New year, new...something

Photo by Roven Images on Unsplash

I have a good feeling about 2023. I don’t know why. I haven’t made any resolutions or anything. I never follow through on those anyway.

There’s just this—vibe. Like I'm on the verge of figuring out how all the pieces fit together. Let’s be honest, the last couple years have been rough for a lot of people, and while I won’t deny that I’ve had it better than most, I’m also not going to pretend that it’s been perfect.

There’s this intangible stress that's been lingering for a long time—before Covid even, and I could never quite put my finger on it. What I can say is that 2022 reached something of a tipping point.

We welcomed our third child this year. A girl. The first girl in the family in about 15 years. On top of being oficially outnumbered, I have to navigate having a daughter—something I'm not sure I’m ready for. Luckily she's got two older brothers who absolutely adore her, so we'll have plenty of help.

But a growing family means growing expenses, and a shrinking car. We're a minivan family now. Personally, I’m thrilled, but my wife is still warming up to the idea. With the financial side of things getting tighter, we were slowly moving from the “making sacrifices” side of the line and getting closer to the “taking risks.”

I left a job I loved to balance the scales. I did it on my own terms, and I know it was the right move for me and for my family, but it wasn’t a particularly easy decision. I was leaving a second family—and doing it at pretty bad time.

Honestly, it’s a lot of changes in a pretty short amount of time—especially for a guy who hates that sort of thing.

Amid all of that uncertainty, though, there were a few really solid wins. The new job I started in November is shaping up to be a lot of fun, and I’m going to get to work on some pretty exciting projects.

The

Andak Media 👣

crew saw the end of season 1 for both the Rebooted and I Freaking Love That Movie podcasts, and both projects have pulled in over 1000 downloads.

Also on the Andak front, I contributed two short stories to the companion anthology for the Sci Fi Camp podcast—both of which received some unexpectedly positive feedback.

So what's 2023 have in store? Not a damn clue. Well, that’s not entirely true. There is the Hogwarts Legacy release in February, but what I’m feeling right now is bigger than just a videogame—even if it will be a truly epic game. All I know is that the vibe I feel right now is a full 180 from how I felt at the start of 2022, and I’m here for it.

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