Easter isn’t a big holiday in my family, so every year, my husband and I drive to see his parents for the weekend. One event that we always make time for is the Racine Art Museum’s (RAM) International PEEPS Art Exhibition. Every year, the RAM accepts art donations, and the art has to be inspired by or made out of PEEPS. I think it’s the wildest concept, and I’m here for it. I wanted to share this year’s submissions and share the art that I liked the best.

There were a lot of great submissions this year. At the end of the exhibit, you can vote for your favorite, and the winner will earn a prize. I voted for the Purple PEEPle Eater, which refers to the Purple People Eaters, which is a term for the Minnesota Vikings. I liked how the Purple PEEPle Eater was spooky. My husband voted for a PEEP display that was a take on The Jetsons. Another fun art piece that was submitted was PEEPS with Solar Eclipse glasses looking up at the sky. I believe there was also a Barbie PEEP submission as well.

This year’s PEEP exhibit did not disappoint. I’m curious to see what next year’s submissions will be.

Last weekend was Planet Comicon, and I’m happy to have been able to go this year. Planet Comicon has quickly become a convention staple for me, and it’s a convention that I try to work into my schedule every year. Attending Planet Comicon is easy for me since I have family near Kansas City, so it makes for a cheap and quick trip outside of Minnesota. It was a jam-packed weekend and created a nice kickoff to convention season.

For Planet Comicon, I only go on Friday, so I can spend the remainder of the weekend with family. Attending bigger conventions on Friday is something I would recommend for those who don’t want to compete with a bigger crowd. I find that it’s easier to walk the show floor and take a breather by sitting in on a panel or two. The other benefit of going on Friday is that it’s a lot easier to take photos. Planet Comicon has several photo opportunities with cosplayers and backdrops. I ended up taking a photo with Emperor Palpatine, which was fitting considering Ian McDiarmid was at the convention. Speaking of cosplay, I debuted my Padme cosplay for the first time! I’m thrilled with how the look came together.

In between panels and photos, I did end up purchasing a few comics. I bought K. Lynn Smith’s third volume of Plume, which is a Western supernatural adventure comic. I talk about K. Lynn Smith a lot because I like her comics and her art style. It’s become a routine where I look up ahead of time if she will be there, and if so, I try to stop by her booth. I also bought a comic from Mad Cave Studios. As a side note, Mad Cave is one of the greatest comic publishers out there. They publish comics that many publishers might pass up on if the concept is a little odd. If that wasn’t enough, Mad Cave actually pays its artists on time. The reason I pointed this out is that I went to Mad Cave’s comic panel on Friday, and they talked about their partnerships with artists and what that process is like when they work with a new artist for the first time.

Planet Comicon is always a convention that I look forward to because it usually ends up being the first convention that I attend. The only grievance that I have with Planet Comicon is that I wish they did convention badges instead of wristbands. They might have badges for those attending the whole weekend, but I wouldn’t know since I only attend on Friday. I prefer badges to wristbands because I have a designated hook in my bedroom where all my badges hang, and the wristbands, I don’t know what to do with them. Other than that, Planet Comicon is a blast.

Besides attending Planet Comicon, we found a new BBQ place to eat at. For those who haven’t been to Kansas City, I consider Kansas City a “foodie” city. Kansas City is known for its BBQ, but also the breweries throughout the area. My cousin took me to Chef J, which is in an area called the West Bottoms. The West Bottoms is west of downtown, across the river, and in a more industrial area. Chef J is in one of the older buildings, which is actually really neat. It looks like the city is trying to revitalize the area since there are several vintage shops, furniture stores, and live music playing somewhere nearby. Back to Chef J, the BBQ was so good. I had a BBQ sandwich with sausage on it, and I had to order Mac and Cheese as a side. It was delicious and worth the wait.

After eating BBQ, we went to two breweries. The first brewery was Double Shift Brewery, which was only a few minutes from Chef J. The brewery was tucked away in this corner with all of these local businesses. There was a distillery across the street, a coffee shop, and a few art murals on the nearby buildings. My cousin had a beer called “Pancake Mafia,” which had hints of syrup, vanilla, blueberries, and blackberries. I wasn’t quite as adventurous with the beer that I picked. After Double Shift, we went to Cinder Block Brewery, which is a brewery that I have been to many times. I love the taproom; it’s open and sunny. It has an industrial look to it with the gray paneling in the main seating area. It was relaxing being able to sit, especially because I walked 20,000 steps at the convention the day prior.

