2011: In Retrospect
December 31st, 2011 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebecky_moAnd here we are again, the end of another year; 3 hours to go here. At times 2011 seemed to fly by, and then other times it seemed like days were dragging on. The world's changed alot this year; countries rose up, dictators fell, and it's still going on into 2012.
My life in 2011 wasn't nearly as exciting as that, but stuff did happen.
In regard to real life, it's been a roller-coaster. With both my mother and grandmother having medical issues for much of the year (and some very real scares), there's been a lot of what-ifs and changes going on. Also, my great uncle passed away from a longstanding illness at the same time my grandmother was in the hospital; I didn't know him too well, but my sister was fond of him.
However, I did get to watch my baby 2nd-cousin grow through his first year of life. He's the first kids of the next generation, and the first baby I've ever really held. He's adorable, and with dark brown hair and blue eyes, I'm sure he's going to have no trouble with girls (or guys, whatever floats his boat) a decade or so down the line. XD
And I finally got back into playing recreational softball. I haven't done so in almost 15 years, so to get back out on the field, realize I haven't forgotten everything, and have fun was so wonderful. Plus, I'm meeting people here in Hamilton. I'm eager to get back there next year.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fandom-wise, it's been an amazing year.
Good God, I haven't gone to the theaters so many times in one year in FOREVER. Thor, Captain America, Green Lantern, Kung Fu Panda 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Winnie The Pooh, and The Muppets. I can't decide between Captain America and Muppets as my favorite of the year; they're so different, yet I loved them both so much. And I still wanted to see more, like Real Steel, The Musketeer, Puss In Boots, and X-Men: First Class...alas, it wasn't to be. Still want to see Sherlock Holmes and TinTin though, I need someone to go with...
In TV? Young Justice and Transformers: Prime have blown my mind. CN is ticking me off with the way it's releasing YJ's episodes, but the characters are enough to pull me back in (Kaldur, you are ridiculously hot; Tula's a moron.) And yet again, Transformers brings out a brilliant new series; Prime reminds me of Beast Wars in terms of pacing and feel, and this is SO not a bad thing *loves herself some Beasties*. It's also managed to do something unprecedented; I actually love ALL of the human characters in it. Oh, I've always enjoyed one human or another in TF verses (do I really need to mention who?), but to enjoy all of them? Insane.
In terms of comics/manga, I'm still undecided as to the Nu-DC reboot thing being good or bad; maybe I'll have a decision by year-end of 2012. And Darkwing Duck got canned, which pisses me off; it was a GOOD book! But on the other hand? SAILOR MOON AND NINJA TURTLES BACK ON THE SHELVES. <3333 Some fandoms never die. And of course, One Piece continues to be awesome as it cruised through it's first major arc post-timeskip; it's been a divider among the OP-fans, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
One of the big heartbreaks for me this year was one of my favorite WWE wrestlers, Edge (aka Adam Copeland), being forced to retire from wrestling. After having several vertebrae in his neck fused together 8 years ago from a wrestling injury, he was starting to feel pain and numbness in his limbs this year. It was discovered he had Cervical Spinal Stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), and would be risking paralysis or even death if he continued to compete. I've been watching him grow ever since his debut in WWE in '98, from some long-haired vampire wannabe to one of the most amazing, reliable performers in the ring; if Edge was in the ring, you were going to get a good show no matter who he fought. After seeing my forever fave, Shawn Micheals, retire the year before, it hurt to see a guy who could have had more than a few good years left in the business cut short (he was only 38). But I'm relieved that the doctors and WWE staff discovered the condition and gave Adam a chance to live a good, healthy life, rather than him become another wrestling statistic...
Meanwhile, after 2 years away, I finally got back to Anime North in Toronto. I missed it in 2010 due to recovering from my resection surgery, my only glimpse was to go on the drive to pick up my sister. It's funny how much you miss the cramped crowds, insane traffic and lack of home-cooked food until you can't go. XD; Personal problems (see family health above) made it less fun than we wanted it to be, but we managed to enjoy ourselves and not get too down about it.
...I completed 14 pieces of fanwork this year. Fourteen.
That's more than I did in 2009/2010 combined. I think it's the most I've done in a year since I started working full-time and living alone. I was afraid I was losing my love of art for awhile, afraid I was going to lose one of the only real hobbies I had. Instead, I found new muses in Raoul and Tracks, Piccolo and Sailor Jupiter, and drew. I even started writing real stories again, which I hadn't really done since my Sonic the Hedgehog fandom days, almost a decade ago (if you want a laugh, they're on my FF.net account).
I'm not going to pretend I'll ever have the same amount of fanwork as I did working part-time and having my meals/laundry/shopping done for me (that was living, I tell ya!), but one or two pieces a month? I'd be happy with that.
