Well, we made it through 2012 and the world didn't end. I guess that is a good thing.
It's hard for me to describe this year in a pithy one-word theme as I've done in years past. There's been some good things and some not so good things. Some of the highlights include my year-long yoga practice, my birthday celebration ("Birthday dinner" - July 16, 2012), the road trip with Puck ("Road trip 2012" - March 14, 2012) and meeting all our friends along the way, especially Morgan, who I've known for my entire 8-year-old life and never had the chance to meet until now.
Speaking of friends, I feel I've recently reconnected to old friends like Lori, Agnieszka and others; strengthened my existing day-to-day connections with friends like Kacey, Piper, Katie and many more; and made some new friends in the latter half of the year – Chelsea, Natalie, Liz and others – whom I really hope to spend more time with in 2013.
I've put more emphasis on friendships in part because of ending my four-year relationship with Puck ("Fourth anniversary" – Oct. 7, 2012). The reasons for it are complicated and difficult to explain, but I'm sure it is for the best for both of us. Long story short is that we simply couldn't agree on a set of relationship agreements that we could abide by in the long term. However, unlike other endings in my life, this one has a beginning since we are still family and continue to find ways to make each other happy outside the context of a formal relationship.
This was also the year I resigned as President of Open Love NY, the polyamory organization Puck and I helped to start. From less than 50 people at Puck's 19th birthday party in 2009, the group has grown to over a thousand people in three years. For myself, I feel like I'd done everything I could do to start the organization on the right path and it was time for new blood to take the group to its next level of development.
Other highlights for me and Puck throughout the year were going to Wicked Faire with Piper and Jet ("Wicked Faire 2012!" – Feb. 20, 2012) and going to events with Morgan ("Steampunk World’s Fair" – May 25, 2012, "PenRenFaire" – Oct. 25, 2012).
On the stage, I saw Porgy & Bess, Cyrano de Bergerac, Priscilla Queen of the Desert (twice), Peter and the Starcatcher, several episodes of Shotz!, P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Bare, and Aida with Puck and/or other friends.
In the movies, it was the year of The Avengers, the climax of The Dark Knight and Twilight movies, the start of The Hunger Games and Wreck-It Ralph. I sat through the entire nine-movie Best Picture Showcase (“Oscar roundup 2012” – Feb. 26, 2012) and my video projector returned to my living space, giving me an excuse to put on movie viewing parties and come out of my shell a bit.
I think that 2013 is going to be full of changes, some of them good and some of them not so good. I can only hope that the first outweighs the second.
