happy (jet black) new year!

this year was quiet, not as quiet as last year, but quiet. most years i go downtown to go do the under-21 events that are free and come home to video call my cousins around midnight where they're already eating lunch on jan 1. i haven't done that since 2020 rolled in (only to crash and burn a few moments later).

this year i at long last learned to play jet black new year, and made zenzai (which turned out only okay considering i forgot to get date syrup and regular rice flour and we were out of sugar). 

but now we're a week in. there's snow now, usually we're well into the snow season here but not this year. it's summer for a few in my family, but it's pretty much always summer. the days are getting longer here, though. i wonder why the calendar new year isn't one of the solstices?

i think i'll stick to hoping for a decent year. nothing too much, just a better year than the last.