2024: Year in Review & What The Year Taught Me

 

A.I. generated image 

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(I'm late to the party, but here is my take on last year...)

2024 was the year I slowed down and took everything in my stride; faster didn't mean better, but in most cases, after 6 years in the food court, I realised that by taking my time and not rushing, I was yielding positive results. At 43, I stopped running and rushing around to get things done & focused on the quality of my work instead of quantity & how quickly I was able to do something. 

But amid all of this, there have been personnel changes, and the whole atmosphere has been different. For the first time, I questioned my future at Costco.

I didn't need to wait for the other person's apology, or for them to change. I was duly responsible for my feelings and my healing, and as their behaviours continued to unravel in front of my eyes, this time around I wasn't going to let other people's actions and emotions overwhelm me and take control of me. 

In some measure, I think that 2024, whilst it might not have been my best year at Costco, comes in second place to 2021; I did make a lot of strides in my work and have gone that extra mile than I have ever done before, and my overall well-being has been positive and good. There were still plenty of reasons to smile. 

Feeling comfortable within my skin, feeling confident and assured going about the work with less fuss and supervision and demonstrating what I can accomplish and do. It has been a busy and eventful year filled with challenges. Again I became proactive and got more and more involved with the work and the tasks: serving members, taking things out of the freezers and chillers, being more hands-on & saying less - although that didn't mean I was a hermit or shying away, rather I was very, very preoccupied with the work but I took my time doing it. 

There has been growth within myself, and I've seen growth in others; I noticed it in many people. For a long time I used to think that a lot of people were incapable of change & would refuse to change their ways for the better, but alas I was wrong and it was heartening to see the little steps they were taking because it meant I didn't give up on them, and that they didn't give up on themselves. 

It is important to celebrate the little wins and moments and, by going forward, use them as stepping stones towards our path of progress and personal fulfilment. Because those moments, whilst they may seem small, hold some significance in one way or another. 

Up to Sept 2023 of last year, from 2022, I was stuck in limbo by doing the same things day in and day out and not moving forward as an employee & going where I wanted to be. Alas, being able to serve the members in person was the kickstart I needed to motivate me to do better and to work smarter, as well as harder. 

After several years of personal disappointment and unhappiness with expecting people to turn out the way I wanted them to be or in becoming the healer, the fixer for him/her - only to end up being hurt, I just put my feelings aside and let them be who they were and reveal themselves to me without reacting. It reminded me that my self-worth isn't through gaining acceptance and approval and that I am doing enough to get by, and enough was as good as it could get. 

For the first time I managed to say 'no' and turn down invites because I want to a) preserve my time and energy for the things and people that matter and b) it is a way of setting a boundary without offending the other person/s. 

That, and mentally, and emotionally I wasn't in the right frame of mind to attend. 

To date, I would rank the following in terms of years in order of the very best or favourite to the sheer worst: 

1) 2021* - I just enjoyed being out of the food court for once and expanding my horizons when it came to work
2) 2024* - Last year, despite one, or two minor hiccups most of the time I enjoyed working and serving members and doing other tasks and keeping me occupied. I felt like I stepped it up on more than one occasion 
3) 2023
4) 2018
5) 2020 - COVID 
6) 2022 - a tough time for me for many reasons
7) 2019 - I've detailed in my post why it was so incredibly bad, and it is still my most hated year I digress 

2024 might just eclipse 2023 as my second-best year at Costco because, work-wise, it was a huge step up from the previous year and I feel I have come a long, long way since 2018, and those little things I accomplished were some things I could not even begin to imagine were doable or possible. 

Mentally and emotionally, I was like strong enough to say ''f**k what other people think and say about me''. I used the 'let them' theory, now perfected by Mel Robbins, to let people be who they want to be, and I get to decide if they are worth my time and attention. I am not going to give my power away, I will separate my moods from his/hers comments and remarks and behaviours. I still don't get upset over people who made little digs at me. I live my life for me, not them. 

I have noticed that the majority of the members are worse when they are being served at the counter, compared to when they are eating in the dining hall of the food court. Simply based on how they act and come across in person, coming across as entitled and looking down on us as if we are beneath them. One time I got irritated that a member kept coming up to check to see if the soft serve ice cream was in the right consistency. This happened three times, and then she made a catty remark saying 'I ought to smile more'. And kiss your arse too? I'm like 'f*** off'. 

