC
Well, you know, that little thing happened at the VMAs. When *NSYNC was still active, I was too young and living in the wrong side of the world. Even though I wasn't there, watching it live on TV after all this years made me incredibly happy. Especially seeing all the love the guys got because of that performance. The week after was pretty awesome too.They're still them, and they still got it!
What a year! The VMAs, The 20/20 Experience, Chris' Wedding, Lance's Engagement, Girl Radical & Marathons! Bring on 2014, You never know...
— *NSYNC (@NSYNC) January 1, 2014Broadway
I've lived here for 6 years, and I really haven't been to enough plays! I mean, Manhattan is only an hour away from where I live. It is quite pricey, but that's not enough of an excuse. These past few months, however, I went to handful.
They were all great. Zachary Levi on First Date and Stephen Fry on Twelfe Night, especially. I hope to go to one or two more plays in the next three weeks, before I have to leave.
Movies & TV shows
I started a Google Spreadsheet to keep track of all the movies I watch throughout the year. I admit that this list is probably not complete; I would have thought that I watched a few more movies at the end of the year, since I was unemployed for a month. Will do the same for 2014, hopefully with an actual complete list. (Note: the ones in blue = new movies out that year or watched at the theater).
On the TV show front, I think I'm slacking off last year. I lost interest in HIMYM and Community; I haven't caught up on Castle and Psych, and I still haven't watched the endings of House and Chuck. I also thought I'd find some time to watch The Walking Dead and/or Breaking Bad but that has yet to happen. Maybe Breaking Bad since it has ended. I did watch Lost, Broadchurch, and House of Cards, which were all amazing. I was pretty upset that Go On got cancelled. The only show that I'm following weekly is Agents of SHIELD; hopefully that sticks around a while and keeps on getting better.
Manchester United and Formula 1
2013 has been an up and down year, as far as United is concerned. We won the league comfortably, but Sir Alex Ferguson (and Paul Scholes) retired. We got David Moyes as our manager, which was exciting, but we then pretty much failed during the summer's transfer window (only getting Fellaini). The first half of the season had been pretty rough, with United ending the year a few points adrift of Arsenal at the top spot. I mean, the fact that we're aiming for a top 4 instead of winning the league is pretty hard for me. I know, we've been spoiled as United fans, but this will take some getting used to. I do believe in Moyes and in the team, and we'll be back. Hopefully we'll win a domestic cup this season, and also a Champions League spot -- I really can't imagine United out of the Champions League next year -- and we should be back fighting for the league next season.About halfway through the year, I started watching Formula 1 again. The last time I really watched it, I was probably rooting for Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari, and I still was last year. It's been so long since I followed F1 that I wasn't even aware of Sebastian Vettel's dominance! Sad that Mark Webber had to retire, but it's quite exciting that Raikkonen is returning to Ferrari to partner Fernando Alonso. Ferrari with two world champions should be interesting; hopefully they have a fast and reliable car next year. Lotus was definitely my favorite team last season, because of their sense of humor, especially on social media. It's a shame that their financial troubles caused the end of their partnership with Raikkonen, in a pretty bad way. It was exciting to see Romain Grosjean be the podium candidate for them. It's sad that they have Pastor Maldonado for next season, because they need his sponsorship money. I think, second only to Ferrari, the most interesting team next season would be Force India, with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez as drivers. But really, Kimi will be my guy; hopefully he gets a good season this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment