Get to know you series :) [CURRENTLY: Favourite Kitchen Appliance]

[beatroot]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

I'll go off the categories that you have listed!

Albums: folklore and evermore- thank you Taylor Swift for dropping not just one but TWO new albums this year. I still haven't recovered from Lover and all of sudden she drops two new albums. Three of her songs from folklore (august, exile and the 1) were in my top five most played songs on Spotify.

Books: So Much I Want To Tell You: Letters to My Little Sister by Anna Akana- I haven't been reading much books lately (in the past five years anyways because I just didn't have time to read books but also lost interest) But I got this book for my birthday when I had briefly mentioned to my close friend that I've always wanted the book. I finished the book within 3 days. I was so hooked. I love Anna Akana and her videos on Youtube. Reading this book made me feel much closer to her. She writes the book as if she's giving her little sister advice. Akana has a way of capturing your attention by giving well written out advice.

TV Show: I finished watching 'How I Met Your Mother' after starting binging it in November last year. My god. I've probably at least rewatched it at least 4 times by now. I fell in love with the characters, the advice that it shared, the stories that it had and so much more. It such a simple concept that was done so well. After watching the show the first time round, it really did make me consider how the different people I've met, the friendships I've made, the experiences I've been through, etc. has shaped the person that I am today. I can't thank the show enough for this.

Movies: I've watched quite a lot of films this year so there's plenty to choose from. I think some standout films that I've watched this year have to be Parasite (2019), The Apartment (1960) and Booksmart (2019)

Food: I've discovered how great the Garlo's pies are (I get the Lean Beef). I've been getting more into bubble tea too aha. I've also been eating a lot of Greek Yoghurt lately (the Chobani brand in particular)

[K888]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

Books - listened to a number of audiobooks this year, my favourite was the Tattooist of Auschwitz. Really moving and incredibly well written.

TV - Chernobyl and new season of the Mandalorian are probably my favourite shows that I've watched this year. The new season of Shetland is also up there.

Podcasts - This Podcast Will Kill You, No Such Thing as a Fish, Behind the Bastards, Off Menu, You're Dead to Me. All kept me entertained on drives to work and placement!

Hobbies - my only real hobby is knitting, and this year I knitted my first pair of socks (well, I've done one sock and currently working on the second) which I'm really proud of!

The other thing I liked in 2020 was finishing my uni degree! I also bought my first car.

[Owlbird83]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

TV shows: Young Justice!!! Also so many other good ones ( Emily in Paris, Elite, Babysitter's club, Community, Never Have I Ever). ahh now I'm looking through my viewing history on Netflix and remembering so many good ones I forgot about --> Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Locke and Key, Spinning Out, The Witcher.

Podcast: Charlie and Ben podcast. Highly recommend!! It's actually the best podcast I could listen to, they talk about all kinds of stuff - philosphy, psychology, business, (American) politics, personal growth, current events, etc. They have interesting perspectives on many issues and I've learnt not only information, but also *how* to think for myself and form my own opinions and views on the world. It's helped me feel a little more 'worldly(?)' I guess. All the random topics they bring up I find very interesting, and it has changed my view on a few things. Also they seem like cool role models/inspiring.

I love Anna Akana and her videos on Youtube.

Same!! I get so excited each time I'm notified she's posted a new video!! I haven't read her book but it sounds like it's good from how you've described it, I'll have to read it next year!

^Youtube channels: I have two favourites, bestdressed and Anna Akana. They are both such cool role models to me and their videos are so high quality and engaging.

Hobbies: soldering silver rings! I've still got a lot to learn, but I enjoy being able to put time/effort into creating small that feels like it's quality and permanent. There's a lot of room for learning new techniques and making things that are more complicated in the future too.

Books: did not read many books this year, but really enjoyed 'The Darkest Web' a true crime book that gives three stories of real events that have happened on the dark web (get a little dark at some points). It seems like another world. I really like how in the first story the author positions the audience to empathise with these online drug lords, the police almost seem like the enemy as you read hoping they don't get captured or found out.

[keltingmeith]

This was definitely a year of me discovering some damn good music. Here's my list for y'all to peruse:

Here's the list of them for those that would prefer to peruse on another platform:
Race Car Blues - Slowly Slowly
Melbourne - Slowly Slowly
Small Talk - The Dead Love
My Friends - The Dead Love
Who You Are - Stuck Out
*Equip Sunglasses* - Hot Mulligan
Funeral Home - Yours Truly
Shimmer (from Triple J's 'like a version') - Hands Like Houses
The Water - Hands Like Houses

There is this one show that all of my siblings used to make jokes about, called ‘Malcolm in the Middle’. Its basically about this poor/middle class American family with four troublemaking brothers who get into a lot of mischievous (but very funny) situations..

The fact that you feel the need to explain what Malcolm in the Middle is makes me feel disgustingly old, ngl.

