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Dog to Boar.
Dec. 31st, 2018 10:11 pm2018 was a decent year for me. (In the larger context of the world and society and politics, it wasn't so great, but if I start talking about that I'll just get angry and depressed, so I'll just stick to my life.) There were ups and downs, but the downs didn't seem so low and the ups weren't quite as high. Mostly it was a year of stability.
Things I did and experienced in 2018:
-Stayed in the same apartment for an entire year. I am actually very proud of myself for this; the last time I stayed in one place longer than a year was in 2010. Staying in a place we like, with good neighbors, has been a huge part of feeling stability in my life.
-At work, planned and ran five major events, plus dozens of smaller events, a teacher training workshop, a large part of the annual museum sleepover, two science nights, a birthday party, and two community outreach events. I also designed nine monthly flyers and nine monthly activities, completely re-did at least twenty scavenger hunts, did a bunch of work on the website, and took on some new responsibilities related to the website and publicity/marketing. I am also really happy that for one of the big events, I convinced my friend Marty (who has known me since I was three years old) to do traditional Yup'ik storytelling. In general, I felt more confident and capable at my job, although that's always an ongoing process.
-Over the summer, I taught at an outdoor nature education camp for two weeks. I have never been so exhausted in my life; turns out running around in the woods with a bunch of 8- and 9-year-olds takes a lot of energy. I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot. I'm very glad I did it, but I'm also glad it was only two weeks.
-Although we first met her in 2017, this year Rory and I really became friends with our neighbor Cassandra. She's a great neighbor (and cat-sitter).
-Met lots of new people at work, and said goodbye to a lot of co-workers who left. Lots of staffing changes this year, unfortunately.
-In January, I visited my sister and nephews in Tacoma, and went back to the museum I interned at in 2015. Several people there remembered me, which was weird.
-In April, I went on a work trip to Nome and Shishmaref, which was my first time in that part of the state. It was stressful, but also fun, and reminded me that I do miss village life at times.
-In May, we went to Massachusetts and New York. We spent a day in Boston, then two days with our awesome friends Lynds and Lauren. It was so good to see them, I missed them SO much. Then we went to Syracuse and attended Rory's cousin's wedding.
-In July, my mom and I went to Dawson City. We camped by the Yukon River and got to visit an amazing museum. I hadn't been to Dawson since I was about eight years old, and it was fun to see it again.
-In November, I went back to Tacoma to visit my sister and see my nephew perform in a children's theatre production of The Hobbit. He played Gollum, and it was awesome. I did manage to accidentally take my mom's car key back to Alaska with me; it's a long and complicated story, but someday we'll look back and laugh. Maybe.
-Rory's cousin got married, and one co-worker, one cousin, and one cousin-in-law had babies. Less weddings and babies than the year before; it goes in waves.
-It was a rough year for our cars. In April, someone hit Rory's car in a parking lot, and getting it all resolved with the insurance company took two months. It was absolutely ridiculous. Then in November someone rear-ended my car, which meant another round of fighting with insurance companies. In the end, both cars got fixed, but look somewhat the worse for wear. (My car has a large dent in the back, but it's functional, legal, and safe, so I don't care what it looks like).
-I saw three movies in the theatre: A Wrinkle in Time (not bad, though the special effects were way too over-the-top), The Incredibles 2 (pretty good, but not as good as the original), and Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (they showed it in the theatre for the 40th anniversary; it's completely ridiculous, but fun).
-Rory got a part-time job as an announcer for the local NPR station. It's a perfect job for him. He continues to make great progress in setting boundaries and dealing with the toxic aspects of his family.
-I got to spend time with two of my high school teachers. It's so cool and weird to get to know my former teachers as adults and friends.
-I did a sleep study, was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and started using a CPAP machine at night. It's been a slow process getting used to it, but so far the verdict is that Rory is sleeping better.
-I started fencing again! Only a few times, but I worked up the courage to go to a practice and talk to new people. I'm hoping to do it more next year.
-I took a Japanese class at the university. It was a lot of time and a lot of work, but I learned I hadn't forgotten as much as I thought I had. It was a good mental workout. I also discovered that college students can be very annoying. (I was the oldest person in the class, by far.) I know they're young and still learning, but I just wish they wouldn't pretend they know everything.
-My computer started to slowly die, and then I spilled tea on it and its death happened very quickly. I had to get a new computer, and am slowly figuring out how to use Windows 10.
-Celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary by going to Chena Hot Springs. For our anniversary, Rory got me a Super Nintendo, and after not playing it for at least twenty years, I finally beat Donkey Kong Country!
