So, 2014

I spent last night just the way I like it, with a small group of friends, talking and laughing and eating, pretty much the perfect way to ring in the New Year for me. I hope you all had a similarly fun and/or peaceful New Year's Eve, as you prefer.

2013 was a weird year for me in many respects. In large part, it feels defined by the things that didn't happen -- I didn't find a job, I didn't travel really (just a few local trips), or get any substantial projects done. I look back and wonder where it all went. I don't do New Year's resolutions really, but I do plan to take better charge of my time in 2014. Give myself a schedule, and go ahead and give myself permission to make long-term plans (for travel, for writing, for personal and home improvement projects, for figuring out my random nagging health issues*) regardless of what happens with the job situation. Once I find a permanent job, then I'll adjust. No more waiting around for things that are out of my control.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, and secure 2014. Even if I haven't been around these parts as much lately, I still consider all of you here in journal-land to be my online community, and I'm so, so glad to have you. :)

( * )

This is the time I do end of year memes, apparently

Fandom year in review meme, snagged from green_maia.

1. Your main fandom of the year?
Still Dragon Age, although I'm doing more and more with MCU all the time. Final Fantasy and Cinders continue to simmer in the background as well.

( The rest are behind the cut. )

January Prompts: My favorite book

green_maia asked me about my favorite book when I was ten. The funny thing is, my favorite book when I was ten (I think -- I can't remember exactly when I read it, but 10 seems about right, or possibly a little younger) remains among the pantheon of my favorite books today, and that book is The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin.

I do remember the first time I read it. It was a red paperback on the spinning rack of the kids section in the library, with puzzle pieces and an intriguing back cover. So I brought it home, and was transported into the world of Sunset Towers, and the Westing heirs, and the mystery of Sam Westing's will. There were not one but two awesome female characters I fell in love with -- the bratty and brilliant Turtle Wexler, and the solid, smart Judge J.J. Ford. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and the resolution made me cheer. I read it again and again, checking it out from the library many times, all the way through elementary school, junior high, high school. And then I let it aside for a few years, until grad school, when I was buying some textbooks from Amazon (my first ever Amazon purchase), and somehow the hardcover found its way into my shopping cart. I re-read it once a year or so, and every time I crack it open it's like spending some time with an old friend.

There are other books from my childhood I love almost as much -- The Time Trilogy by Madeline L'Engle, the Narnia series, the Oz books. But none of them quite touch my continuing affection for The Westing Game. If any of you out there haven't read it, you totally should.

From the January Prompts meme (On DW / On LJ). Many more slots open, especially in the latter half of the month!