2021 Year In Review

By Waiching

*Image credit: Dilok Klaisataporn, Getty Images/iStockphoto

The 2020 Year in Review

The 2019 Year in Review

Another year shaped by the ongoing global pandemic, it can be hard for many people to find positive moments or words when describing 2021, and 2020. As we sign off for 2021, we pause to take the time to reflect upon the lessons learned, reminiscing on the best and less of the worst in contemplation of a new year filled with potential, hope and desire to meet targets or goals. 

Though 2021 started rough, it was a definite improvement from 2020 as it went on, as well as for me especially it holds up as being drastically superior to 2019 - and that is worth celebrating. In January, I was cautiously optimistic about what may lie ahead but also for myself; I wanted to go all out and give it everything, 110% this time around and see what happens; On a personal level and work-wise, there has been growth, improvement; there have been notable good things such as getting promoted to full-time status, a shift in position from food court assistant to maintenance/support assistant, whilst also covering front end and receiving departments. On the other, the food court has had 3 different managers this year: all three left in the space of several months. 

The food court tables also returned in July in Costco, much to my contentment - if not for some of the members who eat there.

As well as sneaking in the odd trip to Spain, something that was supposed to happen in February a week after my birthday, but in November when travel restrictions were relaxed for double vaccinated travellers. Returning to Spain for the second time, I cherished my several days' vacation; it was the best decision I made and the highlight of 2021, besides nabbing employee of the month for the first time in October. 

With the Covid-19 pandemic still dominating every aspect of our lives new variants emerging, thus bringing further disruption and uncertainty for once as least, 2021 provided some highlights and a brief recovery through the vaccines. 

It was a year that promised to be better than the last: whilst for many or some, it wasn't, there were more highs than lows for me. 

When I went into 2021, I had no goals, and no resolutions planned; I entered the year anticipating things will be the same, and stay the same - what I did not anticipate was in kicking off 2021 & spending the first three months at front end, the personnel changes at Costco, which happened, as well as the promotion to full-time from part-time.

But when it happened, the announcement was out of the blue to me, but I was really happy because I needed more hours and wanted to make more money than what I was earning, - and I got those hrs, 40 hrs per week. I didn't beg, I didn't plead, I got them; that, and I got Mondays and Sundays off from work as my fixed days, which made things even sweeter for me. 

I just take each day as it comes, and whenever I have a bad day or a bad moment, I focus on the next day and just move on. As 2021 rolled on, as my work priorities shifted from one role to another, to me it was my chance to really establish myself as an employee and be capable of adapting to change and still working to the best of my ability. 

It was a year of recovery after the setbacks of a turbulent 2019 and, to a certain extent, 2020 (well, 2020 wasn't as horrific as the previous year, rather it was a damp squib, & Covid hampered things a bit); it was also the year whereby I turned 40 years old. It was sort of a big deal to me, but then I realised that age is just a number and doesn't determine your actual worth as a person. 

2019 for me as memes - yes it was that bad

2021 was a new beginning that felt so unlike the past two years at work. I had to be very present as I allowed events to unfold and in the timing of those events. To understand whilst change is unexpected, it is something I had to accept and get used to. 

What has 2021 taught me? Well, work-wise, I learnt how to multitask, in not being tied to one department: I just liked the flexibility the maintenance assistant position offers and the scheduling was better (getting Mondays and Sundays off); Yet times of resilience, change and undertaking various challenges has also taught me about the lessons I am still learning and that I don't have to cater to everyone or anyone. I have come to accept that the notion of work, for me, when it comes to retail, hasn't changed; that what I excel in is the work and doing the work & producing results and when I fail to achieve my goals, I keep going and remain resilient and not become rattled. I sometimes pinch myself that I have lasted for as long as I have at Costco and come so far. 

It is a constant reminder of the importance of having a supportive family, in addition to putting myself first and that I am the main priority. 

I have seen growth and development throughout the past 12 months and whilst I had no plans to quit the food court, I wanted to shift my attention onto something else and felt I needed to be challenged. The higher-ups saw potential in me, but also they realised, and I realised also, that I was more counterproductive and effective outside the kitchen by cleaning the tables, cleaning, tidying, and general housekeeping duties than in so-called labour-intensive kitchen work. With that in mind, my duties as a maintenance assistant included cleaning the toilets, and the break room, taking out the trash and sweeping the floor. 