Sometimes you need to stand up for yourself and not allow people to make you feel like you cannot do your job properly and make you look foolish and put them in their place. But at the same time there needs to be restraint and you not lowering your standards, because many people simply do not care and won't care. 

Because a) they do not understand our lives, our world working in service jobs and b) they are determined to get us fired. 

I do not make New Year's resolutions or set goals for the upcoming year. I just let things be and take each step as it comes and decide what I should do next. 

I have conceded that no matter what happens, for as long as I remain at the company, I will never get a promotion or move up. I will stay at Costco for (at most or least) 2 or 3 years until I decide to quit when I have found something else. Six years is a long time to be based in one department, but gradually, I have seen the progress I have made myself, and when it came to growth, it has been mammoth and all despite the staff turnover, despite challenges incurred at department level, & despite some people not being on the same wavelength as each other.

Sometimes, or most of the time it is down to us individually to take necessary steps for things to happen. Real change, real growth and real progress do not occur miraculously out of thin air; rather it takes time, perseverance and self-belief to make it possible. 

If we want something to happen, we need to make it happen ourselves. 

Outside of work, because of the gruelling nature of it and my scheduling, I wasn't able to make time to watch a lot of films, and having a growing disinterest in the current cinema landscape didn't help matters, but oh well. 

I've been at Costco for a long time for me to say that I can leave with my head held high and having accomplished the things I wanted when the time is right for me to move on. I have accepted that nothing will change when it comes to job positions at the company. And if there are no opportunities available, then I will find them elsewhere. 

I get annual bonus checks from onwards, I'll keep ploughing on until I decide I want to do something else. I don't have anything to lose.

Nothing in life is permanent, - and there is nothing more frustrating, boring, and wasteful than staying stuck where you don't belong and/or you feel like you're not heading in the direction where you want to go. Because that is not progress - it's stagnation and a cycle that repeats itself over and over. 

In 2025, I do want to make time for the things that matter in my life by 1) spending a bit more time with my loved ones, 2) resting and reserving my energy, not feeling overworked to death by taking more days off, 3) continuing putting myself first by saying "no" to such requests and demands and prioritising myself. Likewise, Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025 were the first times in 6 years when, for once, I spent it with my family at home & that I could rest & relax throughout that period.

I realise my colleagues rely on me a lot; however, there comes a point where I need to set boundaries and that I do have limits with everything, as well as with everyone. I had a few bad days at work, but I got over them and moved on and carried on as usual, not letting it affect me too much. 

Costco is regarded by many employees as having some of the best PTO (paid time off) one would find at retail level (20-22 days annual leave per se) and the food court is still the most challenging, demanding and at times most pressing environment to work in because 1) standards are set so high, that 2) we are having to work with fewer resources, likewise staff, at our disposal and one is prone to facing scrutiny if these standards are not met. 

Besides work, I did travel with my sister to Japan back in late October (Tokyo and Osaka) for the first time, and we enjoyed ourselves despite the fact we had very little understanding of Japanese. We had a great time (ate, shopped, walked the streets and explored what it had to offer) and the Japanese culture was fun, enjoyable, and cool to experience. That and getting my £3K bonus after 6 years were my favourite takeaways from 2024. 

So yeah ultimately, it ruled. 

Waiching

Highs +

- Going to Japan for the first time 

- The member compliments 

- Being able to control my emotions 

- Continuing to do my best at work 

- Getting my bonus cheque after 6 years at Costco

- Euro 2024 football and Paris Olympics 


Lows -

- When I returned from Japan early Nov life felt a little odd to me

- Dealing with rude members but that is part and parcel of the job 

- The month of August 

- UK & U.S politics were highly contentious affairs

Retro Review: They Live (1988)

They Live

1988

Cast: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, Raymond St Jacques

Genre: Science Fiction

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $13 million

Plot: Nada, a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it is 

'Reasonable, Yet Underwhelming'

If Mars Attacks meets aspects of Total Recall and throws in a sunglasses gimmick, we would get something such as this. Set in Los Angeles shortly, the rich have got richer whilst the poor and lower class get poorer and become desolate; a construction worker/drifter in John Nada dons a pair of sunglasses after stumbling upon them and through its lenses, he sees subliminal and anti-societal messages and slogans and what they are truly saying about the state of 1980s western society. 

