I admit that I’m a bit late compared to a lot of you guys (especially on Twitter) who already did such a meme. But I’m doing it now because it’s New Year’s Eve, and I usually do stuff when it’s down to the wire. I know that it’s not the best way to do it, but whatever. Let’s get on with it.

Year in Review

Overall, this year has been interesting. It’s not flawless, especially in the first half of the year (losing the best manager, getting into a car accident), but it still improved. I didn’t get a lot of commissions compared to last year, in part because of van repairs, but what I did got was still alright. Plus, I left my job at Safeway and got one at Target (I didn’t get as many hours usually, but I get paid more so it balances out).

The more unfortunate thing is the planned move my dad and sister made since the farm property in California has been sold. If you recalled from my last journal, I said that they’ll move out by the end of this year to go to farmland around the Mideastern area of the US. However, that has not happened yet and might be delayed up to next year at least.

I don’t wish to delve too much into this since it’s a long story, but the short of it is that someone in the family wanted a larger piece of the pie from the sold-off farm in violations of previous deals and is willing to screw over the lawyers who helped us in selling it. As such, there will be a lawsuit to stop that, and my dad is trying to find a new job to help fund the trial. I wish it could be averted, especially since my niece and her husband have moved in (they were getting kicked out of their own apartment in either case), but some people are just too greedy.

The thing I was most proud of this year is that I began writing again. Much faster than before. So much so that I created a Patreon (though only three people support me, so make of it of what you will). My only regret is that I wasn’t able to complete The Pokémon Prometheus 2 by the end of the year, though that’s in part because of me underestimating how much I need to write since I’m halfway through my second large, 70 pages, college rule notebook and I think I need a third one to complete it. I only hope that it’s worth it.

In any case, let’s move on.

Decade in Review

This decade I cannot say it is flawless as everyone can tell you. Being thrown into a college with only my money to support me, no jobs at this point, with some ideas of being a video game developer, but having storytelling ideas. I can say that the developing part did not plan out if only because the teachers at my college were so dry in teaching it, but I didn’t sink too much of my money into it and I decided to become a writer anyway.

But, as you know, I did eventually find a job at Amazon in 2013, which unfortunately killed out a few years of writing because of how bad of an environment it was. Yet, I still cannot say that I regret working for Amazon despite it all. It did give me a steady flow of money when I was about to run out of it, it taught me how to work in a work environment, and the first couple of years weren’t too horrible and only became as bad as it did by the second half of my time there.

When I got fired, I wasn’t too worried since I now have a decent experience of work, and I soon found a new one at Safeway. Then the whole manager change happened and that made me wish to leave, which I did when I finally managed to get a job at Target.

The sadder parts of the decade are having a few relatives dying during this time, with grandpa dying in 2012 (after Easter), brother-in-law committing suicide (not entirely sure when, but might be around 2013), granduncle dying at 2015, and grandma dying at 2017. As you can tell, with my mother’s death back in 2007, my life has not been a happy one and I struggled with depression during this time. But I cannot let my grief prevent me from walking forward in life. Though the thought of death always crosses my mind, I can only lose if I let it win, so I must step forward even if it’s a lonely path.

But one cannot have darkness without light that leads onwards.

I will admit that the WiiU hasn’t reach plenty of people’s expectations, but I do not regret ever getting it since it was still a fun system to play on. Heck, I have plenty of hours playing on the silly system (especially Xenoblade Chronicles X, which I do recommend to anyone who wants a good open-world RPG). The Nintendo Switch I admit that I’ve devoted hundreds of hours already with hundreds of more to come.

I’ve also found plenty of online friends here, some of who I met in real life. Some friendships have ended, which I in part am sadden for, but others I cannot imagine ever living without such friends. I admit that I can be weird, an angry jerk, and too envious for my own good, but I’m happy to see that you guys are willing to help me with my issues.

Politics, I don’t wish to talk about. Not because I hate political talk (because I think we need more, even on the ‘settle’ parts), nor is it because I’m apolitical (which I’m not). But because people forgot that, no matter where we stand in the political arena, we all need to respect others' opinions even if we do see it as cancerous. If we spend too much on demonizing the other for what they see as totalitarian beliefs, we forget that the others are just like humans, with all their stupid, selfish flaws, like us. Really, I’m far more critical of people who treat their political beliefs, no matter where they stand, as if it’s religious dogma and treat others even slightly out of line of their own as heretics. Like Babylon 5, one of the most excellent tv series of all time, said, “Understanding is a three-edged sword: Your side, their side, and the truth.”

In the end, despite all the flaws this past decade has brought me, I cannot reject it out of hand without discarding all of the good this decade has brought me. It has given me friends, works, stories I’ve written, hilarious memes, and a ton more. I’ll admit that I do carry some fear for the coming decade, but only because I’m afraid that what’s been building up for a long time will reach its climax. And, when it does, nothing will be the same again.