2023 Year in Review

[kylaraingress]

(artwork of Kate and I done by Another Well Kept Secret)

2023 was a rollercoaster of health issues.
 

Most already know, but Kate was in the hospital for a couple of weeks in the hospital in November 2022 and when January rolled around was still recovering. However, on January 20, she went back in and was there until March 14. She had a kidney infection, and it got pretty bad – like talking about what to do if she dies bad, and I'm still nervous about her health. Her left lung collapsed twice, she lost her work insurance briefly, and had another trip in May and again in June. She got out and was doing okay, but on October 19, she fell at work and fractured her hip and has been out since. It's been rough.

As for me, my health has been okay. I have a new psychiatrist who's been helping me find the right balance in my anti-depression medications. I think we're pretty good. I also found a new primary care physician who rocks.

As for the cats, Gillian is doing fine despite being a trash panda. Neko was found to have a heart murmur and is getting old, unfortunately. She had her last dental visit, as the procedure will be too much for her to handle in the future. I have to give her anti-anxiety medications before any visit to the vet now.

My work has been good. I started a work-related podcast that I don't have to edit, thankfully. I also attended two work conferences – one in July and one in October. I've also been freelancing: had a piece approved for Stage Raw, but got rejected so I posted it on my website. (I did get a kill fee, so there's that.) I also started writing for The Geekiary in April and have been writing for them fairly regularly. They pay, but not much. It's all based on clicks. As always, you can see links to all my writing on my website, angiefsutton.com.

I've also been doing some freelance video editing and web work for a couple of clients, and did the audio for another short story for my author friend Angelique Jurd. I also volunteered with two cons: the Rainbow Space Magic one in October (not only doing social media, but helping with the actual con) and Loscon in November (mostly social media and press).

We also had some new technology. We got a new blender, as the old one finally died. I also bought Kate a tablet for her to use in the hospital. I sold my old computer and bought a new laptop, as my Apple Macbook I bought when we moved here finally is showing its age. We bought an air fryer that actually is more than that – we can use it as a toaster and a toaster oven as well. We had to replace the showerhead, and our air conditioner and Kate's 3D printer both needed someone to work on it. Someone tried to break into our car and we had to get the front door lock replaced as a result. We also had to get a new modem for our home internet, which makes it much faster than it was.

As for the fun front, if you got a holiday card from us, you saw that we attended the Trans Wellness Center's gala and I wore a tux I bought. Kate's celebrating her time out of the hospital by getting a tattoo here on the 21st. Kate's school loans (which are technically some of mine, too, as we consolidated a while ago) got forgiven. I'm still paying the loans I got from when I went to USC. We went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market one day, and did the Hollywood Museum another time. We're going to go the Santa Barbara Zoo on Christmas, and that night we've got tickets to a special Christmas-themed pirate show in Anaheim.

I plan on doing a write up of what I've seen, read, and listened to over the year – but that's another post.

All in all, the year has been a lot. But I know it's been a lot for many people, so I'm trying to keep in mind the good things as well as the bad. Kate is doing better (she's still using a cane most of the time, and has her bad days, but overall is good) and we're all good for the most part. 2024 sees our 50th birthdays and our 25th wedding anniversary, so we're looking forward to that as well.

Hope you're all doing as good as you can, and here's to 2024.