Retitled Invasion Los Angeles, it was produced on a budget of $4 million and grossed U.S $13 million; much like John Carpenter's 1986's Big Trouble in Little China, in recent years They Live has attained a strong, cult following. Based on a short story whilst the concept sounded promising, I found it lacked the subversive irony of Dead Heat, a stronger, memorable villain as Lo Pan in 'Big Trouble...' and Carpenter played things too straight here. Roddy Piper is supposed to be charismatic as the lead Nada but his character's persona isn't well developed; he seemed to have come alive somewhat in the 1990s B-movie action scene by teaming up with the likes of Billy Blanks in some of their offerings. 

The major issue I had with this film was it clings so hard on the premise but it didn't sell it well. There wasn't anything meaningful to say about it, through the main character, whom as the audience, we are supposed to turn to for that. Oddly, then-WWE wrestler Roddy Piper,- who was a hot property in the heydays of the 1980s generation alongside the likes of Hulk Hogan - as Nada seems muted for pretty much the entirety of the run-time and Keith David was okay. The twist with Holly at the end was unexpected and happened too late. It kept banging on and on about capitalism and Reaganomics but the action, and horror aspects could have been more compelling and fully emphasised.

It had a lot of potential and I do see the appeal it has with certain fans and audiences, but with this, it just didn't catch on with me; it's not just the pacing issue but it was so bogged down with a lot of stuff that was, forgettable. There just wasn't enough action sequences to justify it and to keep me invested in the story. 

Had John Carpenter given it as much effort as he did with Big Trouble in Little China, it would have been another cult classic worth remembering as a great and entertaining film. Yet again, we have a movie where it was a case that the concept was better than its execution. 

Final Verdict:

In today's political and socio-economic climate, perhaps They Live is relevant in that sense and playing it off as a cynical piece as a drama which has something to say. Its lack of balance of action, which it could have done a lot more with, characterisation, as straightforward as it is, bland and no- personality characters really ran this movie to the ground. It is a low-key effort; it is not bad but as mentioned I didn't love it as I wanted it to, given how nostalgic it is and how much it has been lauded as a cult classic. 

We could have had something along the lines of Big Trouble in Little China, Dead Heat, The Thing; at least I liked Roddy Piper's mullet in this. 

A-B-movie They Live is for sure. 

Overall: 

image credit: Bakemon

2023 Year-End in Review

                                      

                                         
Image by Freepik


By Waiching

In 2022, I experienced a lot of disappointment and unhappiness. As the year ended, I was relieved to put it behind me and eager to turn over a new chapter and to make sure that my work efforts in 2023 stood out and that it was a year filled with more positive highlights.

At the start of the year, things were looking good. Even though we had no permanent manager or supervisor in charge of the food court for several months, I was making good progress with my work and receiving positive feedback from members about my contributions. Over time, there were various changes in the employee roster at Costco. Some individuals departed, and others joined the department. While most new faces were welcome to the team, there were a few who left that were not missed. (It is amusing to me that the same two people who once advised me to stick to my regular work at Costco were the ones who eventually quit their jobs at the food court. They believed that I was not good enough to serve members or prepare food, but, ironically, they were the ones who ended up leaving). 

I realise I will never find my worth in another person or their opinions. I have cultivated a not-give-a-damn attitude and got used to not taking what people say or do to me personally; that's them, their image of me, of how they perceive me - but I don't have to agree or accept it. I have self-worth and pride and some get me and understand me; by not getting upset or overreacting by taking things personally, ignoring and moving on, I feel at inner peace with myself. Seeking validation from other people devalues my self-worth and sets me up for heartbreak and sadness. 

On certain days, things go smoothly, while on others, they don't. Even though I have mixed feelings about the café, it still seems like this is the most appropriate place for me to develop my skills. The department has been experiencing a high turnover rate every year, which is not uncommon in large corporations such as Costco. They are always in need of new workers and hope that the employees have invested too much time and effort to resign, once they do the bait and switch.

The present-day food court team is doing well and has improved in strength and drive. It's always good to witness a team that works well together when things go well. As for the self-service kiosks they have made the process slightly efficient and there are no longer any queues to contend with. 

