Bad Copy

This year has been… a year. While everyone seemed to have what we could collectively describe as a “shitty year,” everyone has had a very different 2020. This year, we couldn’t all meet up at festivals all over the country or the world. This year we couldn’t high five each other, chug cheap beer, and scream along to songs in a basement (or garage or sticky venue) on a Friday night. All the things that seemingly made us “us” were stripped away, leaving other facets of ourselves that we had long since forgotten or placed on an upper shelf to collect dust for some day when we would have more free time.

I’ve spoken to people who feel like they lost their hold on music and others who clung onto it for dear life like a life preserver. It’s been… a year. And while everyone has bravely faced 2020 with a different arsenal of supplies, this resulted in a variety different outcomes. That’s why, in addition to our contributors’ End of the Year Lists, we at Bad Copy have reached out to a handful of friends involved in music this year and asked them to share their top lists. Music, movies, photos, memories, new hobbies – much like 2020, nothing is off the table when it comes to these lists. Let’s find a little good in the bad, try to laugh at what we can’t control, and pray that we will be able to safely see each other soon. First round is on me. – Kendra Sheetz, Editor

Dustin: I am notoriously bad at cooking for myself. Living in the Bay Area, there is always such good food everywhere you go so it’s hard not to just eat out. With 2020 and COVID-19, I’ve  tried working on cooking more for myself and here are my top dishes:

10.) Soy sauce ramen. At the start of the pandemic my mom literally sent me boxes upon boxes of instant noodles. add a follow your heart vegan egg and you’re gourmet.

9.) Furikake mix rice bowl. Sometimes plain rice just isn’t flavorful enough.

8.) Fruity pebbles and coco pebbles in one bowl. Add oat milk, true innovation.

7.) Beyond burger crumble spinach salad. Sometimes it’s all you have in your fridge.

6.) A simple PB and J. I like super chunky pb and blackberry jam.

5.) Pre 2020 menu change Taco Bell burrito now I got this idea from my friend Shannon to save a few bucks on tour. u need 1 spicy potato soft taco – fresco, 1 beefy frito burrito – fresco -sub beef with black beans grab a side of guac and a lot of Diablo sauce and re wrap the taco into the burrito. RIP potato’s and frito burritos.

4.) Mezcal mule cocktail. Not food, yes. But I am obsessed with mezcal right now and felt I needed to be added.

3.) A grilled cheese panini. I recently acquired a panini maker and I absolutely love it. I’m not too picky with vegan cheeses, but my favorite to use would probably be the Uncreamery’s truffle Brie.

2.) Trader Joe’s vegan Tikka Masala. Probably my favorite thing at Trader Joe’s.

1.) Miyoko’s buttered noodles. Miyoko makes the best plant based butter hands down. Type of noodles isn’t important. they’re just there to aid that butter on the journey into my mouth.

Sarah: As we all experience, mental health can be a complete rollercoaster. Exacerbated by lack of sleep, working 14 hours a day, eating crap food, and generally not taking care of myself – I found myself in a 72-hour mandatory stay in a mental health facility. Yes, my friends, I had been put on a 5150-hold for suicidal ideation. I am sharing this experience in hopes of destigmatizing hospitalizations due to mental health. We deserve to heal, we deserve to be whole. Your trauma does not define you, but we all have to take space to care for ourselves. Staying at the hospital gave me space to slow down and find mental clarity. This year, I am choosing to reflect on my favorite quotes I overheard or that were said to me in conversation, during my time in the hospital – no names to preserve confidentiality. I can’t chose my #1 favorite but here are my Top 10 in no particular order:

1.) “When the shit breaks, everyone flakes, and everyone goes to the dark side.” (Self-explanatory: I believe this was in reference to being exiled from the zombies of Livermore, mentioned later… read on).

2.)  “We’ve got to start being productive in here if we’re going to take over the world.” (One of the best conversations I took part in, the decided demands were: 1. Free Education – my roommate’s contribution 2. Free Healthcare and/or Good Quality of Life – my contribution 3. Cigarettes, Soda, and Crystal Meth but just for me – the individual who posed the initial question’s contribution… I am iffy about their intentions behind taking over the world.)

3.) *Person looks at their hands* “They’re not curving into the 4th dimension… oh no! This one is.” “I can’t pronounce that word in this dimension.” (This person told me that he is moving through 2,000 dimensions all at one time. That must be a really cool, or a really overwhelming feeling. Wouldn’t know but sounds wild!)

4.) “If you want to learn more about zombies, go to Livermore.” (Funny if you live in the Bay Area, even funnier because I could see this being true.)

5.) “Things got deeply dark, like I am the emperor of the penguins, deeply dark.” (I don’t understand it, but I love it.)

6.) “Have you ever been slapped by a penguin without it slapping you physically… yes you have, it’s slapping you right now!” (In this experience, the person was talking directly to me, and informed me that I was the only person in the room being slapped by the penguin – that I could not see – WHY JUST ME?!?!)

7.) “Why can’t we tell when things solidify like jelly when lasers are pointed at it?” (Honestly… such a good question)

8.) “I smoked nitroglycerine once, it melted my brain and I shitted out an entire mural.” (Makes sense, sounds like a terrible experience. He couldn’t answer if he created an actual mural, or just took a massive shit. I’m assuming the latter…)

9.) “I got a phone stuck in my brain. I’m online and then I’m off.” (This guy told me he was ex-CIA, so this one checks out lol)

10.) *While watching Star Wars* (The movies played on loop for 2 days straight… I will probably never watch Star Wars again.)… “Star Wars reminds me of my family… I’m Harry Potter’s grandfather, and a Sith.”