2022 was epic

Intro

I’ve been thinking a lot about how social media interrupted the way we communicate with one another. I don’t believe any technology is inherently good or evil. Yet the particular and increasing power that billionaires and marketers have in our human interactions is unsettling.

Also, none of the social media platforms I’m active on can contain the massiveness of this year. I struggled. I soared. I loved. I rested. I watched massive amounts of soccer. I tried to bust out of my comfort zone at every turn and it was deeply painful at times. But I wouldn’t trade this year for any other.

Here’s a summary of the last 365 days in a format and a place that I can actually find in the future when I’m feeling sad or reflective or forgetful.

Things I did

Positive stuff

• Flew my mom out to visit (!!!!)
• Wrote a play
• Went to Out at the Park
• Started an herb garden
• Built a house in Tijuana
• Started dating
• Floated in a lazy river
• Redacted mushy stuff

Not so positive stuff

• Sat in an ER with a friend
• Moved again
• Got covid
• Lost a great therapist due to bureaucracy
• Went to a candlelight vigil

Work stuff

• Got a raise and a promotion (somehow I’m an executive???)
• Restored a website < 24 hours after a ransomware attack
• Helmed abortion.ca.gov
• Argued with a lot of people and mostly won

Places I went

Outside the US

• Monterrey, Mexico
• Madrid
• Seville
• Majorca
• Nassau

In California

• Palm Springs
• Disneyland
• Sacramento

In the rest of US

• Richmond, VA
• Washington, DC
• Miami Beach
• Hawaii

Live events I attended

Comedians

• Tig Notaro
• Hasan Minaj
• Hari Kondabolu

Bands

• Flogging Molly + The Interrupters
• Baby Bushka
• Flogging Molly Cruise
  • Descendents
  • Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
  • Cherry Cokes -
    • many more

Soccer

• Many SD Wave FC games
• Many SD Loyal games
• NWSL Final
• Tigres Feminil vs Las Rayadas

Books I read

• A Marvellous Light — Freya Marske
• Akata Woman — Nnedi Okorafor
• American Gods — Neil Gaiman
• Angela Davis: An Autobiography — Angela Y. Davis
• Assata: An Autobiography — Assata Shakur
• Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist — Judith Heumann, Kristin Joiner
• Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza 5th Edition — Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Norma E. Cantú, Aída Hurtado
• Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism — Aja Barber
• Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds — adrienne maree brown
• Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation — S. Bear Bergman, Kate Bornstein
• How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy — Lynette Rice
• Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body — Roxane Gay
• Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment — Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive — Stephanie Land
• Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements — Walidah Imarisha, adrienne maree brown
• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous — Ocean Vuong
• One Last Stop — Casey McQuiston
• One Life — Megan Rapinoe, Emma Brockes
• Parable of the Sower — Octavia E. Butler
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation — Octavia E. Butler
• Parable of the Talents — Octavia E. Butler
• Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good — adrienne maree brown
• Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol — Holly Whitaker
• Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto — Tricia Hersey
• The Fire Next Time — James Baldwin
• The Merciless Ones — Namina Forna
• The Other Black Girl — Zakiya Dalila Harris
• The Sympathizer — Viet Thanh Nguyen
• We Do This ‘til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice — Mariame Kaba, Naomi Murakawa (Contributor), Tamara K. Nopper

People I spent time with (in person)

I was fortunate to spend this year in the company of so many wonderful humans. I’m afraid to start listing them all cause I may forget someone important. If you’re seeing this, you’re probably one of those people. In no particular order:

Jae, Sandy, Norma, Kelly, Casey, Jeffrey, Joshua, Danny, Meera, Marianne, Erin, Andrea, Krystle, Abby, Eric, Cindy, Diana, Donna, Danny, Wendy, Holly, Zandro, Sean, Doug and the volunteers at Project Mercy, Anaya, Laura, Matt, Amanda, Bunsen, Ryan, Stacey, Cecile, Walrus, Kyle, Jules, Laura, Butch, René, the Resistance, Silence, and Challenge Book Clubs, all the Sirens, Locals, Chavos, and the Play Proud fam, my Soul Kiss cohort, my Office of Data and Innovation coworkers (especially the ones I got to happy hour with), the folks at Lambda Rising Soccer….

Conclusion

Did I miss anything?

-Zakiya, Dec 31, 2022