Tag Archives: year reviews

Personal Blog

2008 Review

The first thing I learned when looking back on 2008 was that I forgot to do a year review for 2007. Doh! Oh well, such is life!

08 was a good year for me. I think I have changed into something different by the end of it, but something for the better.

– The ETC West Coast Trip: adventure and fun and education! I went to Disneyland for the first time and sniffed out more companies than I had any right to see. It was a fantastic opportunity, and I’m so excited to see this year’s first-years head off on the same trip. Wee!

– I was lucky enough to land a sweet deal for my first project course at the ETC. Bandology was amazing, and I was so grateful to be on a team with such awesome people. I feel like it was a first step in boosting my confidence, and convincing me that yes, I could be a designer.

– speaking of which, GDC ’08 was a pretty big turning point for me. That was when I figured out that I should be looking for a design internship, not a production one. For some reason, I’d held the role of game designer in my head as something that I couldn’t do, reserved for people more awesome than me. At GDC I reached up and plucked it out and held it right there in my hand. It was some kind of magic.

– Ah, the summer. Pre-Insomniac Lisa and post-Insomniac Lisa were two completely different Lisas. Oh, Insomniac, you will forever be the incubator that hatched a new phase of Lisadom.

– Dorky though it may be, ’08 was the year where I did some semblance of end-game content in WoW. Rather, it was the Year of the Tank. Confidence boosts come in more forms than one would guess, you guys.

– Imagine my luck when my second ETC project team was also awesome! Get In Line harnessed a freshly hatched new Lisa and drove her to new levels.

– I got to go to Project Horseshoe! What an awesome experience. I met cool people and stretched my brain in cool new ways and learned a thing or two about myself in the process.

– Which brings us to the most recent: ringing in the holiday season with the Tuesday Night Ballers. It was as though we’d all gone off on our own adventures, then came back to enrich one another with all that we had learned. Such wonderful friends, I am lucky!

I am extremely excited about 2009. A little scared, sure, but who isn’t? It’s going to be some kind of adventure, I can tell already.

Games and Game Development, Personal Blog

2006 Review

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Oh man, 2006 seems to have happened all at once, so this will be short.

I guess the most dominant events of 2006 have been, unfortunately, sickness and death. The most prevelant, of course, was Nancy’s brain cancer and death in March. Looking back, I am surprised to see that the time between when she went in the hospital and when she died was little less than a month. It’s strange, because that time felt like forever.

Immediately after her death I went to visit Will in Savannah, and wrestled between having a fun time with my friend (who took me on my first ever trip to Disney World!) and my overwheling grief. Among all this was my own weird health problems, in full swing. It was a tryingly timed trip, and I still feel like I made a bad impression on Savannah in general because of it, and still feel bad because of it.

Shortly after said trip, my Nana died of lung cancer. Following that, Bonmom died (Mary Beth’s grandmother). Eric and Mary Beth’s cat, Check, also died last year. No one is allowed to die this year, okay guys?

Moving on, the spring and summer progressed in a slightly upward direction. My parents decided to sell their house, and so massive cleaning and repair began. I got to visit D Flo in Chicago and have many fun times. I got to visit Will in California and see such exciting things as Cartoon Network and the La Brea tar pits. Brendan and Maria adopted Brenna, the first canine member of the Tuesday Night Ballers. Camping, glorious camping occured! And of course, through the power of peer pressure, I came to begin playing World of Warcraft.

Moving into the fall, I got the cue that 2006 was a year for initiating change, so I applied to grad school, and we’ll just hold our breath about that, I s’pose. More changes with the winter, as I am now beginning to successfully address my weird health problems. A new cat wandered into our lives, and Eric and Mary Beth took him in. I think it all culminated in my parents successfully selling their house, and our combined Christmas dinner to toast Nancy and say goodbye to our home.

New Year’s came and went without much fuss. Fun times were had playing video games and spending time with loved ones. I think I’m ready to get started on 2007, I feel good about it.

