In keeping with my annual tradition (2020, 2019, 2018 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008), this New Year’s Eve(ish) I’m reflecting on everything that’s happened this year.

My favorite video games of the year were Dyson Sphere Program, Inscryption, Journey to the Savage Planet, Children of Morta, and Anodyne 2, with Valheim taking the top spot.

My favorite shows of the year were Travelers, Manifest, Lupin, and The Umbrella Academy. (And, of course, Midsomer Murders, but that’s amazing every year.)

My favorite fiction books of the year were Project Hail Mary, Set My Heart to Five, and Rabbits, in that order. My favorite nonfiction book of the year was Polysecure.

I played Beat Saber all year long until December, when I started having technical issues. At the end of the year, I’m ranked 6500th and the hardest song I’ve passed is Hardware Store.

In January, we played a virtual escape room with Kelly and Amanda.

In February, I stopped playing League of Legends and I started playing piano.

In March, I played long-distance Zendo with Amanda and Emma. I joined a reading group for Marx’s Capital. And for Kyeli’s birthday we created a Star Trek virtual escape room, and our friends (Emma, Amanda, Kelly, and Heather) successfully escaped from it with many, many mangoes.

In April, I got diagnosed with sleep apnea and started sleeping with a CPAP machine. Kyeli and I got COVID vaccinated. I joined the Socialist Feminist group with Tacoma DSA. And Amanda and I started talking to each other every week.

In May, I organized a meatspace meetup in our neighborhood park for the Washington Queers discord, and we had our house completely repiped.

In June, Amanda came to visit. We had lots of poly conversations, which culminated in me starting to actively date. Emma came to visit, and Kyeli discovered that she’s grey-ace.

In July, I met W. and Jasmine, and we started talking a lot, flirting a lot, and becoming close. I joined Dru’s Runeterra campaign, the Fall of the Darkin. My character is Cherri (with a heart over the i), an obnoxiously cheerful yordle with an insatiable (but still cheerful) hunger underneath her skin. My Tacoma DSA reading group finished reading Capital. I had a date with R. and a date with A. and it was a one-off. Dru came to visit and we went on a family vacation to Valheim. We sailed out upon a Viking longship, which we built with our own hands and tools we forged ourselves. We sailed to the edge of the world. Kyeli said, “I think we should stop here”, but I advised, “Let’s just go out a teensy bit further so we can see what’s out there” whereupon the current took us, we fell off the waterfall at the edge of the world, and we all died. We became as gods to recover our items from our graves, which had also fallen off the edge of the world along with the wreckage of our longship.

In August, I released my first chiptune album, Sawblade Lizard Eye! I had a date with C., which was a one-off. I got stood up by C2 because he fell asleep watching The Lion King, then resilled with an emergency backup date with A2. I attended a La Resistencia rally to shut down the ICE detention center in Tacoma. I started dating D., P., and Jasmine. I befriended Bryanna.

In September, I became an HGO (Harassment and Grievance Officer) for Tacoma DSA. I decided to begin training to be a sex goddess. I had my second date with Jasmine, and my first (and only) date with W. Kyeli and I read Polysecure together and worked through a bunch of the exercises.

In October, Amanda came to visit and we had lots of poly conversations. Kyeli and I had a big fight and I took a leap of faith. I quarantined for a month so I could have a romantic week with Kyeli. We renovated our garage into a Love Shack! I took a self-defense class. On October 23rd, Jasmine and I explored downtown Tacoma and officially became girlfriends. Kyeli met Jasmine. On October 28th, I broke up with W. and it was heartbreaking.

In November, we had Jasmine over for game night, and we played Guillotine and Bohnanza. I started dating M. Kyeli and I got our COVID booster shots. We installed an external bathroom door so we can get from the Love Shack to the bathroom without going through the main area of the house. Kyeli and I went to Texas for her dad’s remembrance ceremony. Kyeli stayed in Texas, I came home and went on lots of dates with Jasmine and one with P.

In December, Jasmine and I explored Seattle and she stayed the night. Kyeli decided to come home early because of omicron. She set a deadline of her 47th birthday for turning her life around.

Throughout the first half of the year, we had monthly Flock masterhearts and social justice action hour. Throughout the whole year, I had virtual zikhr on Thursday nights.

This year, my word of the year was engage, and I did it. I started making friends, and then things really ramped up when I started dating. I make friends far more easily when I flirt. I’m sure the coming year will hold lots more poly excitement, and I’m sure I’ll learn more about what I want and what I need. What I need to keep in mind is to respect myself, to hold healthy boundaries, and to not settle. And that’s why my word of the year for 2022 is lemonade.