Brushing off the cobwebs

With as much reading and writing as I do, it’s perhaps more than a bit ironic that my blog is as woefully neglected as it has been. The past year has been nothing if not filled with major changes in my life, so it’s not as if I’ve lacked for topics about which to reflect.

The most significant life change, naturally, is the fact that, a scant five months ago, I got married. Jokes from friends and family about whether it would ever actually happen aside, I’ve never been more sure about any decision in my life. We held the mass at our local parish, St. Juliana Falconieri Catholic Church, and the reception at my mother-in-law’s house, with about 100 of our closest friends and family. It was as near to our ideal wedding as we could have hoped. We honeymooned in Cambria, and began our new life together in a new apartment halfway between both of our jobs.

Of course, that was followed in short order by the weddings of my new sisters-in-law. I joked over the last year that we should have had a reality show: Three Daughters, Three Weddings, Three Months. As hectic as it got in the final weeks before our wedding, I can only imagine how it was for my new parents-in-law.

I got a new position with the school district, too, a couple of months after the wedding and shortly into the new school year. Instead of being a one-on-one aide to a disabled student, now I work in a classroom with a dozen students. I was hesitant about the change at first, but I enjoy working with the students and staff at my new school.

I also got into podcasting this past year. After several months as a recurring host on “Warp Five,” Trek.fm‘s show dedicated to Star Trek: Enterprise, I’ve taken over as co-host on both that show and “Standard Orbit,” which is dedicated to the original Star Trek.

As ever, I’m continuing work on my comic book, The Protectorate, and am working on getting it published on the ComiXology digital platform. I also made significant headway into writing my first novel during NaNoWriMo in November, but the book needs extensive work before it will be ready for release.

My Star Trek web site, Trekipedia, occupies another chunk of my dwindling free time, along with several video games that I enjoy playing, including Star Trek Online. Trying to find a balance between all of my various hobbies and projects, work, my social life, and spending time with my wife has been an ongoing challenge.

This new year promises to be full of challenge and promise, and I look forward to it in eager anticipation.