goodbye 2013

so, it's retrospective time here at pale with horror. 2013 has been a pretty rough year for me. the death toll is up this year among family and friends, as well as family of friends. there were highs, there were lows, but it mostly is a blur. sadly i feel like it should still be september - the year has just gone by that fast for me. i'd like to say that i spent the year having so much fun that it went quickly, but it is more that it has been a blur of work.

the ups included a small number of dolls coming home and some nice things occurring around them. i'm not 100%, but i'm pretty sure that the least amount of dolls came home in 2013. i definitely wasn't as excited as i wanted to be about them, but i blame that on being too busy to have the energy needed for it. i have a number of things that i need to do and that got put off this year, i'm to the point where several projects will never happen and several others badly need to be completed sooner rather than later. with luck, 2014 will see a renewed interest in more than collecting the dolls.

this year i went back to eccc for the first time since 2008 and was amazed at its growth. i got to meet quite a few people that i've followed for years, including larry elmore, and wendy and richard pini, plus got to see both grey delisle and johnen vasquez. i did more cosplay photography at both eccc and sakura-con. sakura was great fun as well.

a number of friends visited throughout the year, including sillylady coming to visit for a week during uncanny dreams. i miss her a lot and really hope that she gets to at least visit again soon. (really wish i could convince her to visit for sakura 2014...)

uncanny dreams was fun this year - a little less work in some aspects, but A LOT more in others. it was good and a success and i can't wait to see how it does in 2014.

i got promoted in title at work in the first half of the year, which has meant more responsibilities. part of that is why i have been so busy. so many more things to do. i have a number of projects on my plate going into 2014 in addition to my normal work. my hours still exhaust me and the work is sometimes stressful enough that i want out, but it has been a good company to work for and a good experience thus far.

on the downside this year, i missed a good friend's wedding due to scheduling conflicts, i've been sick a number of times, weight was gained, opportunities missed, and a number of things i wanted to accomplish did not occur. i also did not have as much time with friends as i wanted and have grown distant with most due to my schedule keeping me from being able to do things during the hours most people are doing them.

the deaths hit pretty hard as well as most were either wholly unexpected, or expected and sad. this year they included a couple of babies of friends, and a good friend i met through the dolls who i think of as an aunt. she enabled me to get my amber and i watched her go through a lot the past few years with illness. her loss is felt daily.

to end this all on a happier note: i did make some new friends this year, got to see diru live (i rocked the pit in lolita and rocking horse shoes!), and have now ended the year with a week at home hanging out with my parents. 2014 is starting off with me grousing about having to go back to work, but i'll get over it. february will bring a kyary concert and my first time having my birthday off in a long time. then there's eccc and sakura, followed not long after by a trip to michigan for work (hopefully sooner rather than later). after that will be a trip to disneyland (my first time to disneyland and california!), with the week to include an anime convention, visit with my brother, and a trip to volks. sometime this summer should be uncanny, and the fall will possibly bring another trip. then it is the holidays and another new year! i hope to fill up 2014 with photos, crafts, dolls, and a lot more of being social and happier with my life!

so, goodbye 2013, hello 2014!