Reboot and Re-organize
2017 was fun and it was good to feel needed (by a company) apply my talents to better ends and be productive. It had been over a three-year process of reorganizing my life after getting laid off from my previous full-time job. I joined Meetup, I did more conventions, met a lot of new people. Took longer to start looking for work again than I should have but I am better for the time spent in introspection. There was a lot of people who didn't understand me (mostly interviewers), there were a few who thought I was coming from a sinister place. But the people who did shine through the fog of disappointment were worth it.
My personal meetup group started its third year, outlasting the previous group, and we went to new places and new activities. I also joined two additional meetups, one for people in their 30s and one in lower Bucks County, the former to meet people closer to my age and the latter because they have been more successful than other groups I have been a part of having events in that area. The latter group has made me an assistant organizer and I have been planning a few collaborative events with them.
I attended only a few conventions in 2017 but gained more contacts and hope to make it to more shows this year like Katsucon. I saw more Star Trek and Power Rangers actors, completing the living cast through the fourth season, Power Rangers ZEO, and the amazing Rob Paulson, voice of so many characters growing up. Ninja Turtles and Kids WB were from another time, when there were cartoons you ran home from school to watch. On the cosplay front I wore two more outfits from the Twelfth Doctor Who in their later seasons and was part of a fall festival as my Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series that I also debuted in 2016. Very interesting with the introduction of the next actor this past Christmas I can no longer refer to all Doctors as 'he' any longer.
I started assisting with a monthly group meeting with a support group of adults on the autism spectrum, providing topics ideas, assisting and planning for social outings along the lines of Meetup. There are a few other groups in the area that plan activities for autistic adults, some who charge a fee, and I would like to tie the smaller groups together and plan things for higher-functioning people who are OK in public environments.
All in all, I start 2018 in a better place. Where does it go from here?