Oh, Dana - it's an opportunity to tell you, too, how much you (and your mother) have been in my thoughts (And - I hope it's OK - in my daily prayers).

I hope the next year will not enable you to write such a symmetrical Good-Bad column, because the good will so much outweigh the bad.

Oh, and you're great, too.

It's possible I've missed posting with you guys too much, or something sapped my keyboard, or it's the constant lack of sleep and leaking of IQ points. I'm, um, sorry? Not sure.

Like Dana and Jesse, I had a year that was, frankly, too interesting.

Moving my parents into assisted living in November of 2012 led to a couple of months of horribleness with my mother's mental health issues, compounded by job uncertainty. I got notice in March (on Mom's birthday, in fact) that I was going to be laid off, and within a few weeks Mom took a turn for the worse. The job ended in May and Mom died a week later. I worked two months during the summer, but haven't found anything since.

So that all sucked.

On the more positive side, my oldest brother's restaurant business is going gangbusters (he plans to open two more this year!), my nieces and nephews are all doing wonderfully, and the rest of the family is in good health. Dad seems to be settling into a routine and has made some friends (although we have not yet convinced him to stop driving).

I do hope 2014 has more of the pleasant kind of excitement and less of the awful stressful kind.

And I'm immensely grateful to the Buffistas, who have been so kind and supportive through all of this: you've really been awesome, and {{I hug you all}}.

This year has been mixed. Very, very mixed.

Bad: The stress levels at my tech writing job kept soaring, the manager who took over our team turned into Dolores Umbridge, and she tried to railroad me into a 30 day performance improvement plan that I didn't deserve.

Good: I never thought I'd be happy to be unemployed, but hey! I don't work for a horrible person anymore, I'm not hiding under my desk and taking Xanax every afternoon, and I'm getting some of my long-delayed projects underway!

Good: We went to the UK! Pete visited his family for the first time in 13 years!

Bad: Angst, family issues, and trying to help his mom sort through a lot of things that had built up in the house.

Good: We saw UK peeps (WE SAW FAY!), and I had a religious experience at the David Bowie Exhibit at the V&A.

Good: I went to California to visit Cass, go see a concert, and generally decompress after the horrible ex-job.

Good: I finished the first draft of my fiction project, and it is in my agent's hands.

And finally, Weird: Casting agents and people with notions of reality TV shows keep contacting me. Who knows where that will go?

I knew Hollywood would find you eventually!

My year was unremarkable until the last quarter.

Good: Turns out about a hundred years ago, my grandfather bought a hunk of land in the next township over from the old homestead. The evil energy company that's been fracking and wrecking the ground water wants to pay his descendents a bunch of money to explore that land and develop any mineral resources there. I wanted to make a moral stand and refuse to accept blood money, but I'm one of eleven (or thirteen, depending on how surviving spouses of descendents are counted) heirs, so I'm not likely to stop anything, and several thousand dollars is useful to most anybody. So, I signed. I expect to see the lease payment after the new year.

Bad: Hubby was diagnosed with a rare, hard-to-treat cancer. Tests are scheduled to see if his heart is up to the rigorous chemo that is known to be hard on hearts and to see what's up with his bone marrow. Then begins 6 to 10 cycles of chemo, spaced every three weeks. The oncologist says we have a 50-50 chance of knocking it down completely, but history shows that it will pop back up in 5 to 7 years, at which point he hopes there are better treatments. I hate even odds. This particular type of chemo is so rough that he'll need to be hospitalized for it so they can monitor his heart.

Good: The oncologist is affiliated with one of the best cancer centers in the world, and between my work insurance and Hubby's disability, he's 130% covered for the treatment.

So 2013 we can call decidedly mixed. 2014--winter and spring look to be bad. If the dice roll our way, a lot of Hubby's pain and creeping malaise will go away.

I would like to speak to the entity who decided my life should be scripted by the writing department of a telenovela.

Dana, continued best wishes for your mom. And you guys, too!

Oh god, Connie -- best of luck to you and your husband! You'll be in my thoughts.

Best of luck to your husband, Connie.

My sincerest best wishes for Dana, Jesse, Connie Neil, Consuela, and anyone else who needs or wants them.

2013 was - actually, pretty awesome for me and my family. Although I was very depressed about starting 2013 as a bartender, and having no prospects in either of my chosen fields. 2013 highlights:

M & I took a road trip up to Edmonds, WA, where my parents were living at the time, with a stay in Portland on the way up. That was most enjoyable, as was our non-traditional first (or quarter-, if you wish (our anniversary is Leap Day)) anniversary present to each other of a king-size bedroom set.

I got a day job as a project manager & graphic designer, allowing me to give up bartending - and, more importantly, start auditioning for plays. 2 days after I started my job, M landed a property-management job for a start-up university, founded by one of the guys who originally invested in Hotmail. So that worked out.

I apprehensively attended my 20th high school reunion in Fairbanks. The worry was unnecessary, because it turns out almost all of my fellow alumni were just as awesome as I remembered them, if not more. Also, I did not get carried away by mosquitoes - a big plus.

I got cast in a short as part of a one-act festival that did very well, as well as being in two readings for the Olympians festival that I've participated in every year it's been put up. I've already been cast in 2 plays in 2014, so Go Team Acting.

My parents moved from Edmonds to Palm Desert, CA, where my stepfather has been gigging like mad, my mother has been working for the Follies, and my grandmother has her own place and a community that helps my mom take care of her. All in all, that move has been very positive for them.

M & I are doing very well - I am particularly proud of him for coming so far in such a relatively short span of time (and man, was that starting line way, way back). He just had his last bartending gig on Sunday, so now we'll get to do such strange things as "hang out" and "go on weekend trips".

My wider community has definitely been strengthened - I've managed to hang on to my industry friends, made some more theater friends, and have generally been happier to meet people. A lot of that has also been helped by my (mostly) monthly Bitches' Brunches - I host brunch at my place for all the awesome ladies I know (and I know many).

Finally, I'm glad for the chance to come back here and hang out - I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for all y'all, and I know that and I love you for it. So, thank you, and I hope 2014 is happy for everyone here.

Juliana, Tim and I had SUCH a good time with you and M when we were in San Francisco! It was fantastic to see you both, and we had so much fun. And that sushi was KILLER. And, from what I hear, so was the apple fritter. (Also, I think Tim has serious envy of M's hair.)