What a ridiculous year

Just a little reflection

Happy day-after-solstice. Up here north of the equator, the days get longer from here on out — I don’t mind the dark and the cold, honestly, but it will make it a lot easier to get to early morning yoga classes.

The winter solstice is a time for reflection and shedding of what we want to leave behind to make room for what’s coming. There’s quite a bit I’m leaving behind this year, at least for now, and I don’t completely know what’s coming. But as I sit in our absolutely chaotic new apartment, surrounded by boxes and piles (we need to finish up some painting before we can actually settle in), I can see a lot. In the future, this year will stand out as a year of huge change and, it seems, the start of a new chapter.

On Bluesky, a friend asked about our years, and this is what I said:

It was a weird year. I finished drafting a book. I lost a job I’d worked at for 14 years. Quit one I’d worked at for 7 years. I got one I frankly never thought I’d actually land. I had to move. I turned 40 in Buenos Aires. I fought my way through some really tough stuff. Mostly, I’m proud I made it.

What I meant:

• In January, freshly off sabbatical, I found out that the college was running out of money, and that I might not have the academic job I’d held for 14 years — a question that lingered until July.

• In January, massive layoffs at Vox also made me wonder what the future would hold.

• In February I found out that the movie critic job at the Times was opening up, and knew both that I’d be applying and that everyone else in the known universe would, too. (It’s not just arguably one of the best jobs in the business, but also, unfortunately, one of the only jobs in the business. Please subscribe to your local newspaper and ask them to publish criticism!)

• In March, I did apply. I also started working hard on talking to people about alternate paths toward financial solvency if my teaching job went away — ghostwriting, copywriting, all kinds of things. (So many people were so generous with their time and wisdom, and I am so, so grateful.)

• By April and the end of the semester, it wasn’t any more clear if I’d have a teaching job in the fall, or what it would look like if I did.

• In May, I had my first interview for the Times job (via video chat in a hotel room in Nice, days before Cannes!). But again, like: why would I ever think I’d land it?

• Summer was a whirlwind of waiting, if such a thing can be said to exist. I had occasional interviews; I worked hard at my actual job; I taught some summer courses; I waited to find out if I had two jobs, or no jobs, or something in between.

• In July, we received word that all faculty were being laid off.

• In August I turned in a draft of my forthcoming book (due out most likely in winter 2025).

• September was all festivals and movies and writing and wondering what was going on, and not teaching, which was weird.

• In October, I found out to my delighted surprise that I had indeed landed the position, and gave notice, with some regret, at Vox, which had been a great place to work for seven years.

• At the start of November, I flew to Buenos Aires to spend a few days celebrating my 40th birthday and the new job, which had been secured but not announced.

• The day I returned, we received a letter from a new owner informing us that we had to leave our apartment, our home for seven and a half years.

• By the end of November I had started the new job, secured a new apartment, and started the process of moving.

• And now it’s December, and frankly, I am exhausted.

I have told several friends that my goal for 2024 is no change, which feels like tempting fate mightily (especially in an election year). I know that’s impossible. I’d just like to feel a little stability for a change, and have the chance to concentrate on improving my health, revising my book, and doing good, challenging, interesting work. There are some big outstanding questions and a lot of question marks. But that’s what I am asking for.

In the meantime, some recent publications

Everything I publish is now here, at the Times. But in case you missed it:

• My first cover story for Arts & Leisure, which honestly looked so awesome in print (and looks good digitally too). It’s about Disney at 100, the shared language Disney once represented, and what its future might look like. I’ve had the most fun emailing with readers about it.

• An appraisal (banged out in an hour on a Friday night) of Ryan O’Neal, who passed away, and his complicated life.

• Reviews of “Leave the World Behind,” “Anselm,” “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” “The Color Purple,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” and “All of Us Strangers.”

• There’s one or two more coming before the end of the year, and a lot more to come in 2024. I’m having fun, and really, really grateful to have landed in this place.