At the end of last year, I made the conscious decision to take a step back by focusing on and prioritising myself and not relying on other people for my happiness. As a result, I ended my relationship with a colleague whom I had known for almost four years. I felt she was not respecting my boundaries, particularly when I needed space. There was also an incident at work that I won't go into detail about, but it made me realize that I needed to cut ties with her for good. This experience taught me that it's okay to be independent and to prioritize my own needs.

In 2023 things weren't perfect, but I felt like at the start there was a new dawn, a new beginning after some people at work, including my previous manager left. I like being able to challenge myself without someone constantly monitoring me. It is through these experiences and the people we meet that build our character; that we can grow and mature emotionally and get the best out of each other. Either we become better individuals or we remain stagnant. Or it reminds us how we ought not to be like him/her. 

The cost-of-living crisis has been a hot topic for discussion lately, but fortunately, I earn a good income from my work. The years of overseas travel continued in 2023: In February, I returned to Hong Kong, which is like a second home. It's one of my favourite cities in the world. Later on, I visited Los Angeles for the first time. While both trips were very different, they offered a much-needed respite from my daily work routine.

Looking back on this year, I am proud to say that my biggest accomplishment was reaching five years of service in the food court of Costco, making me the longest-serving employee in that department at the warehouse. Surviving for half a decade in the fast-paced environment of the Costco food court/cafe, despite the many challenges that come with working in a department that experiences high turnover rates every year, is no easy feat. 

In 2023, I became more aware of the importance and impact of my work contributions. This realization motivated me to take my career to new heights by becoming more proactive. I also discovered that I possess a considerable amount of self-confidence and self-worth, which enabled me to take on various tasks that were required of me.

When faced with a difficult task, it may seem impossible and daunting at first. However, with persistence, it can be achieved. In my case, I found that the more I worked in the back, the easier it became. I was serving members and ringing up orders, something I had not done before. Initially, I was hesitant and worried that I would not be able to do it. 

In the past, I used to get so caught up in my emotions that it affected my work or prevented me from doing it. But now, years later, I've learned to set them aside. I don't get upset or emotional as much as I used to, and I'm far less angry and pent-up than before.

However, I still had to stand up for myself when certain people tried to push my buttons.

When you are in anger mode, you have no clarity. 

It was a real challenge to accept that other people's behaviour towards me had nothing to do with me. Instead, it was more about the internal issues that they were dealing with.

My intuition is telling me that something is not right with that person. However, I try to ignore it and give them another chance because I am usually a forgiving person. But then, they continue or repeatedly persist with the same behaviour that is triggering me, even though they are unaware of it.

I need to keep reminding myself that I am not responsible for managing other people's emotions, especially from people I would never give them the time of day, otherwise. I don't owe anyone any comfort, and if they can't or won't accept me for who I am, I won't force them. 

I don't live my life for them.

I don't like to judge people and write them off completely unless they have done something or said something to me that has made me lose trust in them. Some people might not give them another chance, and only some deserve a second chance. However, I have realized that my self-worth is not dependent or co-dependent on other people's acceptance of me. They might have an image of who I should be in their eyes, and vice versa, but that is not reality. I am the one who is in control of my life, my destiny, my emotions, and my feelings, not anyone else.

I am who I am for myself, and not for anyone else. What others think or say about me does not define me. I know my self-worth, and I don't need anyone's validation to feel good about myself. Besides, you should never allow anyone else's thoughts, remarks, opinions, or comments about you to determine your self-worth and validate who you are. 

You may take them with a grain of salt, but nobody knows you better than yourself. And if people decide to have a negative opinion of you, yet throw a hissy fit when you have something to say about them, remind yourself they are being hypocritical and unfair to themselves as well as to you. 

I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life, and I no longer chase after people who do not appreciate me. I value those who matter to me and cherish their presence. 

I used to tolerate a lot because I didn't want to lose people and I have not been able to deal with the insecurities of my childhood past, but I now realize and understand that not everyone is worth holding onto.

Having been at Costco for five years, it has been quite a ride. In late 2018, the cafe team, with its original members, was performing well. However, things became hectic and chaotic in 2019 and 2021. Despite the challenges, I was able to perform better in 2021. Although 2023 presented many difficulties, it was still a significant improvement over the previous year.

In 2022 it permeated an overwhelmingly jaundiced sentiment that made me loathe it even more. I said to one colleague of mine how last year was a 'total s*** show'. Well, for me it was. 