This weekend was what I needed! I haven’t taken a trip since our Europe trip last September, and my travel bug was starting to come back. There’s nothing more fun than being able to travel and attend a convention at the same time.

Being raised as a fan of Minnesota sports teams is often a disappointing experience. The last time the Minnesota Twins won the World Series was 1991. The Minnesota Vikings have never won the Super Bowl. If that wasn’t enough, both the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Timberwolves have never won championships. One team that was doing well was the Milwaukee Bucks, which is Wisconsin’s Basketball team. The Bucks play at Fiserv Forum, which is in downtown Milwaukee. A few weeks ago, we went to a Bucks game with my husband’s family, and funnily enough, we went to the game where the Bucks played the Minnesota Timberwolves. Spoiler alert: Minnesota crushed Wisconsin.

Let’s be honest, Fiserv Forum is a much nicer stadium than Target Center (Target Center being where the Minnesota Timberwolves play). Outside of Fiserv, huge letters are spelling out Bucks, which serves as the perfect background for a photo. Near the stadium, there are several bars and breweries to have a drink at. I thought the atmosphere of Fiserv was fun. The best part about watching sports live is feeling a part of the fan community. Sporting events are basically comic book conventions, but centered around sports.

I made the earlier comment about Minnesota sports being disappointing. The Minnesota Timberwolves are doing great this season. I don’t follow Basketball, so I didn’t realize our team was doing so well. It ended up being a twenty-point game with Minnesota taking home the win. My father-in-law wasn’t too pleased, but I was happy.

I would definitely go to another Bucks game again. Fiserv Forum is a great stadium, and the energy that fans bring is electric.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but 2024 will be a significant year. It will be the tenth anniversary of dating and meeting my husband. It will also be the tenth anniversary of starting Bizarre Brunette. If all of that wasn’t enough, I will be turning thirty. To help do a final send-off of my 20s, I wanted to share some of the life lessons I learned throughout this time in my life.

CW: Excessive drinking, body dysmorphia, and body insecurities.

It takes Two to Maintain a Friendship

I am incredibly fortunate when it comes to my friends. I have friends I grew up with, friends I made in college, and friends I met through my hobbies, along with attending conventions. While I have a great group of friends now, there was a time in my life when I struggled to make new friends.

In my freshman year of college, I met so many different people in a short amount of time. Most of the people that I initially met, they never developed into a lasting friendship. There were moments throughout my freshman and sophomore years when I felt lonely. I didn’t have anyone that I could text randomly to go do things with. In freshman year, there was one person with whom I instantly clicked. She was geeky like me, and we had similar interests. I was so excited to meet someone I could connect with. I had noticed that I was the one putting in the effort to make plans. I decided to take a step back and stop being the one to engage first. Weeks went by, and I didn’t hear from her. With that being said, we stopped being friends. Eventually, I did make a few close friends, so everything ended up working out in the end.

When I graduated from college, I naively assumed that all my college friends would be my friends forever, even though we weren’t in the same place or living together. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was one friend that I tried to make time to see, but again, I always had to be the one to reach out. I haven’t talked to her since before the pandemic, which feels like a lifetime ago. The final thing that formally ended our friendship was when she didn’t congratulate me on my engagement to my husband, even though she was there when our relationship began. That’s how I knew our friendship was over.

I used to carry a lot of resentment when friendships ended, and that isn’t mentally healthy for me. Instead, I am grateful for those friends at that time in my life. While those friendships won’t carry over into my thirties, I wish them well.

Sober Curious: Re-Evaluating My Drinking Habits

I always considered myself a responsible drinker. In college, I went to parties, but I never missed any classes due to being hungover. I had my moments, as many college kids did, but I didn’t feel like it negatively impacted my life. After graduating from college, my friends and I would go out. We would go to bars or to various breweries and stay out late. I still didn’t feel like my drinking was out of control, as I attributed it to being a social drinker.

When the pandemic hit, that’s when I started to first realize that maybe the way that I was drinking wasn’t good for me. Every Friday night during quarantine, I’d drink at home. Of course, it was never one drink. It ended up being three or four hard seltzers. I’d usually drink them while playing video games, as I thought that served as a good distraction during this stressful time. On Saturday, I woke up with a slight headache. Once I had coffee and drank water, I was fine. After a few weeks of this, I forced myself to stop drinking on Friday, and I thought that was the end of it.

