Personal Review of 2014

¿What difference does a year make? This is a question that does not, in fact, have a straightforward answer. First, this question has a contextual dimension, that is, what role does this year play in the context of my own life up to this moment.

That said, in defining this year, the word ‘crossroads’ springs to mind. Even if it has yet to end, I would place as a critical moment in my life, a transitional state. In one hand it is full of open roads and opportunities, and at the same time, doors close and processes end.

In a way I’ve grown used to the guidance both my family and my house of studies have provided. As such, the degrees of freedom I’m presented with now that I’m ending my undergraduate come with mixed sentiments of excitement and intimidation.

Just as important as the broad context, are the events. Starting in a positive light, the experience of my sister in becoming a mother has been an event that has brought my family closer than ever, as we’ve all participated in the upbringing of my niece. In the matter of academic life, my involvement in fieldwork (mainly in the north of Chile) has been an enlightening experience, giving me both perspective and appreciation of the world in terms of cultural diversity.

Now from the point of not-so-good experiences, there are some that I’d prefer to keep private in term of details, only saying that they have to do with the passing of time, and the growing distancing between me and many of my close friendships. In this last case, I could have reestablished contact, realizing too late that the opportunity was no longer there.

Lastly, in describing the year in terms of prospects, I’d say it appears quite good. First, my older sister is coming back from a very long absence (she lived abroad for years), this time to stay indefinitely. Secondly, I’ve been offered some very interesting lines of academic work, and the opportunity to travel and be immersed projects concerning archaeologic studies from central and northern Chile.

All in all, I could say that this has been a hectic year that has yet to end. Who knows what the near future has in store for me. After all, it’s only October, and as the weather is beginning to change, I too may change as well.

Childhood series are probably some of the main sources of nostalgia as we get older, second only to music. It seems that their music, characters, scenes, jokes, etc., become ingrained in our memory much more easily at a young age.

In my particular case, two particular cartoon series became not only my favorite, but also greatly helped to develop a special sense of humor that accompanies me till this day. Rocko’s Modern Life, and Ren & Stimpy were both wacky and surreal in the way they the episodes were structured. Both the ending of each episode, and the adventures the characters were always full of surprises, unexpected events, and filled with pop culture references.

Rocko’s Modern Life, was a show that followed the misfortunes and daily adventures of an Australian wallaby called Rocko, his dog Spunky, living in the American suburbs. Some of the other main characters were Rocko’s friends: his roommate Heffer Wolfe, a not very clever steer, and Filburt, a neurotic turtle.

In one of the episodes, Rocko is traumatized as he sees the shadow of his neighbor being killed by his wife with a knife and buried in a hole shaped as his body. At the end he discovers he was actually out of the house getting a wart removed from his butt, the hole was dug with a shovel in the shape of the husband (an anniversary gift), and the shadow seen by Rock was actually of the neighbor’s  wife sculpting a statue of the husband out of ground meat.

Ren & Stimpy on the other hand, was a show in which every episode was a mix of sketches, parodies and many other bizarre segments. The main characters, often playing different roles each episode, were Ren, a hyperactive Chihuahua, and his friend Stimpy, a very big cat with the brain the size of a pea.

To have a taste of the series style, in one particular episode there was a commercial in a 50’s style of a powdered toast product, promoted by “Powdered Toast Man”, a superhero that flies backwards, extracts toast by scraping his own face, and farts on people’s breakfast to improve on the taste of their food.

In retrospective, these were shows aired as children cartoons, but filled to the brim with adult references and jokes, which ultimately led to their cancellation. Today they have a strong cult following and are often enjoyed by adults that can now appreciate new layers of humor that they didn’t pick up as children growing up with the shows.