Oh Yeah, this is a New Year Still, Right?
As I stand at the precise of the 2026, peering into the gaping abyss that I sense is awaiting me, I–
…Excuse me? The precipice of 2026 was weeks ago, and now I’m just sitting on the flat depositional plains of 2026? …oh. Okay, not nearly as dramatic, but I guess we work with what we got.
Ahem.
As I sit on the flat depositional plains of 2026, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on what happened in 2025. Not to the world in general, because cripes, who wants to relive that stuff, but rather just for my own personal journey in terms of where things started and how they ended.
And rather than go month by month, let’s break it down into a category-based approach. (My research into project management tools is finally starting to pay off!)
Work:
The Job market continues to be a ride in an industrial-strength drying machine alongside rocks and broken glass and sharp tin can lids. Only instead of a 20 minute cycle, it’s a 12-month long cycle.
I joined a group called Never Search Alone, which is a network built expressly as a support group for those looking for work; sort of an Alcoholics Anonymous for the unemployed, except there are no free donuts. It has helped in terms of giving perspective and sharing things that have worked and have not worked, and from what I have seen so far, your best bet is to use your network to get a job that hasn’t even been posted yet.
No, wait – here me out.
It just seems like the people I know who are getting the breaks are the people who just happen to know someone who just happens to know someone who just happens to know someone who just… yadda yadda yadda… at a company where there is a job opening that they haven’t posted yet. This lets the person actually apply and interview before anyone else can, and normally, they get the job as a result.
Otherwise, enjoy applying for an openly posted position! Just you and several hundred other candidates! I mean, even that part-time library spot I applied to had over a hundred people apply.
I did manage to land some gig work for an indie game studio – twice, no less! The first time, I wrote up the narrative structure behind the game, the backstory, lore of the universe, and the main characters and their arcs over time. The second time was a smaller but still fun little gig where I helped with some pre-alpha voiceover recording. And once the game comes out, I can put it on my resume and–
–I’m sorry, I’ve just been told that the original publisher of the game has dropped all of their game projects to focus on (what else?) AI.
Cripes.
The better news is that I have at least started working 10-12 hours a week as a Direct Support Professional (or, to paraphrase Janet Jackson, “It’s ‘DSP’ if you’re nasty!”). This at least provides some steady income, and as a large bonus, gets me out of the house twice a week, often driving around to various parks and museums on Long Island. Of course, wrestling with the parent company about my expense reimbursements is like wrestling a full-grown alligator, in that I tend to put it off because I know it’ll be unpleasant, but at least it’s the kind of problem I am glad to have right now.
Oh! And I made a number of changes to my website! Feel free to peruse and then, maybe, pass it on to some bored billionaire who would like to become my patron. You know. Someone who wouldn’t mind financing my next book, or video game, or video project, or even dancing class. I’m sure this mysterious benefactor will be pleased to know my rates are quite reasonable.
Share and enjoy!
Home:
The biggest thing is that we finally replaced the entire wooden fence around the backyard, in two separate installments. The first part, the front and side, we got taken care of in the spring, but I wanted to hold off on the back part because there was still some confusion over who owned the fence. Sure, it matched the fence we had on the sides, but the facing was the wrong way; there was no way for me to really repair the fence from my side. I spoke with the old backyard neighbors, and they had a very simple approach to determining ownership:
“No idea. We’re selling the house anyway, and the new owners can deal with it. Good luck!”
I was hoping to wait until the house was sold, just in case the new backyard neighbors wanted to install their own fence, but alas, one day I was outside playing with Gracie, and I noticed that while the fence looked fine straight on, looking at it from the side it was budging out horrible. Sort of like the difference between me looking at myself straight on in the mirror as opposed to from the side.
So, I bit the bullet and had the rest of the fence installed across the back line.
Some people did eventually buy the house in the back, and immediately saddened May and I as they tore down all of their big trees. Those trees provided a lot of shade for the house to keep things cool, but also gave the squirrels and birds some prime birdfeeder property as well.
I guess the upside is that more sunlight means better options for May’s plants in the back, and also less chances for a wind storm to knock one of the trees into our house. I mean, that sorta already happened once when one of the smaller trees was “slightly” uprooted and was “resting” against our garage, so maybe less trees is a good thing.
Health:
I went in for my second ablation procedure (just 8 more until I get a free coffee!) back in February of last year, and I am happy to report that my heart is doing quite well. I played some spring rec league basketball, and while I was still gasping and panting for breath after 54 seconds, at least this time it was just good ol’ being out of shape and not because my heart was racing at 190 bpm.
Now I just need to look at getting a meeting in to meet with a sleep specialist about my snoring. And a physical trainer about my right shoulder. Oh, and an endocrinologist about my chemical levels. Oh yeah, and a– you know what? Let’s just quit before this turns into a network medical drama.
Wrap-up:
Anyways, there was more of course (which you should know, if you have been reading my blog here, WHICH YOU SHOULD BE DOING), but those are some of the bigger takeaways.
For this upcoming year, I will continue to push for that full-time position (or just a rich patron; I would be cool with that too), working on getting my health back up to snuff, and working on my own personal projects, both for my portfolio as well as just the fun of it.
Oh, and here’s hoping that I have even more interesting things to write about going forward as well. Certainly, me getting that full-time work would likely be a great entry to the series.
For me, at least.