Little Things 238 : Fictional Series, my Daily Entertainment

It's September guys! 

Shondaland strikes back, soon season 14 of Grey's Anatomy and the final season of Scandal is coming back after a long hiatus. And because I support everything that Shonda produces, I just started to watch How to Get Away with Murder. 

Plus, the new season of Walking Dead is also just around the corner :F

I've been watching a lot of series from iFlix & Netflix (the amount is ridiculous) because I can watch these series while packing parcels, cutting stickers, sewing stuff, or inking my travelogue (even though my Macbook screen is only 13 inches small). I never really sit around doing nothing and just focus on watching series/movies because I'm the kind of person who can't just sit around quietly and I'm a multi-tasker!

Let me summarize and mention all things worth mentioning throughout the year. 

These are all the series that I've watched until the latest series/the end of the series :

The funny & drama :

• The Office (9 seasons) - I think by far, this series is the most fun & entertaining one to watch with other people. In my case, especially during our daily dinner time. We don't really binge-watch series in one shot, so usually, we will take some time to finish off each series. So we watched 'The Office' for several months and we really love it. It was fun and hilarious and annoying and we love each character (my fav are Micheal vs Toby and Jim vs Dwight ). You can definitely watch this with your family & friends (and there won't be any awkward moments). ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Gilmore Girls (7 seasons) - In celebrating the 17th year anniversary, I rewatched the whole seasons of Gilmore Girls + A Year in a Life. Even after all those years, I still love the long witty dialogues and unique relationships among the characters. What changed was: I first watched it when I was 15 and I felt connected to Rory and now when I watched it as I turned 31, I felt more relatable with Lorelai. Things that I used to think that I'll choose (for example Jess or Logan) changed with my experiences in life. Things that used to annoy me (like Lorelai's lack of commitment) now seem understandable. I noticed I grew up a lot since I last watch the series. (and it is sad because I'm getting old, and calming because I'd found my peace). ⭑⭑⭑
• Grey's Anatomy (13 seasons) - I've been watching Grey's since my school days. I can't remember how many times I did my reruns because every time I finished watching until the latest season, I probably almost forgot the earliest season (because the series is so long and still ongoing after 13 years). I still love it, despite having to watch the original team reduced the size and just leave only Meredith & Alex. So many people are dead, so many people left, and so many changes and I can see them grow old on screen. It is still the best drama for me. ⭑⭑⭑
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2 seasons) - I watched it because I didn't know what to watch when I cut my stickers for events. I needed something light and funny and simple. I love the unique character Titus Andromedon and it is quite entertaining to watch. 
• 2 Broke Girls (5 seasons) - About 2 broke girls trying to open a cupcake store. Nothing heavy, just normal daily problems, silly stupid jokes, and a friendship. 
• Fresh off the Boats (2 seasons) - About an Asian family in the 90s living in the US. 
• Unreal (2 seasons) - About a young TV producer in charge of reality TV dramas. I learned that all reality shows are mostly about rating and manipulating contestants into producing the biggest drama that will make people want to watch. What's sell and what's boring. I am not into reality series, so I can't give a full opinion on this. 
• Younger (2 seasons) - About a 40-year-old single mom trying to get into the working industry after a long hiatus. After failed interviews, she decided to turn herself 'younger', cheated about her age, and got herself into the industry she was going for.  
• Guidance (2 seasons) - School life drama from the school counselor's point of view. 

The mystery, crime & thriller :

• Breaking Bad (5 seasons) - I started this series last year and I just finished the final season last month. There is a big gap because I was a bit bored. I didn't like how all characters changed by the end of the series, I didn't like the ending, and I didn't like everything because it was not a happy story. It was depressing, heart-pumping, and sad to watch. I'm just glad it is over :(
• 13 Reasons Why (1 season) - Depressing yet we just can't stop watching because we wanted to know why. Can't wait for the 2nd season. Read more here. ⭑⭑⭑
• Fargo (3 seasons) - We LOVE the series. If you love mystery and fucked up stories, please please watch the series, it is the best one so far. ⭑⭑⭑⭑
• Scandal (6 seasons) - I think by far, I only love the first 4 seasons of the series (because politic + crime is a new genre for me). I never really have any exposure to political tactics and possibilities - I hit the moment of adulthood and I'm no longer innocent :F I could never understand why some people crave power & money, so I never really thought about most of the current political issues. Watching this opens my eyes to real issues out there (aside from all the scandal & drama lah). 
• Walking Dead (7 seasons) - This is all Af's doing. I watched the series because Af watched it so now I'm hooked. It is the era of a zombie apocalypse and the zombies are dying because there are more zombies than humans. Humans are trying to survive from dying hungry zombies and mean sociopathic Negan + his huge clan :F About people trying to find meaning in the midst of all the chaos. 
• The OA (1 season) - I can't really explain this series. Everything is very vague and confusing. You'll get a hint of The Life of Pi (where you are not sure whether what's been told is true or not) and there are more questions than answers. About the issues of near-death experiences, where they'd go when they flatlined, etc. ⭑⭑⭑

Fantasy :

• Game of Thrones (7 seasons) - Oh my God, are you cikeding me? If you haven't watched it, well you should. I was a late bloomer because I watched the series last year after having to watch it together with Af. So AF did a rerun and watched it together starting from the first season and since then I became emotionally invested. The latest series ended just a couple of weeks ago and we already can't wait for next year :F The anticipation is just too much. But it is not a family series (you can't watch it without having to see nudes everywhere for all of the early seasons). ⭑⭑⭑⭑

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Other than all the series that I've watched, here are my current ongoing series for daily dinner :

• How to Get Away with Murder
• Orange is the New Black - also a huge amount of nudity & same-sex relationships.

