Year in Review: 2017
Posted on January 01, 2018
Categories: Year in Review — Tags: none
Previously:
Personal Deets
Nothing too much to say. I used the phrase “settled down” for my entry about 2016, but in truth I remained unsettled for most of 2017. I don’t talk about my work much because it’s internal, but suffice to say I spent much of the year working on a project that hoovered my time, and my other internal work goals remain unfulfilled. Also, as of November I finally got over leaving Ireland. It took two years, but all those conflicted feelings finally subsided. Now it’s moving back to Dublin that would put me through endless uncertainty and regrets and discomfort. :D
Travel
Trip to Australia
That didn’t happen. It was going to be my big “I’m travelling
again!” vacation, but work got busy and I didn’t take the time off.
Victoria, BC
I took some time off at the start of summer and hung in Victoria for
a while. I went to the Royal BC Museum, toured the BC Legislature,
visited UVic for probably the first time since 1999, and hung out with
some friends I don’t get to see too often.
Vancouver Island
I visited my parents again… but this time my siblings came,
children in tow. Much “uncle” time was enjoyed. We also went to the
Filberg Festival in Comox, which was grand.
Staycation
I took a week off in October to deal with personal stuff and got sick, boo.
… OK, I still had the week off, so technically it should count, but
BAH.
Christmas in Cowtown
Family Christmas in Calgary.
Events
The Critical Hit Show @ The Rio (repeatedly)
“But for the purposes of this show, we are no longer in the Rio
Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia. No, we —” and now the audience
joins in ”— are in my parents’ basement in North, Delta. (pause) Where
I currently reside.”
The Gentlemen Hecklers @ The Rio (occasionally)
Let’s see… I went to Hackers, The Wizard, the
original The Planet of the Apes…
The Gentlemen Hecklers @ The Rio (occasionally)
Let’s see… I went to Hackers, The Wizard, the
original The Planet of the Apes…
The Museum of Vancouver
Yes, I finally went. After some ten years in Vancouver. They have a nice section on the original Musqueam village that Vancouver displaced.
The Celebration of Light
As a West Ender, I pretty much have to deliberate choose to not go see the fireworks, and even then it’s so noisy that I might as well wander down to the shore.
VanDusen Botantical Gardens
Again, after having lived in Vancouver for ten years, I finally checked out VanDusen. Great guided tour, lovely gardens.
VCON
For the first time, I skipped. I’m still not sure how I feel about that.
D— and H—‘s Wedding
Huzzah!
The Broadway Chrous - Honey, I Shrunk the Chorus
Good times, eh!
The East Van Panto - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
More good times!
Misc
Spelunky
I started playing after I moved back, and finally beat it. Such a good game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I bought a Switch in March and spent the rest of the month obsessively playing this game. I had to lend out the system just to stop playing it. So good.
Books
I reread William Gibson’s “Blue Ant” trilogy. I’d read the first two shortly after they were released in the 2000s, and they were nifty books, linked mainly by the presence of a particular character and the Blue Ant advertizing agency. The third book, however, pulls on characters introduced in the previous books, and when I read it in 2015 I was a little lost. So I reread the series, and yes, they’re very good.
There was also quite a bit of Terry Pratchett, mostly because I’ve been lending the books out to one of my coworkers.
Irish
I started taking Irish lessons via Duolingo. YES, I KNOW, it’s foolish thing to do some two years after leaving Ireland; no, it’s not because I miss Ireland (not entirely, anyway). I started doing it as a lark, and it’s really interesting and so different to English. I’ll see how long I can keep it up.
Summation
It was a quiet year. I think I finally rebounded, and I think I’ll make some plans for this coming year.