Zombie day 2019

It was the 15th of July 2015. Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps the fact that we had gone hiking the day before, perhaps it was just meant to be. On the 15th of July 2015 the wife and I had no energy. We were tired. The whole day dragged on in a mess of take-away and episodes of The Walking Dead or perhaps Game of Thrones. We walked our dogs of course, but it was short walks, they didn’t have much energy either. I couldn’t stop yawning, I didn’t write; we didn’t even play video games (and we play A LOT of video games in the summer). I talked with my best friend Marco – who you can find mentioned in every  “thank you” in the beginning of my books – and explained to him that wife and I had been like zombies all day. I don’t remember who suggested it, as a joke, might I add, that today was a “zombie day” and that now we had to “celebrate it every year”. Being who I am, I took it to heart. Here I am, fourth year in a row, celebrating or at least acknowledging that today is indeed Zombie Day.

The form of how we observe this special holiday changes from year to year. Sometimes, like this year, the wife is working, so I’ll have to do this without her. Best friend Marco, is also working (however from home so I hope to at least hear from him occasionally) so I’m on my own here, fighting the good fight.

My zombie holiday activities for today:

• Eating jello. Very devoid of nutrients but fun and not terrible when it comes to calories. Easy to prepare and reminds me of childhood and summer.
• Binge watching old Modern Family episodes. Yes, yes, I should be watching zombie series and maybe I will later but I’m in the mood for Modern Family and Zombie Day is a day where you do what you feel like. If you’re looking for a list of zombie media I love, keep reading.
• Reading Harry Potter.
• Maybe some writing but only if I really feel like.
• Take a nap? Maybe? Probably?

I’m a slightly stressful person. I’m always on the go, working, taking care of others, writing, cleaning, walking dogs, going to the gym. One winter my parents stared as I first did an hour Just Dance on the wii and then went on skiing for a couple of hours. Being almost thirty doesn’t change that. I’m bad at taking it easy, swinging between activity and too much exhaustion. Zombie Day forces me to wind down. I don’t need to be productive. Housework will be there tomorrow. Sure I need to walk the dog but even that can be done in a calm, relaxing manner.

Zombie Day is also a perfect day for indulging in zombie media. I love zombies and one day I’m going to shower you all in my 9 part zombie book series (you just wait) but we’re not there yet and I have nothing of my own to offer you however here is a list of books, series, and films that I love.

Z Nation – TV series and to me the best zombie series there is. I love it so much. There is a spin-off to Z nation that is called Black Summer that I haven’t actually watched yet. It’s up on Netflix though so I might give that a try today.

The Walking Dead – TV series. I don’t really like it past season six but until then it’s so good.

Fear of the Walking Dead – spin-off series to The Walking Dead. Not my favorite but still totally okay.

Santa Clarita Diet – TV- series. Very different from traditional zombie series.! About a suburban real estate agent who becomes a zombie, a sentient one. I have a love/hate relationship with zombies who can talk/walk/think but I do enjoy this series and grieve that it was cancelled. It feels finished at the end of season 3 so it’s probably okay though.

Izombie – TV series. another series about sentient zombies. Doesn’t really feel like a zombie series at times. They use the word zombie though so a definite plus there. It’s about a zombie who solves crimes and it’s funny and interesting.

Resident Evil films – Quite famous and maybe I don’t need to include them. Traditional. There is a virus. It spreads and creates zombies.

I am Legend – Movie. Also famous and most people have probably have seen it. There is a virus. It spreads and creates zombies. There is supposed to be a book that is better but I haven’t read it. The movie is meh.

World War Z – book and movie. The movie is okay but the book is amazing! Best zombie book I have ever read. My wife isn’t a big reader but I spent hours reading it out loud to her just because it was so interesting I wanted to share it. It went through how different countries prepared and dealt with a zombie apocalypse. I borrowed it at the library but actually want to own it just so I can take it out and touch it sometime, that’s how good it was. Max brooks, the author, has written a book called “The Zombie survival guide” too and it’s on by to-be-read list.

I have read one lesfic novel about zombies called “Man Eaters” by Linda Kay Silva, it was really not good so it’s not making it on the list. It made me almost scared of trying out other zombie/lesfic books so if you know of any good ones, please send them my way.

The Walking Dead Game – video game from Telltale Games. These games are amazing whether you watch The Walking Dead or not. They aren’t too scary (for someone like me) and a joy to play. I fully recommend.

Then there are some pseudo zombie series, Van Helsing (some of the vampires act more like zombies) being one of them. There are also movies and stuff that has people being controlled however I don’t know where we should draw the line. Could you call Frankenstein’s monster a zombie? Probably not.

My list isn’t full of unknown, hidden gems in the zombie genre but I didn’t intend it to be. These series/movies/books are popular for a reason, they are good and they do just what they’re supposed to.

Time to get started, my jello isn’t going to eat itself.

Have a great day my friends and thank you for reading!