Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Imagining 2023

Happy New Year!

My first post of the 2023 and don't let the title of it give you any preconceived notions...just had to call the post something.  I am currently sitting in the lobby of my local VW dealership getting my 22 year old Jetta diagnosed as to why it won't start (battery seems fine). *sigh* First pain in the ass of the new year; I really don't want to buy a new car but I really want to have two vehicles that drive.

[while it may seem decadent for a pinko liberal like myself to even own two cars, it sure makes it a lot easier to coordinate being in multiple places simultaneously when you've got a family of four. Just saying...]

Anyhoo, it affords me a little time to write. Plus: free coffee.

Looking back over 2022, I see I got a couple of my half-dozen resolutions knocked out, which is...well...a pretty shitty track record. In addition, all the weight I had lost seems to have come back over the holiday season (since Thanksgiving...). Go figure, right? So, really it's more like one or one-and-a-half resolutions. I do still fit into my snow pants...

I suppose writing an adventure that made the cut for Prince of Nothing's most recent NoArtPunk contest counts as having an adventure "published and reviewed" (here's the review), but that's not quite what I meant when I wrote the resolution. Still, maybe another half point?

***LATER***

Car's fixed. Only cost more than I care to spend (about half what I made in book sales for last year). Lots has happened in the meantime (7:15pm as I sit down to write more); currently I'm having a beer while waiting for soccer practice to finish. Yes, turns out D's team is back on the field already (shocker).

Monday Night Football has been suspended. A player, a Bills safety named Damar Hamlin, was injured on the field, unable to breathe unassisted. I've seen a lot of NFL injuries over the years...never have I seen a game suspended like this for anything but extreme weather (lightning storms in Seattle once). That's rough. I wonder if Hamlin is related to ex-Seahawk safety Kenny Hamlin who was  beaten over the head with a sandwich board in Pioneer Square suffering brain trauma as a result and missing the 2005 Super Bowl. "The Hammer" Hamlin we used to call him. 

Sad. Rough. Still a lot of people dying in Ukraine, though.

[which is not to say I didn't send up a prayer that he'll be all right. Just as I send up prayers for the folks in Ukraine]

Perspective. 

Okay, the game's been postponed indefinitely. I appreciate that people are a bit more important than profits for the League.

I, of course, am not terribly worried about profits...I mean, other than the ones that pay my rent, fund my kids' soccer, and gets my car up and running. I'm little different from most people: self-absorbed. Well, at least I continue to notice it. ALSO: it's the New Year...let's hope (and work) to do better.

[truthfully, I am. But I won't go into those details as they're a little on the "personal" side]

I am sure there are folks who think it's all a joke: considering the New Year, making resolutions, blah-blah-blah. "You frigging hypocrite! You want to change, just change! Don't wait till some arbitrary calendar date like January first!" And, while there's truth in that, it's NICE that there's also a designated date and time that folks of my culture have set aside for personal reflection and consideration. A designated "life evaluation" point similar to the evaluations one might receive (annually) on-the-job or in school. A time to set expectations; a time to consider methods of growth.

SO...here, without further ado, are my resolutions for the New Year:
  1. Write at least ONE PAGE (let's say 1,000+ words) every day, rain or shine. At this point, it doesn't much matter to me what I'm writing, just that I'm writing. I want to create a habit of work, even when I don't "feel like it."
  2. Write at least two blog posts per week.
  3. Cut back on my alcohol intake substantially. No stocking beer in the fridge (that actually helps) and limiting myself to one beer when I'm out. A little wine when cooking or at festive events.
  4. Cut back on the caffeine and be back to decaf only by the end of February (I was on decaf before my in-laws came to town, but I've only got one coffee maker and they like their joe).
  5. Cut the the sweets out entirely...once we've finished the holiday goodies that are left over (I don't like to waste food).
  6. Get an hour of decent exercise in every day. 
  7. Be more attentive to my wife. 
  8. Publish an adventure on DriveThruRPG.
  9. Make time to play D&D once per week.
  10. Consolidate and organize my campaign notes for my world rather than having them scattered over dozens of random documents.
  11. Cook one new dish every month (and learn to cook at least one Mexican dish). 
  12. Run at least one game for adult players, either in person or on-line.
  13. Find a way to one gaming convention this year.
Okay, that's enough. Let's see how many I can get through THIS year.
; )

[posting this Tuesday, January 3rd]

8 comments:

  1. Can definitely relate to 5, feels like I’ve eaten a years ration worth of rocky road these past two-three weeks (although won’t cut them out entirely)…

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  2. You're doing fine. Don't be so hard on yourself. Blog is good, family is good, car is fixed, life is good.

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    1. Thanks, Scott. Always nice to hear someone thinks the blog is good.
      : )

      As for the rest…yes, I try to count (and thank) my blessings every day.

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  3. That is an impressively ambitious list of resolutions and yet they seem largely achievable and measurable. I'm rooting for you except on #4. Caffeine is the drug of productivity; it's how capitalists keep getting value out of pinkos. ;) Boy, I hope that kidding works in print as well as it does in my head!

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  4. As soon as I get red printing paper, Hell's Own Temple will be in print! I can also post a review but it would probably be only two words: "Fuck yes!" Happy New Year!

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    1. Right on, man. Happy New Year to you, too.

      I have to admit, I do find it amazing the reception HOT has received over the last...what?...year-and-a-half?

      Devils always seem like some of the least used and under-appreciated monsters in 1E. But for folks who use the whole 9-point alignment, the marching armies of Lawful Evil (orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, etc.) are just SO IMMENSE. A whole Tolkien-esque style campaign can be be created from Hell's legions without ever utilizing a single demon.

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  5. Welcome to 2023! I'm looking forward to your blogposts this year.

    On your resolutions, I can only wish you the best of luck and say that if you only manage half of them you're a better person than me.

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