November -like 2020 as a whole- went by sooo quickly; what a short month! This month I bought a Playstation 5 and that’s gone off with a lot of my time (separate post about the games soon?) along with work and moping, but there’s a few specific days worth mentioning from the month too.
With plenty of films either delayed or postponed due to 2020 hell my local cinema has been great at bringing back and showing older titles. Earlier this month we went to see the original Jurassic Park in the cinema, and this was probably one of my favourite cinema trips in recent memory- a joy finally getting to see it on the big screen. As a child I was well aware of the film and hype, but after missing in the cinema initially I was forever relegated to watching it on tv/vhs/dvd et al. Jurassic Park is a film i’m incredibly fond of -and even one that I had already rewatched earlier this year- so watching it again in the cinema was an embarassingly comfortable, reassuring, and rewarding experience: positive endorphins only. The film has aged beautifully- dinosaurs are scary, set-pieces are fun, and the soundtrack that accompanies is easily John Williams best, all heightened in that cinema screen setting. The film is fun and full of heart throughout- I can safely say it’s one of my favourite films.
Socialising this year has largely been online with voice chats and videocalls, with piss-ups and fantasy roleplaying in between, but this month we managed to get out and attend a big birthday dinner with most of my friends present. Lockdowns, social-distancing, and self-isolation are all terms I don’t think I’ll ever have the benefit of forgetting, but against all odds I managed to have a ‘night out’ with 20 people (safely) and it was great getting to catch up with so many people (safely) for the first time in months. 2020 has been a big year of changing habits and no contact so I was drained afterwards, but the night will probably stand out quite a bit in terms of individual days for the year. I had fish for dinner, it was great! Everything at the moment generally feels a bit samey or blurs together, and I still cant believe it’s December tomorrow, but it’s good to know that as far as global pandemics go we’re hopefully coming out of it. Hopefully.
Less optimistically, I went running at the weekend for the first time since April and while I still have daily leg ache (in my muscles?) from earlier this year I was naivé and gave it a shot. On an early Saturday morning I got my running gear on and went to the nearby riverside to meet a friend and see how we got on. My pacing and breathing was good and I managed just over 4km with stops and starts quite easily. It was great being out on the paths and moving again, but I was sore as hell the remainder of the afternoon -the next day even worse- and reminded pretty harshly that I’m still mysteriously injured and aching. This one got to me- more doctor appointments before I try anything stupid like that again.
It’s hard to believe that next month is December and that the year is almost over. While aspirations and enthusiasm are quite low there’s a few things I’m planning to finish creatively before year end or as close to as I can manage. Fingers crossed there’s better stuff to report next month!