Games and Game Development, Personal Blog

2005 Review

Year-end Review:

I must admit, 2005 started off pretty grim. I was unhappy up north and disappointed in theatre as a whole. I was miserable doing something I loved. After juggling over whether to stick it through or call it quits, I decided that it was the best course of action to end things at Long Wharf and head back home to initiate plan B, which meant ceasing the dating of Carleton as well. It was a hard time.

There were some highlights to ease the rough edges, though. A visiting trip to New York, ending my internship on a decently-run play, and confirming my adventure to Japan that would happen later in the year. My birthday was a pleasant one with the Coffrins, through which I acquired my GameCube, which has been a wonderful addition to my console repertoire.

My sacrifice for Lent of 2005 was irrational fear. Every time I felt the fear creeping in, I pushed through it and did whatever was causing it. This led to several good things, one of which was visiting Steph, and thus strengthening a friendship. I am very happy to know Steph better, and I hope to continue the trend!

The emotional blow of coming home from Connecticut was softened by welcoming arms of friends and family. The spring months were rough, though. I was job-hunting in addition to freelance web work, and anyone who’s ever been in the jobhunting phase knows how it can run you into the ground. I recall healing sleep at Brendan and Maria’s for not being able to sleep at my own home.

But there were plenty of good times to balance it all out. Playing Nobilis was a wonderful creative outlet. I got to foster mom two wonderfully loveable ratties. I started working with Will on ARG! Productions stuff. I strengthened small acquaintenceships into blossoming friendships, and got over timid fears to turn people into huggable buddies: Wheeler, Will, Ian, Yale.

The year swelled up to a high point with three events: Acquiring a job, going to visit Andrew in Japan, and moving out of the house into my own place. The Japan trip is like a dream now, and I still haven’t gotten all the pictures up from it. It was a magical place.

More lows and highs. Fish, my beloved pet, passed on that summer. On the other hand, there was much to be done with animating and learning and working on the JamJams trailer. Ken was back and Wheeler got to visit. Having an income through a job I enjoyed was a tremendous relief, but at the same time the mysterious illness crept in and took its toll on me.

Adventuring to Atlanta to play with new friends, discovering my knack for cooking, Tuesday night basketball, visits from D Flo–all wonderful. Weird emotional burdens, the loss of Mr. Laguna—not so much.

The year ended off in the best possible way. Christmastime was refreshing, especially among friends. New Year’s itself was a positive time–I got to spend time with the people I love the most, and we rang in the new year with Guillotine, The Great Dalmuti, Donkey Konga, Mario Party, and Munchkin. I am so very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

It has been up and down, yes? But I try so very hard to be grateful for the wonderful things I have. There continues to be things inside of me that I have to work out, but perhaps this year I will stop being a dragon who thinks she is a rabbit, because the rabbit hole is too small.

Year of the dog, that’s my year!

Personal Blog

2004 Review

-January of 2004 started out with Centre term and The Yellow Boat. It was an amazing experience, and made me think that I might want to do props as a job. The show itself was a joy to work on, and the end product was so powerful.

-Also in January, my need for companionship drove me to acquire Fish, my first betta. He’s still going strong–moved all the way up to a 10 gallon tank–and he provided many things for me through that spring term of senior year (namely company, and someone to care for–sometimes at my own expense).

-Spring of 2004 was a flurry of busy times in my memory. I recall a lot of pain and sweat. It culminated towards the end, where it all paid off at the conclusion of my senior art exhibition, in which I was informed that I had acquired a job for the next year. The sensation of relief and excitement afterwards was amazing.

-I made the best of my last summer ever. It was an outpouring of pent up creative juices into various forms of art, spending time with good friends, and having Carleton nearby. I made it a point to never be bored, and milked the time for everything I could.

-The fall was the start of the changes. Moving up here, starting my job, having various intimidating grown-up things tossed at me from all around–it was all rather overwhelming. I’ve learned so much working at Long Wharf, both good and bad. I’ve acquired all kinds of exciting new skills, and all kinds of unpleasant new knowledge.

-Winter rolls around, and it is time for change. It is strange, I love the things I get to do, I love to be able to create. But at the same time, I am not happy here. To put it bluntly, working in theater sucks balls. It is not worth it. People say that to work in theater you have to “really love it,” more and more that’s starting to sound like a cop-out, something people say to reassure themselves. I remember hearing about when Laura Beth Adams gave up theater to move to Arizona and teach aerobics, or something like that. Everyone seemed so shocked, and even outraged, but I think I can empathize now.

