2007: A Year in Review.
2007: A Year in Review.
Being half-gypsy:
At the beginning of 2007 I had recently arrived from a very short stint in Seattle. It was fun, but brief. Maybe it was the gods telling me to get back to Wisconsin, but things worked out at the end of 2006 to get me back to lovely Mount Horeb Wisconsin.
For the first half of the year I got to play Illustrator. Lots of work got done, but little hit the presses. Such is the nature of doing freelance illustration for small-press publishers. Made little fundage, but did get some interest from much larger publishers...just in time for the CAR-MA (heheh, play on words...karma...CAR-MA...get it?) to kick in!
Work:
So Katie was still working for Cuna Mutual Group: a monstrosity of an Insurance Company. An evil empire if there ever was one.
In maybe late April, early May, things took a turn for the worse. Car failures. bits started breaking. In May I decided to get back in to the tech field and drop the pretense of being an illustrator as we needed the money. I got a contracting gig...at CUNA Mutual Group no less.
After some serious hardships, some $2400 in repairs out of pocket and getting behind in everything...things started to balance out.
I ended my contract at CMG and got another gig at a smaller, but much cooler place.
Where CMG was a matter of a great wage but dealing with a lot of Corporate BS and politics...as well as shamming my ass off and doing as little as possible during the day and working for an outfit that was ethically shady and more interested in staying with the company to gain tenure and get to retirement while doing as little as possible...
...The NEW job is a smaller outfit, geared towards working hard, and getting the job done as fast and accurately as possible. All about efficiency, and quality. VERY little politics and corporate BS. The leadership are all pros, and the people I report to have all done my job, and can do it better than I can (I can't explain what a relief this is. Nothing sucks as much as working for people who have no idea what you do: administrators who can't relate to you or your job and simply push mandates from on-high.).
So the new job is good. I'm a rock-star and fit in well as I like to work and get in, get the job done, and have pride in my work so that when it is done, and I put my name on it, it is guaranteed to be A-J Squared the fuck AWAY! In addition, to work in a place that expects that and rewards it.
Karma:
So the Nissan is in the garage in the basement with a hole in the fuel line (and a dozen other issues), un-driveable until I fix it. I'm keeping it as a back-up...just in case.
The Volvo is out #1, "Good" car, and is in the driveway. It's getting really crappy fuel economy, but it's a solid runner with good tires, so I'm not going to bitch.
We have a $500 Honda which I drive as a daily runner. Looks like crap, but really...as long as it runs I'm satisfied.
Gaming:
Well...I've played in a couple campaigns, and ran a couple as well. I'm (for those who know me) a PT GM. Only a relief GM. Not a FT guy. I usually do pretty well on a short run, but run out of steam in the stretch. The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay campaign I was running I think is officially dead. I know people still want to play, but I'm burned out. Lots of stuff I'd love to PLAY...but my GMing batteries are worn out. This year we also got to play a bit of Savage Worlds in a variety of settings. MAN! I LOVE that system! Shadowrun 4th Ed has been a blast too.
We have been able to play a bit of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battle this last year. Our primary hobby is collecting, assembling, converting, painting and occasionally playing Warhammer.
Apocalypse has been a blast.
So many games...so little time.
Life and Myself:
I've learned a bit about myself this year. I've gained more patience in some areas...and less in others.
I've found that there are some people who are friends...real friends. The kind of friend who you can respect, and respects you back. The kind that are willing to actually listen.
Then there are those who are simply "friends of the moment"...friends who are there for a common cause but really aren't there for you at all.
I learned that cliques don't necessarily end in high school. I learned that I'm not necessarily one of the cool kids...and I learned that I'm okay with that.
I guess it's a matter of having patience with those that matter and less with those that don't.
I haven't had the time to spend with people like I would have liked. Partly because of wasted time with folks who really I shouldn't have. Partly due to unforeseen circumstances with vehicles. This coming year I intend to rectify that.
It's all about priorities...and keeping them straight. Dealing with the important stuff and letting the stuff that doesn't matter...really slide.
Goals for Next Year:
Again we're planning on going to conventions. We love them and the opportunities they present for getting to hang out with people we care about. GamesDay Chicago and GenCon Indy are the two most likely candidates, though there may be others to add to the list.
I've put on a bit of weight since dropping out of the SCA. My physical activity has tapered off, and it's starting to show. I need to work on that. I don't have any need to be a hard-body or anything...I don't need to impress anyone, I'd just like to be healthier (well...not like I'm ever sick or anything...but need to build up my wind again. It's hard to believe I used to be able to run a marathon and hike 30+ miles a day. Sad really.
Hopefully the vehicles will stay solid for a bit and we can save up to replace them as needed. We're indifferent about cars that look fancy or using them as status symbols...really, they are only a means to get to work, and what they look like means something between jack and shit to us. Same goes for pretty much everything material. We just don't care. We work, and we have our hobbies and our friends. Pretty straight-forward, simple life really.
I'd like to strengthen our ties to our friends, people local and distant. I'd like to reconnect with some local friends, maybe do some gaming, maybe just hang out.
Work seems solid and I'm digging it. Maybe get some certifications. Not really interested in advancement. I like being hands on, and don't really like my Manager's job (meetings, process documentation, etc).
Well...that's about it.