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What I learned from watching all these series? :

• It's amazing how people can get emotionally attached and fully invested in fiction. 
• I love how open people (producers/directors) are these days, how they try to change something and send a message to the public. I noticed several Muslim characters in the latest Grey's Anatomy season - when there were none in the past 12 seasons. I noticed a lot of races in the current series compared to the older says, not just white people. There are a lot of African Americans as lead characters in series or all strong female characters as lead characters (Shondaland dramas). Geek and nerds are not portrayed like they are used to (refer to Glee & 13 Reasons Why). Gay people are actually everywhere as how it is in real life. 
• I learned about political dramas (or those possibilities) & the power-craving world we are living in, and I'm not as innocent as before. I educate myself about crime & awful stuff that could happen in this world.
• I laughed a lot. Some of the fictional characters even became a part of our family, some sort of random discussion and inside jokes in our lives. 
• I don't really watch sci-fi or superhero series (still not so interested).
• I'm trying to open myself to real hard stuff/issues: crime, mental problems, politic, moral values, and historical events. So I'll try another genre in the future.

If I can read while I do work, I'll probably read as much as I watch series :F

Audio Book : Year of Yes ! & The Stranger

I've been searching high and lo for Shonda Rhimes book : Year of Yes - How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be your Own Person, since last year. It was published Nov last year and I still haven't seen it around in local bookstores. 

Grey's new season 13 has just started last week, and I've been watching A LOT of Scandal lately - so at the office, I tried to find Shonda's Ted talk and her commencement speech at Youtube, until I came across her audio book. I didn't waited to just hit play and I listened to the whole book reading. Took 2 days of office hours to finish the 7 hours audio reading. But, yes, it was the best thing I listened to lately. Her inspiring stories, her motivational speeches, her problems, difficulties and how she coped with that. Everything about her as an introverted shy writer/successful TV producer is inspiring. I love how she relates her stories with the growth of her own Tv series over the years. I looooooove. I'm recommending her books to the world.

There is no list of rules. There is one rule. The rule is: there are no rules. Happiness comes from living as you need to, as you want to. As your inner voice tells you to. Happiness comes from being who you actually are instead of who you think you are supposed to be. Being traditional is not traditional anymore. It’s funny that we still think of it that way. Normalize your lives, people. You don’t want a baby? Don’t have one. I don’t want to get married? I won’t. You want to live alone? Enjoy it. You want to love someone? Love someone. Don’t apologize. Don’t explain. Don’t ever feel less than. When you feel the need to apologize or explain who you are, it means the voice in your head is telling you the wrong story. Wipe the slate clean. And rewrite it. No fairy tales. Be your own narrator. And go for a happy ending. One foot in front of the other. You will make it. - Shonda Rhimes

Af said that not everyone can listen to audio stuffs and still focus on their work - like doing 2 things at once kind of thing. But I thought listening got nothing to do with other things that we are doing during that time? I forgot that he's a man, and men rarely can do several things simultaneously. For that, too bad.

Extra note :

I've been watching a lot of free iFlix lately. My current obsession is another Shonda Rhimes' series; Scandal starring the amazingly beautiful Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, working in a crisis management firm along with her awesome sidekicks. I've never watched any of Scandal series until early this month and I already managed to almost end the forth season. Imagine my dedication!

I've been a big fan of Shonda Rhimes; the tv producer/writer for the past 10 years - when Grey's Anatomy was aired in those several early seasons in Malaysia. So my brother and I loyally followed all the updates and discussed on certain things that happened in the series for awhile now. We both are her dedicated loyal fans - and even watched the series front-to-back several times already, even though there are 12 seasons in counting, and know most of Grey's song, and read Grey's quotes randomly :D Like I said, we are both loyal fans of Grey's Anatomy.

So Scandal shouldn't be all too alien for me, I like the pace, the suspense, the character development, the tangled storylines, the nice perfect quotes, the new self-created words, the glimpse of all familiar faces from Grey's Anatomy + Private Practice - crossover *like Grey's parents, Jake, Stephanie, etc, the good-looking main characters, Olivia and of course, Fitz. Fitz, the president of US, the 'older' man I can't help to love. Ha.

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After I finished the book, I listened to Albert Camus's novella - The Stranger, 1942. The original version was written in French, called L'estranger, a philosophical fiction. It's a first-person narrative so along the story, I was listening to the character's monologue before and after the incident that changed the course of his life. I loooooooooved it. Never really tried any of his other books even though I have one of his book : The Rebel for quite some time now. 

I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world. - Albert Camus

The book was so good, it was not enough.
Can't wait for his other audio books next week :D