So it’s been another minute or two since we last had a chance to catch up. A few things have happened in that time. Some amazing. Some not so much.
Here’s the short version:
On October 21, 2025, I had surgery on my right eye. As late as November, I still had a little residual wobbling in that eye, the result of my brain still not knowing what to do with two eyes that can see. It was having trouble making them work together, which my ophthalmologist said was completely normal, particularly for the severity of my cataracts. Each eye worked just fine. The right one a little less steadily.
(I won’t go into the boring details of the lead-up to this second surgery. It wasn’t quite as fraught with peril as the road to the first was. But I will say that I had to be re-cleared for it because of the July hospital stay.)
In early December, I had my one-month follow-up (delayed because of U.S. Thanksgiving). My vision is now officially 20/20. I am gob-smacked by that. I have not had 20/20… ever, really. I started having trouble seeing at a distance in 5th grade, though I didn’t get my first pair of glasses until 9th. The pandemic (and cataracts) had me not wearing glasses for the last five years — but having clear vision and not wearing them… it’s wild.
In less than spectacular news, I can’t seem to stay the (*bleep*) off my phone. I get home, and right up to bedtime (and sometimes beyond), I’m playing those stupid mobile games. And then because of in-game ads, I see more games I want to play, and I download those and start playing.
It’s a vicious circle.
As a result, I have done no writing. Which, in the grand scheme, may be a good thing. (See Writing In Public for my headspace on that front.) No editing. I didn’t even commit to any of the NaNoWriMo replacements out there.
Which I suppose is a good-ish segue into National Novel Writing Month.
RIP NANOWRIMO
Earlier this year, I received an email informing me of the dissolution of National Novel Writing Month.
For the last couple of years, NaNoWriMo HQ was plagued with controversies. The first was in 2023, involving online behavior… I think of a forum moderator? (I never really did any hanging out in the forums, so my understanding is sketchy. All the emails involving it never went into any actual detail of the allegations. Suffice it to say, someone was not on their best behavior from a predatory standpoint, and the people in charge apparently didn’t move fast enough to nip things in the proverbial bud.) They had laid out all these plans and processes to rectify the situation, which would entail time and money, neither of which they had in great abundance. And so…
Last year, while they were trying to deal with that, the rise of AI forced them to make a statement on that issue. Unfortunately for them, they made what many in the community viewed as the wrong one. Their stance was what it has always been: “If you think you’re writing a novel, we think you’re writing a novel.” To HQ, the tools didn’t matter.
Much more backlash ensued, and the result of these two controversies was that private individual donations dried up. Combined with the fact that greedy corporations were tightening their philanthropic belts (can’t settle for making only 5 billion in a year; have to make 20!), and the harsh reality that there just wasn’t enough money to continue hit home hard.
They closed their doors pretty much immediately after that email, which meant 2024 was the last NaNoWriMo ever.
WRITING IN PUBLIC
Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Bupkus. In fact, I’ve written so little I’m thinking about adding a negative to the words column. (I won’t, as you can’t write a negative number of words… but I like to say things for dramatic effect.)
What’s bad about this particular block of zero is that I can’t bring myself to care that much. It’s almost a rehash of that “losing the why” thing from a few years ago. Except… it’s a little different, too. Unlike that episode, I really want to write. The problem is that, at the same time, I don’t. That makes no sense. It’s like my story muscle has atrophied. Intellectually, I know it will require exercising it. Emotionally, I’m a moody teenager who throws up his hands and claims not to care.
I was hoping that the Gaming Groupies Writers’ Club would help me get back into that swing, but it turns out the group is not much for accountability. Maybe if I asked them to keep me in check they would. I should ask.
Even this blog post, which I started at the beginning of November, took a back seat to my lethargic attitude.
It’s something I will work on in the coming weeks. And of course I will keep you, my imaginary audience, posted.
GAMING THINGS
Eyes means games. We have played some Pathfinder, of course. In non-PACG sessions, we’ve played a bit of Jackbox. Surprisingly, we spend just as many sessions not playing anything as we do playing. (We don’t always have our full party of four, and without our workaholic member demanding games, the rest of us can’t be bothered to start anything.)
For Christmas, someone left something on my desk at JOB. No one ‘fessed up, so I’m giving Santa Claus credit. It was a bundle (previously called a Fat Pack) of Magic: The Gathering. But it was a special set. MTG has been doing crossover editions, the first being with Dungeons & Dragons. I was also aware of a Lord of the Rings set. This one?
SPIDER-MAN!
Someone at JOB (Santa Claus) likes me. I like Magic. I like Spider-Man. This was an awesome gift!
WRAPPING UP
Disjointed Darren is disjointed in this entry. I’m still out of sorts regarding daily stuff. Trying to catch up at JOB. Trying to get back into the habits of reading and writing. Heck, I’m even getting further and further behind on my podcasts.
Eventually I think I’ll be able to be back to my usual obnoxious self. Back on a monthly (or close to it) posting schedule. In fact, I have less than a week to solidify what my 2026 writing goals are going to be. Will I attempt the usual? Will I try to truncate it a bit and work my way up to that (not so) massive number?
We shall see.
I hope to post again next week (the regularly scheduled post) with a Goals post. If not, I’ll see you when I see you. And now that I can see, I will be looking.
I hope you had a very happy holiday season, whatever you may celebrate, and a most wonderful 2026!