State of the Author: A 2021 Retrospective · 10:51pm Jan 1st, 2022
Y'all ready for 2022?
Yeah... me neither.
So let's dwell on 2021 just a bit longer.
2021 was a lot of things for a lot of people. And mostly not good.
If you asked me to describe my 2021 in two words, I'd say:
Karmically Balanced
The most mixed of mixed bags. The best of times and the worst of times. Yeah that's right Dickens, I said it, and I dare you to do something about it! You think the 1790's were whack, get on my level, because your ghost of Christmas future never saw this shit coming!
Let's dive feet-first into hell and get the bad stuff out of the way. 'Rona is still running amok, but it hasn't really been an issue in my corner of the woods. I'm still doing laser engineering in a clean-room lab, and my social life is... on here. So all the doom and gloom about the pandemic feels far away from me. And for that, I am very thankful.
This year has been expensive. I knew breaking my beloved bank was a dark omen. All of it centering around Mrs. Shakes. First, in May, was a lawsuit from a guy who hit her with a truck, claiming injuries, damages and lost wages. Apparently he was a serial lawsuit plaintiff, us being his seventh target in as many years. But the idiot forgot to cleanse his social media documenting him working immediately after the collision, bragging about "getting overtime", and him breaking his arm while working on his deck. Quite naturally the legal team representing our insurance company counter-sued him and he was brought up on insurance fraud charges. We got the 'W' in the end, but court stuff is still stressful.
On the heels of that was a slew of surprise dental expenses for Mrs. Shakes in the form of a broken tooth, a crown, and a scary abscess infection that required three dentist visits and urgent oral surgery on her birthday.
We have two cats, brothers: Bunsen and Beaker, (yes, like the Muppets). They are our cats but they are each very attached to one of us. Bunsen is my cat, and Beaker is her cat. Well, her cat was a very chonky boi for most of his life, but suddenly he started losing a lot of weight. We took him to the vet and it turned out he had diabetes. So now he gets insulin twice a day, and he's still underweight but he is slowly gaining weight back. He's doing well enough, but it's unlikely that he'll ever really be 100% again. They are almost 13 years old. She and I have agreed that we will do whatever we can to reasonably prolong his life, but we will not prolong his death.
And the icing on the shit cake called 2021, was Mrs. Shakes getting diagnosed with breast cancer. The big C is scary to most people, but with everything else that had been going with us this year, (a lot of it overlapping) she said, and I quote: "Cancer ain't even my biggest concern right now!"
Long story short, we chose the nuclear option and got the double mastectomy. It was not a decision we came to lightly in the oncologist's office. Rest assured, nobody cared more about her breasts than I did. So with two kisses goodbye, she had the surgery. The surgery went flawlessly, and the oncologist was confident to say that she is now 100% cancer-free! As soon as the oncologist was done, the plastic surgeon tagged in and put in the stretching spacers that will eventually be replaced with silicone implants. The upshot was that it meant: No chemotherapy. No radiation. And no mammograms for the rest of her life, since she no longer has "any mammo to gram". And she'll have perfect, gravity-defying tits for the rest of her life. Gotta find those silver linings, you know?
Also, Betty White died. Or rather...
So yeah. 2021 was pretty awful.
Now, with that unpleasantness out of the way, let's move on to the GOOD of my year.
As I mentioned, Mrs. Shakes is now 100% cancer-free, and we take those wins! That one goes straight to the tip-top of our trophy case.
In other news, her crafting business is starting to really take off, and she's even teaching classes in the spring, (Rona willing) *knocks on wood*.
We still have our health and our jobs, and that's more than a lot of people can say right now.
On the fandom front, Gen5 came out and it doesn't suck! I watched it revitalize the outpouring of fanfiction. So we have that going for us!
I've gotten into Papercraft, and just like everything else, I'm really good at it.
I've started doing Reviews.
I became a Fimfiction Gold Sponsor with the switch to SubscribeStar. Costly though this year has been, this place has helped keep me sane, and even a gold level sponsorship is cheaper than therapy. 
One of the big highlights of my year was B_25 coming to visit me. What was supposed to be a long weekend turned into nearly a two week stay when his car was hit by a truck on the way here. That sucked for him, but like the whole theme of the year, it was a mixed bag. What had started out as a tragedy all worked out in the end and we had a really great time together for the duration he was here!
One of the other big highlights of my year was the honor of hosting Jinglemas.
Featuring:
and
I did a full write-up of the experience over on the group page long enough to be its own blog, and I invite you all to go read it if you haven't already. In short, it was very challenging, but very rewarding work. And I am looking forward to doing it for years to come.
On the other side of the Jinglemas coin, I'm also hosting the Summer Sin Celebration, the clop story exchange event formerly known as JingleClop, and moved to June.
And last, but certainly not least, I reached 3000 Followers this year! Not too shabby. It's honestly something I never expected to happen. But hey, here we are. Gen 5 is looking good. New people are still joining the site everyday. 4000 might actually be possible. I guess we'll see.
So yes, 2021 has been a mixed bag. Such is life, I suppose. More than anything, it has been a busy year for me. Therefore, some projects have fallen to the wayside, but I assure you, not forgotten!
I'VE BEEN BUSY!!!
So now, with 2021 in the rearview mirror, we look ahead to 2022. For me, for now, that means getting caught up on unfinished works. Yes, that includes Anon's Deep Tissue Massage. Yes, that means Cat's Cradle too. I know I say it every year, but this will be the year I finally finish it. I'm looking ahead to 2022 with cautious optimism. I have my guard up. I know things are going to go wrong. But if these last few year have been any indicator, obstacles are opportunities for triumph, and we will overcome any adversity together.
This year, I am committed to nagging you to finish those projects.
Congratulations on Mrs. Shakes kicking cancer's ass with her boobs, and that she's doing well. That's the most important thing.
For me, 2021 was tragedy after tragedy, and I'm glad it's gone. I hope 2022 is better. I hope.
A moment of silence (again) for the Pinkie Bank.
You’ve got to tell them, Shakespearicles! You have to tell them that 2022 is PEOPLE! It’s PEOPLE!
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Hope that 2022 goes a lot better for you man! Keep up with the pony family sex!
2020
2020 Won
2020 Too
Strap in, boys and girls. It's gonna be a wild ride. And you know what they say about Mr Bones' Wild Ride:
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Wait a second. Some guy who hit your wife claimed he was the victim?
Either way, I'm sorry you had go through all this last year.
Damn... the way you described it, 2021 was definitely 'eventful' to you. But I'm glad it ended on a high note - especially when it comes to Mrs. Shakes
Let's hope that 2022 will be less eventful... for the sake of us all
What a year you had!
Great to hear things are getting better, though.
Ah New Years. A time to look back and contemplate.
No doubts Shakes and the Shakettes moment of reflection go better then mine
https://m.I'm happy your cats have made it through 2021. Sadly mine did not, having to be put down last June at the age of 15. Walk proudly over the rainbow bridge, Yami. You are missed.
I'm happy that other people are finding creative outlets as a result of Gen5, regardless of my feelings about the movie. Time will tell how the show itself will fare and I'm trying to keep an open mind about the show itself. It's a tradition of mine to go into dormancy and close myself off every winter (shout-out to my homies on Discord), but I have high hopes of returning whole and productive for 2022. I'm hopeful I'll find something in the Gen 5 show to write about once the universe has been better established than what we got in the movie.
I shared one of mine and am really looking forward to what you have to say about it. It's not one of my more well-known or respected stories. In fact, I suspect you'll find an awful lot of bad things to say about it. And that, Strong Man, is why I want you to read it. I need the criticism now more than ever after a string of complete success after complete success in 2021 to remind me I still have a lot to learn about writing.
You're doing it again in 2022? Hell yeah!
Dude, that was some of the most fun I had all last year! And also some of the most misery... but mostly fun! I don't really do short clop or am known for short clop but it turns out, I'm not too shabby at writing it and look forward to doing so again.
If Gen 5 brings back the fandom, regardless of my feelings about it, I qualify that as a win. I want bronies to be happy and feel optimistic about our future. And I want to meet you all someday at a convention, since I missed all the previous ones.
I'm glad Mrs. Shakes is going to be cancer free and B-52 survived his car crash. Here's hoping for a better year than the last for us all.