It is important to take the time to reflect on both our successes and our failures or goals that we didn't achieve. In my personal experience, I have undergone a journey of growth, resilience and self-discovery, which is ongoing. Change and evolution are inevitable and can be felt over time, whether we acknowledge them or not. Every year, I learn something new. If I make mistakes, I must learn from them. If something good happens, I cherish the memory.

After waiting in line, I have finally realized that I have accomplished a great deal. Despite the multiple line-up changes, working at the café/food court has been incredibly gruelling and challenging, with long days and nights. We all know that we work harder than many other departments and we do not need anyone to affirm this. However, the café team has made significant progress in the past year and is in a much better place today than it was last year at this time. 

Throughout the first four years, I was primarily focused on my work and managed to achieve positive results. 

Looking back, I now realize that emotionally I wasn't in the right place. I used to try to control situations and people, always trying to make things work out the way I wanted.

This approach left me feeling miserable and unhappy. I came to the realization that I was seeking validation and respect from others, believing that this would bring me happiness. However, towards the end of 2022, I discovered that this approach had its drawbacks and that I had placed my happiness in the hands of others so I decided to stop.

My journey through life's ups and downs, based on my shared experiences, may not be understandable to everyone. However, that is perfectly okay because it is not their journey to comprehend. In the same way, their journey is not for me to understand. Once I decided to stop caring about what others say or think about me, set boundaries, and cut off people who did not respect them, and those who gave me mixed signals, I could move forward. Working life helped me grow a backbone, - something that was lacking in my past life.

My energy and intuition weren't for everyone and no longer served a purpose to him or her.  

Healthy relationships are built on mutual trust, honesty, and open communication, rather than attachment. When communication is lacking, problems are likely to arise. If it seems that the relationship with the other person is not productive, then either it is an unhealthy relationship or there is very little to gain from it.

As time goes by, relationships between people can change. There are some individuals with whom I used to converse frequently, but now I hardly talk to them, or perhaps not at all. Some others may have gone out of my life completely. I have also realized that people have many different aspects of their personality, and they may reveal a part of themselves that we had not seen before.

I need to prioritize those who matter in my life and align with my values and not waste my time on those who do not reciprocate the same level of attention & energy as mine.

It has been a challenging year that has resulted in personal growth and transformation. It is easy to become overwhelmed by problems, issues, and difficulties, as well as the behaviour of others who may say more about them than us. It is important to stay positive and focused on our goals, even when things don't go as planned. We should keep moving forward day by day and continue to do the best we can. It is also important to avoid getting distracted by things and people that do not concern us or do not have our best interests at heart. 

We shouldn't let anything or anyone hold us back. If we had not crossed paths with them, we would not even pay them any attention in the first place.

(Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik) 

When we let go of our expectations of others and stop hoping for unlikely outcomes, we liberate ourselves from disappointment and the sudden urge to control or manipulate people into liking or respecting us. Rather, we can choose to be supportive, caring, and empathetic, which can help us avoid significant emotional burdens.

When we accept others for who they really are, without feeling guilty or resentful, and allow things to be as they are, we gain acceptance that everyone has the freedom to live their lives as they wish, as long as their thoughts, actions, and behaviours do not undermine or hurt us.

We gain a better understanding of ourselves and of them, which often leads to a much healthier relationship when we choose not to place expectations on him/her.

One thing I need to be always wary of is if I am unsure, I still need to speak up in person to prevent a mistake or issue from occurring or taking place. 

I have come to a point in my life where I cannot go back to the difficult times I faced in 2019 or 2022. For the next five years, I will have to rely on my own drive and initiative to succeed at Costco. I know my worth and I don't feel the need to justify myself to anyone anymore.

The first five years were mentally and emotionally challenging for me, and I have had my fair share of both good and bad experiences. I believe that those experiences at Costco have shaped me into the person that I am currently. I am now in a stronger position to face the challenges of the future. 

I understand and accept that life is unpredictable, but I am determined to continue to do my best at work. I have realized that my state of happiness lies with me, and I am the only one responsible for it.

I am excited to see what the next five years have in store for me. I am eager to grow personally and professionally in all areas of my life. Progressional growth is high on my list of priorities and I am confident that with hard work and determination, there is more success to come.