I was glad to get out of the food court and when the opportunity arose, I didn't say no. 

& I didn't need to be told what to do all of the time, I just went ahead and did the work and took the initiative. 

Secondly, trying to make people happy and not putting myself first is not counterproductive. I've learnt that I am resilient and that no matter what challenges are placed in front of me, I am not one to shy away or say no to them. Thirdly, eliminating and letting go of things, people that are not good for me anymore & setting boundaries is important for my well-being and mental health; letting go of people who don't truly matter, the people who make me feel like crap by ignoring them because they add little to nothing of value towards me as a person & that I shouldn't expect anything in return and make space for things that are more aligned to my life and what I want out of it. 

As ever, several people have left the warehouse that I work in this year, and new management was roped in to freshen and liven things up and to boost morale, which was desperately needed -, it was most welcome and for the most part, it worked. 

If 2020 was the year of the essential worker, then 2021 was the year of remote working and the Great Resignation whereby record numbers of people quit their jobs for something more fulfilling and meaningful. But I wasn't one of those people who did that. 

This was the year whereby after 3 years working at Costco, I felt I came full circle as an employee; from say late January to December, it felt different... and it was a transformative and challenging year of my life. Despite the odd bumps along the way (say about during May, August and late Oct, early Nov), despite the chaos, I still came through in the end. Some may insist this wasn't their year, such as losing a family member to Covid or some other illness, & that they wish to leave it behind... I'd go out on a whim and go as far as saying that 2021 was a triumph as I focused mainly on the work, most of the time and deliver quality results and never endured any major family losses. 

Covid aside, this was a far better year than what I have or had expected after a downbeat 2020, which as well as being 10 times greater than 2019, which was my first full year at Costco. Some feel that my viewing 2021 as a resurgence and payback for 2019, as being a bit far-fetched; it wasn't that I wanted to exorcise the ghosts of the past two years - I wanted this year to be the best year for work and that I just wanted to do right on all accounts & to keep on persevering until the very end. 99% of the time I did just that. 

Compared to then and now, I feel that this time around, I feel more confident in my abilities, in what I am capable of achieving and that the more I do the work, the more self-assured I was and become as a worker; those experiences, those tears and mistakes were part of my past and that I couldn't and can't let them and those people stand in my way of happiness - happiness as in the work, working hard and for it to go right, - and happiness lies in my own hands - not theirs; 

I see to it that it is okay not to give a s**t about, nor feel bad for people who are toxic, difficult, people who do not matter, & focus less on them and on more on myself and having self-respect for myself.

2021 was filled with anxiety, grief and loss on a personal level due to Covid, and uncertainty; but for many of us who worked tirelessly during the pandemic, we endured burnout and fatigue & mental health anxieties. Yet it could have been a lot worse. The difference is that forasmuch as the Coronavirus pandemic was the huge story that dominated our lives, for worse in 2020, in 2021 it became the backdrop and it spurred me on to work harder and smarter. 

In conclusion, this was the best year for me in a long, long time; I made the most of the opportunities that were made available to me and earned plaudits and admiration from various supervisors, colleagues, managers, and members alike. Entering 2022, it seems that I am on the right path; having achieved so much I don't intend for my success and happiness to end in 2022 and beyond. 

As the saying goes, either go hard or go home... well, I went hard with the work and it paid off. 

Farewell 2021, it has been a really good one for me: I'd rate it a massive 9 out of 10 for me. 

My highlights:

- Travelling to Spain 

- Getting promoted to full-time status and earning more money and a new position 

- Getting Costco employee of the month for October and earning plaudits from members, managers and supervisors 

- Working hard to the best of my ability, focusing on the work. This has been my best year and despite of Covid 

My lows:

- Being emotionally embroiled in people who do me no good to my mental health

- The ongoing pandemic 

Retro Review: Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Die Hard with a Vengeance

1995

Cast: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Irons, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp

Genre: Action

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $366 million

Plot: Suspended from the police force, John McClane enlists a Harlem shopkeeper to help stop a terrorist bomber 

*Poster by Eddie Holly - Artstation link

'The Least Inferior Die Hard Sequel, But Also A Massive Downturn From First Two Movies'

Over 2 hours long, Die Hard with a Vengeance is an overlong, bloated flick that makes the mistake of functioning as a thriller than an out and out action fest made synonymous with fans of Die Hard and Die Hard 2: Die Harder.

