Hiya!

Well, 2020, I’m definitely not gonna miss ya. The previous year was, strangely enough, the final year for an entire decade and it just had to be one of the greatest greasefires of a year, didn’t it? Well, now we’re in 2021, the start of a new decade. Is it going to be better than last year or will it just be a continuation of all the misery that the previous year brought us?

I wish I could answer that question as I have virtually no control of all the major events which can affect the entire world. What I can do, however, is make a few wishes regarding the things I would like to see happen in 2021. Some of these wishes are generally going to be very personal and selfish and some of them are going to be pure longshots in happening because, well, they are just wishes, so why not try to wish for the impossible, right?

A little more understanding between political parties and more bipartisanship in politics all over the world

I realize this site has tried to remain as neutral as possible in the realm of politics and, in all honesty, I’m pretty much the same. While I may lean a certain way, I’m not against listening to other opinions but I find myself avoiding it more and more. This is mostly because no one discusses politics anymore. People just like to argue and it’s mostly become an “us against them” scenario. This leads to bruised egos and no one “wins” in the end because, if you really think about it, there’s nothing to “win” here.

I do see the irony of writing this as this post will be released during a really crucial time in the United States (if you’re from the future reading this, look up your history books because you might see something) and you might even think this is the reason why I’m making this wish. However, it’s just a partial reason.

Even here in the Philippines, the political parties are so splintered and divided as well. There’s definitely a “you’re either with us or against us” kind of feel when people discuss politics. Just like in the United States and all over the world, you will see people defending their chosen political figure to the death by trying to rationalize their particular party’s actions no matter the cost. Honestly, I’m very sick of it. I’m betting a lot of you reading are as well.

So, my wish for 2021, even those there is a very, very, very, very minuscule chance of it ever happening, is for people to stop simply taking a side without really trying to come to a rational consensus on what’s actually good for everyone in the long run. At least, we should all take a breath and listen to the other side with a rational and open mind. As I said, this probably won’t happen in 2021 nor the decades to follow. I just like to make this wish now.

Not needing to wear additional facial gear anymore

If you told me a couple of years ago that the next biggest fashion trend to happen will be covering your nose and mouth with a cloth, I would’ve called you a crazy person. Well, it’s not exactly a fashion trend because the idea of wearing a face mask has pretty much become the standard in the majority of places all over the world. I can’t be mad at the young entrepreneurs attempting to capitalize on the need to make face mask more trendy. They saw the opportunity so why fault them for trying make the most out of a dire situation.

So, I do apologize to the people who have made it their way to make more money during these trying times. However, I just wish for 2021 to be the year when they finally declare it’s okay to not to wear face masks when going out. Look, I’m sorry but I just don’t like wearing them! They’re cumbersome and just feel weird to me.

This is doubly true in the Philippines as, not only do we have to wear face masks when we go out, we also have to wear a face shield as well when we enter a public place like a mall. If you’re not familiar with what a face shield is, it’s basically a transparent piece of plastic that works like a very flimsy helmet. In other countries, you do have a choice whether you want to wear either a face mask or a face shield. Here in the Philippines, you have to wear both! It just feel ridiculous and, coupled with the face I wear glasses and most face shield products have nosepads for them to hang on, it just feels heavy on the nose, especially for me who has a relatively petite sniffer.

So, not only do I want this year be the year when they declare we don’t have to wear face masks anymore, I also want it to be the year when we don’t have to wear face shields as well! Now, that all depends on what happens in the coming months but I do wish to eliminate all the extra face equipment I have to wear. I believe my glasses are enough.

HBO Max and Disney+ to be released in the Philippines

Okay, it’s time to start wishing for things which are a little more pleasant now.

If you’re been reading my posts the recent years, it’ll come to no surprise to you that I really love Disney. Sure, they may be the company that owns 98% of the world’s entertainment now and they do feel like a gigantic blob, slurping up comparatively smaller companies like 20th Century Fox. Even though I know they can be ruthless, I still love me some Disney. This is precisely why I would love for the House of Mouse to finally release Disney+ in the Philippines.

Right now, Disney+ has a very solid line up of movies and shows I want to watch and it only seems to be getting bigger and bigger as the months pass. I’m really excited to see WandaVision, which is coming up in the middle of the month. However, I won’t really be able to see it *cough*legally*cough* because the service is in the country. It’s quite a bummer.

While their at it, I also hope we finally get HBO Max here. This wish isn’t actually for me; it’s more for my brother. My forte isn’t completely on movies as I basically watch what I want to watch. I’m not a huge movie buff but my brother certainly is! We do have Netflix but, in all honesty, that service doesn’t have a ton of classic movies like Alien, Day of the Dead, Jaws, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Dark Knight Trilogy and the Godzilla movies, just to name a few. However, those movies I mentioned are readily available to stream on HBO Max. Heck, it even has Citizen Kane, a movie that’s highly acclaimed but I haven’t watched because it’s so underrepresented in a lot of streaming services!

Unlike my previous couple of wishes, there is a much better chance both Disney+ and HBO Max will be made available in the Philippines. Hopefully, it’ll be here by June, when it’s the start of summer so we can really binge watch our fill!

Concrete details on Final Fantasy VII Remake Part II

No offense to The Game Awards but giving Game of the Year to The Last of Us Part II, one of the most, if not the most divisive games of 2020 was a mistake. Oh, I understand there’s a lot of “artistic quality” and it took a lot of risks with the story. That’s all well and good but this isn’t the Oscars where the most technically perfect product should win out. For me, Game of the Year should be awarded to the game which brought the hype and managed to, not only meet very high expectations, but exceed them. The game which did bring both of that was Final Fantasy VII Remake.

I have played Final Fantasy VII Remake to death! It’s one of the games I actually played and completed literally half a dozen times just to get different experiences while playing it. I’ve gotten all of the items, weapons and enemy skills. I’ve maxed out all characters and weapons. I’ve defeated all of the bosses and hidden bosses on Hard Mode. I have seen all of the possible outcomes of Chapter 14. I’ve beaten Sephiroth with all possible combinations of party members and in different orders. Suffice to say, I have squeezed out everything Final Fantasy VII Remake has to offer me.

So, is it any wonder I would want to get more information regarding its sequel?

I’m not really looking for much. I just want something concrete about the development process. I would definitely want to see something like a teaser trailer or when it’s tentatively going to be made available. Anything really! Help a girl out, Square Enix!

PlayStation 5 to be made available in the Philippines in more quantities

Undoubtedly, this is the one wish which will come true in 2021. In fact, the PlayStation 5 was actually in stock in 2020… for maybe a couple of days. Much like all over the world, Sony’s latest console became very hard to come by thanks to a lousy pre-order process and scalpers swooping in to get the majority of the already limited stock. Things do seem to be getting better now since the holiday season is over but, man! That took a hot second before things started to improve!

Now things are calming down, it should get much easier to get a PlayStation 5. I’m still going to wait a few more months for things to really die down before I do get Sony’s new system but I’m super eager to get one sometime this year. Maybe I’ll gift myself one for my birthday, which is sometime in June. By that time, maybe things will have normalized and all I would need to do is waltz right to my closest video game store without wearing either a face mask or face shield (see my second wish above) and by one.

Oh, I will add an addendum to this wish. I wish Sony would release a red version of the PlayStation 5. I like red.

Byee!

What are your wishes for 2021? Let me know what they are in the comments section below!