A few days until the end of the year, so I figure I’d do some reflection.
It’s kinda strange that so much happened this past year — yet right at this moment, it all feels so removed in time… I wonder if this is what getting old feels like. Or maybe I’m just excessively tired. One thing’s for sure — I’m looking forward to the new year quite a bit.
So, 2011…
The world went through quite a bit of turmoil and change… The uprisings — successful or not — in the Middle East and the civil war in Libya. Bombings in Russia and Somalia, and shootings in Norway. Shrinking economies and global financial woes. Earthquakes and tsunamies, and the hurt and damages they caused. More volcano eruptions. Floods in Southeast Asia. Breaking the seven billion human population mark.
Good things happened too, of course — a bunch of internationally recognized baddies bit the dust. Anthropology has been having a good year. So have planet hunters and elementary particles hunters. We had some nice medical advances as well (successful first-of-a-kind medical transplants, figuring out the sources of some really bad diseases and illnesses, to hopefully one day tackle them, etc.)
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On a personal level, it was a more or less temperate year. I went from a resident to a citizen, survived layoffs and reorganization at my job, visited a new country (South Korea). Got involved with a Sikrit(TM) new project that may or may not grow into something bigger. Had a book cover published by a small press. Did a lot of reading and research and planning for what might become my personal business venture in 2012. Didn’t write and draw as much as I wanted (or should have). Have been facing some health issues (thankfully none too serious at this very moment, but a very loud reminder I’m growing physically old). Have been having an iffy luck with technology, and an even iffier luck in my personal relationships. Shut down my writing group. Have been very, VERY short on time and not good at all at managing my stress levels.
In previous years, I’ve done best and worst of the year in books and movies, but I think I’ll pass this year. Probably part of my frustrations with 2011 is that I didn’t read as much as I’d have liked, or catch many movies. Convention and conference-wise, I only made it to the San Diego Comic-Con, and even there, I didn’t have many highlights. The beginning of the year was disappointing for cRPGs (really, BioWare, what were you thinking?), and my rig crashed before I could find the time to play the other games I was looking forward to (Witcher 2, Deus Ex2, Skyrim) (oh, and yes, when I’m talking about “iffy luck,” I’m being very, very restrained in my sentiments).
So, I think I’ll leave it at that. Considering everything else that’s been happening in the world around me, it’s hard to complain about 2011. Still, I’m ready to close the page on it, and tackle 2012.
Here’s to a better next year!