When I reflect on both 2020 and 2021, I would have blips where I would drink too much. I wouldn’t be sick, but I would feel off the entire day. There was another moment in 2020 when I drank around coworkers. I ended up mixing an IPA with red wine, which was clearly a mistake. The fact that this happened around coworkers at the time makes the story more embarrassing, considering these were people who were on my team. Every time I think back to that moment, I visibly cringe. With these blips occurring, I still didn’t think that alcohol was a problem.

I had a wake-up call, and that was The Winter Beer Dabbler in February 2022. It was extremely cold out, so I figured I’d just drink a lot and then I wouldn’t be cold anymore. Unsurprisingly, I ended up drinking quite a bit. Apparently, I fell in front of a DJ booth. To be fair, I slipped on the ice, but alcohol made it worse. Once we got home, I disclosed a lot of personal insecurities to my husband while intoxicated. When I woke up the next morning, I didn’t remember telling my husband any of those things. It was like alcohol brought out all of these thoughts that I was trying so hard to bury. While this was not a great moment, it actually led to a great conversation between my husband and me that I think helped strengthen our marriage. It sucks that alcohol was involved in that.

After The Winter Beer Dabbler, I was sober for a full month. I understand that a month isn’t a long time, but for someone who was a regular social drinker, that felt like a substantial amount of time. In that month, I journaled and started being honest with myself about how I drank. It became clear to me that I had an unhealthy relationship with drinking. For example, I’d eat less if I knew I was going out. I justified it in my head as I’d be drinking my calories. As I talk about this now, that thought feels like the beginning of an eating disorder because I’m calculating out how to eat less to drink more. Additionally, I relied on alcohol as a social crutch. I wanted people to think that I was outgoing and fun to hang out with. Alcohol gave me that confidence instead of trying to find it myself.

Since The Winter Beer Dabbler, I have decreased the amount I drink. I have eliminated alcohol from my weekly routine, and I never drink at home. I find it easy to go weekends in a row without drinking. I’m much more satisfied with one drink at a time versus having three to four beers in one sitting. I am in a much better place with alcohol, and I have a lot of good motivation to be sober more often than not.

I wanted to end with what motivates me to be sober. The first thing that has helped me is having a regular exercise routine. Every Saturday, I go to an 8:00 AM cycle class. The thought of drinking heavily on Friday to miss my cycle class on Saturday sounds unappealing. I find working out on the weekends has been especially beneficial. The second thing that has helped me is throwing myself into my hobbies. I have been playing video games more. I looked up the hours to an ice arena nearby as I’d love to get back into figure skating regularly. If that wasn’t enough, I looked up a few archery ranges as I’d love to learn how to shoot a bow. I am looking forward to the years ahead, and I’m glad that I’m leaving some of these drinking habits in my twenties.

Traveling is a Privilege

When I was little, I used to write stories called “Amy’s Adventures.” I’d write about a young girl named Amy and how she would travel around the US. My dad used to pick up these U.S. state puzzle books where you could learn about a different US state, and then the puzzles would reveal various facts about each state. I knew from a young age that I wanted to travel.

If there is anything that I have learned about traveling, it’s that it’s a privilege to do so. To start off, it’s being able to financially afford to travel. When I started my first job out of college, there was no way that I could afford to travel overseas. The cost of airfare alone is high, and that’s not including lodging, souvenirs, food, drink, etc. I can easily say that this is the first time in my life that I have had the financial freedom to plan more extensive vacations.

Besides the cost of travel, it’s having the opportunity to do so. I work full-time in an office, which means I have PTO to use. I don’t travel for work, so all the travel that I do comes from my own personal vacations. When I was in college, there were study abroad programs, but none of them aligned with my degree. It would have been a trip, but it would have been disadvantageous if it had delayed me graduating on time. I know of a few friends who, after graduating from college, traveled the world before getting a full-time job. That sounds lovely, but not something I had the luxury of doing, as I needed a job right out of college.

Traveling to Europe was a dream come true. I have always had London at the top of all of my travel lists. Seeing Iceland and Ireland was an added bonus. Traveling to Europe taught me a lot, especially in establishing my travel preferences. We were gone two full weeks, and it started to feel like a long time. It made me miss my day-to-day routine, including working out and seeing Athena! I don’t know if I would enjoy being gone for a month or longer. Another thing that I learned from our trip to Europe was how much I put my self-worth into traveling. This is going to be a silly thing to admit, but I thought I would feel different after going to Europe. I accomplished this big dream that I have had, and when we got back, I felt no different. I put so much stock into the places that I have been and how I felt ashamed to say that it took me so long to travel overseas. Seeing influencers on Instagram having the time of their lives, I was constantly comparing myself to them. They live an entirely different life than I do; however, it doesn’t make my life insignificant.

