That... did not go as planned.
It has been a long time since we talked, you and I. I'm knackered. 2023 has been... exhausting. Honestly, the most exhausting year since 2011, when I had freshly started my new profession and wanted to make an impression. I won't say 2023 was bad, but just... so incredibly draining.
So. November 2022, my mother died. My father died back in 2021, so I'd already done all of the death admin once, but this time there was an entire estate to deal with. I've learned more about probate and property law in the last twelve months than I ever wanted to. And frankly, British probate law is absolutely bananas. It's so archaic and muddled, it's a wonder anyone ever gets away with dying. I lost a lot of sleep worrying about it, and I've been too drained to do anything more creative than paint the occasional model.
But it's all solved now, and hopefully things are actually looking up. I'm an only child, so my parents' whole estate was left to me. They weren't rich, but they did have money in savings and a fully paid off house. I was able to sell their house - and closing up the house you grew up in for the very last time is a weeeeird feeling - and buy one of my own. I completed and got the keys for my new house on 15th December. I've moved some stuff in, though the big removals van is booked for 12th January. I've got the house I'm in until 15th February. My new house is a robust 3 bedroom affair with a loft conversion which will absolutely be a gaming room. Look, I'm not pretending I'm anything other than very lucky; I'm a single 40 year old man who will not be troubled by rent or mortgage concerns after February, who has a decent job and a reasonable amount of savings now. I got very lucky, and most of it wasn't through any cleverness or hard work on my part. There are a lot of smarter and harder working people than me facing real trouble in this country. So I'm not complaining - but that doesn't change the fact that getting to this point has been an absolutely exhausting road. That's where I disappeared to.
But, 2024 should be nicer! Mainly due to everything I just described, but there are other things to look forward to. Round about May, this country should take the first step back towards recovery (don't quote me on that, autumn could be a possibility but I would guess May). And in the shorter term... we've got The Old World coming in 3 weeks!! All that I've ever done with Warhammer: Age of Rebuilding was to prove that Warhammer Fantasy cannot be killed. It is much too beloved. In the end, even GW saw that they were throwing away a cherished thing. I'll still pick AoR back up again when I've finished my move, but it's enough to know that The Old World just wouldn't die. Suck on that, Archaon.
Anyway, I told myself I'd do a post before the end of the year, which is in 16 minutes. I wish you a Happy New Year and I'll see you on the other side!