[Sine]

There is this one show that all of my siblings used to make jokes about, called ‘Malcolm in the Middle’. Its basically about this poor/middle class American family with four troublemaking brothers who get into a lot of mischievous (but very funny) situations..
During semester holidays I found myself binging about 6-8 episodes a day and I absolutely LOVED watching it!!! Its sooo funny and relatable! I really think that show is quite underrated..

I definitely know that show. I never watched it on a season to season basis but have randomly watched a heap of the episodes (but this was ages ago ahah).

I'll go off the categories that you have listed!

Albums: folklore and evermore- thank you Taylor Swift for dropping not just one but TWO new albums this year. I still haven't recovered from Lover and all of sudden she drops two new albums. Three of her songs from folklore (august, exile and the 1) were in my top five most played songs on Spotify.

TV Show: I finished watching 'How I Met Your Mother' after starting binging it in November last year. My god. I've probably at least rewatched it at least 4 times by now. I fell in love with the characters, the advice that it shared, the stories that it had and so much more. It such a simple concept that was done so well. After watching the show the first time round, it really did make me consider how the different people I've met, the friendships I've made, the experiences I've been through, etc. has shaped the person that I am today. I can't thank the show enough for this.

ahhh exile came 5th on my Spotify wrapped

It's been a while since I've had a rewatch of HIMYM, I think it recently came back to AUS Netflix so the time might be right??

TV shows: Young Justice!!! Also so many other good ones ( Emily in Paris, Elite, Babysitter's club, Community, Never Have I Ever). ahh now I'm looking through my viewing history on Netflix and remembering so many good ones I forgot about --> Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Locke and Key, Spinning Out, The Witcher.

Yes for community! rewatched it countless times (most recently end of last year iirc).

[The Cat In The Hat]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

Albums: have I mentioned how much I like Amira Willighagen's three albums (I discovered them free on YouTube a while back). Amira (mostly opera) Merry Christmas (Christmas songs) and With All My Heart (classical crossover I think). (these links ought to work. they're also legal in I think most countries, or at any rate Australia.)
Books oh no ATAR addled my brain I just spelt that boocks argh: Been getting really excited once more about Melanie Dickerson's books; I own 'The Healer's Apprentice' (#1 in Hagenheim series) and found 'The Captive Maiden' (#4 in same) at the school library. Planning to buy more of the series soon! (It's a Christian romance type. If you like romance, strongly recommend, if you're offended by Christian mentions don't read it.)
Movies/TV shows: Does North and South (2004 BBC miniseries) count as TV or movies? Anyhow, I rewatched it and rekindled my love for the character of John Thornton as played by Richard Armitage I think? Now I inwardly grin whenever I see Thornton come onto the scene. And as for movies, watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was... an experience, since it kinda went differently to the book, though I did enjoy it, a lot. Whoever played him is not Caspian, but Eustace was Eustace to the ground. And Reep.
Podcasts: - (don't listen to them)
Poetry: I don't want to hear more of Old/New World (English text). Though some bits were quite okay.
Food: Favourite foods of 2020? Too many options - my mother is a good cook!
Games: Many games played with family in person are a lot of fun!
Hobbies: Definitely writing my current novel-in-progress (first draft still) though it's fallen a bit by the wayside. Playing the piano. And singing has emerged as great fun while out exercising - while I can't belt it out (well, I can't really anywhere) it's really good for my asthma as well, I reckon (at least breath control feels better, though that doesn't show on statistics, and I feel less panicky less often about catching my breath). Perhaps next year is the year I learn Nessun Dorma?
In some ways - not all, not most - I would say something else I liked to some extent was actually lockdown - for an antisocial hermit like myself, it was great not having to deal with people. But I do happen to like my family, and thus missed them.

[K.Smithy]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

Books: My top two favourite books right now are probably A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, and Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking (one of my goals for next year is to read a lot more, so I'm interested if my answer to this would change at the end of 2021).

Movies: My all-time favourites are: Interstellar, The Theory of Everything, Imitation Game, Inception, Shutter Island, and Freedom Writers. I also love horror movies and spend a lot of time watching them. Also series such as The Hunger Games, Maze Runner and Divergent - love them.

TV shows: The Walking Dead, Cobra Kai, Atypical, Brooklyn 99, The Office, and The Big Bang Theory

Podcasts: The only one I have actually taken time out to properly listen to is "Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids" - pretty entertaining

Food: Butter chicken, pumpkin soup and anything Mexican

Games: I've played a lot of Cards Against Humanity this year (I even bought Cards Against Muggles which I'm dying to play). Pretty fun.

Hobbies: My hobbies include piano (tho I haven't played as much this year as I would've liked) and scrolling for hours and hours on TikTok

[KatherineGale]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

Album: Razzmatazz by idkhbtfm

Goddamn there's some good songs on that album. I swear I've listened to it a thousand times already.

