2021, the sequel to 2020, has come to an end.
2020 was the year of the start of the coronavirus crisis.
2021 was the year the covid-19 vaccines were available, and yet, a significant portion of the population choose not to take it, even though it's been proven over and over again that the unvaccinated are more likely to need ICU hospitalization when in contact with the virus. And because of the covidiots who think any precaution is a threat to "muh freedoms", we end the year with yet another surge of another variant.
So forget any large-scale gathering to celebrate the new year.
At the rate we're going, the 2020 New Year's might possibly be the last time I went out to party for New Year's.
And many of the cases also happen to be among informal gatherings where people let their guards down and the masks down because of the guilt trips of "don't you trust us, we're your family/friends". Nevermind that too many people got the virus from their family & friends. Whereas for me, I kept my mask & shield on when visiting family and ate from a distance from everyone else. And even when I sometimes have breakfast with my dad at a restaurant, we sit diagonal from each other. Some people call that "living in fear". I call it living in reality. Also, unlike some people, I'm not afraid of a vaccine.
As for friends, it's been a while since I gathered with them in person. As far as I'm concerned, the phone, email, and social media are good enough for now.
And socializing at work? In the worker lounge, everyone has to sit at separate tables.
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While I've been avoiding covid as much as possible, I should also be avoiding excessive calories as much as possible. Sadly, I've been gaining too much weight for the last two years. I know it's a cliché to talk about losing weight for every New Year's resolution, but I have to figure out how to make that a reality. I've lost weight before (at least that's what people were saying to me from 2002 to 2012, as well as from 2017 to 2019) so it's not like I don't have experience losing weight, I just got to find a way that fits my schedule.
Also, there's a food addiction. While I've never taken drugs or drank alcohol, I think my addiction is to food, especially snacks and rice. It's like I think about eating, then feel guilty for eating too much afterward.
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As for work, I'm currently working at a fashion store and I have what is possibly the easiest job - wiping all the high-touch points (ie doors, elevators, escalators, fixtures, etc).
What I like about it is I work at my own pace, and I don't have to do any cashier duties. I like to keep it simple.
However, I want to eventually move on to something else. I want to return to working at a library. It's what I trained for and what I live for. Either that or work in the school again.
This is the first year I didn't work in a school since I started in 2005.
Learn more at
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/05/1st-school-year-that-i-wasnt-working-in.html
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/03/1-year-ago-little-did-we-know-it-will.html
I only left the school library job because the head librarian was a jerk, and even though she left a year after I left, schools are more concerned about filling classroom positions than library positions.
I have no interest in the stress of a full-time teacher, but a part of me wants to be a teacher aide or a substitute teacher again. I miss working with the kids (well, the well-behaved ones) and a part of me feels that's my main purpose on earth. But the last time I worked in a classroom was before the pandemic, so I haven't yet experienced having to remind defiant students to keep their masks on or to follow other protocols set by school admin that didn't exist before the pandemic.
I am considering a return to substitute teaching for the next school year while keeping my retail job. I need something to fall back on during school vacations when subs don't have paid opportunities.
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But the real ideal is to make enough money from my music and art. As Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior, I make instrumental tracks (sold on iTunes, streamed on Spotify, et al) and visual arts (sold on RedBubble). I made some money on my music, but not enough to pay my bills.
Earlier this year, Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior released "Science Fiction Music: an instrumental album", which as you can guess is an electronic music album of instrumental tracks that sounds like what you can hear in a science fiction movie.
I have music videos for 11 tracks from that album and will need to make 4 more.
Check out Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior music videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTp3x3norNTYDksJKCSfhXg
Then I plan to make my 2nd hip-hop instrumental album. The first one, "Urban Honolulu Jams" was released in 2016 and was mostly a mix of 90's-style G-funk and 70's style funk. It was hastily put together and I wish I came up with better titles for some of the tracks.
I already made some tracks for the upcoming "Urban Honolulu Jams 2", and I plan to make some more, this time, covering a wider spectrum of sound in the hip-hop genres. I can't give you a timeline of when it'll be complete, as I want to make it as legendary as possible and to give the tracks some cool titles.
After that, who knows? Maybe a vocal album (that would take years if I don't get paid time off to complete it), or an instrumental album of a genre I haven't worked on yet. So many possibilities.
And talking about music, here's my list of the best songs of the year
My favorite song would be : Coldplay w/BTS "My Universe"
and here's some other classics from 2021
The Weeknd "Take My Breath"
BTS "Butter"
TXT "Magic"
Olivia Rodrigo "Good 4 U"
Olivia Rodrigo "Brutal"
Bella Poarch "Build a B____"
Willow "Transparent Soul"
Troy Sivian w/ TateMcRae "You"
Weezer "All my Favorite Songs"
Natanael Cano w/ Ovi, Snoop Dogg, Snow that Product, CNG "Feeling Good"
CRO w/Snow tha Product "Get Money"
Pop Smoke w/ Chris Brown "Woo Baby"
Lil Nas X "That's What I Want"
Girl in Red "Seratonin"
Saweetie w/ Doja Cat "Best Friend"
Latto "Big Energy"
Kid Lario w/ Justin Bieber "Stay"
Lizzo w/Cardi B "Rumors"
and to finish the year, we got..........
Tory Lanez "Pluto's Last Comet"
Madonna's not happy Tory Lanez sampled her song "Get into the Groove" without seeking permission, but his song is very good, I was so impressed that I played it over and over after my first listen . I hope they can work out a deal to keep the song in rotation
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And off course, there's this blog. I wish I had more time to blog this year, because there was so much to blog about, but so little time. I might've blogged more this year than the last 2 years, but I still don't feel it's enough. But I'll keep blogging until I can no longer do so.