2007 in a nutshell.
Being half-gypsy:
At the beginning of 2007 I had recently arrived from a very short stint in Seattle. It was fun, but brief. Maybe it was the gods telling me to get back to Wisconsin, but things worked out at the end of 2006 to get me back to lovely Mount Horeb Wisconsin.
For the first half of the year I got to play Illustrator. Lots of work got done, but little hit the presses. Such is the nature of doing freelance illustration for small-press publishers. Made little fundage, but did get some interest from much larger publishers...just in time for the CAR-MA (heheh, play on words...karma...CAR-MA...get it?) to kick in!
Work:
So Katie was still working for Cuna Mutual Group: a monstrosity of an Insurance Company. An evil empire if there ever was one.
In maybe late April, early May, things took a turn for the worse. Car failures. bits started breaking. In May I decided to get back in to the tech field and drop the pretense of being an illustrator as we needed the money. I got a contracting gig...at CUNA Mutual Group no less.
After some serious hardships, some $2400 in repairs out of pocket and getting behind in everything...things started to balance out.
I ended my contract at CMG and got another gig at a smaller, but much cooler place.
Where CMG was a matter of a great wage but dealing with a lot of Corporate BS and politics...as well as shamming my ass off and doing as little as possible during the day and working for an outfit that was ethically shady and more interested in staying with the company to gain tenure and get to retirement while doing as little as possible...
...The NEW job is a smaller outfit, geared towards working hard, and getting the job done as fast and accurately as possible. All about efficiency, and quality. VERY little politics and corporate BS. The leadership are all pros, and the people I report to have all done my job, and can do it better than I can (I can't explain what a relief this is. Nothing sucks as much as working for people who have no idea what you do: administrators who can't relate to you or your job and simply push mandates from on-high.).
So the new job is good. I'm a rock-star and fit in well as I like to work and get in, get the job done, and have pride in my work so that when it is done, and I put my name on it, it is guaranteed to be A-J Squared the fuck AWAY! In addition, to work in a place that expects that and rewards it.
Karma:
So the Nissan is in the garage in the basement with a hole in the fuel line (and a dozen other issues), un-driveable until I fix it. I'm keeping it as a back-up...just in case.
The Volvo is out #1, "Good" car, and is in the driveway. It's getting really crappy fuel economy, but it's a solid runner with good tires, so I'm not going to bitch.
We have a $500 Honda which I drive as a daily runner. Looks like crap, but really...as long as it runs I'm satisfied.
Gaming:
Well...I've played in a couple campaigns, and ran a couple as well. I'm (for those who know me) a PT GM. Only a relief GM. Not a FT guy. I usually do pretty well on a short run, but run out of steam in the stretch. The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay campaign I was running I think is officially dead. I know people still want to play, but I'm burned out. Lots of stuff I'd love to PLAY...but my GMing batteries are worn out. This year we also got to play a bit of Savage Worlds in a variety of settings. MAN! I LOVE that system! Shadowrun 4th Ed has been a blast too.
We have been able to play a bit of Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battle this last year. Our primary hobby is collecting, assembling, converting, painting and occasionally playing Warhammer.
Apocalypse has been a blast.
So many games...so little time.
Life and Myself:
I've learned a bit about myself this year. I've gained more patience in some areas...and less in others.
I've found that there are some people who are friends...real friends. The kind of friend who you can respect, and respects you back. The kind that are willing to actually listen.
Then there are those who are simply "friends of the moment"...friends who are there for a common cause but really aren't there for you at all.
I learned that cliques don't necessarily end in high school. I learned that I'm not necessarily one of the cool kids...and I learned that I'm okay with that.
I guess it's a matter of having patience with those that matter and less with those that don't.
I haven't had the time to spend with people like I would have liked. Partly because of wasted time with folks who really I shouldn't have. Partly due to unforeseen circumstances with vehicles. This coming year I intend to rectify that.
It's all about priorities...and keeping them straight. Dealing with the important stuff and letting the stuff that doesn't matter...really slide.
Goals for Next Year:
Again we're planning on going to conventions. We love them and the opportunities they present for getting to hang out with people we care about. GamesDay Chicago and GenCon Indy are the two most likely candidates, though there may be others to add to the list.
I've put on a bit of weight since dropping out of the SCA. My physical activity has tapered off, and it's starting to show. I need to work on that. I don't have any need to be a hard-body or anything...I don't need to impress anyone, I'd just like to be healthier (well...not like I'm ever sick or anything...but need to build up my wind again. It's hard to believe I used to be able to run a marathon and hike 30+ miles a day. Sad really.
Hopefully the vehicles will stay solid for a bit and we can save up to replace them as needed. We're indifferent about cars that look fancy or using them as status symbols...really, they are only a means to get to work, and what they look like means something between jack and shit to us. Same goes for pretty much everything material. We just don't care. We work, and we have our hobbies and our friends. Pretty straight-forward, simple life really.
I'd like to strengthen our ties to our friends, people local and distant. I'd like to reconnect with some local friends, maybe do some gaming, maybe just hang out.
Work seems solid and I'm digging it. Maybe get some certifications. Not really interested in advancement. I like being hands on, and don't really like my Manager's job (meetings, process documentation, etc).
Well...that's about it.
2007 in a nutshell.
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