2022 in review
This was another pretty quiet year.
Work - In late 2021, I took a new job after 16 years at my old one. And I HATED the new job, where I had nothing to do all day, and if I was given something to do, the boss would give all the instructions to this coworker who then would not tell me. In January, I talked to my old boss and in March I returned to my old job, which is busy and very frustrating but also comfortable and takes place in my house.
The main reason I had left was because they had given a very long notice that they were laying off like 95% of my team, everyone except me and a couple others. That was completed about two weeks ago and it's been rough. No one was trained very well, even with such a long lead time. Rumor has it that since the CEO hates remote work, the rest of us will go in first quarter. We will see. It may be a relief, but the prospect is also pretty scary. I'm taking some classes to try to help with this, and have been working hard to add to my emergency fund.
Family - Up to April, I spent three days a week at my mom's house, mostly sitting with her to keep her company and also doing laundry and so on, due to her Alzheimers. In the spring, she started to get noticeably worse, until on Easter she had a significant decline/break that ended up with her being hospitalized for a week and then placed in memory care, as it was no longer safe for her to be unsupervised.
Memory care sucks. I hate being there, so I don't visit as often. But it's also kind of a huge relief. I don't have to take care of her anymore. She lost her cell phone and I saw no point in replacing it, so she no longer calls me hundreds of times a day.
Writing - I wrote around 308,000 words this year, including 2 long fics and 1 medium-long fic that I wrote in two days, which was insane. I stopped cross-posting over here, everything is on A03. Also, I ran a summer challenge/fic prompt exchange and that was pretty cool. I did it mostly cause I missed the summer luau of old. It's not the same, but nothing is.
Everything else - My kitty is still with me. She's 16 and she has some health problems. I am still nervous about covid, but the main reason I am not traveling is because I don't want to leave her alone. I don't think she would make it. Maybe I worry too much.
I read a lot this year but most of the books were from Goodwill, the book sale, and the dollar store and a lot of them were just not very good. I did read a lot of poetry, mostly sonnets, for several months for my new year's resolution and I'm making a similar resolution this year.
I always want to watch more movies, but I never watch any movies. I watched like five and the only one I liked was Free Guy. I'm also still nervous about going to the theater, and that combined with not traveling means I only saw one play this year, The Tempest (in an outdoor theater).
Books I liked:
The Rainbow Cadenza - J Neil Shulman
Writer's Library - Nancy Pearl
Journal of Nicholas the American - Leigh Kennedy
Birds of America - Lorrie Moore - there's a reason people say she is amazing
Shit Cassandra Saw - Gwen Kirby - this was my favorite by far
Ark - Stephen Baxter
Day After Oblivion - Tim Washburn - this is trash but it's my kind of trash
All the Greys on Greene Street - Laura Tucker
Echo after Echo - Amy Capetta
Work - In late 2021, I took a new job after 16 years at my old one. And I HATED the new job, where I had nothing to do all day, and if I was given something to do, the boss would give all the instructions to this coworker who then would not tell me. In January, I talked to my old boss and in March I returned to my old job, which is busy and very frustrating but also comfortable and takes place in my house.
The main reason I had left was because they had given a very long notice that they were laying off like 95% of my team, everyone except me and a couple others. That was completed about two weeks ago and it's been rough. No one was trained very well, even with such a long lead time. Rumor has it that since the CEO hates remote work, the rest of us will go in first quarter. We will see. It may be a relief, but the prospect is also pretty scary. I'm taking some classes to try to help with this, and have been working hard to add to my emergency fund.
Family - Up to April, I spent three days a week at my mom's house, mostly sitting with her to keep her company and also doing laundry and so on, due to her Alzheimers. In the spring, she started to get noticeably worse, until on Easter she had a significant decline/break that ended up with her being hospitalized for a week and then placed in memory care, as it was no longer safe for her to be unsupervised.
Memory care sucks. I hate being there, so I don't visit as often. But it's also kind of a huge relief. I don't have to take care of her anymore. She lost her cell phone and I saw no point in replacing it, so she no longer calls me hundreds of times a day.
Writing - I wrote around 308,000 words this year, including 2 long fics and 1 medium-long fic that I wrote in two days, which was insane. I stopped cross-posting over here, everything is on A03. Also, I ran a summer challenge/fic prompt exchange and that was pretty cool. I did it mostly cause I missed the summer luau of old. It's not the same, but nothing is.
Everything else - My kitty is still with me. She's 16 and she has some health problems. I am still nervous about covid, but the main reason I am not traveling is because I don't want to leave her alone. I don't think she would make it. Maybe I worry too much.
I read a lot this year but most of the books were from Goodwill, the book sale, and the dollar store and a lot of them were just not very good. I did read a lot of poetry, mostly sonnets, for several months for my new year's resolution and I'm making a similar resolution this year.
I always want to watch more movies, but I never watch any movies. I watched like five and the only one I liked was Free Guy. I'm also still nervous about going to the theater, and that combined with not traveling means I only saw one play this year, The Tempest (in an outdoor theater).
Books I liked:
The Rainbow Cadenza - J Neil Shulman
Writer's Library - Nancy Pearl
Journal of Nicholas the American - Leigh Kennedy
Birds of America - Lorrie Moore - there's a reason people say she is amazing
Shit Cassandra Saw - Gwen Kirby - this was my favorite by far
Ark - Stephen Baxter
Day After Oblivion - Tim Washburn - this is trash but it's my kind of trash
All the Greys on Greene Street - Laura Tucker
Echo after Echo - Amy Capetta