2020 In Review

Well, wasn’t that a fucking ride. In no way, shape, or form can 2020 be said to have been a good year. It had it’s bright spots, but the pandemic, and the insane science deniers and ‘conservative’ politicians that pandered to them caused this to be way worse than it needed to be. Over 300,000 dead. It didn’t need to be that way. At least the vaccine is being rolled out. By next fall things might be looking a little more normal. But I’ll have been out of the office, working from my tiny one bedroom NYC apartment, for over a year by the time I get the vaccine. 

Beyond the pandemic, there's the glaringly exposed racial injustices… the domestic terrorists that stormed state capital buildings armed to the teeth unopposed by law enforcement, the one that blew himself and a city block up, the greedy rich assholes who've only gotten richer while everyone else got poorer...

And then there's the bloody murder hornets! At least, for the time being anyway, that seems to be contained.

All of it being made worse by the insanity of the last year of the Trump administration. Fuck Trump and all his supporters.

And on the personal side of things, I said goodbye to my Lucymonster just before Thanksgiving. 14 and a half years is a good life, but what I’d have given to double it. She was the best, and her loss still hurts.

But like I said, there were bright spots. The pandemic meant that I got to spend a lot more time with my family, including both the last months of Lucy's life, and the arrival of my son.

Also the defeat of Trump in the election was a slow arriving joy. People were literally honking their horns, and cheering for HOURS once it was official. That was a joyous day indeed.

The year wrapped quietly. Both Christmas and New Years were spent home. I’m looking forward to seeing family and friends again, but until we’re all vaccinated that’ll have to wait.


Gaming
Gaming was limited this year, not just due to the pandemic, but also due to working on the CPA exam. However there was a fair bit of Stonehell played, right up until the arrival of the kid. I am desperately behind on writing up session reports, but hope to begin to catch up on that over the next month or so.

Miniatures
Including some terrain pieces, I painted over 90 miniatures this past year! I still need to pull them all out and make the final count, but that post should go up sometime in the next week or so.

Media
Not nearly enough books were read, but a lot of TV was watched, especially in the last 3 months.

Goals
It’s traditional to make resolutions for the new year. I’m keeping mine simple. To be a good husband and father. Those will continue to be my resolutions, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also have some other goals for the year.

The biggest one is of course Survive the Pandemic! This seems more likely now that there’s a vaccine.

Paint more minis! I have a dragon coming that I’m really looking forward to painting, though I have no idea where I’ll put it when it’s done. We may end up moving this year, so maybe there will be more space?

Get back to gaming - even if it’s solo gaming. Ranger of Shadowdeep should fit the bill!

Here's to a happy, healthy, and more sane 2021!