When a terrorist who calls himself Simon threatens to blow up parts of New York City, he demands John McClane to follow his orders and to do as 'Simon says, or else; McClane then joins forces with an angry shopkeeper by the name of Zeus and the pair try to outwit Simon. 

It's okay for the most part but lacks the atmosphere, engagement and capacity of the first two instalments in the series and the slow and erratic pacing really took me out of the plot; Die Hard With a Vengeance is too convoluted for its own good. 

Lethal Weapon IV was a lacklustre sequel and arguably the weakest in the series - alas, the script in with A Vengeance, had it been originally retooled with Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh in mind as an abandoned Lethal Weapon affair, instead of John McClaine and Zeus for a somewhat makeshift Die Hard (which this was), would have suited Lethal Weapon IV far better & more so than Die Hard with A Vengeance. Vengeance tries to build on the buddy rapport between McClane and Zeus in the way that the first Lethal Weapon did with Riggs and Murtaugh -yet both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson (who were previously seen in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction a year before) don't seem to click in the same way as the onscreen Lethal Weapon pairing of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover during the first 2 films of the series. 

The tension takes a long while to build up, but even that is sort of sterile; a lot of people prefer this instalment over Die Hard 2; I do like the fact that the scale of the action is not whittled down to just one setting, be it at an airport or building, and that John and Zeus get to roam the streets of New York, zigging and zagging around all the chaos that takes place in the Big Apple. Villain Simon, played by Brit actor, Jeremy Irons, is a riff of his now-deceased brother of the first film, Hans, yet it and he isn't as fun and charming. 

The part where Holly, John's wife is written out of the film, and with John separated from her, was something I didn't realise until I watched this, and yet when it sunk in, I never cared much for this storyline. 

But for a couple of explosions, the film degenerates into a set of chases and a heist - something that is usually unknownst in Die Hard - and signs of fatigue start to creep into the series, beginning with this film. 

Final Verdict:

After Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Bruce Willis did state he would never do another Die Hard movie... but then came along three more films - the first film was the benchmark that others tried to follow, with arguably Die Harder only managing this feat in my view - even if Willis himself disliked that sequel. Vengeance isn't so much a completely needless sequel - it is that it is so un-Die Hard like, it never truly works to Bruce Willis' John McClane's advantage.

What one would have wished as the formula for Lethal Weapon IV, however, sigh...

Overall:

Christmas Retro Review: Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)

Die Hard 2: Die Harder
1990
Cast: Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, Dennis Franz, John Amos, Reginald Veljohnson
Genre: Action Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $200 million 

Plot: John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C

'Hits Just As Hard As Prequel'

Die Hard 2: Die Harder is the sequel to the hugely successful, Die Hard that came out in theaters, two years later; directed by Renny Harlin (and noted as his first big-budget movie), the film exceeded expectations and has become one of the better action sequels and follow-ups to the franchise. Die Harder went on to become the seventh highest-grossing film of 1990 in the U.S, only to be surpassed by Total Recall, The Hunt for Red October, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Home Alone, Pretty Woman and Ghost. Compared to the prequel, it made double the amount of 1988's Die Hard's $83 million by grossing $117 million U.S dollars.

When it received its TV premiere in the U.K on ITV, the version of the film that aired was heavily dubbed by voice actors.

Shot back in 1989, the film's setting is Christmas Eve, 1990: John McClaine is awaiting at Dullies International Airport to collect his wife, Holly when (surprise, surprise) a group of terrorists take over and to pick up an imprisoned dictator, General Esperanza who is being extradited to the U.S and altogether they make a break.  

It is argued that Die Hard 2 is no different from the first film: it is still Die Hard in an airport, and that it simply rehashes the same plot but with a few added twists; Harlin takes over from John McTiernan of whom went on to make The Hunt For Red October. Clocking at over two hours, Die Hard 2 rarely drags with the story and action moving at a swift pace with fast shootouts, stunts, chases, fights, along with some intriguing one-to-one interaction, banter and a plot twist that occurs towards the end of the movie. Whilst William Sadler is no real match for Alan Rickman's Hans Gruger as the franchise's baddest baddie, thus lacking charisma, his character has that fiendish, sinister presence that is enough to make viewers want to despise him even more. 

