Category: media: documentaries

watched: the merchants of joy (2025)

🎬 The Merchants of Joy: Directed by Celia Aniskovich. Follows five NYC families as they source, bargain and hustle to sell Christmas trees, blending street smarts and holiday spirit. 🔗

Watched on Amazon Prime; could’ve been really cheesy but it did a good job of showing the realities of running a seasonal small business in a cutthroat city alongside the gooey sentimental Christmas stuff. Still, it didn’t dip too far into sensationalism or anything– just a straight-on viewpoint of what it’s like being a Christmas tree seller in NYC.

Recommended if you’re interested in the topic (or just like NYC documentaries).

🎄 2025 Watched List / All Watched Posts

weeknotes (nov. 2-8 2025)

Life Updates

Since my last Weeknotes update, I’ve left [redacted location] and arrived at my new catsit. I’m in Denver for the rest of the month! The cats here are adorable (as always) and the apartment I’m staying in is really nice; the owners are kind and let me come early and stay a few extra days, which was great for me because I saved a bit on accommodation money.

I’ve now been here with the cats alone for a week and I’m really enjoying the whole experience. I’m in a residential area and it’s super fun to walk around looking at all the interesting houses and the trees slowly dying for the winter. I’ve been going out nearly every day just wandering around (in a borrowed fleece jacket because it’s been fairly cold (for me)) with a few occasional forays into the rest of town.

I’m a little annoyed that most (all??) of the museums here have a fairly high entrance fee ($10+ minimum). Of course yesterday was free museum day and I totally forgot…

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