22 Things Revisited

All right. It is January, and blogging has resumed. (Happy new year, by the way.)

Okay, well, technically blogging has sort of resumed. I’m going to be posting once a week instead of the usual twice for a little while. I had a CFS flare-up in mid-December that has stubbornly refused to flare back down again. So I’m currently doing far less than usual. (And once again thinking that I need to prioritize getting a post on CFS written. Maybe in February?)

Anyway… the very first post in this blog, almost a year ago now, was titled “22 Things To Do In 2022” and outlined my plans for that year. Toward the end of that post I said: Be sure and check back in January of 2023 for a summary of how well I did.

This post is that summary.

Find a Sex Partner

2022 reinforced the notion that nobody wants to have sex with me. (Which is kind of what I expected, but I was obviously still hoping for it to go the other way.)

I tried. I tried very hard to find someone to genitally interconnect with, sadly to no avail. Since I rarely if ever go anywhere, this search was limited to meeting people through my good close personal friend the Internet.

I tried Reddit, but had no luck on the various local personals subreddits. No luck on FetLife. No luck on DoubleList. I discovered that most ‘dating’ sites are little more than scams.

There were a few people who agreed to meet me, but never showed up. There were also people who said they’d be happy to have sex with me, as long as I could pay their hourly rate. (Some of those hourly rates being more money than I have to live on in a month.)

So the first item on my to do list remains undone. Not an auspicious start.

Join a New Starfinder Group

When I put this on the list, I honestly didn’t think it would be the huge challenge that it was. But it turns out that finding a group that checked all the boxes I needed checked is far more difficult than you’d imagine.

What all was I looking for? Online game. English language. Played in an environment that was free for me to use. And didn’t require each player to pay the GM for GMing the game. (An apparently recent development that blew my mind. There are GMs out there charging a six-player group $20 a head each session for a weekly game.)

In October, I thought I had found my game. Someone posted that he was starting a weekly group and looking for players. I contacted him, asked to join, and was told that I was in. He gave me access to the group’s page on Roll20 (the virtual table-top we’d be using), and I started putting my character together. (I’d be playing a skittergoblin nanocyte. The nanocyte character class has a crapton of nanites in his body that he can control to produce weapons, tools, and other miscellaneous stuff.)

Then, a day or two later, I went to Roll20 and was informed that I did not have access to that page. So I sent a message to the GM and told him that the site had blocked me from the group for some reason, and could he look into it. Never heard back from him.

I signed out of Roll20 and went back to the page in question. Not knowing that I was me, the site let me view the page, which said the game was for six players, and currently had… six players. I’d been replaced, with neither warning nor explanation.

I sent three more messages over the course of a week and then just gave up. To this day I have no idea why I was booted from that game before I even got to play.

So, joining a new Starfinder group is another undone to do item. Hmm.

Read a Minimum of 52 Books

I mentioned in one of my posts about insomnia how my present lack of sleep has robbed me of enough of my concentration that I can’t really read right now. I can skim, but while skimming is adequate for a lot of internet stuff, it just doesn’t cut it for a novel.

During the ridiculous two months where I had the flu, I was sleeping just enough that my ability to read returned to me. Sadly, I didn’t realize this right away, and only got a month’s worth of reading in. Still, it was a productive month of reading, totaling thirty-one (and a half) books. But I needed fifty-two.

By the time that November had rolled around, I was starting to get incredibly disappointed at the prospect of not hitting my reading quota. I cannot remember the last time a year went by without me reading at least 52 books. And, of course, obsessive-compulsive disorder played a part in that disappointment. I’d stated I was going to read a minimum of 52 books this year, so I needed to read a minimum of 52 books this year.

So I made the decision to technically read 52 books this year. I mean, e-books count as books, even incredibly short e-books. And you can get most of the pertinent storytelling from low-plot books by skimming the text.

Did I finish out the year by reading 21 really short smut e-books to bring my total up to 52 (and a half)? Yes. Yes I did.

