Year-end reflection

 Time for the annual year-end reflection!

First, some of the major things that happened this year:

- My brother-in-law died in January, He was only 51 and this was unexpected. Though we were not super-close (he lived in California), I liked him. 

- Also in January, Doris and I reached a milestone of 20 years together. We didn't do anything to celebrate it though I got her a gift. But we do have plans next month to celebrate 21 years.

- In April, I got on an airplane for the first time since January 2020 - for a six-day business trip that I didn't want to go on. But it was fine. Didn't love the experience but did fine

- In the summer and fall, I canvassed a lot for Lauren Underwood. (And she won!) And I volunteered a ton with Postcards to Swing States. Once Roe was overturned, I vowed to do something political each week, and until the election, I did! I either canvassed for Underwood or volunteered at Postcards every week. I feel that this was one of the most meaningful and impactful things I did this year. (What, writing Spartacus fanfic isn't impactful?) 

- In October, I officiated Ann and Rollin's wedding! It was an honor. A weekend I'll never forget

- In November, Mom and I flew to LA for Anime Pasadena. Got to meet an actor I love (Alessandro Juliani!) and just as importantly, had a lot of fun with mom

Now, other categories....

Family, Friends, Work, Doris, Politics:

I'm grateful for what I have here. The major "events" in these categories are listed above. Doris and I went on a trip to Lake Geneva, WI; that was lovely. Work and my coworkers are still good, and I'm so glad for things like game nights and Scrabble dates that build structure and consistency into friendships. (Kinda like having a friendship book club).

Fandom:

I started the year with Spartacus being my main fandom but swung back to my previous fandom, The 100. (And how it happened absolutely cracks me up, but the short story is that I started watching Battlestar Galactica, came to really love ones of its stars Alessandro Juliani, who I also had liked from The 100. So my love for him resulted in me getting back into The 100, and doing a rewatch with my fandom friend Mia in Germany). And then I went right back to writing fanfic in The 100 too.
 

(Also, speaking of Mia….can I be sad for a moment that she didn’t get me anything for Christmas? We always exchange birthday and Christmas gifts. Usually something small like a fic or a flurry of comments on the other person’s fic. She didn’t do anything this year. She has mentioned over the past few months that she has been low on ideas and inspiration.)

Also in the fandom realm, I had many wonderful contacts/messages with Sachin (who played my favorite character on The 100). Including him saying that if I ever am in Vancouver, we should have dinner together. I tried to go in November but I had COVID and had to cancel the trip. It's been rescheduled for February so - fingers crossed. It would be so nice to see him in person again. The last time (and first time) I saw him in person was January 2020.



Favorite Books of the Year because I always do this:

Fiction:

Haven by Emma Donoghue

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow 

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

White Houses by Amy Bloom 
Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

 
(I'd say Haven was the best of the above)

Non-fiction:

 

Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher 

Imaginable by Jane McGonigal 

Breaking the Age Code by Becca Levy 

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman 

You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn 

To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins

Overall I think the thing I'm most proud of is the political activism.

Edit - I forgot to mention that I started therapy in 2022. It's been good. My therapist recently quit due to health and other issues, but I met the new one and we have an appointment in January. (It's all done online)

(Sorry for all the different fonts. DW really isn't that easy to format, is it?)