Highly recommend checking them out. Here's some of my favourites from the album:

https://youtu.be/GBRCGf81jwY

https://youtu.be/BybwPRtaFUw

https://youtu.be/bSRbIE8c1HU

https://youtu.be/9q_nAZaLCZA

https://youtu.be/BH48aquxExc

https://youtu.be/1GlvjGn131o

https://youtu.be/jdZ8h7P2LyI

And yes, I have just linked half the entire album haha it's too hard to choose!


Hobbies: colouring in. I bought myself some water colour pencils and a couple of sci-fi / fantasy adult colouring in books. It was great to not just stare at a screen lol my weekly screen time dropped by a lot haha.

I've also started writing again. I've got a few ideas in the works for some short novellas. Who knows, one of these days I might actually finish one of them

I have also very recently started up a new hobby. I got a telescope for my Christmas present/early 21st. I'm so excited to spent more time using it. I've been too busy the last couple of days - only taken it out twice - but I think by the end of next week I'll be taking it out every night. In the mean time, I've been watching YouTube videos to figure out how to use it lmao. Loving the challenge thought

[AngelWings]

PROMPT: What are your favourites of 2020?
Given it is more of a year-end question this can really be anything.
Some categories I thought of were:
- Albums
- Books
- Movies
- TV shows
- Podcasts
- Poetry
- Food
- Games
- Hobbies
- etc, or anything else you liked in 2020 that you wish you could talk about more!

Ironically, it’s been a busy year for me despite the pandemic.

Spoiler

Albums: I usually listen to whatever is on the radio, so it’s usually whatever new pop album is out recently. This year I’ve started listening to more French songs, though I don’t understand French.

Poetry: What a peculiar option to put here. I don’t write so much poetry as I do excerpts and quotes.

Let me answer your prompt by also asking a new one alongside it (as in anyone can answer both because they’ll feed into each other):

PROMPT: What goals are you hoping to achieve in 2021?

The goals can be academic or non-academic (including the areas listed in the previous prompt), and as abstract or as concrete as you like.

For example, in 2021, I’d like to:

Spoiler

- get more exercise
- learn more things at work
- continue to improve the quality of my work (which I did a lot of in 2020)
- read more books
- continue the same self care that I did in 2020 (Recovery was a big thing, as I had a break up and a family member pass away.)
- reconnect with friends in person, taking into account COVID restrictions
- get better at my foreign languages (particularly both dialects of Chinese that I currently know)
- learn Vietnamese
- organise my sleep regime (I’m better than I was in uni, but still need to increase my hours asleep.)
- make it a habit to have less screen time each day where possible
- cook more

[KatherineGale]

PROMPT: What goals are you hoping to achieve in 2021?

The goals can be academic or non-academic (including the areas listed in the previous prompt), and as abstract or as concrete as you like.




Love the prompt 

- Bring my WAM up to 80+

- Continue to maintain my health

- find and see Saturn through my telescope

- Work on and perfect my recipes, in particular satay chicken, chicken and sweet corn soup, Pad Thai, lemon chicken and prawn toast. Pretty close with the first three, but they still need some work.

- go outside more, possibly start going on walking trails and the like

[The Cat In The Hat]

PROMPT: What goals are you hoping to achieve in 2021?

The goals can be academic or non-academic (including the areas listed in the previous prompt), and as abstract or as concrete as you like.

For example, in 2021, I’d like to:

Spoiler

- get more exercise
- learn more things at work
- continue to improve the quality of my work (which I did a lot of in 2020)
- read more books
- continue the same self care that I did in 2020 (Recovery was a big thing, as I had a break up and a family member pass away.)
- reconnect with friends in person, taking into account COVID restrictions
- get better at my foreign languages (particularly both dialects of Chinese that I currently know)
- learn Vietnamese
- organise my sleep regime (I’m better than I was in uni, but still need to increase my hours asleep.)
- make it a habit to have less screen time each day where possible
- cook more

In 2021 I'd like to:
-Complete the first year of uni (preferably with a WAM of at least 70, although I don't really know how it works so...)
-Complete at least the second draft of To Kindle A Flame, and hopefully start on first draft of the second book (possibly called something like To Nurture A Spark? although I haven't decided)
-Finally complete and self-publish at least one of my works in progress!
-Improve my drawing skills
-Learn to sing something reasonably well
-Keep up with piano playing
-I'm sure there's a lot of other stuff too!

[sweetiepi]

New prompt! What is your favourite kitchen appliance, and why?

[The Cat In The Hat]

The microwave. It's so useful.

[beatroot]

I recently purchased a waffle maker and it is AMAZING!! Eating freshly cooked waffles is so much better than those store bought ones

[Bri MT]

Emotionally, a blender.