Write a Novel

At the start of 2022, my plans for the year involved compiling notes and building a comprehensive outline for a novel before November. Then starting out NaNoWriMo with the cry, “Damn the writer’s block, full speed ahead!”

But instead of doing that, I somehow prolonged the nearly debilitating insomnia throughout the entirety of the year, as well as spending two months with the flu.

No notes. No outline. And no novel.

Reconnect With Old Friends

Get together with my friends Dennis and Leanne (who I haven’t seen in so long that they’ve got a seven year old I’ve never met). Get together with my friend Mike (with whom my last in-person conversation was back in the 20^th century).

Initially, this one sounds easy, but then you remember that I’m basically a shut-in. So honestly, how did I expect to pull this one off? I had no plan at all.

Sometime in mid-to-late October, Leanne posted on Facebook that she’d be in the Portland area for work-related stuff, and wanted to squeeze in some socialization time with friends she hadn’t seen in awhile. I commented that if she had the opportunity to hit Salem on her travels, that I’d love a visit.

Then one night, instead of letting me go to sleep at a reasonable hour, the insomnia kept me up until 9:00 am the next morning. I slept for about four and a half hours, and when I got up I discovered that the Facebook Messenger window was open on my monitor.

It was a message from Leanne, from 10:32 am, informing me that if I was available, she could be in Salem in about an hour. Potential get together with Leanne, and I slept through it.

The insomnia stole quite a bit from me last year, but that one really hurt.

Then about three weeks ago, I get a Facebook message from my friend Mike asking the question: “Are you around tomorrow?” (And I was actually awake when that message came in!) I told him that barring an unscheduled alien abduction I would be. He was in Portland at the moment, and wanted to stop by on his way back home to the Medford area.

The next day, I saw my best friend for the first time in over 20 years. We spent about an hour catching up, reminiscing, and riffing on pop culture before his long trip home beckoned. I know he periodically goes to Portland for art stuff, and I’m hoping that this stop at my apartment was just the first of many.

So I missed Leanne, saw Mike, and there wasn’t even an opportunity to meet up with Dennis. (Hey, Dennis! Miss you, man!)

Participate in SHIPtember

This one felt kind of like a roller coaster to me. Okay, “roller coaster” might be a bit of an exaggeration, but… first I was going to do it, then I wasn’t, then I was… it did have it’s ups and downs.

I knew the SHIP that I wanted to build for the challenge, and once again, the plan was to get it designed and get the parts acquired for it earlier in the year. Which, of course, didn’t happen.

So when I wrote my blog post about SHIPtember in late August, I mentioned that I wouldn’t be participating that year. I thought that was the end of it, but…

In mid-September, as I’m doing a complete reorganization of the LEGO room (which will be the next item on the to-do list) I find myself staring into a box of parts, and realizing that if I took several of the specific part I was staring at and connected them with hinges, I’d have the basic structure of a very, very wide wing.

Within an hour or so, I had a rough plan for the SHIP in my head. And most of the parts that I would need to build it were parts I actually had on hand. I needed to place a few Bricklink orders, sure, but… maybe I could pull this off before month’s end.

And I did. I built my first SHIP during SHIPtember, no less. And that seed part that kicked off the whole design? Yeah, I didn’t end up using that. During the design/redesign/redesign-again phase, I replaced that original 16x16 plate with a brick-built wing panel.

The SHIP I had originally planned on building has moved onto my 2023 list of MOCs to build. It’s gonna be gorgeous!

Reorganize the LEGO Room

Between the build table, the containers of LEGO elements, the unopened sets, and five years worth of “Yeah, I don’t know where to put this, I’ll just stick it in the LEGO room for now”, I had way too much stuff crammed into that tiny space. Stuff had to go.

