You don't need me to tell you that 2020 was (and continues to be!) a dumpster fire in so many ways. COVID threw the world into a screeching halt, and "leadership" from the likes of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson have only made matters worse. How many businesses went under that didn't need to? How many people lost jobs that could have beeen saved? How many people got sick with long-term residual issues who should have remained healthy? How many people have died unnecessarily?
And that's just related to COVID. Then we've got Trump fanning the flames of white supremacy and hate; the 1% increasingly removing themselves from the rest of society and hoarding as much as they can; police getting more upset and violently retaliating against anyone who says, "Hey, maybe could you not kill us?"; and a whole, sizeable segment of the population that's been brainwashed into thinking a secret government insider named Q has the "real" dirt on what's going on.
I have been inordinately lucky. While I left my previous job towards the end of 2019 after a year of maddening stress placed on me by a new boss, I was able to land a new gig early this year, literally weeks before our state went into lockdown. I took a pay hit with it, but I was fearful of what would be coming in the overall economy and didn't want to push my luck. But as it turns out, the company has been very solid -- particuarly well-suited to an economy that suddenly has to shift to being primarily virtual -- and all my co-workers have been fantastic. They've also been very progressive in their response to the pandemic and, even back in October, they announced they wouldn't even consider bringing people back to the office until June 2021 at the earliest.
Similarly, my wife's employer has been very good with work-from-home flexibility too. Her company has had some layoffs and some restructring, but the specific group she works in has remained pretty stable, so we haven't had to worry about her job and/or health (from interacting with other people on the train or in the office) this year either. Consequently, we've been able to afford the luxury of staying home much of the time, and ordering what we need for either curbside pickup or delivery.
My book on Webcomics was also released this year. Most of the writing on it was done in 2018-2019, so it feels a little odd to credit it as a "thing I accomplished in 2020." But it's been good to have it out in the wild and getting some feedback. I'm no longer in a mild panic over someone coming back and saying, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about, Sean!" A couple of standout wins, as far as feedback has been concerned are:
- I was able to speak with the librarian who made sure it was including in the Library of Congress. Getting a book into the LoC was never a life-goal for me or anything... until I was told Webcomics was in the Library of Congress.
- Earlier this week, I was thrilled to discover Webcomics has been nominated for the 2020 Broken Frontier Awards "Best Book on Comics." (Voting is open until January 1 if you'd like to have your say in the matter! Hint, hint!)
2021 looks more promising in general, although it certainly won't be without its hardships. We're collectively in a pretty deep hole right now, and climbing out of it is going to take a long time. But my sincere wish for you -- every one of you who are reading this -- is that next year is better for you than this has been. I've tried reaching out to a lot of you over the past year, trying to afford you whatever help I might be able to offer, but consider this an open invitation as we head into 2021. If there's something I can do to help, don't hesitate to reach out.
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