The excitement and action the film generates is the type of so-called hyper-kinetic excitement that we don't see more today, and longing for when back in the day, action movies were so good which didn't rely on CGI but practical effects. These were the days before the genre became saturated with comic book flicks. 

It is more of the same from the same film, but for the ending, which ought to have been far more gratifying, and left me thinking the bad guys never got their just desserts.   

Die Hard Two might be regarded as the weakest of the series if one compares it to Vengeance, Live Free, Die Hard; yet it doesn't waste a single minute trying to explain itself, nor for the story to do so.

Final Verdict:

Despite lacking the originality, tension and grit of the original, Die Hard, Die Harder still manages to scrape through and the film compensates with brilliant entertainment and production values and holds up after 30 years. 

And unlike Predator 2 and Robocop 2, it's bigger, louder, more explosive despite a few of its shortcomings, and plus, Die Harder is the better action sequel alongside its counterpart prequel. 

Overall:

Retro Review: Romeo Must Die (2000)

Romeo Must Die

2000

Cast: Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isiah Washington, Russell Wong, Delroy Lindo, DMX, DB Woodside, Henry O, Anthony Anderson 

Genre: Action

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $91 million

Plot: An avenging cop seeks out his brother's killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money-deal with his father

'More West Side Story Than Romeo & Juliet, Yet Still Worthy Viewing For Martial Arts Movie Junkies'

The classic tale of star-crossed lovers is given the mobster movie makeover spiked with racial politics and interwoven with martial arts. In Oakland, San Francisco, the streets are ruled by two rival gangs: the American gangs and Chinese triads. When the son of a Chinese boss is murdered, his brother, Han Sing -who is currently serving time in jail -, escapes and heads to the U.S to get hold of his killers. Along the way, Han runs into Trish, and the pair hit it off immediately. Unknownst to Han, Trish is the daughter of the gang leader, of whom Han believes are the men responsible for his brother's killing.  

Jet Li was first introduced to mainstream western audiences back in 1998 as the bad guy in Lethal Weapon IV playing opposite the leads, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover whereby he was a considerable onscreen presence in a weary franchise that lost its mojo. It was a matter of time until he was given his starring Western vehicle via a Hollywood movie: for Jackie Chan, it was Rush Hour and for Jet Li, it was Romeo Must Die. 

Producer of Lethal Weapon IV Joel Silver created a movie around Li combining kung fu with hip hop in a style that relied upon slo-mo action shots and wired stunts, whereas three different writers had a hand in penning the story; one of them wrote Virtuosity, the Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe flop. At this point in time, Jet Li was hot property in Hollywood as the IT guy for action movies & was seen as the successor to Jackie Chan. 

The film has enough plot to get me invested in the story and the characters and surprisingly, I was engaged from beginning to end; yet there are reservations when it comes to the casting albeit for Aaliyah, whereas Li could have been given more lines to work with, and elements of the story have not aged well today. One major issue this film has is despite being the leading character, the film via Silver and Bartkowiak, tend to rely on Li for the stunts and fight scenes, more so than his acting, and this held the film back a little. Alasforth, the movie should thank its lucky stars that it had Aaliyah and Delroy Lindo to do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of dialogue and when it came to the emotive and dramatic scenes. The rest of the cast were all right, but none of them truly stood out.  

The late R&B singer, Aaliyah was cast in the pivotal role as Trish Day, the daughter of the gangster, who finds herself as a pawn to her father, and brother's business. Her performance was engaging, natural and convincing and I was drawn to her character. If her demise hadn't ended so soon and in such unfortunate circumstances, then there would have been no doubt that Aaliyah would have had a promising career as a movie actress. On the other hand, Aaliyah and Jet Li's chemistry feels more platonic than romantic. 

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, this was far better than I'd anticipated that it would be and is the superior movie compared to Cradle to the Grave, narrative-wise. & Romeo Must Die is so much better than the (dire) Exit Wounds, even if the formula is derivative and predictable as we have seen in millions of other action films. The action here is somewhat average, but it was still watchable. 

Final Verdict:

Romeo Must Die has its critics no doubt, and yes, it is not that demanding, but from a subjective viewing experience, there was a lot more that I enjoyed here, in the sense that I was entertained and engrossed in the plot. Yet Romeo Must Die has a lot more in common with West Side Story than Romeo & Juliet. Overall, it's overly decent fare, which could have been a whole lot better. 

But still, I had a pleasant time with this one. 

Overall: