*I am using the term ‘made’ lightly. 2020 was unprecedented, disastrous on many (if not all) fronts, and overall miserably downcast. But still, but still… So that we may learn to sharpen our appreciation for the more cosmic things in life, trying times can help us chart out kernels worth being thankful for. Here are mine, in no particular order:
- Discovering musical pieces from Armand Amar and Levon Minassian (helped add variety to my constant cooking loop on Spotify stuck on Thievery Corporation).
- Cooking in my own kitchen.
- Being witness to my family and friends, their ups and their downs, to life.
- Learning to bake sourdough bread thanks to Maurizio.
- A lovely girls’ trip to Portland, OR the weekend before the world shut down.
- Getting to read Albert Camus’ The Plague while living through a plague.
- Blasting Eagles’ Hotel California on PCH drives. Gets me every time. Takes me to a different era.
- My mamochka’s enthusiasm for life.
- G sending me ‘interoffice’ memos from one room to the other at home.
- Picnics on lush green grass.
- Encouraging words from Shannon on writing.
- Rediscovering hikes at Fryman Canyon in Studio City, CA.
- Seeing my musical crush, Sting, perform live at the Ahmanson.
- Getting to live with and learn from the most intelligent, kindest human I know. G.
- Being able to walk to and from work and feeling like I managed to outsmart Los Angeles and its traffic-defined and car-constricted ways.
- Finding a meditation oasis with a huge lotus-shaped fountain on the rooftop of a museum.
- Rewatching Leo’s Great Gatsby and crying.
- Lil texting me a photo memory of us pouring Redbreast into two wine glasses because we’re elegant.
- Hearing Ed Norton discuss his films.
- Being close to (and with) family.
- Get-togethers with Marina.
- Watching a short animation of Nikolai Gogol’s The Overcoat (thanks Cillian Murphy).
- Playing pool with my pap.
- Reconnecting with Ian.
- Alfons Mucha’s works.
- Rob sending me a birthday parcel all the way from Australia.
- Takeout from Izakaya Osen in Silver Lake.
- Exploring Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.
- By way of Georges Perec and his directive to ‘question [our] tea spoons,’ learning to be observant of our infra-ordinary, granular everyday.
- Tender memories (that ebb and flow) of my pup, Beam, who passed in May. He brought us 15 years of pure bliss. Dogs are majestic creatures.
- Checking in with my friends, receiving sweet messages from them.
- My mamochka’s pickled beets.
- Touching base with Sean who is far away in Berlin but always in my thoughts.
- Inside my wallet, finding a photo of a circa-2000’s printout of the actors from the Russian mobster show, Brigada. Bezrukov <3
- Decorating and hygge-ing my home.
- Watching too many shows for the first time and loving them: West Wing, Seinfeld, Frasier, Mad Men, War and Peace, Witcher…
- Making people smile.
- Documentary viewings on Zoom spearheaded by my UCLA professor.
- Talking on the phone; hearing people’s voices and trying to hold on to their intonation, nuances, quirks and all.
- Starting my Postscript newsletter.
- My grandma’s darling face every time I stop by to visit her.
- Having access to a gym and weights.
- Discussing life with Knarik.
- Sitting in on Sunday mornings with David Whyte.
- Using Libby the app to get books straight to my Kindle.
- Breakfast burritos at Wake and Late in DTLA.
- Podcast strolls near the Silver Lake Reservoir. Here is a list of some of my favorite podcasts.
- This poem.
- Watching the orchids my grandma gifted me last year re-bloom.
- Santa Monica Farmer’s Market.
- Frame Pizza in DTLA.
- Learning how to make braised short rib.
- Celtic sea salt.
- My uncle’s Saturday morning check-ins from Moscow.
- Participating in Monday Night Acting Lab workshops even though I was vastly outside my comfort zone.
- Cereal, but at night.
- Investing in stocks.
- Evening neighborhood street strolls.
- Bookstagram.
- Trader Joe’s heirloom popcorn (finally, someone understands my small, half-popped kernel obsession).
- Witnessing my brother graduate from UCLA and go through this year like a champ.
- Driving by/finding my pap on his morning walk and singing happy birthday to him from the car.
- Committing to reading and creating monthly book lists to tackle.
- Newfound appreciation for routine and ritual.
- Moonlight and morning light on bedsheets.
- Acai runs to Roots and Rye with Marina.
- Dusk in my parents’ garden.
- Eating mulberries.
- Rekindling my pre-law school passions.
- Letting go of my visual disdain for the pressure cooker, because its practical use outweighs its eyesore status.
- Evenings with my family toasting, laughing, and conversing around the dinner table.
- Falafel + coriander + tomato combination.
- Cozy film nights.
- Connecting with my dream wedding venue.
- Playing cards (naked).
- Coming home from my parents’ with a trunk full of food/Costco items/whatever else my mom thinks I need.
- Foggy mornings, temperature drops near the ocean, and getting to hear the soothing, unfiltered sound of waves.
- Seinfeld’s Kramer in this scene.
- School of Life question cards.
- Electric+glass stovetops.
- Handwritten letters, and the sweet souls behind them.
- My new Roterfaden organizer from Germany.
- Conversations at Destroyer in Culver City with Margaux.
- Missing the Great Conjunction but making a distinct mental note, “Where will I and my loved ones be the next time around?”
- My Hobonichi Techo that holds my brain together.
- Considering moving overseas.
- Rewatching Before Sunrise.
- Bicycling on a Linus.
- Road trip to California’s Central Coast.
- Convincing my grandma to complete the 23andMe DNA kit.
- Learning my grandma’s crepes recipe.
- Reading in Russian. Russian literature.
- Giggles and hugs from my adorable Vesper.
- The Waking Up app and Sam’s guidance.
- Reading. Annotating. Discussing.
- Finding my dad almost always wearing the jacket I gifted him from last Christmas.
- Getting destroyed by my grandma in chess.
- Watching the oldies but goodies, particularly Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.
- Craig Mod’s newsletters.
- People’s smiles. People’s faces. Hugs.
And now, bon voyage into 2021! Onward!
With love,
Ani
