Year End 2011

Time really does fly by. Here we are, at the end of the year 2011, about ready to usher in the fabled 2012. This upcoming year will definitely be full of big things, not the least of which is the Mayan-predicted end of the world on December 21, 2012. But that's just slightly less than a year away from now, so I won't go into that right now.

Instead, I'll do what I always do with these things: Resolutions and reflection. Which ones I kept, and some new ones to tackle. This year has actually been pretty satisfying for me, and I'll cover why.

Most notably, I actually got a job this year; two in fact. The first one was just a one-day job, working the helpdesk for my city's Department of Elections during the uneventful November 8th election day. Because it was a slow election, we didn't get too many calls in; I actually spent much of the time playing my DS between calls; good thing too, because it was a long day. I had to be there at 6am, and didn't get home until like 11pm that night. Not all of it was helpdesk duty, though; I also traveled with a few of the workers to one of the sites to collect the equipment the pollers used to count and gather votes. All in all, I got paid pretty good for it (though it took over a month for the check to come in the mail).

The second job was a PC Refresh project for one of the city's courts, this one a Juvenile facility. We had to replace many of the old computers with spiffy new ones. And when I say old, I mean it; these computers were using XP or--in some cases--Windows 98. We had to make sure all of their programs were in working order as well. Not bad, though I was a bit bummed that I was working part time instead of full time. However, once the project was done (it went by much faster than we had anticipated; we were told it'd be 6 weeks long, but we finished it in about three), I got a call back saying that they chose to hire me for a full time position. ...And that's where I am now, working both helpdesk and doing field work in the building. Pretty good, eh? ;D That said, it's still too early for me to be rejoicing; the first 90 or so days are usually the hardest for a new employee, so once I get past those, THEN I can start relaxing a little and enjoy my gig.

Oh, and I should also mention that schooling is done for me as well. I finished up my last class at the end of September. I may go to a university in the future, but for right now I'm focusing on getting some money in. I also still have to take my cert exams (still with CCENT, and now with the Windows 7 and Server certs), but I'm going to have to find time to do it between this job. Not to mention that my school Focus: HOPE recently had to suspend its classes due to lack of funding. So I may have to take them somewhere else...

Another development this year is that I finally got my driver's license. Yeah, considering that I'm 23, it's late, but better late than never, eh? Now I just need a car, but that is a ways away...

Unfortunately, I didn't draw as much this year, even though there was a part in me yearning to push out some work. I wish I could go back to how I was in high school. In fact...

This year's resolutions will be the following:

Resolution #1: Exercise - Yes, I've come to the realization that I'm not exactly in the best of shape. I have a gut forming, and to be frank, I don't like it. Even though I've been meaning to do it before, I'm going to start working out. Maybe in the mornings before work. I can see it..,. Lifting, jogging, push-ups, sit-ups... They would all work wonders by the end of the year.

Resolution #2: Draw - Nuff said.

Resolution #3: Spend Less Time on the Internet - Yep. I've noticed that ever since I set up my wireless router in our house, my productivity has gone down. Before, I used my laptop to work on things and write. Now that it has online access, I've been writing less and less. I mean, it makes for a quick resource in case I need it, but the distraction is a bit much to ignore. So I've decided... I'm going to cut down on how much time I spend online and go back to how I did things before I got my router all hooked up. This may also help me with drawing.

Resolution #4: Post Here More - I'm not sure how many people are even aware of this blog's existence, let alone read it, but you'll notice that this year has been VERY dry of posts; hell, on the main page, this entry is on the same page as the Year End 2010 entry. I just didn't have the motivation to post about anything here. Well, that will change this year. I'm going to start posting more and more about various things: happenings in my life, random thoughts, video game reviews and thoughts, and perhaps the revival of the Daily Cutie series; I know I keep teasing with that, but that may just become a reality in 2012. The point is, I want this blog to become more lively during the next year, and I am definitely going to work at it.

That's four for 2012. I intend to keep them, or at least make good progress on them. Like before, when the end of 2012 rolls around--and assuming the world didn't end--I'll post a report on how I did this upcoming year.


Now for my main hobby: video games. Perhaps my most notable purchase this year was of my fresh new 3DS two weeks ago. And I must say, I'm loving it. The 3D also makes the games look pretty crisp and fresh, though I typically play with it only at half power, as full power tends to make my eyes hurt a bit.

And yes, I got the Flame Red model that I was fangasming over last year. I'm glad that it was finally released here, considering the disappointment I had when I found out that it was not a launch color. To be clear, I got it bundled with Super Mario 3D Land.

The list of games I got in 2011 consists of:
-Pokemon Black (DS)
-Radiant Historia (DS)
-The World Ends With You (DS)
-Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
-Excitebots: Trick Racing (Wii)
-Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PS2)
-Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
-Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
-Pokemon Rumble Blast (3DS)
-Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS)

Definitely the year of handhelds. Depending on how my job goes, 2012 may see even more purchases, not the least of which will be the highly-anticipated Xenoblade Chronicles, as well as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and many other games I missed out on. Man... My backlog is starting to get huge.

Oh, and I have a Backloggery now. It's a pretty neat site that lets gamers keep track of their games and which ones they need to beat. I have quite a few that I still need to play through, not the very least of which are long JRPGs such as Baten Kaitos Origins and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.


I'm also surprised to see that this year saw the demises of three tyrants and dictators: Osama bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, and--most recently--Kim Jong-il. I wish I could say the world is a better place with them gone, but things don't always go the right way. Libya is being run by rebels, and Kim Jong-il's more-insane son is the heir to the leadership of North Korea. We can only wonder what 2012 holds for us...

Osama's death was the real surprise. ...I guess I can understand why people were out celebrating and cheering in the streets that he was dead, but the hypocrisy is astounding. Considering that people over in the Middle East were doing the exact same thing when 9/11 happened, and we were fuming at them. I know that it was one guilty man vs. thousands of innocents, but it's the principle of things. Plus, al-Qaeda is still alive and kicking despite Osama's absence, and they're still carrying out attacks. Osama may be dead, but the threat of terrorism is nowhere near gone.


2012 will also be the big election year. We will see if Obama can gain a second term. Hopefully he well, as these Republican candidates are all pretty awful. I love how people are complaining that the Obama administration isn't fixing the problems Bush left behind for us, when those problems will take a while to address, not to mention that the Republicans in Congress and the Senate tends to fight near anything Obama tries to put through.

I do admit that the Obama administration hasn't been perfected, but no administration is. I especially like that they're taking a stand against the infamous SOPA and Protect IP bills. I just wish that they had more of a backbone and said, "Look, this is what we're doing and this is what needs to be done. Stop arguing and make it a reality." ...Maybe I'm just wishful thinking...


But I will close this right now by telling everyone to have a good new year, and I will see you in 2012.