2013 is already ramping up, so I’d better get my wrap-up post under way! 2012 was a busy and exciting time at work, and though I can’t talk about specifics as my project is still super secret, I will say that I feel I’ve stretched out my feelers into new responsibilities, and thus learned lots of new and exciting things and brushed up on a few older skills that were lying dormant.

I also got more involved with the next generation of game developers in a couple of different ways. I started volunteering as a mentor for Game Mentor Online, and have had a wonderful experience with that. I also did some traveling and “educating the youth” visits throughout the year. I find I really do enjoy helping someone find their path and teaching them what I can, just in small sessions or with one person at a time 🙂 This trend will likely continue – I’ve picked up a second mentee through GMO this year and am scheduled to talk to some girl scouts about working in games in February.

2012 Marked my 10th year of blogging, which boggled my mind somewhat! To celebrate, I started up my daily doodle blog, which I’m not sure counts since there is no writing involved and everything is scheduled months in advance. All the same, it was a thing. In spite of the anniversary year, my blog was pretty quiet in 2012, filled with recipes more than anything else. I’ll see if I can remedy that for 2013, and I’m also contemplating moving to WordPress from Blogger. Still undecided.

Last year was also my start as a volunteer with Sante D’or, which is the shelter where I adopted Mr. Davis. I’d wanted to get involved in volunteering somewhere for awhile, and had been keeping up with the group on Facebook, so I dove right in and started visiting the shelter regularly to photograph the residents. The experience benefited me twofold – I love to help snuggle and care for all the shelter kitties, and I feel it’s also helped me improve my photography skills.

Not too shabby for my first year as a “for reals” adult (according to little kid Lisa, 30 was a grown-up). 2013 has many ambitions of its own, so onward!