ABCs of 2022

I barely blogged this year, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't write the annual year end wrap up article.

A - Allbirds - Discovered the shoe brand Allbirds - they are so comfortable that it feels like I'm wearing slippers rather than shoes.

B - Batteries - My social batteries feel very low these days. I'm much more picky about what I go to than I used to be. That's not to say I didn't go out a lot because I did (as will be obvious from the rest of this list) but I seem to need more recovery time afterwards and events that start late or that are at bars are far less appealing than they once were.

C - Come From Away - I had seen it in New York, but I forgot how much I enjoyed it until I saw it again. It reminded me of how good theatre can transport you to another time and place.

D - Darke Hall - The Fretless were playing Darke Hall which gave me an excuse to see the renovations. I think they did a great job.

Between Darke Hall and the College Building

E - Ellen Froese - I seem to have seen Ellen perform four times this year. I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm not complaining. She always puts on a good show.

F - Fringe Festival - I took in a number of Fringe Festival shows. I think my favourite was "A Toast to Prohibition".

G - Globe Theatre - I went to a couple of Globe Theatre shows (Miss Caledonia and Making Spirits Bright).

H - Hallmark - I watched far too many Hallmark Christmas movies. In theory, I was watching them in order to gather information for a blog post analyzing how people meet and what they do. In about a third of them, we don't really know because the couple met in the past. In about another third, they met through work. Most of the rest were accidental meetings at events. I was also curious what jobs people had - architects, restaurateurs, and musicians seemed to be common along with more royalty than seems reasonable. The strangest job was the ghost of Christmas present in a fun take on a Christmas Carol.

I - Indigo Trio - In June, the Indigo Trio played Westminster United. I enjoy chamber music, but I also appreciate that their name starts with I which is a hard one for me.

J - Joy - I met the cutest girl at the university. Her name is Joy and we got along so well that she gave me a kiss that literally knocked me off my feet. Border collies are the best. (The University brings in therapy dogs every now and then and she's one of them.)

This is my sister's dog Pixie not Joy, but she's also the best.

K - Kitchen - I spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking.

L - Lift/Break - On Cue Performance Hub presents small scale performances in unusual spaces. Lift/Break was a story where two women, one indigenous and one settler, were stuck in an elevator while leaving work. It was challenging and powerful. The most impressive thing was that it was actually staged in an elevator in the warehouse district.

M - Market - With the end of the pandemic support programs, the Farmers' Market closed its online store and reduced staff, so I'm no longer employed by them but am still a fan and regular customer. Other than two weekends before Christmas, there are no indoor markets this year, so I'm missing the best eggs I've ever had.

N - Normal - I had one set of blood work that had completely normal values for the first time since I started regularly seeing a doctor. Amazing, but the next one was back to not all normal, but also nothing alarming.

O - One Take Super 8 - For the first time since the pandemic, I was able to go to the screening. It's always an interesting mix of films and a great opportunity to see what many local film makers are creating.

P - Pandemic - Somehow, I still haven't caught covid, or if I have, it was so mild that I had no symptoms at all. I haven't even had a cold since it arrived so when I finally do get sick, it's going to feel like the worst thing ever.

Q - Quite a few other things - In addition to the other things I've mentioned, I saw Andrea Ramolo, Ava Wild, Basia Bulat, Crystal Shawanda, The Local Group, Marissa Burwell, Mariel Buckley, Parkland, Royal Canoe, Sweet Alibi, Surf Dads, The Sadies, Too Many Zooz, The Trade Offs, Terra Lightfoot, and various things at the Cathedral Village Arts Festival.

R - Regina Folk Festival - I wasn't particularly excited by the line up for the night stages this year, so I didn't get evening tickets, but I did have the best time hanging out with friends in the park on the Saturday afternoon.

S - Symphony - I attended the symphony twice. Once to catch Beethoven's Fifth and once to see them back up Megan Nash.

T - Ten Dances - At the start of the year an Instagram friend asked what my goals were for the year. I said something like, see some theatre, go to an art gallery, and attend a ballet. The first two weren't really that hard, but there's not much ballet to see in Regina. The best I could manage is Saskatchewan Youth Ballet's fall performance, Ten Dances. It was good, but not really like seeing a professional ballet company.

U - Unfortunate - I got bit by a dog while walking around the lake one day this summer.

V - Very snowy - There was so much snow in my back yard this spring that I needed to pump water to the alley and now it seems like we've already had as much snow this winter as we had all last winter. I'm so tired of shovelling.

W - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - This was a non-globe theatre production presented at the Artesian about two couples and their secrets. It was very well done, but not the easiest subject matter to sit and watch.

X - Around September, I started contemplating travel again. Prices weren't great and there was still a lot of chaos in Toronto, so I didn't make firm plans and by the time I was ready to book, work obligations made it impossible, so I put a big red X through travelling again this year.

Y - Yet another year of working at the University - It definitely isn't my dream job, but the money is pretty good.

The office view isn't too shabby

Z - Zany - I spent a week on Tinder. It was as pointless as ever, but I did come away with a couple of zany stories: One of the people I saw was someone I knew in real life and who I still thought was married. (Apparently she got divorced and I didn't notice.) Also, women holding fish is now a thing. I thought that it was only men who posted pictures of themselves holding fish on Tinder, but now women are doing it too. So strange. (That week also reminded me that Tinder is terrible.)