Togue - Road of Revival
"It's your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you." -Rumi
What a weird year, y'all. But, at the same time, as much as I've heard comments of this year being the "filler arc," I think this year ended up being pretty damn useful. I did many experiments and tested different concepts, ideas, methodologies, and quantification of what I do. This was ultimately a good thing, as the friction that developed across certain aspects allowed me to make significant breakthroughs that I wasn't expecting. So, let's see if I can journal decently and get more movement out of this newfound energy I've developed. I'm still gonna do some of my summarization here, looking at the road I've traveled, the events that have occurred, and see what these road signs look like.
Professional: This year was rough. Constant changes in how we did our work, new red tape, and being down one team member all year meant that we all had to pick up a lot of slack, which was hard. I was persistently stressed out, especially with on-call duties, which strongly negatively affected my health, especially when combined with other factors, like car issues, phone repairs, lost headphones, a refrigerator failure, and a laptop on the fritz. Additionally, the everyday stress of our "December Rush" of particular objectives pushed me to a breaking point, so while I would lose out on some of my bonus, the extra money wasn't worth the mental struggle I was putting myself under. I finally put my foot down towards that practice and pushed my management to pay for my classes if they wanted me to get the requested certification. On the bright side, we have a new employee joining the team, and management has informed me of various improvements that should aid me in accomplishing my goals.
Personal/Body/Spirit: Well, those repairs weren't cheap. But, I did make a lot of progress on my own well-being. Finishing with the experiments involving dietary modifications, habit building, focus management, and removal of negative cues and triggers (including banning myself from a local casino!). This let me make new friends and enjoy other friendships more readily and with less tension. Additionally, I finally put more effort into the hobbies that I enjoy. Gaming, fitness, cosplay, raves, and even attended my first play party. Events like Coastcon, Undercurrent, Mobicon, Furality Aqua, Reunification, and Shrek Rave were phenomenal for keeping my spirits up, but two events stood out; Campfire Tails and MFF. My first actual furry events, one a burn, and the other? The largest furry convention ever?! What a ride, especially when serving as a lead driver for one and a squad leader for the other. Phenomenal experiences that I would have never imagined myself being able to successfully execute, despite the challenges and road bumps involved.
These events brought me to life. "After this con, Akkeresu feels complete."
I'm still gathering some thoughts from MFF and CFT, executive dysfunction be damned, but they'll also be good exercises in persistence.
So, where do I see this road? This ended up being a very windy road, but I'm exiting the last few turns of this segment, and it's time to focus, keep a solid racing line, and put the hammer down when the time is right.
Let's ride y'all. With flow, glow, and love.
"Always bigger, always better."
~Akkeresu