 

Image by rawpixel on Freepik

*A generative AI tool on Grammarly was used for the editing process of this post

Highs +

- Travelling to Hong Kong in February and Los Angeles in October
- The member compliments 
- Finally getting to work in the kitchen after 5 years devoted to cleaning the tables 
- The cafe team from September onwards 
- I was happier and more content most of the time than in 2022 

- Reaching 5 years in the Costco cafe/food court 

Lows -

- Early May, July & August 
- When I had an injury in early December, December was a challenging time for me 

Los Angeles: My Own Thoughts

By Waiching 

Los Angeles was one of those must-go-to-places/cities on my bucket list and for the experience alone, you have to go and see it to believe it. It is the USA's second-largest city after New York.

There are places and cities around the world that have earned their reputation for being what it is: I'll be honest, Los Angeles appealed to me because I was interested in film and TV and it was a major draw for me in wanting to explore the area. Sometimes, it took me by surprise that my impressions of Los Angeles and this city that had so much to offer besides Hollywood were rather far-fetched. 

What with its reputation, yet come to think of it, L. A doesn't quite rival New York in the overly impressive U.S. big city stakes when it comes to the tourist attractions or lack of. The fact of the matter is, what I and my sister realised is if you strip away that aspect of L.A, there probably isn't much going for it and as unique the Mexican and South American influences are, they take a massive backseat to the glamorous, showbizzy stuff that goes on. 

To get to various places in the city, we had to take Ubers and took the subway transit a few times. Los Angeles isn't a walkable city by any means; there was always some type of obstruction right around the corner, although we still walked it on foot because the weather was nice. But it shows how inconvenient & underdeveloped the public transportation system and its infrastructure is, compared to London, New York, and even Hong Kong and still it is heavily reliant on cars, buses, and trains. 

Regarding the Hollywood sign, it is a massive hike that we were not going to take, so we took a photo of it from afar instead. And we had to make do with a shorter trek across the sign, which was located at Ovation, Hollywood and Highland. 

My experiences were for the most part, okay. I preferred it over Washington D.C. just about because I was into TV and movies, and Los Angeles is the home to many TV and film studios. As well as various films have been shot and produced in Hollywood. We did skip the theme parks such as Disneyland as they were not our type of thing. 

But it doesn't come close to New York, and I enjoyed Boston even more. 

I'm probably wrong, but downtown at night had no sign of life, Chinatown in Los Angeles was a cop-out: one evening, when we arrived at about 7pm or something after getting off the subway, almost all of the shops and restaurants were closed. We ate in a restaurant, Foo Chow that was featured in the film, Rush Hour which was made famous as Jackie Chan was in it, but the food itself left a lot to be desired. 

Katy Perry's former home 


The Hollywood Walk of Fame, whilst it was okay to look at and explore, didn't wow us and wasn't a big deal. It's just a bunch of stars & and their names littered on the pavement: some looked like they needed sprucing up as they had cracks on them. If you are really into sightseeing, then fair enough, but in terms of seeing celebrities out and about, that only happens sometimes. Or rarely at all. I had not met or seen one famous actor or celebrity when I and my sister were there. Unless they count the presenter of Dr Pimple Popper, the TLC series in  Sandra Lee, which my sister bumped into at Ovation. They tend to live right up in the Hollywood Hills or the mansions or up in Beverly Hills. 

Sadly the city is marred by crackheads and rough sleepers in Skid Row, shady individuals wandering around Hollywood Boulevard and the Walk of Fame area, tour sellers (some who came across as desperate by flogging you tickets) and people wearing daft costumes selling pamphlets or getting you to take a picture with them; it stinks of urine and weed, and then there's the state's sales tax, which took me by surprise, and the burden that it is really expensive (but that is to be expected everywhere in a big internationally renowned city, given we are in a cost-of-living crisis and cities are still recovering after 2-3 years of Covid). 

That isn't to say our time in L.A. was a complete loss, though; I still enjoyed my time away from working life and away from London. The weather was nice and we had some good grub to eat. I enjoyed stepping foot inside the supermarkets/grocery stores to see the different types of food items that they had and people are a lot more relaxed and chilled and not as in-yer-face as those in New York; despite that, I loved the fast-paced, hustle and bustle of New York, that energetic buzz that L. A lacks. Hollywood Boulevard/Hollywood & Vine, was okay but if you were to ask me to choose between Times Square and Hollywood Boulevard, I'd go for the former. Having been to both cities, New York still has that cutting edge.