My initial plan was to completely empty the room out into the rest of the apartment, and then organize the room properly as the stuff that actually belonged there went back in. What actually happened wasn’t quite that extreme – I didn’t end up completely emptying the room or anything. Having started in the non-LEGO corner of the room that contained boxes upon boxes of stuff that came over from the basement when I first moved in five years ago, I cleared out enough space to have room to work.

The end result probably wasn’t the complete reorganization that the optimistic among you might be picturing. I cannot, for example, walk right over and pick up the exact piece I need. (That level of organization was meant to be the next step.)  I can, however, finally get to all of the various containers of unsorted LEGO that might contain that exact piece.

Finish Emptying Out My Brother’s Basement

I did not step one foot onto my brother’s property all year. In fact, I was only in Silverton on four occasions, and those were all doctor visits where I was traveling by medical transport.

In late November I did arrange some last minute plans to have my brother-in-law take me to Silverton to get at least a little of it dealt with, but then his kids got sick, then my sister got sick, and it just ended up not working out.

Get Blood Sugar Under Control

During this past year I got my A1C down from 7.9 to 6.8. An A1C of 6.5 and above is what is considered diabetic (which I am), so I don’t really expect it to go much lower than its current 6.8. It may not be completely under control, but I’ve managed to get it pretty damn close.

Anyway, that 6.8 is down from an out of control 11.7 from two years ago, so yay me!

If you’re looking for me to tell you what changes I made to my diet and exercise routine in order to get this result, you obviously don’t know me very well. Diet? Exercise? No, all the credit for this miracle goes to medication, which was switched from a decent med to a much better med early in the year, and then upgraded to a higher dose later on.

Start a New Blog

As I was putting together the 22 Things to Do in 2022 list (initially just for me), I thought to myself, “You know, this would probably make a decent blog entry. Too bad I don’t have a blog right now.”

Once I had the 22 list items I went back and added a paragraph of commentary to each one, and shortly thereafter posted it as the first entry of what was apparently my new blog. Then about an hour later I stopped dead in my tracks and asked myself, “Wait, what the Hell did I just do?!?”

There was absolutely NO planning that went into starting this blog. None whatsoever. I reused an older title from a blog I never got around to doing, and then slapped my yearly to do list up as an entry. And then I had to stop and figure out just what I was going to do with this blog I had suddenly started.

Now, almost a year later, the blog is a legitimate part of my life. I’m still not entirely certain what it is that I’m doing with it, but whatever that is, I continue to do it.

Start Using the Slow Cooker

I have indeed started using the slow cooker. So far there are only two things that I’ve used it to make, but I’ve made those thing many times now.

The first of those was Crispix Party Mix. I probably ate more Crispix Party Mix in 2022 than most people do in their entire lives. I love the stuff, and it’s surprisingly easy to make in the slow cooker. Who knew?

The other thing I’ve made is ravioli. One bag of frozen ravioli, one jar of pasta sauce, cook for three and a half hours, dump in several handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese and cook an additional half hour. Easy. And tasty!

I’ve got the stuff to make a three ingredient apple dump cake, but I haven’t actually pulled the trigger on it yet. That will most likely be next.

Get Teeth Dealt With

Somewhere in October, after months and months of continuing to ignore things, I finally suppressed my fear of all things dental enough to contact the dentist. Which I did by emailing their office in the middle of the night like a coward.

They called me the next day and immediately scheduled me for a cleaning (a scheduling that made me feel kind of like I was being mugged). Then they explained that the reason why the oral surgeon never contacted me to set up an appointment was because during the pandemic they would set up appointments with people only to have them no-show, so they switched over to the patient needing to call them for scheduling. Which would have been nice if someone had clued me in on a year or so earlier.

Anyway, armed with that new information, I very bravely sat there and neglected to call the oral surgeon. I will though. Someday. Soon. Probably.

Climb Out of My Current Financial Hole

It took about four or five months, but I did finally manage to get my checking account back where it should have been, balance-wise. Success!

