2017 in Review

Good Riddance 2017!

This past year was pretty dreary. We lost two of our cats, Sora and Evie. Our family dog Haru passed away. My sister’s fiance died unexpectedly Christmas Eve, and I had a near-death experience in April that put me the in the hospital for five days and on bed rest for almost two months. When not at work Karl had his hands full taking care of and supporting me this year. My health issues combined with an overwhelming class and workload left me depending on him more than ever. Fall semester was particularly grueling. It was absolutely the most intense and overwhelming semester of school I’ve ever experienced.

I feel like the bad outweighed the good of this past year but there was some good. We made major progress on the house. We went on several vacations and added Mexico to our list of international travels. I traveled to Waco, TX for my favorite photography conference and met up with my longtime online friend Danielle for the first time. The only other thing I can really say about this year is that I read more books and played more video games, at least over the summer, than I had in years past. I was part of a fun gaming group this summer and have been enjoying kicking butt in League of Legends. 

My father retired from work due to health issues, but I am happy to report that he seems to be doing a bit better now that he’s not working so hard. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting another little girl in February, and my mom is doing well and working hard as always. The older I get the more amazed I am by my mom. She is the glue that holds our family together and she works so hard and does so much. Just thinking about everything she does makes me feel like a total slacker. My sister has moved back in with my parents and is doing as well as can be expected given the death of her fiance.

I learned some new things this year, and I think Karl and I both grew as people and accomplished a few things, but 2017 was really just a year of surviving. We are hoping to make more progress on our home this coming year. I am hoping to develop some ideas for my MFA thesis. But our big goals for 2018 involve improving our physical, mental, and financial health in 2018.  

Month by Month

The first half of 2017 was busy but not very exciting. My classes included a special topics in design class on ‘The Book Pitch’, and History of the Printed Picture. It should have been an easy semester but health issues, which would turn out to be caused by pulmonary emboli, slowed me down and caused me to have to take incompletes in both my classes.

March was a busy month. I was excited and honored to be awarded a travel scholarship to attend the national Society of Photographic Education conference in Orlando, FL March 9th-11th. The following week Karl and I joined friends in Atlanta to celebrate both my 34th birthday and Half Dragon (the halfway point to Dragon Con). This was either our second or third year meeting up with friends to celebrate the halfway point to Dragon Con and in some ways, we look forward to it just as much if not more than Dragon Con itself. The month wrapped up with AnniCon, an annual anime convention I help with, on the 25th. It was my second, and last, year serving on the planning committee. I enjoyed the experience but need to focus on grad school. March ended with the passing of our family dog Haru. She lived with Karl and I for several years until my mother spirited her away from us. Haru’s passing was particularly hard on my mom. Haru was her first gran-puppy and they loved each other very much.

In April, a few weeks before finals, I went to the doctor thinking I was just having a bad panic attack. My shortness of breath and heart palpitations turned out to be symptoms of extensive blood clots in my lungs caused by birth control. I spent five days in the hospital, almost two months on bed rest, had to take incompletes in my spring classes, and basically spent the summer at home recovering both physically and mentally from the shock. It was a really unsettling experience that I only recently feel like I’ve put behind me.

I spent most of the summer resting and playing League of Legends and World of Warcraft with some gaming friends. I wrapped up one of my incompletes and began some new art projects, and took voice lessons. It was the first summer I’ve ever had completely unburdened by work and school. I had plans of getting active and focusing on my health, and of working on a lot of things at home, and of taking a May class but my health scare ruined all that. I suppose those same goals will be my goals for this summer. 

Deaths

• Feb. 7th – Richard Hatch (Apollo)
• Haru (family dog)
• Sora & Evie (our two youngest cats)
• My sister’s fiance Josh

NEWS

2017 included a lot of loss for our family. In March, Haru, our family dog of almost 15 grew ill and passed away. In June our cat Sora disappeared, most likely killed by the dogs that killed our cat Evie the following month. It was really rough losing Sora and then Evie right afterward. It was so painful I couldn’t even bring myself to post about it publicly. Our household of three cats dropped down to just one in one month’s time. Sora and Evie were such sweet cats. They were three-year-old siblings, one grey and one tabby. Sora was quite the talker and a total momma’s boy. Evie was very independent but she loved belly rubs and would often flop on her back and beg for them. She was also crazy about sucking on her paws.

Adventures

TRAVELS

• Miami & Orlando FL
• Carnival Cruises to Yucatan and Cozumel Mexico
• St. Augustine, FL

We spent the fourth of July soaking up the sun and enjoying the gorgeous beach in Miami, FL. In August we joined our friends the Van Devenders on a cruise that took us from New Orleans to Cozumel, Mexico where we enjoyed a lovely snorkeling experience. Over Thanksgiving break we returned to Cozumel, and also visited Yucatan Mexico and toured several Mayan Ruins.

CONCERTS

• Muse / 30 Seconds to Mars
• The B-52s

CONVENTIONS

• AnniCon
• Con Kasterborous
• Dragon Con

CONFERENCES 

• Society for Photographic Education; Orlando, FL 
• Society for Photographic Education, South Central; Waco, TX 

Favorites

FILM & TELEVISION:

• The OA, The Good Wife, The Expanse, 
• Movies:
  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  • Wonder Woman
  • Thor Ragnarok
  • Arrival

BOOKS

• Carol: Ringworld 

GAMES

• Carol: League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy III
• Karl: a little World of Warcraft

MUSIC

• Carol: Halsey, Coldplay, Kristin Kontrol, Garbage, Daft Punk, Keane, InnerPartySystem, The Glitch Mob
• Karl: They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton, (lots of Pandora)