I don’t know what to do now. I took this internship to find out if I really wanted to do this as a job, and the answer is a resounding No. Would quitting be along the lines of abandoning these people or this obligation? Or would it be the right thing to do, the braver thing?

More than this has taught me that being brave is terrifying and painful.

Games and Game Development, Personal Blog

2003 Year-end review

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Hooray for 2004! Time for the 2003 year-end review…

-2003 rolled in with winter term, rebuilding the furnace, and blissful blissful free time. Sitting quietly and watching D Flo, Brendan, Eric, and others play Gauntlet for 12-18 hours each day was like heaven. Heaven I tell you!

-Spring term was quiet front-loaded, and I remember most of the beginning was spent preparing for SETC, which was a great and fun experience. I’m really glad I went, and hope to go again this year.

-Getting the job at Berkshire was a great relief in the spring, because it meant I had no foreboding worries about the summer. It was also helpful that my scheduling for school worked out perfectly, and that I was able to get my first choice in campus housing for the next year. That spring term really was apologizing for all the hard stuff I’d had to do before, I think.

-The summer and The Berkshire Theatre Festival. I’m so glad i took that internship; I learned so much, had tons of fun, and that’s where I met and developed my initial friendship with Carleton.

-Fall came around and school was tough, but I started dating Carleton, which was a big deal for me. Like, it goes down in the “Notable events of Lisa’s Life” section.

-New Year’s Eve. Hanging out with Brendan and Maria. Playing video games. I always have a rough time at New Year’s parties, because I don’t drink, and many of my friends who do would rather do that than sit and play video games. This year I decided to have fun, and I feel bad for not seeing Darren or Will, but I will see them again, and I actually had fun this year! Woohoo!

2004 is looking out to be scary and exciting, as graduation and for-really-real life is right on the horizon. I’m ready for it, though, i think. Hope everyone has a great year!

Games and Game Development, Personal Blog

2002

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2002, what a weird year. Well, I suppose I’ll do a little recap, for me more than anything, I suppose. I have a tendency to think in terms of ‘school years’ as opposed to real years, so it’s helpful to do little things like this.

– 2002 kicked off with my study-abroad trip to England, where I traveled from Manchester to London and many places in between, and saw 30 plays in 3 1/2 weeks. My birthday had its ups and downs, the down being I had to sit through a Pinter play, the up being that I got to go to Riki Tiki Tavi’s, the most awesome restaurant in Manchester, and have the best vanilla milkshake in the world.

– Spring term of 2002 was a rough one for me. I’d flown in from England late one night, and the next day had to move back to school. The lack of rest and busiest term I’d had so far wore me down quite a bit. I was really unprepared for the stresses of taking 2 studio art classes at once, but I managed through.

– On the up side, I had a lot of fun that spring term. I remember my Monday night 9-midnight glassblowing slot with Ian. Neither of us had class the next morning, so after our blowslot we’d drive over to Jen’s apartment, where I would make pancakes and Dr. Mario tournaments would take place.

– I got to be really good friends with Andrew that term. Seeing my beloved senior friends graduate was tough. Ian, Andrew, Liz, Nate, Sara…everyone, I really missed them, but had great times with them

– Summer 2002. Not quite as eventful as the summer before. I did manage some visits to see my friends, and it was the first summer I actually sold art. I did rather well, selling quite a bit of my glass, I was very excited!

– Fall 2002. Junior year started off rather strangely. I solidified and grew strong friendships with different people, namely D Flo, Brendan, Ken, and Squirt. This year has been eventful and fun-filled, if not DRIPPING with DRAMA. I remember being terrified of having an independent study in glass with Woody, Arijan, and Ken (who are all way way talented), but it turned out for the best for me.

– 2002 wrapped up with New Year’s with friends. I’m glad I got to see kenmoore before he goes off to Italy. My resolution this year is to expand on my other talents, especially getting over my fear of playing the piano.

Have a great year, everyone!