Yes, I am pleased to announce that the financial hole I’m in right now is a completely different financial hole than the one listed on last year’s to do list. (Heavy sigh.)

Build a Minimum of 12 MOCs

I had hoped that my use of the word ‘minimum’ here would encourage me to build more than just an average of a MOC a month. But, nope. In 2022 I built exactly twelve MOCs. Eleven of which were displayed at conventions, with the remaining NSFW MOC just getting privately shown to certain individuals.

Build a Minimum of 52 LEGO Sets

So did I hit my target of building 52 LEGO sets? No. Did I overshoot that mark by building more than 52? Also, no.

At the end of the year I counted up the set names on the list I was keeping, only to discover that in addition to building 12 MOCs, I also built exactly 12 sets. Weird.

Reorganize Computer Desk

My computer desk looks radically different now than it did a year ago. All of the accumulated non-essential crap is gone. Things have places that they belong now. (And generally are actually in those places.) Cyrus had claimed a cubby where he insists that he belongs.

All is good in deskland!

Begin the Massive LEGO Parts Sort

The parts sort is officially underway. There hasn’t been a lot of progress, but enough for me to call the project started. With a little bit of luck, the sorting will continue on beyond 2022 and I will eventually have all my bricks in order. (Fingers crossed!)

Start Taking Photos

This is another one of those ‘technical’ completions. Because I have been taking photos to include alongside these blog posts.

What I haven’t done is gotten into the habit of taking pictures in general, which was the whole point of that particular list item. I’ve been at family gatherings on holidays. No photos taken. I’ve been to two LEGO conventions. Minimal photos taken at one, none at the other. I didn’t even think to get a photo the day that Mike stopped by.

So I still need to get better at this one.

Finish Watching “Supernatural”

Did not watch a single episode during the year. In fact, actually cancelled my Netflix subscription a couple of months back. I’m sure that I’ll eventually finish watching this, but… who knows when?

Make Kyle Commit to Space Western 2023

Space Western is a go for Bricks Cascade 2023! I’m not entirely sure I had a lot to do with it, as there were other factors pushing Kyle in that direction, including some people already displaying MOCs for it despite the absence of the official collaborative build.

I will say that the moment he actually confirmed that the collab was a go was when I handed him the ‘Space Western 2023’ badge brick I had gotten engraved for him, and he saw that there was an actual year listed thereupon. He increased his volume a little and semi-theatrically stated, “You have now forced my hand, sir!”

That was one of my two favorite moments of that entire convention.

Start Posting Photos of My MOCs Online

I did wait until the last possible moment to get this one done, but… still counts!

After having (finally!) photographed the Justice League of Orc-Kind HQ a couple of days earlier, I uploaded those photos (and a few others) to Flickr on December 31^st. The JLO HQ was quite a few photos – minimum of four pictures (one from each side) of all nine levels of the complex. Plus one photo of the Honorable Mention trophy that the MOC won.

For those of you wondering why the photos are on Flickr instead of Instagram, it’s because I apparently don’t know how to use Instagram yet. There are apparently tricks to getting all of your photo visible on the screen that I haven’t been taught.

Look Into CBD Products

Well, I did look into CBD, and what I discovered is that it is contraindicated in my case because it reacts badly with blood thinners, which – thanks to having had two pulmonary embolisms – I am now on for life. So, no CBD for me.

Also, no THC for me, for the same reasons. I had someone that was offering to buy me some edibles so I could experience/experiment with getting high. But, drug interaction warnings make it sound like if I combine my daily dose of blood thinners with marijuana, the smallest scratch on my skin would make me bleed out, exsanguination style. (I’m sure the situation isn’t quite that dire, but still… better safe than sorry.)

No sex, no alcohol, no marijuana… good Lord, my life must seem so boring to you people!

Okay, thus concludes the look back at the 2022 to do list. In my next post I’ll reveal what all is on the 2023 list. Then we’ll get back to my usual nonsense.