Oops, I didn’t write all year again! Back in March, I made a point of saying I’d write a blog post a month and clearly it isn’t working out. It’s not the technology keeping me from writing anymore, just plain old procrastination. On the upside, the lack of regular writing came from being busy rather than from depression this time. So what kept me so busy?

Stuff I did in 2025

Timeleft

Last year I wrote about a new dinner meetup program I was attending called Timeleft. The core conceit is that you go to dinner with 5-6 random people in your city and connect over food. It’s a good idea! I like to eat, and it gives me a place to go and something to do without much obligation. I went about ten times and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t stick with it. I started to encounter people I’d already had dinner with, which gave me the impression that the pool of participants was small in my city.

It’s also expensive! Timeleft tends to select eateries with a good reputation but they can also be pricey, especially when you’re going once a week. Multiple times, myself and others commented that the food was more expensive than expected. The experience was almost always great, mind you. But I didn’t find myself motivated to stay in touch with anyone long term, even when I really jived with them over dinner. They can’t make connections for you (which is fine!) and I’m not proactive enough to follow up. That said, give me something to do while I’m out…

Magic: The Gathering

Oops, I immersed myself in a maelstrom of poor financial choices and fancy cardboard. Back in January, I asked some friends to teach me to play. It’s been a regular hobby since.

Actually, that’s not quite true; My first Magic experience sucked. I didn’t write about it last March, but it went so poorly I nearly quit on the spot (I’ll talk about that in another post, though). What’s important is that, right as I got into the game, a new set of cards called Aetherdrift was about to launch. I decided to sign up for a prerelease event on a whim and had a blast, and the people I met there have continued to be good friends since. I’ve been to every single prerelease event since Aetherdrift (barring the Spider-Man set) so it’s been a large part of my year.

Honestly, magic helped me a lot. While I kicked off the year feeling like it was going to be a repeat of 2024, getting into the game got me out of the house and meeting new people. It gave me a hobby I could enjoy in so many places, and I was able to introduce my friends and brother to the game as well.

I think I’ve settled on Limited as being my preferred format. While EDH (Commander) is often advertised as the best “new player’s format”, I didn’t stick with it for long. It just doesn’t jive with me well enough to be a main format. Plus, going to every limited event I could this year has made me a better player. I went from a 0-3 record at Aetherdrift to 6-0 across two days of prerelease events for Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is an accomplishment I’m quite proud of.

Events and Cons

Another thing that got me off my ass and out of the house this year were all the events I attended. Between Furnal Equinox, CanFURence, and Otakuthon, I ended up spending a lot of time in convention centers, which was exhausting but fun.

My own online speedrunning event Licenseathon took up a good chunk of my summer too. While it was a lot of work, it was such a success, far eclipsing what we’d done in the past. It very nearly didn’t happen, but thanks to the constant pressure by a friend, we managed to turn around the single best event we’ve ever had. Not only did we raise $1000 for the Transgender Law Center, we also had record turnout and an incredible technical performance. I’m extremely proud of the Licenseathon team for the work they put in this past summer.

Art

I’ve been learning the Saxophone! After a conversation at one of those furry cons left me feeling inspired, I decided why not? and signed up for Alto Sax lessons. My teacher is a sharp-witted older guy who loves music and clearly loves sharing that passion with others. It’s been a struggle, but such a rewarding one. I have a renewed appreciation for what it means to be bad at something, and how that can be a positive experience.

Miscellany

A friend and I started and finished Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z - my first time ever watching them. It took us from October 30 2024 to November 13 2025, and that was with a fan recut that removed filler and padding. Great show, amazing show, I get it now. While I do think Dragon Ball is broadly the better show, I enjoyed almost all of it and plan on writing a blogpost about the experience. (If I can remember all I wanted to say)

I played Dark Souls and enjoyed it for the first time. I’d tried to love the game five or six times before but it always left a bad taste in my mouth. Now I’m actually enjoying it. Shift in mindset, I suppose. It’s a very janky game to be sure, but what it lacks in polish it makes up for in earnestness.

I also bought and repaired a beautiful turntable from the 1970s - a beautiful Dual CS604 with a bad capacitor in the power supply. It’s been a delight to use and has all sorts of little quality of life features my old turntable didn’t have. Love it to bits.

Looking forward to 2026

To be honest, January was… stressful for me. But the year is young and I have big plans! I’m hoping to travel to Japan with a friend, and might even try finding a new job. But also, I want to write, as I always say and never do. Here’s some of the ideas I’ve got rolling around in my head, as a preview:

• Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z
• Magic from a beginner’s perspective
  • (and probably a lot of complaining about EDH)
  • (and probably also thoughts on how not to teach the game)
• Furries have a scene, not a fandom!
• How do furries think about their fursonas relative to themselves/their own identities?
  • This one might involve a whole ethnography, we’ll see how far I get.

Anyways that’s my update for this year. Ideally there will be more here but I’ll write as I get the inspiration.