It feels cathartic to type out all of this because this is something I have felt for a long time. In my thirties, I still want to travel, but I want to do it on my terms. I want to travel to places that I want to go to, no matter what anyone else thinks. I want to cut the cord of tying my self-worth to my travel. I will always be passionate about travel, but I think I’m more practical than I was in the past. I’m going to set realistic travel goals, practice gratitude, and be fortunate that I was able to see all the places that I have seen.

Thrifting & Having Less Clothing, But Loving Everything I Wear

I love expressing myself in the way that I dress. I like dressing up a basic outfit with earrings or wearing a dress I feel confident in. I find joy in taking one of my geeky t-shirts, whether it be Star Wars or Marvel, and being able to style it in multiple ways. I think it’s fun to show off my personality in the things that I wear, and it always tends to start conversations with people I didn’t know before.

In my early twenties, I used to revel in the fact that I owned a lot of clothing. I thought that the more clothing I owned, the more options I had. I liked the variety of wearing something different all the time. I used to spend so much money on new clothes, especially at Loft, which used to be one of my all-time favorite stores. However, most of my clothing from Loft, I ended up donating a few years later. The quality at Loft is terrible now. I have had blouses that I bought that have shrunk, so now they are practically crop tops. There are pants that I bought where the button came loose. I have a dress that I can’t iron, even though it’s wrinkly, because it would fall apart if I did. It’s a shame that I used to spend so much on low-quality clothing.

During the pandemic, I ordered a lot of clothing online since I wasn’t able to go shopping in person. I found that I ordered clothing online, and if it didn’t fit me or I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t return it because it would be an extra errand I have to make. It’s a shame because there are so many online boutiques I’d love to purchase from, but I know for a fact that online shopping doesn’t work for me. I need to be able to try something on and see how it fits.

Moving forward, I primarily do most of my shopping at Marshalls. I usually spend two to three hours browsing the racks and trying things on. Most of the clothing that I have purchased at Marshall’s will last me for several years. I want to get back into thrifting. I used to go to Goodwill, but I found that most Goodwill locations near me removed their fitting rooms. Finally, I want to find new ways to wear some of my favorite pieces in my closet.

Using my Library Card!

I’m going to keep this short and simple; libraries are the best. There aren’t many public places you can go to without needing to spend money. Libraries give back to their communities, and for many, libraries can be a safe space. One of my aunts is a retired librarian, so I was always reminded of the importance of libraries.

I’m looking forward to continuing to use my library card. I am someone who likes to have books on hold ahead of time, so I can quickly pick them up and take them with me. One of my favorite book bloggers, Nerdy By Nature, posted on her Instagram about her library savings. She created an Excel chart of every book that she rented from the library and then looked up that book’s retail cost. She shared what her cost savings were by renting books from the library versus buying them. That is so creative! I decided that I would be doing that this year. I’m curious to see what my overall money savings are from all the books I plan on borrowing this year.

I liked being able to put this post together. I feel like I’m letting go of a lot of negativity and baggage that I carried in my twenties. I am ready to begin my thirties.

I haven’t fully solidified my travel schedule for this year; however, I am consistent in the fact that I don’t find joy in traveling in January or February. With Minnesota winters, they can interrupt scheduled vacations. With that being the case, I like planning shorter trips throughout the first few months of the year. A few weekends ago, my husband and I went to stay with one of his friends from high school. They bought a house outside of Green Bay, and I thought it would be fun to stay with them for the weekend.

I had only been to Green Bay once before, which, funnily enough, was for this friend’s wedding back in 2021. We didn’t have time to fully explore downtown Green Bay. One of the first things we did was go to a local coffee shop, which is fitting because I love coffee. After that, we went to Lambeau Field. I have done the stadium tour before, but I didn’t get to see the Hall of Fame. It was interesting! Lambeau Field carries so much in sports history. I mean, the Lombardi trophy is named after Vince Lombardi, the Packers’ head coach in the 1960s. While I am still a Minnesota Vikings fan, I found myself torn between rooting for the Packers. It’s funny, we were in town the same weekend the Packers were playing in the playoffs. I figured that with me being in town, they would obviously win against the 49ers. This was not the case, which was a huge bummer.

After touring Lambeau, we ended up brewery hopping for most of the day. One of my favorite breweries was Copper State Brewing Co., which is in downtown Green Bay. They had a good tap list and the cheese curds! Going to Wisconsin, you have to eat cheese curds, I mean, c’mon. The cheese curds were so good. Curds and beer are a good combo.

It was a blast to be able to see our friends that we hadn’t seen in way too long. It reminds me how refreshing it is to take a mini-vacation, especially in January and February, which are tough months in the Midwest to begin with.

Board game cafes combine two of my favorite things: gaming, food, and coffee. Okay, three things, but still. I knew that there was going to be a board game cafe opening in the south metro, but thanks to Facebook, they had their grand opening a few weekends ago. I decided to check out Fox Den the day after they opened. Fox Den is such a cool space, and I love the fox and forest theme of the cafe.

Walking into Fox Den, it feels like I’m going into a Dungeons & Dragons tavern. The walls are painted, illustrating a forest with trees with bright orange leaves on them. To the left are private gaming rooms, which can be reserved. This would be great for a local TTRPG group to meet up and have a private session. Trying to play TTRPGs at a game store can be distracting, so it’s neat that Fox Den has options for players. To the right is the gaming section. This place is huge! There were several long tables in the space. It didn’t feel crammed in the slightest. While Fox Den is a cafe, they also sell board games. I noticed in their case that they had Disney Lorcana product, which seems rare considering how it’s flying off the shelves. Off to the right, there’s the cafe, which has a full menu and coffee drinks. I ordered a cold brew with a shot of vanilla, and it was the extra-strength coffee drink I needed.

Besides the gaming area, there were several booths to sit in. I liked the combination of having seating for open gaming and seating for those who are only there to have coffee, eat, and relax. I could see myself bringing my laptop and writing a few blog posts at Fox Den, which is kind of a nice change of pace.

Fox Den recently posted its tournament schedule, which includes Lorcana, Magic: The Gathering, and Flesh & Blood. I hope that Fox Den will have Magic: pre-releases because I would absolutely attend. The environment at Fox Den would be perfect for it.

I’m so glad that Fox Den is finally open, and I can’t wait to go back.

This is the seventh Pop Culture Year in Review that I have written. When a new year begins, I keep a drafted post with the title being the current year. As the months progress, I keep track of the various movies, TV shows, video games, and comics I enjoy throughout the year. Additionally, I like to jot down the trips, conventions, and other random fun memories that happened, so I’m incredibly organized when writing this all out. 2023 was definitely a memorable year in many ways.

Movies I Watched

• Set It Up
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
• Underworld
• Bullet Train
• Exposed
• Tenet
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
• The Flash
• Nimona
• The Marvels

I was debating what my favorite movie of 2023 would be, and honestly, it has to be Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. This movie was so funny. As the movie played out, I thought to myself what each of the characters must have rolled where that event would have occurred. This is done wonderfully in the way that Chris Pine plays a Bard and tries to create an illusion.

I think another favorite movie of mine would be The Marvels. I know not everyone liked The Marvels, but I loved it, and I can’t wait to re-watch it once it’s available to stream.

TV Shows I Watched

• Critical Role Vox Machina Campaign!
• The Umbrella Academy
• Andor
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• The Night Agent
• Hawkeye

This was a no-brainer; the best show I watched in 2023 was The Night Agent. The show was full of twists and turns, and I ended up finishing the show very quickly because I wanted to know what happened! It’s not often that I breeze through a show in a short amount of time.

The last thing that I will mention is how this was the year that I finally finished watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I had been watching The Clone Wars off and on for the past several years. I decided that this would be the year that I finished the series. I’m so glad I did. Ahsoka’s character arc is one of the most defining moments of the show.

Video Games I Played

• Nancy Drew: Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon
• Nancy Drew: Treasure in the Royal Tower
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York
• Gotham Knights
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• Sudocats
• Stray
• Marvel’s Spider-Man New Game + (didn’t finish)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
• Unpacked

I know this might be a shocker, but Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the best game I played this year. I say this sarcastically since I talk about the game all the time. This game was so good. I ended up playing for twelve hours straight, so I could finish the story without being spoiled. If that wasn’t enough, I finally unlocked all the trophies, which is something I don’t do very often. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was well worth the five-year wait.

Another gaming highlight was giving Jedi: Fallen Order another chance. I played Jedi: Fallen Order for the first time in 2020 and didn’t finish the story. It felt like I couldn’t go back and play it because it reminded me of 2020. Once enough time had passed, I started over with a new save file, and the game was awesome! I’m glad that I decided to go back to it.

Reviewing my gaming list, I had such a good year when it came to video games! Stray was another highlight of the year. The ending had me in tears, like the type of ugly crying where I couldn’t catch my breath. The first half of the year was more PC-focused, and the latter half of the year was more focused on playing games on my Switch. It’s tough balancing my console gaming with my PC gaming, but I felt like I did a good job at playing games on a variety of different systems.

Gaming in 2023

• One Night Ultimate Werewolf
• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective
• Llamas Unleashed
• Wingspan
• Marvel’s Villainous
• Vagrant Song

I don’t think that I did the best when it comes to tracking all of the board games I played. Vagrant Song was probably my favorite board game that I played this year. I like the cooperative aspect of it, and the cartoonish art gives the game its unique feel. Another board game that I tried was Wingspan. Wingspan was fun to learn, and I liked being able to create my own wildlife center.

Graphic Novels / Comics I Read This Year

• Vox Machina Origins Volume #1
• Star Wars Hidden Empire Issue #1
• Ironcat Issues #1 – #4
• She-Hulk Issues #8 – #10
• Lore Olympus Volume #1
• Nailbiter Volumes #1 – #6
• Mary Jane & Black Cat Issues #1 -#4
• Bloodline Daughter of Blade Issues #1 & #2
• Batman: Legends of Gotham Issue #1
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Ultimate Collection
• DC Titans Hunt Volume #1
• Nightwing Issues #101 & #102
• Suicide Squad: Bad Blood
• Chainsaw Man Vol #1
• Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: Legion of Bats Issue #1 & #2
• Gangster Ass Barista Volume #1
• The Umbrella Academy Volume #1
• Quincredible Volume #1
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
• Cats! Girlfriends and Catfriends
• Plume Volume #2
• Crossover Volume #1
• Moonknight Volume #2
• Teen Titans Robin
• Harley Quinn #28 and #30
• Batgirls Volume #1
• Box
• Cat Gamer Volume #1
• Ms. Marvel Issue #1
• Harriet Tubman Demon Slayer Issue #1
• Scarlet Witch Volume #1
• Batgirl Birds of Prey Volume #2
• Dark Ride Issues #1 and #2
• Locke & Key Volume #1

The standout comics that I read in 2023 include Nailbiter, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Suicide Squad: Bad Blood, and Dark Ride. It feels like I read more superhero comics this year than indie comics. I want to take more trips to my local comic book store in 2024.

2023 Pop Culture Moments

• Taylor Swift World Tour
• Taylor and Travis Kelce

Honestly, 2023 was the year of Taylor Swift, enough said.

Podcasts

• Punch It Chewie Podcast
• Live Laugh Lorcana

The first podcast I started listening to was Punch It Chewie Podcast. I found out about Punch It Chewie after stumbling upon Bella’s Instagram. Bella was describing a negative experience she had with a Star Wars fan who shared her videos and then made fun of her. As a result, she received horrific death threats online. It’s an awful situation, and no one deserves to be treated that way. One of the episodes details what Bella went through, and while it was hard to listen to, I’m glad that Bella felt comfortable sharing her story.

The second podcast I listened to was Live Laugh Lorcana. Live Laugh Lorcana is a podcast devoted to Disney’s trading card game Lorcana. It’s funny, I don’t have an interest in playing the game, but I still like listening to the podcast.

Catchiest Song in 2023

According to Spotify, the top song that I listened to in 2023 was Burn It to the Ground by Nickelback. Listen, I’m not going to stand for any Nickelback hate. When I think about what I had on repeat the most, I think that would be Drew Jacobs. Drew Jacobs has been doing hard rock covers of country songs, and they’re so good. I’m listening to God’s Country on repeat, and I love it.

Conventions I Attended in 2023

I went to five conventions this year: Planet Comic Con, C2E2, CONvergence, Gen Con, and Twin Cities Con. I’m slowly getting back up to the number of conventions that I attended pre-COVID.

Personal Memories

Top Three Memories of 2023

Europe

Returning to Gen Con and CONvergence

Spending time with friends and family