Looking back at 46

Today's my 47th birthday. Been a roller-coaster year.

Started off unhappy with my work life, and generally unfulfilled. Also, dealing with chronic shoulder pain, that wasn't helping with the whole work situation.

In September, my work situation cleared up drastically, when Irrational laid me off.

I took a few months to chill out. But when I started actively looking for work, there wasn't much out there...

My father's health continued to decline. leading to his death, just before Christmas.

I fell into a black depression, the worst in literally decades. I tried various drugs and therapy, but to no significant improvement.

In February, Irrational Games shit down. Weirdly, this marked the point where things started getting better. My earlier layoff stung a lot less in retrospect. And there were all sorts of opportunities flying through the air. By early April, I had committed to a startup with my old colleague/friend Shane Mathews, and my depression magically lifted.

Things are pretty good, now. My shoulder is still an issue, but I can get some work done every day, at home. I'm doing work that I love, and that I think has a good chance of being Important, at least in a small way. It's not yet clear whether this situation is financially sustainable, but I'll know that better by this time next year, and the financial drain has shrunk to the point where I have no worries about my credit lasting that long.

Looking forward to this year!