Years In Review

[lizvogel]

In looking back over the past decade or so, I don't have a good sense of what went on when, not just this past year, but for quite a few years running. I mean, I remember events if the subject comes up, but I've been too busy scrambling from thing to thing to form any kind of coherent overall timeline-impression. This realization comes out of a conversation with the housemate recently, in which we started stacking up major events and came to the conclusion that fuck, it's no wonder we're exhausted. So, for my reference/enlightenment/reassurance/future planning (i.e., don't do this!), here's a timeline of the last something-or-so years, in bullet-point form. (Subject to updates/correction as I remember stuff.)

• December 6-20, 2014 - Mallory goes missing, returns after two cold, frantic weeks. I bought my first cell phone.


• December 2014 - Housemate's grandmother passes away. Much jerking around from her family about whether she should fly to the funeral.



• May 30, 2015 - Milo passes away, after four months of kitty hospice for cancer.


• June 2015 - I co-run the writing workshop at 4th Street, amid much kerfuffling.


• November 2015 - I start working at the hardware store.



• June 2017 - Discussion begins for the thing that eventually became Narrativity


• March 2-7, 2017 - We go to MarsCon, arrived home and the power promptly went out and a tree came down in the yard.


• December 26, 2017 - Carlyle turns up on our doormat, and moves into our bathroom.



• April-July 2018 - Carlyle goes to three new homes, comes back to us from all of them.


• July 10, 2018 - Carlyle passes away.



• February-March 2019 - I form the non-profit org for Narrativity, set up bank accounts, etc.


• June 25, 2019 - Tria passes away.


• July 12-14, 2019 - the first Narrativity (Storming the Barricades of Story)


• October 5-17, 2019 - birthday trip to London! and Zurich, and Paris, and back to London again.


• November 2019 - Housemate got herself hit by a car & broke her leg in Canada, I had to fly up to retrieve her and her car. Cue four months of caregiving and housewifery.



• March 2020 - Covid shutdowns begin


• June 27, 2020 - Board of Directors decides to cancel what would have been Narrativity 2020: They’ll Never See It Coming (originally scheduled for September 5-7)



• February 2021 - I quit the hardware job due to Covid mismanagement and psycho assistant manager.


• September 4-6, 2021 - Narrativity 2021: Take Two (and Write Me In The Morning)


• September 2021 - I start new job at library.


• September 13, 2021 - Roofer hell begins.


• November 2021 - Housemate's dad goes into skilled nursing home.


• December 26, 2021 - Housemate moves to hotel, then apartment.



• January 8, 2022 - I bring in Sylvester, who lives in the bathroom.


• January 2022 - We have to replace furnace, also install AC.


• February 2022 - Roof is "done", I get it inspected and find out just how bad a job they did, and that they lied about materials used.


• February-April 2022 - Second roofers completely tear off and replace crappy first roof.


• March 2022 - We hire lawyer to go after first roofers. Cue nineteen months of legal wrangling.


• May 1, 2022 - Housemate moves home.


• May 27-30, 2022 - Narrativity 2022: You Can’t Do That, Unless It Works!


• August 2022 - Housemate's dad passes away.


• November 8, 2022 - Sylvester goes to his new home.



• May 2023 - Housemate's mom starts having significant health problems, in and out of hospital, etc.


• June 8, 2023 - We have final mediation on roof lawsuit, settle for no money (and no admission of wrongdoing, grr).


• June 21-25, 2023 - the coup (If you don't know what this means, don't worry about it, it's just for my reference)


• June 22-25, 2023 - Narrativity 2023: Story Magic


• September 2023 - We finally get the last paperwork signed off from the roofer lawsuit.


• November 11, 2023 - My mom falls, breaks pelvis and ends up in hospital. Cue five months of fighting with horrible medical "care".



• February 17/18, 2024 - While I'm at LTUE, Mom has another fall and breaks a verterbra. Much folderol due lack of communication from fall alert company. I argue with doctors over a bad cell connection in the airport departure lounge, fly home and land at midnight, and housemate picks me up and drive me to the hospital.


• March 16, 2024 - Mom passes away.


• April 18, 2024 - I discover the plumbling leak-flood in Mom's condo. Cue insurance, Servpro, and several months of cleanup/repair/salvage.


• April 22, 2024 - Housemate & I move her mom out of assisted living and back to her house.


• May 30 - June 2, 2024 - Narrativity 2024: Romancing the Muse


• June 15, 2024 - We bring in Creamsicle/Nelson, who turns out to be FIV positive and so lives in our garage for the next eight months.


• August 20, 2024 - I quit the library job due to toxic management.


• November 6, 2024 - Close on the sale of Mom's condo.



• February 9, 2025 - Nelson gets his forever home!


• June 26-29, 2025 - Narrativity 2025: It Was A Dark and Stormy Night