New York and Los Angeles are completely worlds apart: one is on the East Coast, and the other is on the West and close to Mexico, hence the Latino influences throughout L.A. and its past colonial history and is a very highly capitalistic-oriented culture. One has a higher cost of living than the other in NY, one city is fast-paced, and the other is more relaxed.  

(left-hand side: the hotel that was featured in the movie, Pretty Woman)

As I mentioned, people say that L. A is one of those cities everyone must experience and visit once in their lives to be able to form an opinion: is it for everyone though? The answer is no, and I wouldn't return until a couple of years down the line. 

If there is one regret is that we could have spent a few more days in the city; we were there for like 4, 5 days- and that is still not enough time to see and do everything, or see, do things we wanted to do, but couldn't do. My opinion on L. A would have differed for the better. 

I feel as though San Francisco - a city I meant to go to - might be a better fit for me and is more comparable to New York; it has more in common with that city than Los Angeles through Little Italy and Chinatown. 

L.A. is, fine personally speaking, and is worth coming to for the photo opportunities and to get a few souvenirs, but that's mainly it. 


The plus points +: the hotel we stayed in The Adler is very good, the bus tours, lovely weather, markets and food shopping were good  

The bad points -: Chinatown is not worth it, the city is too spread out, the homelessness issue is a concern, druggies on the streets, the city is not commutable-friendly nor walkable, the metro system isn't as good as in New York

Retro Review: The Bone Collector (1999)

The Bone Collector
1999
Cast: Denzil Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Luis Guzman, Leland Orser, Ed O'Neil 
Genre: Crime Thriller 
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $151 million

Plot: A quadriplegic ex-homicide detective and his partner track down a serial killer who is terrorizing New York City

'Sweet Little (Murder) Mystery'

Based on the novel by Jeffrey Deaver, The Bone Collector follows Lincoln Rhyme: a paraplegic forensic specialist, an NYPD homicide investigator and a team of police officers that include beat-patrol rookie cop Amelia (Angelina Jolie) and Paulie (Ed O'Neil) in their hunt and capture of a serial killer, after a string of mysterious murders in and around New York crop up.  

With a slow-moving plot, the film managed to keep me glued and engaged to the suspense that it had me on the edge of my seat despite the unravelling of the serial killer, which might have thrown a lot of people off. But it made the story even more intense and entertaining to watch. The more the film went on, the more I got into the plot, as you and I wondered what might happen next. Both Denzel and Angelina gave impressive turns in their roles, Lincoln and Amelia as we see in action two performers, way before they reached mega-stardom, looking assured as they carried this movie from beginning to end.

One of Angelina Jolie's earlier performances on the big screen, she was relatively unknown at this time, it is also one of her most impressive; as Amelia, she is given a lot to do and plays a significant role in the story, and whilst Denzel is bed-bound 99% of the time in this film, as Lincoln he still manages to dig deep and aid Amelia. Given that he spends so much time unable to move about, he has to rely a lot on his nurse, Thelma (Queen Latifah) and Amelia. This plot device enabled the film to be better and feel not as conventional as other serial killer-based crime thrillers.  

It's not as graphically shocking nor exceedingly violent as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, although The Bone Collector appears to be going for the typical movie-going audience demographic, given the strength of the main leads; the headline double act in Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie illicit good chemistry and they came across as believable and convincing as their characters. To this day, it still holds up well. Phillip Noyce (responsible for the Patriot Games & Clear and Present Danger, and lest we can forget, The Saint and the sleaze fest, Sliver) might have stated he wasn't a fan of this movie and felt as if he was part of an assembly line of 1990s psychological thrillers. 

The Bone Collector has become one of my favourite thrillers that doubles up as a reasonably tense, solid and satisfying cat-and-mouse murder mystery with insightful characters, an impressive cast, and a somewhat convincing villain to boot. It works thanks to the kills, surprising plot twists and gripping tension. It needed real panic and urgency, and the kills, which, whilst they were all right, required to have been more gory and gruesome. I was also a little baffled by the killer's motivations after his identity was revealed; it resulted in more questions than answers. 

Final Verdict:

The 1990s was an interesting period for film, especially for thrillers and they were all the rage; lots of great ones, some not-so-good ones, and some films that flew under the radar and went unnoticed. Whilst The Bone Collector is no masterpiece and is also cliched, it is a different spin on the serial killer concept, further elevated by Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington.

Overall: