2024 By the Numbers

This is a pretty sparse list. I usually try to flesh these out with my notes from conferences and overseas trips, but I’m visiting my hometown and the notes are in Davis …

Books Read: 118 (See here)

Things missed due to illness: 8 live comedy shows; 1 film festival; 3 plays; 1 book release; 1 dear friend’s birthday party; 2 conferences in Spring; 1 opera, staring a friend

Times Thoth broke a neighbor’s heart, when she thought he was her long-lost kitty, but then he turned out to be ours: 1

Wineries visited: 8

Times I was driving to see Vanessa for a brief moment when our schedules in California could overlap and my car completely died: 1

New cars: 1

ER visits: 5

ADD diagnoses: 1

Seeing Deborah Harkness live: 1

Grad school mentors and friends lost: 2

Poetry books I wrote blurbs for: 1

Poetry books blurbed: 1

Ancestors added to my tree: 1101

Atwood journals out: 1 (449 pages)

Times a boss sent a cryptic email about how we were all being forcibly moved out of the University Writing Program but refused to answer any follow-up questions: 1

Massive job reorganizations, the consequences of which are as of yet unknown: 1

New ergonomic office set ups: 1

New air fryers: 1

Times I was in the waiting room for a online panel at WorldCon, and I talked a little to myself and to the cats, including telling myself that of course I was going to try to have diarrhea just before it started, and then finally being added to the online room, where I could see a tech guy’s message that said “I can hear you”: 1

Wedding anniversaries: 1

Times Jeff and I got a hotel room in Woodland just so we could get into a pool once that summer, only to find that the pool was closed: 1

Windshields destroyed during atmospheric rivers: 1

Broken computers / new computers: 1

Phones that broke in Vienna: 1

New phones that I dropped within 24 hours, shattering the screen: 1

New phones total: 2

Times a student’s parent wrote me to complain about the course schedule: 1

Times a student’s parent apologized, after seeing the actual schedule: 1

Cancer scares: 1

Days in winter quarter that I couldn’t move my neck: 5

Hosting the campus femme show: 1

Times a guest speaker in my stand-up class asked me afterwards if two particular students were giving me problems. They were, I confirmed. “They’re just so smug,” he said. “I wanted to slap them”: 1

Times I thought I lost my glasses: daily

Times I actually lost my glasses: 1

Times Anubis was jealous that Snowball was getting goo in a tube, so he just licked it out of her mouth: 1

Times I fell: 1

Oxford wine bars and shops where they knew Vanessa and I by name: 2

Roses from a former student: 6

Noroviruses: 1

Getting to see my college friend, Kaaron: 1

Getting to see Tiffany, Liam, and Courtney, with Vanessa, in London: 1

MRIs and X Rays, etc: 5

Times I got to give a talk at the amazing Woodland Shakespeare Club: 1

Days I couldn’t walk well in Fall Quarter: 15

Really fancy lunches in London: 1

Times when Dr. Liam got to guest lecture in Oxford: 1

Cold, rainy summers in Oxford: 1

Visits to Dishoom in London: 2

Times Vanessa and I had to keep a window open in London with medicine bottles: 2

Times I watched the World Cup in my local pub: 1

Explaining how American healthcare works to horrified Brits: 2

Times Vanessa and I stumbled across the ruins of an abbey where King Henry II’s mistress was sent to retire: 1

Rum Festivals with Vanessa in Oxford: 1

Times we thought we were fine at the rum festival, until it was time to walk down the stairs: 1

Wine tastings in Oxford, after which we were better on the stairs: 1

Times I got Covid in Oxford: 1

Vienna trips in which Melissa and I were confronted by a the equivalent of a hurricane (the storm had a name: Boris): 1

Purses lost or stolen in Vienna: 1

Visits to Nandos in the UK: 7

Living rooms I couldn’t hang out in in Oxford, because I was allergic to something: 1

Side trips to Salisbury, to visit the museums and the famous cathedral, where one of my ancestors is entombed: 1

Trips to Stonehenge and the Wilton House: 1

Ways venison was prepared for my lunch at the Haunch of Venison in Salisbury: 3

Museums: if I had my notes, I would know: probably about twenty

Visits home: 1

New Recipes Tried: 69: Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast; Bison Noodle Bowls; Garlic Rosemary Lamb Chops in the Air Fryer; Indian Lamb and Spinach Curry; Garlic Paprika Chicken!!!; Air Fryer Maple Dijon Salmon; Pork Pernil; Salmon en Croute with dill hollandaise; Farfalle Pasta with Zucchini and Ham; Ground Beef Noodle Bowls; Three-Cup Chicken; Prairie Pie; Sauteed Chicken with Meyer Lemon; Chicken Gratin with Turnips; Beef Tortilla Soup; Creamy Chicken Casserole with a Cheddar Biscuit Crust; Air Fryer Corned Beef; Shrimp Scampi with Garlicky Miso Butter; Orange-Glazed Baked Salmon; Baked Blueberry Pancakes; Puff Pastry Chicken and Leek Casserole; Shrimp, Cilantro, and Tamarind Soup; Pork with Grapes and Tarragon; The Best Baked Salmon (Food Kitchen Network); Honey Garlic Shrimp; Cucumber Salad (from Food and Wine); Potato, Steak, and Chorizo Pie; Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken; Skillet Shrimp and Corn with Lime Dressing; One Pan Garlic Butter Chicken; Sauteed Salmon with Leeks and Tomatoes; Creamy Asparagus Pasta with Peas and Mint; Creamy One-Pot Spaghetti with Leeks; Pan-Seared Ranch Chicken; Sheet Pan Roasted Salmon Nicoise Salad; Lamb Biryani; Lamb Makhani; Slow Cooker Lemon Piccata; Zatar chicken; Grown up fish filet; Chicken, pesto, couscous, balsamic, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil salad; Air fryer shawarma lamb; Honey and soy glazed chicken; Chicken lazone; Pistachio cake; Honey and miso glazed; Tri tip in the air fryer; One-pan-shrimp-enchiladas-verde; Chicken-stuffed bell peppers with orzo; Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole; chicken noodle salad by Chef John; italian pork in the crock pot; sheet pan salmon and crispy rice (F&W); Tomato Butter Salmon; Lamb Stew; Lo Mein; another Dutch Baby; Apple and Persimmon Crisp in the crock pot; Thai Red Curry Butternut Squash; Cilantro Lime Butter Shrimp; Potato and Bacon Quiche; Smashed Cucumber, Avocado and Shrimp Salad; Chicken in Basil Cream; Black Pepper Chicken; Pumpkin Bread; Brussels, Squash, and Fried Sage; Air Fryer Chicken Bites; Creamy Italian Sausage Soup; Voodoo Pasta

New Cocktails Tried: 5: Fool’s Gold (with lemoncello and bourbon; Full Monte #2 (bourbon & Amara Montenegro); Vesper; Italian Sunset; One Dance (gin, lemon, lillet)

Stand-up specials (live and recorded): 28: Gary Gulman: Born on 3rd Base; Randy Feltface: Smug Druggles; Alex Edelman: Just for Us ; Randy Feltface: Feltopia; Taylor Tomlinson: Have it All; Daniel Sloss: Dark; Daniel Sloss: Jigsaw; Daniel Sloss: X; Jimmy Carr; Neal Brennan: Crazy Good; Rachel Feinstein: Big Guy; Daniel Sloss: Can’t; Chelsea Handler: Big Little Bitch; Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale; Natasha Leggero & Riki Lindholm at the Punchline; Nurse John; Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking; Ali Wong: Single Lady; sStuuc or treat; Eddie Izzard: The Remix Tour; Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous; Nikkie Glazer: Someday You’ll Die; Gaffigan: Comedy Monster; Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special; Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill; Russell Howard: Lubricant; Whose Live Anyway?

