Can't let it go by unnoticed

 

Wow.  Has it really been 6 years that I've been doing this now!  Why, it seems like it is only 5.  So on this auspicious day of days (ok, the day before when I'm actually writing this) I guess it is time to look back (and forward).

2019 was not a great year, and as it was for most people, 2020 was even worse.  It bothered me in 2019 that I had to go from twice a week to once a week, and didn't quite get in 100 posts for the year (94).  I wasn't happy about that, and that I had a two times when I simply ran out of things to write about.

And then it hit.  And it hit big, and it hit everyone.

Overall I was/am fortunate.  I was 'easily' able to do my day job from home for a few months, though I was one of the very few that moved back to the office as soon as I could.  (Honestly, at home the best I can do is one external monitor in a cramped space where my personal laptop is.  At work, I have 2 external monitors (did have three, but my new laptop 'dock' doesn't support 3 (and I don't have a wireless one)) and a huge desk.  Not only that, but I also moved into a much larger office that had been sitting empty for 8 months (when the company started, it was the Vice-presidents office - before we took over more space and they moved all the non-technical people upstairs and the executives got MUCH nicer offices).

The problem with working from home, is it was right in my hobby space.  Same desk, same chair.  Just turned to work on the laptop - with my paint/hobby area directly to my left.  A lot of people found some sort of refuge from all the stress going on by getting more into their hobbies - me it felt like I was still working as I was in the same place and even the same chair, and I just wanted to NOT be working when I was done for the day.

Plus, as we all know, everything was cancelled.   I had previously adjusted my plans for the big conventions (Daycon, Origins and Gencon) as the attendance for my Learn to Play Kings of War events had been falling, so I decided to replace some of them with running Hellboy, the Board Game.  Of course that meant I had to get it painted up.  I did manage to get all the frog monsters done.  But then Daycon was cancelled, and so I didn't need to get them painted anymore.  Instead I needed to finish up the new models / units for the Clash of Kings 2019 update (as well as the Vanguard Ice and Iron update).    But then again I had no urgent need to finish them when Gencon was cancelled, then the moved Origins was cancelled.

I'm honest with myself - I need some sort of deadline otherwise procrastination sets in big time.  And all my deadlines / incentives were gone (and, unfortunately, they still are, with Adepticon cancelled for 2021, and Origins moved to October, and Gencon still up in the air).

I picked up some models to add to my Cthulhu army - some more models to add a second horde of depth horrors (which I haven't touched yet) and I did finish one that I am using as a knucker. (you can see some WIP shots here), though I realized I never posted the finished model - so enjoy it below.

I got in some kickstarters and new releases, and at least that gave me an occasional reason to write about something.  I enjoy the modelling aspect most of the miniature wargaming hobby, but I haven't managed to finish putting together all my fauns to do a herd demo army (again feeling like what's the point?).

One bright hobby spot was playtesting the new fantasy naval combat game Armada for Mantic - it got me a little excited again.  I picked up a Black Seas British fleet, and an Uncharted Seas dwarf fleet for playtesting, and we even got games in when the weather was nice by playing outside.  But when the game was released in didn't get mine in time to paint it up over the Thanksgiving holiday, and spent my Christmas with my grandkids (that was a highlight), so haven't had much time to dedicate to them (though I did paint up a starter and Basilean fleet as a Christmas present for a friend - again deadlines = inspiration!).  (My orc fleet (and an Orc & Basilean starter, as I plan to run "Learn to Play: Armada" sessions when we finally have conventions again) is less than an hour from being done (I just need to gloss varnish the water bases, then paint the edges black), but still sit there.

So very little hobby stuff.  No conventions.  No tournaments.  Not many new releases, and no sneak peaks at all.  Which meant nothing to write about.

I thought I had blogger's block in 2019 - 2020 ended up with only 31 posts for the year, a third of what I did in 2019.  I had many, many dry spells.

So looking forward to 2021.  I'm not sure if it will get much better or not.  I do have some stuff for a few weeks (at least) with the new Ratkin warband for Vanguard, a couple of the new goblin heroes, the rest of the dwarf ships for Armada, the EoD fleet when it comes out, the XL ships when they come out.

At this point I can't commit to any regular schedule, but I am trying to keep at once a week on Mondays.  

There are some interesting statistics - 750 total posts, 538 comments and 9 followers.  The more interesting stat was that I'm over 930,000 page views - and with the rate I did last year, I just might hit a million by the middle of the year (even sooner if I actually get some more posts out).  Of course my post on "Switching from Warhammer 8th edition to Kings of War 2nd edition" is still my single most viewed (with over 4 times as many views as then #2 post) at over 17,700 views.  (I'm happy if a new posts gets 100 views any more).  (It has slowed down a bit - coming in #4 in the last six months - but then I've only had one post break 1000 views in that time (the tribute to Jesse Cornwell) (but #'s 2 & 3 are both older posts from 2018 - go figure).

So the little blog that started on Feb 15, 2015 is now six, and I look forward to a better seventh year than the last two.

I do want to thank all of my readers that take the time to suffer through my rambling thoughts and bad puns - I do appreciate time you give me each week (or so).

Because it is all fun and games . . .