-My mom stayed with us in February and March, and again in July, and we got along very well. There was only one big argument, but overall we did a good job negotiating boundaries and not stepping on each other's toes.
-I wasn't able to see as many friends as I'd like. I really really really miss my grad school classmates.
-We met the horses and ponies. This might be the best part of the year; there's a place that does riding lessons, and Rory has been helping out there a few mornings out of the week. Being around horses has been so good for Rory's mental health. There's a pony that I am completely in love with. His name is Little Joe, and I want to take him home with me. I can't believe that a year ago, we didn't even know they existed, and now I can't imagine a life without visiting the horses and Little Joe every week.
-Goldie continues to be an amazing and demanding and adorable and fussy and loving part of my life. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful cat. She's getting more relaxed and comfortable with us, and even sleeps on my pillow sometimes. It sounds so cliche, but I feel honored to give her a good home, even when she begs for food at all hours of the night.
I had six things I wanted to do in 2018:
Start learning fencing again: I did this! I only went to three or four practices, but it's a start, and I plan to do more next year.
Do something to brush up on my Japanese: I took a class during the fall semester. Go me!
Stay in the same apartment all year: Accomplished this too, and plan to stay here another year.
Continue to do my best at work: I think I did okay on this. I got through a lot of difficult projects. I'll continue to work on it.
Continue to work with Rory on our communication skills: Still working on this. I think we did pretty well, but could do better on handling stress and disagreeing in a healthy way. Again, it's a work in progress.
Go to hunting camp in September: I tried to do this, but wasn't able to. It wasn't my fault, though, it had to do with other people's schedules.
Overall, I think I did pretty well on accomplishments in 2018.
Here's what I'd like to do in 2019:
-Keep up with fencing (go to practice about once a month), and Japanese (study from the textbook and practice my vocabulary)
-Read at least one book every month
-Start practicing mindfulness techniques to manage stress and live more in the present.
-Continue to do my best at work, and particularly in not letting big events or projects stress me out as much.
-Continue to work on healthy communication with Rory, and maintaining a strong relationship.
-Plan our honeymoon. It's been six years, we have money set aside for it, we need to take our damn honeymoon already.
-Go to hunting camp in September. It will happen this year; I need to go back there and feel Dad's presence.
As the Year of the Dog ends, I hope the Year of the Boar is kind, merciful, and forgiving to us all. Happy New Year, my friends.
Things I did and experienced in 2018:
-Stayed in the same apartment for an entire year. I am actually very proud of myself for this; the last time I stayed in one place longer than a year was in 2010. Staying in a place we like, with good neighbors, has been a huge part of feeling stability in my life.
-At work, planned and ran five major events, plus dozens of smaller events, a teacher training workshop, a large part of the annual museum sleepover, two science nights, a birthday party, and two community outreach events. I also designed nine monthly flyers and nine monthly activities, completely re-did at least twenty scavenger hunts, did a bunch of work on the website, and took on some new responsibilities related to the website and publicity/marketing. I am also really happy that for one of the big events, I convinced my friend Marty (who has known me since I was three years old) to do traditional Yup'ik storytelling. In general, I felt more confident and capable at my job, although that's always an ongoing process.
-Over the summer, I taught at an outdoor nature education camp for two weeks. I have never been so exhausted in my life; turns out running around in the woods with a bunch of 8- and 9-year-olds takes a lot of energy. I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot. I'm very glad I did it, but I'm also glad it was only two weeks.
-Although we first met her in 2017, this year Rory and I really became friends with our neighbor Cassandra. She's a great neighbor (and cat-sitter).
-Met lots of new people at work, and said goodbye to a lot of co-workers who left. Lots of staffing changes this year, unfortunately.
-In January, I visited my sister and nephews in Tacoma, and went back to the museum I interned at in 2015. Several people there remembered me, which was weird.
-In April, I went on a work trip to Nome and Shishmaref, which was my first time in that part of the state. It was stressful, but also fun, and reminded me that I do miss village life at times.
-In May, we went to Massachusetts and New York. We spent a day in Boston, then two days with our awesome friends Lynds and Lauren. It was so good to see them, I missed them SO much. Then we went to Syracuse and attended Rory's cousin's wedding.
-In July, my mom and I went to Dawson City. We camped by the Yukon River and got to visit an amazing museum. I hadn't been to Dawson since I was about eight years old, and it was fun to see it again.