Plays 5: Six!; Vanya; Now Circa Then; Operation Mincemeat; Richard III

Movies: 131: The Holdovers; The Color Purple; Oppenheimer; May December; Elemental; Indiscreet; My Favorite Wife; Arsenic and Old Lace; Killers of the Flower Moon; Maestro; Nyad; Rustin; Society of the Snow; the new Mission Impossible; Godzilla Minus One; The Marvels; 3000 Years of Longing; Dune 2; American Fiction; Anatomy of a Fall; Poor Things; The Zone of Interest; Rustin; The Boy and the Heron; Nimona; El Conde; Napoleon; Bobi Wine: the People’s President; Golda; Perfect Days; The Teachers’ Lounge; American Symphony; The Creator; The Goldman Case; Memento; The Seventh Seal; Mean Girls; Kick-Ass; Scoop; My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3; Brideshead Revisited; Nausicaa of Valley of the Wind; The 39 Steps; To Catch a Thief; Lawrence of Arabia (twice); Deadpool; Deadpool 2; Aquaman 2; Easy A; Anyone But You; Madame Webb; Ghostbusters: When Hell’s Kitchen Freezes Over; The Saint (twice); Delicious; Ghosted; Bridesmaids; Marcel the Shell with Shoes On; The Marvels (again); The Third Man (twice); Lilo & Stitch; WALL-E; In & Out; Hot Fuzz; Runaway Bride; Shaun of the Dead (twice); Notting Hill; Jim Hensen: Idea Man; Bridget Jones’s Diary; Priscilla; Hamilton; The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare; About a Boy (twice); The Fall Guy; Lightyear; Roxanne; Sense & Sensibility; Inside Out 2: Inside Outer; Deadpool & Wolverine: Horny Like the Wolf; If; Minions: Rise of Gru; Fallen Leaves; Dirty Little Letters; Imitation Game; Problemista; The Martin (extended cut); Alien: Romulus; Forgetting Sarah Marshall; The Proposal; Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose; Gosford Park; Man Up; Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog; Love Actually; Spirited; A Clüsterfünke Christmas; While You Were Sleeping; The Happiest Millionaire; Betelguese Betelguese; Scrooged; Die Hard; Damsel; The Adam Project; Lover Come Back; Nosferatu; Emilia Perez; Shadow of the Vampire; The Shop Around the Corner; Paddington 2; Persuasion (twice); An Education; They Shall Not Grow Old; Chicken Run; A Fish Called Wanda; Labyrinth

3 of 5 Documentary Shorts nominated for an Oscar

New Shows: 31: The Serpent Queen; Rome; Beef; Murder at the End of the World; Girls5Eva; Elsbeth; Funny Woman; Manhunt; Lessons in Chemistry; Astrid; Nolly; True Detective; Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Mr Bates vs. the Post Office; Franklin; The Sympathizer; Mary and George; Star Trek: Short Treks; Baby Reindeer; Renegade Nell; The Three Body Problem; Acolyte; Ms Marvel; House of the Dragon (season 1); Loot; Palm Beach; Bletchly Circle; Bad Sisters; Man on the Inside; Nobody Wants This.; Monsters; Black Doves

Old Shows Kept Up With: 25: Miss Scarlet and the Duke; All Creatures Great and Small; Loki (fin); Sisi; Resident Alien; Call the Midwife; For All Mankind; Abbot Elementary; The Simpsons; SNL; Bob’s; Seth Meyers; The Daily Show; Star Trek: Discovery; Hacks; Doctor Who; Star Trek: Lower Decks; What We Do in the Shadows; Last Week Tonight; Colin From Accounts; Shrinking; The Diplomat; The Empress; Star Trek: Lower Decks

Shows Re-binged: 14: Brooklyn 99; Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt; Schitt’s Creek (twice); Malcolm in the Middle; Bridgerton; the Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance; The Umbrella Academy; The Bear; A Discovery of Witches; Staged; The Good Place; 30 Rock; The Great

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