Looking back...What else did you expect?

This is my obligatory 2015 year in review post. It's been a year of change for me with some great times, and I'm going to take this opportunity to step back and take a look at them.

The year started off for me at one job, ended with me at another. Work has had its ups and down, as they say "It wouldn't be called work if it was fun". So true. But working lets me have the things that I like, board games, good times with friends, food and a place to live. So I suppose that's a good thing. I'm lucky to have a job that pays me reasonably.

The game marathon I host for Extra Life happened in April, and was an amazing success. It was the second year of the marathon, and a number of people helped me out in huge ways. I made many new friends, and we raised over $5500 for Extra Life and The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. We have already started planning for the next one. It's very humbling to have an idea that was really spur of the moment pay off in such a big way for a great cause.

The reason behind this blog came about in May. Recapturing a lost dream has reinvigorated my soul and given me a lot of hope. Every day I think and plan and look forward to it. The hike will change my life, I'm betting for the better. It will reset my world view and when I'm done, it I can't even fathom the sense of accomplishment that I will get from it. It is refreshing to take a chance on yourself, even when the chance seems to be inconceivable to a lot of people. In the words of Andy Dufresne from The Shawshank Redemption, -"It comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying". 2015 is the year that I decided to get busy living.

The support I've been given by my friends and family have kept me going through some tough times. It's not easy some days, but I want to thank you all for being here, for following along with my random thoughts, my impressions, my whims. The greatest feeling of success and accomplishment for me is when people have a positive reaction to my writing. It has been my longest dream to be a "real" writer. Choosing to put my thoughts in written form is daunting task some days. But I'm always glad that I did.

Thank you and I hope you and yours have a happy and safe New Year. I look forward to taking you along on my journey in 2016.

Hiking Forward

I survived another Christmas, I hope that you all did as well. I spent the day with family (both real and "adopted"). Being around my family is always interesting, as inevitably the topic of "the long walk" inevitably comes up. I'm convinced that they all think that I'm certifiably crazy to walk away from my comfortable life and go live in the woods for six months. I get the same questions over and over - How long will it take? You're walking ALL the way? What will you eat? Are you going to have to poop outside? What happens when you run into a bear? I do my best to answer them and just smile. If I have to explain the imperative to them, they'll never really get it. It will be hard, it will be miserable, but I fully expect it to change my life. In some ways it already has. Committing to it has changed the way I look at the world.

Some more exciting news, I've been selected to be one of the 2016 hikers that is being promoted by HikeForward.com. It's a great site that will promote all my posts across the various social media sites that I will be using, widening the audience that I will get. I'm really excited about the opportunity. Scott, the guy behind Hiking Forward, has some great info on the site and his blog is a great read as well. Anything I can do to spread the word of my adventure will help to get some attention for Extra Life and the Children's Miracle Network. I hope that you will all stop by hikeforward.com and give Scott some traffic!

Touching base

Most of you know, I'm not much of a Christmas/Holiday person. I have a tough time around this time of year. My life is not the way I pictured it would be looking forward from when I was a much younger person. I know that can be said for almost all of us, but that doesn't really make it much easier. I have a lot of holes in my life, and I do the best I can to fill them with positives. I know that many people love and care for me, but the sense of lonesomeness can be overwhelming sometimes, usually in the deep end of the night, when my brain won't turn off.

I leave in less than 5 months, and the sense of time slipping away can be staggering. I have a lot done, but there's still tons left to do. I have the major bits of gear down, but there's still a lot of little things to get and plan. On the plus side, my diet has been making a difference, I'm down two pant sizes already, and I definitely feel better. Just trying to keep my head down, and momentum up and I'll get through it.

If I don't post again before Christmas, I hope that your holidays are good and that you are happy and safe. I look forward to the new year with excitement and relief.

Chits & Bits

Busy week this week, been scrambling to start planning next year's Tabletop Game Marathon. We've had great success so far, getting a rather large donation from a surprise donor that we'll announce later AND locking in a sponsor for our t-shirts (previously I paid out of pocket for them). One of the things that has also happened is that we've renamed the marathon to something a little more catchy and with a bit more identity. Rob came up with the name, which I absolutely love. With the new name, also comes a new logo, designed by Mike, one of the talented people helping me plan the marathon this year. Here it is -

Other exciting news, my blog(s) have been picked up by a new website and organization called Hiking Forward, which will be spreading my posts throughout the blogosphere (wherever that is). I'll have more information at the beginning of next year, but that's pretty exciting news. Spreading the word for Extra Life is always a good thing.

Speaking of Extra Life, got a little positive reinforcement on why I started the Tabletop Marathon yesterday. The first year I held it, it was supporting Child's Play which a charity started by the guys at Penny Arcade to support Children's Hospitals across the country. I was able to put Child's Play in touch with The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital here in Portland, and as a result, BBCH is getting a yearly award from Child's Play. With that award and some help from Microsoft, BBCH is putting Xbox One's in every child's room at the hospital, which will provide a great source of distraction for the kids. To have a distraction during some times of extraordinary pain and stress will be a huge boon to those kids and their families. It goes to show that a little effort on your part can end up making a huge impact. It definitely recharged my batteries to hear that positive news.

Do it!

A week and a half with no post, been kind of a slacker lately. <Insert typical excuses here> Realistically, no good reason but I do have something to talk about so here I am!

As the year wraps up, I begin to look forward to next year. I have many exciting things that are going to happen next year. One of them, I just found out about- As the fundraiser with the highest total for the year, The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital is sending me to Disney for the Extra Life United event, which is their national game tournament. I'll be competing to win additional funds that will be donated to BBCH. The prize pool is over $150,000! Four days at Disney, getting to meet and interact with fellow Extra Lifers and the families that are helped by the charity is going to be an amazing experience.  It will also give me an opportunity to spread the word about my hike. 

Planning has begun for next year's game marathon, in fact, I have a meeting later tonight to review some ideas. Bigger and better!

With all positives, it helps mitigate the negatives. The holidays are a tough time of year for a lot of people including me. I know that I have friends and family that love me but it's hard not to feel isolated this time of year. I focus on the good things and try to stay active and engaged but it can be tough to fight the desire to withdraw. I get through it every year but it is always on my mind. Talking (or writing) about it helps. Too many times people that feel isolated or disconnected have a very difficult time talking about how they're feeling. If you feel empty or alone or detached, it's okay to feel that way. Just know that you have people in your life that love you and will listen if you need to talk.