Well folks, here we are. At the cusp of a brand new year. I have no idea how this even happened. How did we get here? I know that time is the answer. I understand how days, weeks, and months work but damn time flew by this year. Before I go into the sentiment that many of us feel about 2016 being awful, let me just say that there were some truly wonderful things to happen. I think one of the most memorable moments for me this year involved my getting to know and talk with Justine Dantzer the woman who created the designs and some of the names for the She-Ra toy line. This was something truly epic. I learned things not just about my most favorite toy line ever but also some of my other favorite toy lines that Justine was a part of. Those conversations can be read on this blog, feel free to check them out. This was truly one of the greatest honors I have ever been afforded. I wanted to have more interviews ready however the process for me was one unlike what I normally do. I wanted them to be perfect so they took a little longer to get together.
Luckily I will have one more interview to share in the new year that will involve Justine's work on the Swans Crossing toy line, which most of you know I am a die hard fan of. I have to also thank Jordan Hembrough for making this dream I never knew I could experience come true. I will be forever grateful for that experience.
Other lovely things that happened in 2016 involved a lot of toy collecting. I have to say 2016 was a damn good year for toy collecting. They made a She-Ra doll. ThunderCats came back. Cobra's Pythona slithered her way into our shelves. Star Wars ruled the school. Shopkins captured my heart in a big way. They made a freakin sushi doll! It is adorable. I Am Elemental made a second wave of awesome empowered figures. Speaking of empowerment, DC Super Hero Girls brought super hero fans new versions of their favorites in doll and action figure form. Power Rangers upped their game with nice highly detailed figures that weren't super expensive like those Figuarts versions. It was a great year for toys. I am sure I am forgetting some other epic great toys. Funko Pops come to mind but we all know they made everything under the sun in 2016, aside from Jem and the Holograms. (They'll get to them, I have faith in it.)
My work involving my 9 to 5 job also took a really nice turn for the better. I became a supervisor. For those who do not know I am a marriage and family therapist and the place that I work at is also a training institute for interns who are on their way to becoming therapists. In my mind it is all very X-Men and I am like a Jean Grey type helping the future mutants of America. Or maybe I am a Kitty Pryde type. It doesn't really matter. It has been a joy though being able to supervise some of the interns and helping them through this process.
Of course the elephant in the room is that this year has also been a highly emotional one. I can't even begin to rattle off the list of pop culture greats that we lost in 2016. I don't even know where to begin. I know some people gripe that we don't really know these people so why do we make such a big deal, but for those of us who are touched by pop culture in some way shape or form it does strike home. To be honest I would have never given two shits about Star Wars had it not been for Carrie Fisher breathing life into Leia. She gave me a reason to watch those movies and care. She was also really funny and I actually enjoyed her more in brief roles on Drop Dead Fred and Soapdish. She is of course the most recent celebrity to fall, not counting her mother Debbie Reynolds. I however am not going to write glowing tributes to all who have fallen this year. I have friends who have done a far better job vocalizing my thoughts on such matters.
Death was not just for the stars we saw on our screens or heard through our speakers. I also lost my grandmother this year which has placed me in the weirdest funk. She was a remarkable woman and we were incredibly close. The kind of closeness where people look at my behaviors and traits and say, "How strange, your grandmother would do that same exact thing." She became ill this year and my family and I took care of her until we could no longer do so. The last number months have just placed me in a weird way. Well it was a one two punch. I lost my grandmother and then a few weeks later I became single again and this was a relationship I had really thought I had gotten it right with. It really seemed like I had found someone I could have a family with. Oh well, don't cry for me Etheria, I have a toy collection.
So those two events just placed me in a funk for the rest of 2016. It shows. My posting has dropped considerably. I am hoping to change that though as we cautiously walk into 2017. I miss my toy stories and just posting about everything else in between. So that is really it. I just wanted to leave a little update and I hope that you are all doing well. Happy New Year everyone. I thank you for always stopping by and don't worry, I'll be coming back better than ever in 2017! I hope. Right?
that's too bad losing your grandmother miss m, you have my deepest symptahy. and i agree 2016 years was a boone for toy collectors. from motu coming back and including even the cartoon in figure form like shadow weaver. thunder cats sadly once again their time was short as a toy line. unless super also gets their wish and has the license soon. other wise happy new year miss m look forward to see what you have cooking for 201 here
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have thought of "supervisor" as a title for therapists. It sounds so corporate that I picture you telling the people you work with to file their feelings in triplicate by 5pm.
ReplyDeleteDeath certainly has been working on its social media presence in 2016.
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your grandmother. Elders of sage advice, good character and personal proximity are getting harder to find these days.
The two of us may no longer be connected by podcasts or pop cultures leagues and we've both slid on our blog frequency, but you've been a good Internet friend. Even if by some freak chance that we both fall out of touch and never hear from each other throughout 2017, having the chance to know you, your passion for toys, your creativity and your warm sense of humor, will all have been worth it!
Happy New Year!
Ahh, I wouldn't shed any tears over that guy you were dating. He was OBVIOUSLY a big ZERO who was just gonna drag you down! MOSTLY because his name wasn't Nick Moose but ALSO because he let a super-chick like you slip through his fingers! He obviously had NO taste!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your job has been going well for you! Though, I would think that with all your issues with marriage and relationships, having to council people in that area would be TOUGH for you! Hey, at least you get to think of yourself as an X-Men character! That has GOTTA help you through the day! Ya know, I don't think this has EVER come up before, but I often find myself relating to a certain character in the X-universe! Who was that again? I forgot his name!( But unlike Deadpool, I would NEVER Hadouken you like he did to Kitty! Hey and if you are Kitty, you NEED to get a fucking PET DRAGON!! In real life! Come on! Make it happen! It's about time! You've EARNED one!)
My grandparents were two of my favorite people too. My Gramps died in 2011 and my Grams in 2014. They really did raise me while my mom was working and my Grams had a big downhill battle with dementia at the end of her life, so I can relate on how tough it can be to deal with a long goodbye. I just looked at it in the end that her death was a mercy. If there is an afterlife, she gets to finally rejoin Gramps there.No more suffering. Still, it didn't make it any easier when she died. You just have remember the good times.
You know I luv ya, so of COURSE I'd rather you posted more often but I get that you are busy and it's hard. And you know I'VE had a SHITTY-ASS 2016 too! I am SO far behind on Moose Comics all because of my damn surgery! I can't afford to get a real job cuz I have to be at poverty level just to get the funding I need to pay for my medical bills! I am professionally mooching off my mother at this point! I feel like Iron Man before he had the shrapnel removed and had to use the suit to keep him alive! The thing that is keeping me alive is also KILLING ME!! But hopefully 2017 will be the year of the Moose! ( I've been waiting since 1983 for a year of the Moose so hopefully, this will FINALLY be it!)
I'm looking forward to your last interview piece with Justine! Keep on going! Just think of Shawshank! "Hope is a good thing.Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies." And BTW -you DON'T NEED to be in a relationship to be awesome, you don't need to have a guy to make you awesome ( Unless that guy is ME of course! In which case that would just make you MORE awesome!) YOUR are the Dorkette! You've got enough awesomeness! Just be you! Do you! ( That "Do you!" thing was not SUPPOSED to be a masturbation joke but I realize now that it totally sounded like one and for that I am sorry!)