2023 REVIEWS - Cathy's faves

2023 - what can I say you were magnificent and also rather shite.

I have never worked as hard as I did in 2023. This left a lot less time for me personally. In most ways it was worth it, but at times I was very much in need of a weekend doing absolutely nothing and I scheduled such weekends when I could.

I regularly commenced my side hustle, teaching Library at TAFE. I had taught one subject early 2022, but in 2023 all my study and over 30 years of working in Libraries came to fruition. I picked up a regular gig teaching Diploma students on Wednesday nights for Newcastle TAFE and was 'headhunted' by Western digital to teach Cert IV on Tuesday nights. Both were online and so my huge learning curve begun.

To commence a new career, albeit a side career and a topic I know well - Libraries, in your 50s is a really big deal. I didn't really think about it then, but reflecting on this now I can see how huge this was. The teaching side of things came fairly easily, I knew my subject well, and I enjoyed it and my lovely students. I was not perfect and made mistakes, but nothing too horrendous and I was continually learning and getting better as I went. This came from the wonderful support of my students and my amazing colleagues. I still have a long way to go, but I am pleased with my first proper year. 

Teaching is hard - this is the truth, and I kind of knew that, but doing it you really get the enormity of the job. So hats off to all the teachers out there, especially my lovely Andrew, you are amazing. But it such a rewarding vocation, I look forward to what 2024 brings.

I also saw through an enormous project at work. I came up with the idea of having a Comic Con in The Hunter after attending the Sydney one around the same time we were looking at inclusive programming in the library. This seemed the ultra-inclusive event. Under the guise of Pop Bam, I led an amazing group/team of people over many months. It got huge quick, we do not have exact attendance figures, but 800-1000 would be a generous guess.

Our hard work paid off by offering the community a wonderful day out and the chance to cosplay and enjoy themselves, along with exhibitors and wonderful people who work and volunteer in the pop culture and cosplay worlds.

My regular gig at Belmont Library continued along, working with a wonderful team and great community that continue to make me smile.

I know people work much harder than I do, juggling families and study and so forth, so I feel lucky and privileged to have the time to work on all of the above. 

My health gets better and better. The long-term stress that is post-cancer never really leaves you. I am getting a better handle on my menopause. The more I read, the more I realise it has probably been hanging around much longer than I realised and that some of my minor health 'issues' are probably related to this. As a breast cancer survivor, no HRT for me. But I am seeing a fab oncologist gyno who is helping me deal with it all. So despite the menopause and my osteo arthritis, which both can have their moments, overall I feel like I am doing better.

Andrew and i still continue to do weekends between here and Sydney and whilst this is still a temporary thing it works for us.

We both love the escape into each other's world, and we enjoyed a great holiday in Melbourne in October. 

Our year also had a good many great concerts, big and small.

We enjoyed some whale watching, and visiting the beautiful puppies our lovely friends were fostering.

We participated in Wuthering Heights Day and Newcastle Writers Festival and farewelled a fave venue, The Cambridge

Here are my lists for the year.

Film

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once

2. Asteroid City

3. Maestro

4. Barbie

5. Elvis

6. Aftersun

7. Unbearable weight of massive talent

8. Blueback

9. Wonka

10. Triangle of Sadness

Honorable mentions to some older movies we rewatched:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Bowfinger

Broadcast News

Pee Wees Big Adventure

The Kid

Television

1. The Bear

2. Succession Final Season

3. Barry Final Season

4. Funny Woman

5. The Sandman

6. The Mandarlorian

7. The Newsreader

8. The Larkins

9. The Cleaner

10. Wednesday

Honorable Mentions:

Call the Midwife S12

only murders in teh building S2

Mother and Son

Hard Quiz

Cunk on Earth

Jury Duty

Docos

1. The Sparks Brother

2. Judy Blume Forever

3. Arnold

4. Kusama Infinity

5. The Last Movie Stars

6. Shatner in Space

7. Keeping the Score

8. Marilyn Reframed

9. Rainn WIlson and the Geography of Bliss

10. Love to Love You, Donna Summer. 

Honorable Mentions:

The ABC of with David Wenham

Dream of Destiny - Richard Linklater

Val

Defending my life - Albert Brooks

MUSIC

1. Fossfora - Bjork

2. Special - Lizzo

3. Palomino - First Aid Kit

4. Australian Carnage - Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

5. The best of Sparks

GIGS 

1. Paul McCartney

2. Devo

3. The White Album show

4. Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets

5. The Cruel Sea

6. Weird Al

7. Henry Rollins

8. Tim Rogers

9. Jane's Addiction

10. ROCKWIZ

Honorable Mentions

David Sedaris, John Cleese, Ita, Judy Nunn

Podcasts

1. Wiser than Me - Julia Louis Dreyfus

2. McCartney: a life in lyrics

3. Joanna and the Maestro

4. All There is with Anderson Cooper

5. The Newsreader 

6. Smartless

7. Imperfects

8. Helen Garner 80 - Annabel Crabb - single episode

9. Pamela Adlon on Alan Alda's Clear and Vivid with Alan Alda - single episode

10. Annie Lennox -on Julia Gillard's A Podcast of Owns Own - single episode

Honorable mentions:

WTF - always brilliant

Bang On

BOOKS

1. All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley

2. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

3. Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami

4. Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

5. Bodies of light by Jennifer Down

6. Did I Ever Tell You This by Sam Neil

7. A Heart that works by Rob Delany

8. Limberlost by Robbie Arnott

9. No Bull by Vika and Linda Bull

10. Everything and Nothing by Heather Mitchell

Honorable Mentions:

Aphrodite's Breath by Susan Johnson

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

Dickens and Prince by Nick Hornby