-In November, I went back to Tacoma to visit my sister and see my nephew perform in a children's theatre production of The Hobbit. He played Gollum, and it was awesome. I did manage to accidentally take my mom's car key back to Alaska with me; it's a long and complicated story, but someday we'll look back and laugh. Maybe.
-Rory's cousin got married, and one co-worker, one cousin, and one cousin-in-law had babies. Less weddings and babies than the year before; it goes in waves.
-It was a rough year for our cars. In April, someone hit Rory's car in a parking lot, and getting it all resolved with the insurance company took two months. It was absolutely ridiculous. Then in November someone rear-ended my car, which meant another round of fighting with insurance companies. In the end, both cars got fixed, but look somewhat the worse for wear. (My car has a large dent in the back, but it's functional, legal, and safe, so I don't care what it looks like).
-I saw three movies in the theatre: A Wrinkle in Time (not bad, though the special effects were way too over-the-top), The Incredibles 2 (pretty good, but not as good as the original), and Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (they showed it in the theatre for the 40th anniversary; it's completely ridiculous, but fun).
-Rory got a part-time job as an announcer for the local NPR station. It's a perfect job for him. He continues to make great progress in setting boundaries and dealing with the toxic aspects of his family.
-I got to spend time with two of my high school teachers. It's so cool and weird to get to know my former teachers as adults and friends.
-I did a sleep study, was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and started using a CPAP machine at night. It's been a slow process getting used to it, but so far the verdict is that Rory is sleeping better.
-I started fencing again! Only a few times, but I worked up the courage to go to a practice and talk to new people. I'm hoping to do it more next year.
-I took a Japanese class at the university. It was a lot of time and a lot of work, but I learned I hadn't forgotten as much as I thought I had. It was a good mental workout. I also discovered that college students can be very annoying. (I was the oldest person in the class, by far.) I know they're young and still learning, but I just wish they wouldn't pretend they know everything.
-My computer started to slowly die, and then I spilled tea on it and its death happened very quickly. I had to get a new computer, and am slowly figuring out how to use Windows 10.
-Celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary by going to Chena Hot Springs. For our anniversary, Rory got me a Super Nintendo, and after not playing it for at least twenty years, I finally beat Donkey Kong Country!
-My mom stayed with us in February and March, and again in July, and we got along very well. There was only one big argument, but overall we did a good job negotiating boundaries and not stepping on each other's toes.
-I wasn't able to see as many friends as I'd like. I really really really miss my grad school classmates.
-We met the horses and ponies. This might be the best part of the year; there's a place that does riding lessons, and Rory has been helping out there a few mornings out of the week. Being around horses has been so good for Rory's mental health. There's a pony that I am completely in love with. His name is Little Joe, and I want to take him home with me. I can't believe that a year ago, we didn't even know they existed, and now I can't imagine a life without visiting the horses and Little Joe every week.
-Goldie continues to be an amazing and demanding and adorable and fussy and loving part of my life. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful cat. She's getting more relaxed and comfortable with us, and even sleeps on my pillow sometimes. It sounds so cliche, but I feel honored to give her a good home, even when she begs for food at all hours of the night.
I had six things I wanted to do in 2018:
Start learning fencing again: I did this! I only went to three or four practices, but it's a start, and I plan to do more next year.
Do something to brush up on my Japanese: I took a class during the fall semester. Go me!
Stay in the same apartment all year: Accomplished this too, and plan to stay here another year.
Continue to do my best at work: I think I did okay on this. I got through a lot of difficult projects. I'll continue to work on it.
Continue to work with Rory on our communication skills: Still working on this. I think we did pretty well, but could do better on handling stress and disagreeing in a healthy way. Again, it's a work in progress.
Go to hunting camp in September: I tried to do this, but wasn't able to. It wasn't my fault, though, it had to do with other people's schedules.
Overall, I think I did pretty well on accomplishments in 2018.
Here's what I'd like to do in 2019:
-Keep up with fencing (go to practice about once a month), and Japanese (study from the textbook and practice my vocabulary)
-Read at least one book every month
-Start practicing mindfulness techniques to manage stress and live more in the present.
-Continue to do my best at work, and particularly in not letting big events or projects stress me out as much.
-Continue to work on healthy communication with Rory, and maintaining a strong relationship.
-Plan our honeymoon. It's been six years, we have money set aside for it, we need to take our damn honeymoon already.
-Go to hunting camp in September. It will happen this year; I need to go back there and feel Dad's presence.
As the Year of the Dog ends, I hope the Year of the Boar is kind, merciful, and forgiving to us all. Happy New Year, my friends.
