Another year come and gone. This one feels like it went by really fast! I started writing this the end of December and just kinda never went back to it, so here it is, the end of 2024 post, mashed up with the 1st half of 2025.
Heroclix this fall was the ROC States/Provincials and I made it to 3 of them and came 1st, 2nd and 3rd at and went undefeated at all of them until I either won or got knocked out. Definitely proud of how I played. I loved that I decided to make some of them last minute to fit more in and just jumped on being spontaneous. I hope I can do more of that this coming year, it was fun! Heroclix for the winter was CCO, which I just finished writing about and go in detail about in the last blog post, if you want to check that out. Who knows what Heroclix tournaments are going to look like for the next while as Canadians are not feeling the greatest about US travel at the moment. I really wish there were more bigger events around Canada to participate in and feeling worth it to travel to. Studio Staja just had their first big clix event last weekend (my write up for that is in process!) and we got the announcement for Canadian Nats for the 1st weekend in August – so at least I have that to look forward to.
Results of health stuff hasn’t been the greatest, unfortunately. But at least I have some answers. The blood pressure has been better with the meds, thankfully. I had the specialist appointment to look into why my white blood count has been on the high side the last year. He didn’t see anything jumping out as to why, other than maybe the bit of a rash I’ve been getting on my forehead the last few months. So he gave me a referral to a dermatologist to check that out. Turns out it’s acne rosacea, so he put me on an antibiotic for 6 weeks and prescribed a cream that I’ll likely have to use forever when I get flare-ups. He joked about the antibiotic that I can feel like a teenager again as it’s what they give for teenage acne. I have a follow-up appointment with the blood specialist to check levels again after a few months to see if anything changes in those levels as some of the blood tests were high.
I also finally have an answer as to why my knees have been hurting so much. My Dr sent me for an x-ray on my left knee that has been bad for a few years now. Turns out I have severe osteoarthritis. As much as it sucks, at least I have an answer for why the pain has been there and not getting better. She’s sent me for an x-ray on the other knee to see what it looks like and it’s also got osteoarthritis in it. So she set me up with the arthritis clinic at the hospital for an assessment. They went over with me all the options for both now and the future. Different shots for the knees, surgery and physical stuff. The physical stuff is definitely what I’m interested in starting with. When I asked about physio, he recommended doing something called the GLAD program, which is focused on knee and hip arthritis. I just finished 12 sessions of it to learn all the exercises and need to continue to do them from home, forever. The exercises do help a bit, and hopefully continuing will only help more. He also suggested doing something like aquafit, as its less pressure on the joints. I’m definitely going to look into the aquafit. I remember when I was in my 20s, I did aquafit for a while and loved it, so I’m looking forward to finding a class that fits around my work schedule. And even though he didn’t bring it up, I did, and mentioned that I’m sure losing some weight would help take pressure off my joints and he gave a suggestion of a Dr that works at the same hospital and to look into his program, as its something that has helped him personally. He said I can look up his YouTube and books to get an idea of what he’s about. I mentioned it to my family doctor as well and she suggested a different program, mentioned about meds I could try if I wanted and gave me information on finding a dietician/nutritionist. So lots of reading and looking into to decide what step I want to take.
Mental health has been pretty steady. Definitely finding the anxiety and depression feelings are at a minimum and I’m doing really well with coping when I feel things creeping in. I’ve been listening to a lot of meditations and taking the time to slow down and take a bunch of me time. Doing my best to separate my brain from work when I’m not at work has done wonders for the mental health. It’s not always easy, but I make a conscious effort to turn it off when I leave the building. I do need to find something exciting to look forward to though. Back to the clix travel stuff, part of what helps keep my mind in a positive state is having the next little trip planned. For the last many years, I haven’t done a vacation that hasn’t been a clix trip and that’s feeling paused at the moment. Knowing that I have one to look forward to gives me something to be excited for and want to build and playtest for and I now don’t have as much of that.
I’m so glad I made the decision to slowly work my way through school. I’m on the 5th class now and love that they’re self guided to work at my own pace when it’s convenient for me. They have guidelines for when things are due, but how I get to that date is up to me. I’m averaging very high with my grades, so that’s awesome feeling too. Hopefully that continues as the courses go on. I know the GPA doesn’t matter in the end, as no one sees that and only sees a certificate completion at the end, but it helps in my head when I’m feeling imposter syndrome and doubting myself. And bonus, getting a bit of a credit on my taxes is nice too!
I’m struggling to remember what else in the last six months – so going to hit post on this before the dates keep going and it turns into longer than the already long 6 months! If I do think of something else I wanted to include, I’ll just start the next catch up with it.
Until next time, xoxo