2012, a year in review

2012 was bittersweet in a number of respects.  In March I flew to Central Texas to see my best friend who I hadn't seen in 10.5 years, drove to Houston to see a childhood friend who I hadn't seen in probably 12 years and met up with an online couple I have known for almost 20 years but hadn't had an opportunity to meet yet.  On that trip to Texas I was supposed to see my college roommate but something unexpected came up on her end so that didn't happen.  Also in March I did find a local pen and ink shop in Atlanta where I  purchased my first non-school fountain pen and bottle of ink and I even attended my first Military Ball.

April was the Atlanta Fountain pen show where I was fortunate to attend my first show (but it won't be my last) but also where I met some wonderful people and even purchased 4 more pens and a bottle of ink, returned home and ordered a 5th pen and a bottle of ink.  My collection started off this year with 1 modern and 4 calligraphy pens and 1 bottle of ink now stands at 2 vintage,  8 modern, 1 modern flex, 4 calligraphy pens and 5 bottles of ink (with another vintage pen on its way).

May/June went by in a blur and saw not only the end of a 14 year relationship but almost my moving to another state.  The blur continued on through the summer and well into mid October where I went to my first Comic-Con.  During the summer I did manage to acquire 4 reasonably inexpensive Chinese fountain pens and another bottle of ink (reviews to come in the new year).

November was busy towards the end with not only a trip to Disneyland with my college roommate and her son the weekend before Thanksgiving but also an unexpected trip to San Antonio for the weekend of Thanksgiving to attend my first Magic The Gathering (MTG) Grand Prix event.

By the time December rolled around I was excited for a neighbour from Germany to move into town as it had been 4 year or so since I had last seen her and her family.  Unlike the past years, this Christmas and my birthday were quiet and leisurely which was a much welcomed and needed change.

The challenge for this year was to read 100 fiction books however I only managed to read 90 of them (George R R Martin's books 1 and 2 of A Game of Thrones series took longer to read than anticipated).  We shall attempt this challenge again next year with probably the same stipulations.

This was the first year that I not only made resolutions but wrote them down.  I am a firm believer than if you want something to change or do something differently, then why wait.  This was the year to de-clutter my life and in some respects I achieved this and in other respects I didn't.  Any achievement were the un-anticipated sort but nevertheless it needed to happen.

From earlier this year this is the list:

• Clear out my inbox (currently 2931 mails)
• read at least 6 classics this year
• read not more than one book from the library a month in addition to the book club reads*
• read more of the books I own
• Make and send out Chinese New Year cards
• Make and send out birthday cards

* - unless I've read all of the ones I own, which is less than likely given the list.

There are other things I'm working on this year which aren't really resolutions but just in general:

• Back-up and delete files off the laptop
• unless it's a special occasion, no more than 2 hours of TV a night, not to extend past 9pm

The ones with the strike-through were accomplished without much of an issue. Sadly the others didn't fair so well.

Considering the ups and down the changes and challenges of this year, I think I did rather well.  While it didn't end up how I anticipated it would, it certainly means that 2013 will start off with a much better foundation.  Now that I've reached the end of the year I can say I've met some wonderful people, got a better idea of who my true friends are and had some experiences I will treasure forever.  Here's hoping that 2013 will be just as good.