So. *raises a glass of Coke* Adios, 2011; may 2012 bring as many (preferably good) surprises as you did in the last 365 days.
...But not the apocalypse. I think we can all live without that little surprise. XD;;;
My life in 2011 wasn't nearly as exciting as that, but stuff did happen.
In regard to real life, it's been a roller-coaster. With both my mother and grandmother having medical issues for much of the year (and some very real scares), there's been a lot of what-ifs and changes going on. Also, my great uncle passed away from a longstanding illness at the same time my grandmother was in the hospital; I didn't know him too well, but my sister was fond of him.
However, I did get to watch my baby 2nd-cousin grow through his first year of life. He's the first kids of the next generation, and the first baby I've ever really held. He's adorable, and with dark brown hair and blue eyes, I'm sure he's going to have no trouble with girls (or guys, whatever floats his boat) a decade or so down the line. XD
And I finally got back into playing recreational softball. I haven't done so in almost 15 years, so to get back out on the field, realize I haven't forgotten everything, and have fun was so wonderful. Plus, I'm meeting people here in Hamilton. I'm eager to get back there next year.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fandom-wise, it's been an amazing year.
Good God, I haven't gone to the theaters so many times in one year in FOREVER. Thor, Captain America, Green Lantern, Kung Fu Panda 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Winnie The Pooh, and The Muppets. I can't decide between Captain America and Muppets as my favorite of the year; they're so different, yet I loved them both so much. And I still wanted to see more, like Real Steel, The Musketeer, Puss In Boots, and X-Men: First Class...alas, it wasn't to be. Still want to see Sherlock Holmes and TinTin though, I need someone to go with...
In TV? Young Justice and Transformers: Prime have blown my mind. CN is ticking me off with the way it's releasing YJ's episodes, but the characters are enough to pull me back in (Kaldur, you are ridiculously hot; Tula's a moron.) And yet again, Transformers brings out a brilliant new series; Prime reminds me of Beast Wars in terms of pacing and feel, and this is SO not a bad thing *loves herself some Beasties*. It's also managed to do something unprecedented; I actually love ALL of the human characters in it. Oh, I've always enjoyed one human or another in TF verses (do I really need to mention who?), but to enjoy all of them? Insane.
In terms of comics/manga, I'm still undecided as to the Nu-DC reboot thing being good or bad; maybe I'll have a decision by year-end of 2012. And Darkwing Duck got canned, which pisses me off; it was a GOOD book! But on the other hand? SAILOR MOON AND NINJA TURTLES BACK ON THE SHELVES. <3333 Some fandoms never die. And of course, One Piece continues to be awesome as it cruised through it's first major arc post-timeskip; it's been a divider among the OP-fans, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
One of the big heartbreaks for me this year was one of my favorite WWE wrestlers, Edge (aka Adam Copeland), being forced to retire from wrestling. After having several vertebrae in his neck fused together 8 years ago from a wrestling injury, he was starting to feel pain and numbness in his limbs this year. It was discovered he had Cervical Spinal Stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), and would be risking paralysis or even death if he continued to compete. I've been watching him grow ever since his debut in WWE in '98, from some long-haired vampire wannabe to one of the most amazing, reliable performers in the ring; if Edge was in the ring, you were going to get a good show no matter who he fought. After seeing my forever fave, Shawn Micheals, retire the year before, it hurt to see a guy who could have had more than a few good years left in the business cut short (he was only 38). But I'm relieved that the doctors and WWE staff discovered the condition and gave Adam a chance to live a good, healthy life, rather than him become another wrestling statistic...
Meanwhile, after 2 years away, I finally got back to Anime North in Toronto. I missed it in 2010 due to recovering from my resection surgery, my only glimpse was to go on the drive to pick up my sister. It's funny how much you miss the cramped crowds, insane traffic and lack of home-cooked food until you can't go. XD; Personal problems (see family health above) made it less fun than we wanted it to be, but we managed to enjoy ourselves and not get too down about it.
...I completed 14 pieces of fanwork this year. Fourteen.
That's more than I did in 2009/2010 combined. I think it's the most I've done in a year since I started working full-time and living alone. I was afraid I was losing my love of art for awhile, afraid I was going to lose one of the only real hobbies I had. Instead, I found new muses in Raoul and Tracks, Piccolo and Sailor Jupiter, and drew. I even started writing real stories again, which I hadn't really done since my Sonic the Hedgehog fandom days, almost a decade ago (if you want a laugh, they're on my FF.net account).
I'm not going to pretend I'll ever have the same amount of fanwork as I did working part-time and having my meals/laundry/shopping done for me (that was living, I tell ya!), but one or two pieces a month? I'd be happy with that.
So. *raises a glass of Coke* Adios, 2011; may 2012 bring as many (preferably good) surprises as you did in the last 365 days.
...But not the apocalypse. I think we can all live without that little surprise. XD;;;
