Review of 2022

 

2022 started off low-key, but quickly escalated into quite an eventful year.

A lot of reading, writing, and ranting to start, then things turned into a bit of a whirlwind, at least compared to the past two years.

Mid-Winter, I threw caution to the wind and booked a Bucket List trip to Drumheller, Alberta for early in the Summer. 

The week of my birthday the end of May was the year's first big event, and that seemed to kick off the comparative craziness. Ottawa Ribfest, a couple appointments, and a trip back into the office to renew a badge and clear out my desk came in rapid succession. 

Early in June, I was informed that PSPC would not be renewing my contract. It was a shock, but understandable, and LiveWorkPlay quickly had an offer for a two-year Administrative Assistant contract with the Northern Canadian Economic Development Agency, which I happily accepted.

A lull in activity came right in time for my trip out West. One of the worst flights I've ever been on preceded one of the best vacations I've ever been on!

Western-ish stuff, prairie dogs, and dinosaurs everywhere!

Once home, I was avoiding the Summer heat and preparing for the upcoming new job. Para Transpo and home care were set back up and I was psychologically preparing myself to be back in public for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Work with CanNor started in August.  Para Transpo worked well, I was decently busy, working with some nice people, and it was great being downtown again. Unfortunately, after two-and-a-half years of being okay, I finally got COVID in September and spent the majority of the month getting over it.

The rest of the year was fairly packed and productive. The weather, thankfully, was nice enough to allow me to get out lots. More work, with some new, interesting tasks, and a return to Syracuse, New York for a family Thanksgiving barbecue lunch.

Christmas was pretty great, too.

A couple things tentatively planned for 2023, but I'll save those for another post.

Cheers and have a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Cheers!

Christmas Tradition

 

*Christmas writing prompt*

All the way back during Christmas of 1988, my parents started to make a video tape for me. 

Along with a children's craft show, a holiday-themed episode of a soap opera my Mom (and I, later on) used to watch, and many vintage commercials, my parents recorded Mickey's Christmas Carol, ALF's Christmas Special, and several regular episodes of ALF (was/is/always will be my all-time favourite TV show!)

Nearly every Christmas for the last thirty-four years, I've taken a day to dust off our VCR, slide in the VHS, curl up with a hot chocolate (and cookies if they've been made yet), and relive part of my childhood. And also have a bit of a good cry...

I'm officially on break, so I'm planning on doing this some time tomorrow, shortly after baking a batch of my Nanny Perkins' ginger snaps.

Cheers!

Feeling Unusually Festive

 

Normally around this time of year, especially after the massive amount of snow we've had recently, I'd be complaining about wanting to escape to somewhere warm and Southern.

But this year, I'm feeling unusually pumped for Christmas. Shopping's finished and gifts have begun to get wrapped, work vacation was officially approved this morning, and I've got a Christmas lunch to attend Wednesday afternoon. 

Strangely exciting.

Cheers!

I May Write a Book

 

Several years ago, during the Joubert syndrome conference in Chicago, a couple people said I should write a book. 

Being the literal person I can occasionally be, I took them at their word and thought I could do it. I posted about it in this then-fledgling blog, came up with some rough ideas based around some Transitioning to Adulthood things I'd done, and even ran it by a couple fellow adults with JS.

It was a bold idea, but I seriously had no idea what I was doing, and moved on by the end of that summer.

Since then, I've read books written by a friend of mine about his life as a person who stutters and his experiences becoming a sportswriter, as well as a man with Joubert syndrome who writes about using assistive communication.

Having read these, I notice my problem. Both those books are about the author's personal experiences, nothing more. I came off way too clinical with the Transitioning to Adulthood angle, and it sounded weird re-reading my ideas.

Just for kicks, I wrote a "Before I'm Forty" list a year or two ago, and added a bullet about writing a book based on my own life and journey. So, I might just try and do it this time, for real. Fingers are being crossed!

Cheers

Something for the Playlist

 

Between a cold most of last week, recovering from a dental extraction since Friday, and an unusually crazy past two days of work, it's been something else the last little while.

I've been turning to YouTube and music to keep me in decent spirits or help me unwind, and I've made a pretty impressive find: Celtic Metal. Traditional bagpipes, fiddles, flutes, etc, even some tribal-sounding stuff, mixed with loud, hard rock.

I saw a video a few years ago of three women doing bagpipe covers of Shipping Up To Boston by Dropkick Murphys and Enter Sandman by Metallica. Really good. I watched it again recently, and browsed through the related videos. Lots of good stuff, including the channels of two of the three performers. 

One specific channel I found, and I've been a little hooked on ever since, is for a group called Celtica. Their music is really good. Harder stuff, but they have some softer tracks as well, like a phenomenal version of Amazing Grace. Kind of nerdy too, which was an added bonus. Lots of steampunk, medieval aesthetic at times, and a bit of cosplaying. Highly recommended!

Cheers