I'm still here . . . just

So November was . . . hard. 

I think that would be the mildest way of saying it. 

It was actually bloody hard. 

But I got through it, and now have to face Christmas and New Year - always one of my least favourite times of year.

Things have been extremely challenging, both mentally and physically. And there was far too much real life for my liking, which has cost me a lot of money and is going to cost a lot more in the new year (hurrah, something to look forward to 🙄).

So, sorry for no post last month, and no playlist, although I did make one - I just haven't had the chance to listen to it and of course it's one of the longest of the year. If you're interested, it's in the links to the right.

And now we're well into December and I haven't even got around to opening my advent calendar yet. Crazy, right? I mean, it's just clicking on a link every day but I just can't do it.

I will get there eventually, although even EXO-CBX taking part in a Christmas song hasn't boosted me yet, and I'm still trying to get over the duet between V (from BTS) and Bing Crosby - yep, him, the guy who's been dead for almost 50 years. To be fair, it's better than I expected and puts my tally of V songs I can listen to up to 3 - he released a song last month with my beloved Park Hyo Shin (and I was so disappointed because I really didn't like it). But then at the beginning of this month, they released the Silent Carol version of it, and it's much better.

I am so far behind on music listening that it isn't even funny anymore. I still haven't sorted my top 3's for August, let alone any of the following months. I got a quarter of the way through the November playlist when life hit and it's too overwhelming to go back to. I have started the December one and will endeavour to get my EOY done a.s.a.p. around the new year. No doubt, there will be a bit of corner-cutting but as most of my real favourites were in the first part of the year anyway, I think we should be okay.

Spotify Wrapped came out at the end of November - annoying as it misses a whole month of music from this year and includes December from last. It was interesting to see how my tastes have changed again, although I think we all know who was number 1, right?

of course it was EXO 😂

So, the full top 5 artists and songs are as follows (The KingDom were in 6th place):

Yes, my beautiful hubby made it all the way to second place

I listened to 28,731 more minutes of music this year than last, and almost 75k more minutes than the first year that I really started taking notice of Spoify (2021) and both Top 5 lists were filled with EXO and their offshoots.

Anyway, here's the December playlist with several Christmas songs already, enough that I think I'll be able to do at least a Top 10 for my EOY list.

I borrowed this from Google. Pretty, isn't it? Although, poor record

When opening the blog, I noticed my entry for the Yoworld creepy Halloween costume competition was the last post I made. I'm pleased to announce that my entry won, one of five that did so, and I got 25 Yocash for my trouble. It was the first time in the 16 years I've been playing the game (I started back in 2008 when it was Yoville) that I've ever won anything.

Before I go, I want to share 2 MVs, both by Chinese-Korean artist Bii. They were released for his new album, which came out this month. They tell a beautiful yet poignant story and you don't need to speak the language to understand what he's saying. These are probably my favourite MVs of the year, although ONF's Bye My Monster is a strong contender still.

In case I don't blog again (quite likely with the current mood) I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season (whichever one you do or don't celebrate). 

EXO wish you a Merry Christmas

Even if EXO-CBX's idea of a good Christmas is the destruction of the world by an asteroid!