An Update, a Recap and a Temporary Shutting-Down

First of all, a merry Christmas to each of you!

And now... a new year approacheth.

2015 is nearly over, that is, as you all know if you don't live under a rock under a rock under aNOTHER rock, and even then you've probably guessed that some calendar-turning or other is in the wind.

I thought long and hard (read: for about two and a half minutes whilst staring off into the space above my laptop) about how to end 2015 on this blog, and finally decided to just recap my year, as best I can.  It's no secret that I've been pretty absent from the blogging world, a fact I hope to remedy in 2016, and it probably won't come as a shock that this year's been pretty busy.

I'm not going to go into details about everything that happened this year.  Suffice it to say that a large portion of 2015... well, stank.  The first half of the year was pretty miserable for a lot of reasons, and included one of the most painful periods of my life I've ever had to go through.  But in it all, God was faithful.  That sounds very trite, but it really is true that He works all things together for good to those that love Him... I wouldn't have chosen to have had most of the things that happened earlier this year, but the Lord did have a purpose and hopefully I've become a stronger person because of it.

But let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I shall quit such an odious subject and focus on the Joy.  What was joyful this year? Well, many things! Let me count the ways.

In January... okay, well, in January nothing especially great happened except my baby bruvver turned ten and had a pirate party and the event pleased him exceedingly.  So that was good. :)

In February... umm... well, I'm kinda drawing a blank for February, as it was somewhat Rough, but I did read some good books.  I really enjoyed Katherine Reay's Lizzy and Jane (though I still prefer Dear Mr. Knightley) and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of The Bronte Plot!

In March I turned twenty and left my teens behind me forever!  It turned out to be a very happy day, despite the firmly pounded nail in the coffin of childhood, and I got to talk to my bestie, and all was right with the world.  And for the last nine months I've been greatly enjoying being able to tell all and sundry (though not Lady Catherine-- she's fictional and, if she weren't, dead) that I am not one and twenty.

In April... ummm.  April wasn't the best, but hey, it paved the way for May and in MAY...

...I got to see my PERSON again!  I went to visit Melody for two whole weeks and that was the best part of this year, hands down.  We traveled to the Pacific Coast with her family (who graciously allowed me to tag along on their vacation) and I got to climb an ACTUAL LIGHTHOUSE which I really and truly did despite my paralyzing fear of heights.  It was very thrilling and I will probably never do it again.  :P

And yes, my shirt says "I believe in Sherlock Holmes."  ;)

In June I came home from Melody's house, which was sad, and ended my career as a nanny, which was also sad.  But life moves on and you have to move with it, like a leaf traveling down a river, or else you get stuck in a sewer drain or some such unpleasantness. (If you're a leaf, I mean.)  And sometimes that means ending one thing and moving on to seek new horizons and blah-de-blah.  *insert inspirational quote here*

And Masked grew by leaps and bounds and much planning was done and I basically tore my hair out, and may I take this opportunity to mention that you should never ever ever produce a full-scale web series if you want to keep your sanity.  BUT I shall also take this opportunity to mention that it was a real blessing to be able to work with such lovely people as I did, and we had the bestest cast and crew ever, and that reminds me that I still haven't posted Chris' interview yet because when I was doing cast interviews we didn't want anyone to know he was the Scarlet Pimpernel, but that's all done now sooooo I should put his interview up, if y'all want to see it. 

In July two very large things happened.  The first was that Masked began filming, after a year and a half of development and three very intense months of planning and casting &c.  It was a great big hullabaloo and I hated it and I loved it at the same time, which was very confusing, because on the one hand it was stressful and difficult to get everything put together, and also sad that I didn't get to Be There to see the fun, and on the other hand it was exhilarating and gleeful because HERE WAS THIS STORY THAT WAS COMING TO LIFE BEFORE MY VERY EYES AND HOW COOL WAS THAT.

The second very large thing in July was that I scouted around for a new job and went to several interviews and got nowhere, and submitted countless applications and got nowhere, and began to be very discouraged and very sad (my dad was also out of work at the time, and had been for several months and it was just not a financially fun time in our household) and then BOOM, I got two jobs within a week of each other, and things began to change for the Huckabuck family, because did I mention I also found a Chinese silver slipper buckle inside of a squash.*

*Not really.

Anyway, I got a job as a part-time temporary clerical assistant for an electrical manufacturers' representative near the end of July, and just a few days later I also got a waitressing job at an Italian restaurant.  And so from July until October I balanced the two and it was hard but also interesting and I learned a lot and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, although I'm very glad that at least one part of it is over now, but I'll get to that.

In August I worked at the restaurant and worked at the office-- took the bus into the city for my office job in the mornings and walked to the restaurant for my waitress job in the evenings.  It was hectic.  And it taught me a new and greater appreciation for restaurant staff-- please be nice to them and always tip well because that is pretty much all they make, no joke.  Although, depending on the restaurant and the kindness of the cooks, sometimes they get free breadsticks, which is nothing to sneeze at. ;)  

I always tried very hard NOT to do this but sometimes people shovel food into their mouths AS you approach. :P

AND my dad got a job, which was wonderful, in an administrative/management position which is exactly his Thing, and working with people with special needs which is also his Thing, so that was pretty awesome all around.  And my mom got a job TOO, for the same organization (only in a caregiver role, not administration) so we began to be quite a busy working family and juggling one car was... interesting. (For years my dad worked from home, and my mom was a stay-at-home mom, so one car was Plenty, but then this summer happened. Haha.)

And I did enjoy both my jobs to varying degrees, but I also looked back longingly on the days when I could just waste time on Pinterest and sew random things.  Heh heh heh.

In September Masked aired (did I mention I spent most of August editing it? because I did) and, well, that was an epoch in my life. ;) In case you haven't watched it yet, you can go here. If you want to.  And in case you HAVE watched and are still not sure what happened/is happening with the show, go here. 

In October there was another big epoch in my life when my boss at the office where I was temping offered me a full-time position as an administrative assistant for the company.  And. I. Took it.  One of the best decisions I have ever made-- I LOVE my job and my coworkers and the work I do, which is basically Alex-Knightley-boring-stuff but I actually do think it's interesting. (If you're interested, in which case more power to ya, I manage the company contacts, file and put together all our correspondence, enter bills for payment, take care of bank deposits and run our company's Twitter. And... a lot of other little piddly things.  And I adore it.  Did I mention that.  :D)  I never in my wildest dreams imagined that someday I'd be working for an electrical manufacturer's rep and loving it, but... well, here I am.  So that was the big thing for October. Also I quit my waitressing job, which helped restore some of my sanity.  Haha.

Anyways, joining the adult workforce has been amazing, buuuuuut...

Sad truth. :(

In November Melody and I made many plans for her visit to me at CHRISTMASTIME, and that was swellissimus.  Masked drew to a close, the new Sherlock episode was confirmed for January 1st, 2016 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and did I mention MELODY COMING.

In December my best friend came to visit (I LOVE HER I LOVE HER I REALLY REALLY LOVE HER), it was epic (because I said the word epic) and also I bought myself a CAR.  Which I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around, but the fact stands and it is Magnificent.  It's used, and the same age as my brother, but it gets amazing gas mileage and I love it to death already.  And Melody and I went all around town in it. ;) I had to work a good bit of the time while she was here, which was a bit Meeshful, but we got to do quite a few fun things-- like attend a Civil War ball, and decorate gingerbread houses, and see Philadelphia in all its historical and Christmassy glory, and visit several of my grandparents, and Melody got to ride on a train for the first time ever in her life, and did I mention the ball? It was a High Point.  

Then she had to go home, but then it was Christmas (I feel the same way! ...Oh, you mean it's actually Christmas)  and so we could not have too many tears.  And now... now we're standing at the portal of the op'ning year, and all that, and I am looking forward to 2016 more than I did to any of the past few years.  Usually the idea of so much Time passing and people getting Older is quite a Frightening one, but after all the whirlwind that was this year... well, I'm quite ready for a new one.  Hopefully with more joys than sorrows. ;) 

But as the year unfolds, with new beginnings and all that, I think it time for this blog to undergo some changes. Which is why, beginning tomorrow night at 10 PM Eastern, Yet Another Period Drama Blog is temporarily closing its virtual doors.  It will be a Private blog with No Access Permitted until Monday (hopefully), at which point it will reopen with a brand-new look and possibly a brand-new post.  The archives will remain, but the site itself needs an overhaul, and since I have some new plans for What to Write in 2016, I thought a new-look-same-great-taste was in order.

You've been duly warned. :)