Obligatory “best of times/worst of times” post

Favorite things about 2011:

• Another year with Dakota. 
• Another Penny Arcade Expo and trip to Seattle, this time with Dakota.
• Bastion was my favorite game of the year. Its themes on inequality and racism, combined with its brilliant soundtrack, visionary voice acting and tight combat have left me thinking about the game almost every day. This was a huge year of wins for indie games and the little guys.
• Kickstarter gave me an opportunity to become a consultant on an indie game, and being a part of an upcoming release (you’ll hear more about it later, I assure you) has been very cool and something I’ve always wanted to do.
• I found a lot of solace and peace in words from Richard Dawkins, Penn Jillette, and the late Christopher Hitchens. I got very comfortable with my understanding that there are no gods, or devils, or heavens or hells. 
• Jerry Holkins wrote what became my favorite quote of the year.
• Probably largely to do with the above quote, I embraced my inner child this year… a lot. I bought too many toys, got shoes with wheels in them, and basically enjoyed a lot of silly things.
• Joined a D&D group and have had a lot of fun with the guys. Played lots of 4th Edition, and also some Pathfinder. 
• A lot of public figures came out of the closet, and it was cool: Zachary Quinto, Don Lemon, Evan Rachel Wood, lots of athletes (David Testo, etc.), Jonathan Knight, Sean Maher…
• I was successful and productive at my job, and more financially responsible this year than I ever have been before.
• The Harry Potter movies came to an end, and it was very good.
• Booked an upcoming vacation to Orlando for Dakota and I to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park!
• Took a bunch of pictures, although not nearly as many as I thought I would get done. I really like a few of them.
• I went to Vegas for CES and saw the Penn & Teller show while I was there. Also got this.
• Dakota and I adopted Carrie Fisher the Cat.

Worst things about 2011:

• My dad died. And it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, and I still want to call him every morning, and this is about as much as I can stand to write about it.
• Lots of bad things happened after my dad died. My uncle also passed away.
• Sam Brownback, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, etc.
• Natural disasters on a huge scale, and I’m not talking about that earthquake we had in Kansas.

I suppose the fact that I can’t think of any more “bad things” to put on my list is a good sign. This was undoubtedly the worst year of my life, but in a lot of ways it was also the best. Cliche, but true.

I’m looking forward to ringing in the new year. I know it’s going to be another rough one - I still have months and months of stressful things to sort out in the wake of my father’s death. But I know that it also has the potential to be another best year ever. And so to you, internet friends, I wish a happy New Year. Have fun, and don’t forget to treat yo self.