Staying Positive For 2022...

There's an inescapable feeling that the last 12 months were spent idling in neutral, waiting for some unspecified "something" to inspire me to shoot for the stars.

In that time, not only has my health declined noticeably but major elements of my geeky passions have lost their lustre.

I have, though, circled back in one particular area of my geekdom and rediscovered my love of all-things Doctor Who, which I aim to talk about more in due course.

Taking 2021 as the foundations on which to build higher and better, I'm hoping that 2022 will be a more active and positive year.

So, as per this time last year, in lieu of a long screed on "New Year's Resolutions", I have opted simply to draft a short list of "aspirations".

POSITIVITY: Try not to dwell on the continuing depressing global (and local) news quite so much, strive harder to avoid negativity, cut out toxic people from my social media feeds etc

HEALTH: I pretty much failed in last year's drive to get more active and it looks as though that's come round to bite me in the arse, so as much as it galls me, I really must try to get more active this year.

As reluctant as I am to do anything particularly strenuous, the extreme laziness has taken its toll and my body feels more riddled with random aches and pains than it ever has. 

I must also really pay attention to what I eat, and this means maintaining a tight vigil on snacking (eliminating crisps, chocolate, biscuits etc as much as humanly possible).

As a self-identified hikikomori, I co-opted the idea of the Coronanvirus-enforced lockdown and social distancing as an excuse to not leave the house and not do any exercise for the last two years... and that has to change in 2022.

FINANCES: Although the brakes have been tapped on my "gotta catch 'em all" spending habits, I still need to do better and take my dwindling finances more seriously.

I'm pretty certain I've now drawn a line under backing random Kickstarters (especially games I'll never play and gorgeous miniatures which I then have to pay to get painted), but I need to keep an eye on this.

The insane cost of international postage (and my general distain for the PDF format) has helped drive the final nail into that coffin.

The only Kickstarters I've backed recently have been comics/graphic novels, books, and movies. All of which have a much lower level of 'buy-in' than the costly games I used to support.

HEROPRESS: The wave of apathy that has swept over me in recent months has certainly impacted my blogging, but I've soldiered on as I fear that too large a break would psychologically spell the end of HeroPress. 

I've axed a number of the picture-centric features (not that anyone has commented), with the idea that this will compel me to focus more on my writing and not rely on the crutch of a random slice of cosplay eye-candy or amusing 'out of context' comic book panel.

One thing I've brought back is my "Torn From The Headlines" feature, highlighting real world stories or news features that could serve as plot hooks or inspirational scenario seeds for roleplaying game adventures or non-player characters, particularly aiming at the Doctor Who RPG.

I want to resume my reviews of old Doctor Who stories, as well as fill in the gaps in my coverage of the more recent seasons, while simultaneously 'smartening up' (and amending old links) my older articles.

Please don't think that I'm turning HeroPress into a Doctor Who blog. There are more than enough of those already in existence, but I want to revive that element of the site that has rather drifted away in recent years.

GAMING: Rather unexpectedly, and possibly connected to the unplanned break in the Tuesday Knight's regular gaming schedule, my interest in tabletop gaming has plummeted. I still maintain a theoretical interest in the hobby, but my desire to actually play has severely waned.

I'd already pretty much cut out miniatures gaming from my portfolio, and now the only game system that piques my interest these days, and that I can see supporting financially going forward, is Cubicle 7's Doctor Who RPG. 

READING: As with my gaming, my die hard obsession with comic books has taken a serious blow in the last 12 months.

Truth be told, since my extended spell of poor eyesight last year, I'm more interested in reading novels - and short stories - these days than the latest adventures of my beloved four-colour superheroes.

Barring a few issues here and there, I hardly read any comics in the latter part of 2021 and my "to be read" pile is in danger of toppling over!

I still love the "idea" of comics, but I can't help wondering: is my enduring hobby of buying regular "floppies" coming to an end?

Can I now get my "superhero fix" purely from the MCU, Disney Plus, TV shows, and random DC-inspired movies?

In the meantime, I shall endeavour to continue whittling down my pull-list anyway, to a hardcore of titles I can't do without.