Retrospective of 2009

It's not a real vanity blog until I apologize for an extended absence at least once. I've been meaning to restart Flying Tiger for a few months, but couldn't figure out the proper way to do so. (Just write the damned post, you may exclaim!) So here's what I came up with: a retrospective of the past year.

January:

My car's radio stopped working, but I got my old laptop to boot in ubuntu, doubling my computer power. It was a month of insomnia, culminating in a horrible work week where Stacy came and got me from work because I was too exhausted to drive.

February:

Matt and I split up and I moved in with Beth, Jeff, and Kevin, stranding my cat at Stacy's house. Living with friends was really great; living without Zhenya was really hard.

March:

Then unexpectedly, Stacy's house was being sold and I needed to move Zhenya very quickly! I finally settled on moving her in with me at Beth's and then went to visit my folks in Cleveland. A good time was had by most.

April:

I had started seeing my friend Jason in Seattle, but before it got terrible serious, I started dating Paul in Portland. We're still dating. I'm still friends with Jason. :)

May:

I went to Renn Fayre in my scrubs! I sang in a small concert, too. And then the rest of the month was basically devoted to moving out of Beth's house and into my new apartment, Sanctuary. Stacy moved in to Beth's when I moved out. At the very end of the month, there was some drama at work that affected my employment (I got many more hours) and free time (I got very fewer hours of that).

June:

I took on more hours at work and took home a day old kitten who needed constant care and supervision. I also started my first term at Portland Community College. What was I thinking?! I got next to no sleep.

July:

Still wrangling extra hours at work, clashes with coworkers, school, tiny kitten, and a heat wave. I don't remember much of that month because I was constantly rushing from one place to another.

August:

Mom came to visit! She met Paul and they got along great. I picked up yet more responsibility at work and the kitten kept growing.

September:

I went to the Penny Arcade Expo with Paul and Amariah! I hadn't been to a convention in a long time and it was great. I had a party to celebrate the five year anniversary of leaving Crossroads. It was called the "Get to know Vera better party," though we spent most of the evening talking about cults. I finally got around to writing an essay about what happened five years ago. And then I joined a chorus!

October:

New term at PCC coincided with me suddenly getting half a promotion at work and picking up more hours permanently. Somehow I thought I could juggle these, but it didn't go as well as I would have liked. I declared social bankruptcy and didn't do anything fun until I was done with all of the homework and work work I needed to do for the month.

November:

I turned 26! And slogged around in schoolwork until I hated myself. Somehow I pulled through and got a 4.0, but that's really next month.

December:

Is still happening for a few more days! So far I've decided to take a term off of PCC and gotten a new attitude about my new responsibilities at work. Overall, my plan for this year (which was for it to be RAD) was a success. My plan for next year: be RADDER and carry less stress than 2009 did.

Welcome back, Flying Tiger.