Another Year Gone

I don't place much stock in the new year. I never make resolutions, but as much as I'd like to keep my eyes forward, I always end up looking back.

This was the first full year I've spent back in my home state of California since Amy, the kids, and I left for Virginia (and EA Mythic) in 2007. I'll admit, I like the familiarity of this place, even if a couple of things have changed since I was away. I'm not all that fond of Santa Ana weather (then again, I never was), and I could do with a bit more rain.

As far as my job goes, WildStar is a lot of fun... not to mention a whole lot of work! I continue to learn a lot and improve in my craft (I hope). There are a lot of great people there - folks from 38 Studios, folks from EA Mythic, and many, many folks I'd never met before I started - so I'm in awesome company.

One good thing that happened this year is that I was given the chance to freelance again. So far I've worked on four projects, and I've enjoyed the hell out of them all. I figure they'll start to hit the presses in 2014, and I'll have my name in print once again after all this time. That'll be a trip and a half, let me tell you.

Gaming... I've done some this year, though not as much as I'd like. Feels like there's too much going on, and I'm not as young as I used to be. After all, I turned 40 this year! Life goes by so fast, and it never seems like there's enough time to do all the things I want to do.

I'm trying to learn guitar, but I get increasingly frustrated at my fat fingertips. Practice makes perfect, I suppose. If I can write well, I can learn to play guitar... right? RIGHT?

So there it is. Not a lot to say, really. Not much of a retrospective. But it's the thought that counts. I'm looking forward to 2014, because there's a lot of great things on the way. As those freelance projects begin to come together in a more official capacity, I'll be sure to let you all know about them.

Happy New Year!