Bad Copy

There’s not much to celebrate right now in the world, but we have to take what little things we can while we can. This year was full of ups and downs, but my family and I somehow seemed to persevere and overcome every shitty obstacle and challenge that life threw our way. All inconveniences and bad vibes aside, this year was full of great music, great TV and movies, and some really special and incredible moments. Other than another election looming around the corner, I do feel like 2024 will be my year. Now without further ado, here are some of my favorite things that 2023 brought me:

Top 10 Favorite Records

1. Blink-182 – One More Time (Columbia Records)
2. White Reaper – Asking For A Ride (Elektra Records)
3. Fiddlehead – Death is Nothing to Us (Run For Cover Records)
4. Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS (Geffen Records)
5. Albert Hammond Jr. – Melodies on Hiatus (Red Bull Records)
6. Beach Fossils – Bunny (Bayonet Records)
7. Deafheaven – Sunbather (10th Anniversary Remix/Remaster) (Deathwish Inc.)
8. Sydney Sprague – somebody in hell loves you (Rude Records)
9. PinkPantheress – Heaven Knows (Warner UK)
10. Origami Angel – The Brightest Days (Counter Intuitive Records)

Top 10 Favorite Songs

1. “DANCE WITH ME” – Blink-182
2. “Second Best Friend” – Origami Angel
3. “Loserman” – Fiddlehead
4. “The aisle” – PinkPantheress
5. “Libertude” – Albert Hammond Jr.
6. “Run To The Moon” – Beach Fossils
7. “Thorn” – White Reaper
8. “Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs” – Alkaline Trio
9. “I Got Heaven” – Mannequin Pussy
10. “overkill” – Sydney Sprague

Top 10 Moments

1. My wife and I went to Europe! – After a year of being married, we finally go to have a proper honeymoon in London and France, and it was the trip of a lifetime.
2. We saw Blink-182 in London – On our last day in London, it just so happened Blink was playing a show at the O2 Arena. My wife managed to find tickets on Stubhub last minute. We didn’t know until we got through security that the tickets were for front pit, literally next to the stage. It was one of the greatest experiences of our lives and we talk about it constantly.
3. I got a raise and a promotion – About an hour before I started writing this, I had a review at work and found out I’m gonna be doing some pretty big shit in the new year. I’m absolutely over the moon and so grateful I was able to come back to my old job.
4. I got my dream car – It only took getting in an accident less than a mile from work and my car being totaled, but I finally got my hands on a Volkswagen GTI and I’m still in love with it.
5. We wend to Disneyland Paris – Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris make CA’s Space and Thunder Mountain look like children’s rides. We rode Hyperspace Mountain almost 10 times and we could’ve rode it another 20 times easily.
6. Celebrated 1 year of marriage – Even though life has been one thing after another since we got married last year, we’ve managed to overcome everything and come out better every time.
7. Got more into photography – I took the most photos I’ve ever taken this year. I also some that were so insane, I couldn’t believe I actually took them.
8. Made some new friends – I got introduced to a little photo meetup community in Arizona, and I’ve met a ton of really rad people because of it. I’ve also learned a lot about photography and improved my eye and the way I take photos.
9. I got published – I did an interview about my photography for a little publication in Arizona and that was pretty cool.
10. I ran my first 5K – I’d wanted to run a race for years, and my wife basically signed me up without letting me say no, and it was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.

Top 10 Things I Watched

1. Godzilla Minus One
2. The Last of Us
3. Oppenheimer
4. Barbie
5. Gen V
6. The Boogeyman
7. Evil Dead Rise
8. Champions
9. Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
10. Barry: Season 4

This year was the first year that I started doing photography “professionally.” It paid some bills, but it also helped me to meet a ton of really rad people and become even better at taking photos. I ended up taking some of the best photos of my life this year, and I can’t wait to shoot more in the coming year. Here’s some of the best stuff I got this year: