Well now, that was indeed a year.
2010 started with a bang. On January 1st Melinda proposed to me. A year later we still haven’t picked a date much to our mothers’ dismay. 
February saw the Olympics hit Vancouver. We expected a gong-show of epic proportions. We got an amazing event that was a blast for everyone and drummed up a level of national pride I’ve never seen in this country.
In March I made my journey to San Francisco and the Game Developers Conference. I had the pleasure of staying with Nicole and meeting the rest of the Ardent crew. I met great group of highly talented people that I would see again before this year was through. GDC was an amazing experience. I was able to meet and hang-out with many indie developers that I really look up to. Many friendships were started on this single trip.
In April I watched the Terminal City Roller Girls at their opening bout. I bought rollerskates and vowed to work towards playing in this sport. I was so obsessed that for Ludum Dare #17 I made a roller-derby themed game and shoe-horned it into the topic of “Islands”.
In May Melinda and I traveled to Disney Land with our niece and nephew. What an amazingly fun trip!!! I love these kids so much and to share such an exciting trip with them created memories that would last a lifetime. I also ran the BMO Vancouver half-Marathon.
In June I formed the beginnings of what would evolve into Raw Meat. I put out a call to see if any other roller-derby hopeful would be interested in sharing some rink time. Over 20 girls showed up on our first booking. My 30th birthday was a very low-key event.
In July I traveled to Seattle with three other Raw Meat skaters. We were invited to skate with PFM. It was a wonderful weekend full of derby-bonding and learning.
August was a whirlwind. TCRG try-outs (and the pre-try-out workshop) snuck up on everyone. A week after the try-outs I flew down to Reno to meet Nicole for Burning Man. I only had a few days at Burning Man but again it was a trip full of experiences that would last a lifetime. I got to help with Syzygryd, a massive musical instrument that lights up and breathes fire. I also had a chance to hang out with many of the same SF people I met back in March. On the playa I found out that I had passed TCRG try-outs and would begin Fresh Meat in September. After Burning Man I flew back into Vancouver only to leave for Seattle the next morning.
September started with the Penny-Arcade Expo in Seattle. A lovely event that I look forward to every year. When I returned, work was destabilizing a bit. But I didn’t have much time to focus on negativity at work with Fresh Meat starting up.
In October I attended a Vancouver Indie Game Developers Meet-Up and have started to make some new friends. I also ran the Victoria half-Marathon on Thanksgiving weekend.
Fresh Meat has pretty much filled my life for the last few months. Work re-stabilized in November and I’m now in an awesome new role. I had sufficient time to take part in Ludum Dare #19 and was quite pleased with my entry. In December I also revisited my LD17 game and worked on redoing it. I completed this project on Dec 26th and submitted the game to Flash Game License.
2010 was a very very busy year. In 2010 I started many new friendships and shared many experiences. I hope to build on these in the coming years.
Looking ahead to 2011… I’m hoping to have my first Flash game sponsored and published in January. TCRG drafting happens on February 5th so finger-crossed that I get placed on a team. I’m flying down to San Francisco at the end of February to attend GDC again (a trip I’m incredibly excited for).
My focus areas for the coming year are:
- Sport/Fitness: Get onto a derby team and play awesome. Keep up the running.
- Work: Be awesome in my new role.
- Personal Work: Make more awesome experiences that I can share with others.
- Family/Relationships: Get married. Visit my parents, sister and nephew at least once.
- Friends: Strengthen the friendships I started in 2010.
Happy New Year everyone.
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