2011 My Year in Review

2011 had some of my highest highs and some of my lowest lows. It's been a year of lose, stress and uncertainty, mixed with new friendships, support and a rebirth. The year started on a sour note and kind of went down hill from there with a few peaks every now and then. Beginning of this year I was sick (lasted 3 months) which prevented me from working out. Up to this point I had lost 20 lbs but being sick and not working out meant I would gain it all back. My relationship with Harry was on a down turn and I knew I had to do something so we talked about it and we broke up. He wasn't going to leave for a few months so we had to deal with the next stage of our relationship, which turned out to be pretty good. This was also the year that I worked for MTV and I would have to say though it was extremely stressful at times (expected with my line of work) for the most part it was a good job. Up until the end when things got there worse and I wanted to quit (and in fact did quit for a few hours).

I had a mini nervous breakdown mid way through the year. But I guess that should be expected since I had broken up with Harry (after 8 years), Daisy went to live with Harry, worked at a job that was stressing me out, and I just found out that my Dad had gotten cancer again for the second time. And then when Harry actually left in August I felt really lost and alone. I been telling folks that I'm going through a mid-life crisis a bit early. I'm 41, single, jobless and not really sure where my life is going next.

There were points in this year where I didn't think I could continue going forward. Between work, Dad's cancers, Harry leaving, The Guild, multiple podcasts and my own health issues things weren't looking to good.

It hasn't been all doom and gloom this year. We had snow up at my house that lasted five days (rarely snows up here) so that was fun. Started two new podcasts MASH 4077 Podcast with my buddies Meds and Al. And Confessions of a Fanboy which I host solo. Also my Knights of the Guild podcast celebrated it's 2nd year anniversary. I've been wanting to learn sign language for many years and I finally started to teach myself. I have the alphabet down and I'm slowly learning entire words. It will take time but I hope to one day be able to have a conversation completely in sign language. I'm a huge J.R.R Tolkien fan and I finally found the Silmarillions on audio book and listened to them on my long commutes into MTV. There is so much rich history to middle earth and I completely feel in love with these stories.

I attended San Diego Comic Con as I have done the past eight years but this year I dressed up for two days. I've been wanting to do cos-play for years now but never took the time to actually make my outfit. This year I was determined to get my costume made and with the help of my friend Greg Aronowitz I had a fantastic Hobbit outfit. I had such a great time taking pictures with folks and chatting about LOTR. I plan to dress up for other cons as well in the future. On my last day of SDCC my jeep was broken into and thousands of dollars of equipment was taken, but there is a silver lining. When friends and podcast listeners heard about the thief they banded together and raised over $3000 for replacement equipment.

Went to the Western cup Quidditch match (yes Quidditch is real) and had the best time. Then a few weeks later I actually joined a local Quidditch team (Hollywood Harpies). I played in about six games before I realized that I need to be in better shape before I can continue to play so I'm currently on hold with Quidditch. Speaking of Harry Potter I finally took my trip to Florida to go to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I spent 3 days at the park and was in heaven. It's just what I needed after a horrible job. I loved immersing myself into this magical world. They also started an online community called Pottermore which I was lucky enough to get into the beta program.

I got to see Star Wars in concert with my buddy Sean. I missed this when it came around to LA a few years ago so I was extremely excited to see that it was coming back for it's final run. Speaking of Star Wars I got a Disneyland premium annual pass and got to ride the new Star Tours and loved it. Then my buddy Andrew said we should go and just ride Star Tours all day long.. so we did.  We were there from 2pm to 11pm and road Star Tours 10 times. We were able to see all the different versions and Andrew was actually picked once to be the rebel spy... it was a fantastic experience.

Got to meet The Kessels (Al and Joyce). It was great to see the bond we had over the internet was instantly there in person. They are a fantastic couple and I love them dearly. I also got to meet my buddy Bryan Hyland who turned out to be even more special and cool in person.

I got to be on set for The Guild season five, I've been with The Guild for four out of the five seasons now. During season five it was set at a comic book convention which meant they needed lots of extras. Some of those extras became some of my best friends. And to keep the fun going after shooting I started having Movie Marathon Weekends. Where 10 to 15 people would come over to my place for a weekend to watch movies, play games, drink and have an awesome time. First up was Indiana Jones then we did Star Wars, then Lord of the Rings. I also had a Weekend Christmas party. These events are so EPIC and are truly some of the best times I've had in my 40+ years of life.

I became an uncle for a second time. Little Miss Molly was born in December and completed my brothers family. She's adorable and I can't wait to see her and her big brother Kenobi grow up and become big geeks like their daddy and uncle.

I will remember 2011 as the year of friendships.. I've made some new life long friends in Jes, Kim, Jen, Anne, Nicki, Anthony, Rupert, Gabriel, Adam L, Ashphord and Lesley. While strengthening the bond with older friendships like Andrew, Scott, Aaron, Leo, Luis, Lydia and Thomas. I also have so many wonderful online friends, like Russ, Markus, Bryan H, Charles, Steve, Ken. Matt B and got to see/meet some of them at this years SDCC, like Dani, Adam (Bel), Jeff V, Becky, Erlend, Liz, Michael D,  Joshua, Eva, Jeff C, & Bryan V. I've also lost focus with some of my older friendships. These friends are so dear to me that it's hurt that we weren't able to see each other very much in 2011. I hope that will change for 2012.

CHRIS

JOSH

And lastly there are two "new" friends who really made this year extra special for me... Chris and Josh. Both had that rare thing happen when you meet someone, you feel as if you have known them your entire life. I like to call them "Kindred Spirits". Being friends with them takes no effort, it's as if we have always been friends. It rarely happens and I was lucky enough to have it happen twice to me this year. I love both of these guys like brothers and they will forever be part of my life.

The end of 2011 has started an upswing in life and I hope to continue this into 2012. I'm still single and looking for a job.. but this year I'm focusing on me, finding my place in this big world. Going to travel more, spend more time with family and friends. Life is short, you never know when it might be our last day so live each day to it's fullest... that's my new 2012 Motto :)