I think my favorite quest this year was Bigfoot Landlord. That one was hilarious and it brought me back to a really crappy apartment I used to rent. Bravo!
Real life accomplishment I'm proud of?
Does inspiring this question count? Just kidding, but it's always an honor to be mentioned in these hallowed gaming halls. The real life accomplishment I'm most proud of is increasing my daily step count from 8,500 to around 9,500. I was aiming for 10k, but I'm not mad that I came up a little short. In fact, just the opposite. I'm thrilled because I set a goal and I worked at it a little bit every day. Well, OK, not every day. But most days. Point is, I feel accomplished for showing up on the regular for that goal. That's the main thing.
How will I remember 2022 in the years to come?
That's a great question. Sometimes I picture myself as an old man. A really old man. Not Yoda old, but old enough where my age is kind of newsworthy. So anyway, I picture old Michael and he's being interviewed for a documentary about the 20s... the 2020s! Since I'll be one of the few people alive at that point who actually lived through the 20s (walking will keep me in great shape) it'll be me against the historical record. The interviewer will ask me about social media and all the mindless distractions we purposely engaged in, and there will be this implication in their questions that we could've dumped all that bullshit and made the world a better place, which is to say, we could've made the future a better future. Of course, the people of the future will be rightly pissed about the way things turned out, which is why some of them will produce this documentary in the first place. Anyway, their questions will catalogue the ephemera of social media in 2022, and I'll be there for every shallow meme, bullshit trend, and all the shit-posting. It'll be nostalgic. I won't be able to defend any of it. I won't even try. But after bathing in the filthy stew of 2022 social media, I'll point a boney finger back at the documentarian and tell them that all of their bullshit distractions are getting in the way of making the world better for the generations to come. That won't go over well, because nobody likes being lectured. So they'll push back on just how dumb social media really was, and that's when I'll tell them what I remember about 2022. The memes, the trends, the shit posts didn't really stick, I'll say, but somewhere around 2022, many of us (most of us?) came to see that the promise of social media was really an empty promise made by tech titans, and that their walled gardens were actually mental prisons modeled after the minotaur's labyrinth. This won't go over well with the documentarian either, especially the minotaur reference because they stopped teaching classics in 2033, BUT then I'll look straight into the camera and say, "Don't you get it? We began to escape this bullshit in 2022, and OK, we didn't fully escape until 2035, which was too late to save classics from an overwhelming amount of cyber-fascist shit-posting, BUT we did make it out before it was too late. That's what I remember about 2022. You're welcome, kid!"
Thanks for playing Bigfoot Landlord! I like the ones that players relate to, despite the weirdness of Bigfoot carrying on an affair with your neighbor.
Congratulations on all the stepping in 2022! In an era where we spend 95% of our waking hours three inches away from a screen, exercise of any kind is a win in my book.
You paint a vivid picture of what to expect in our not-so-distant and also bad future. I like that you won't attempt to defend 2022. You shouldn't have to! Situation Normal is part of the renegade counter culture fighting the cruel, fascistic emotional manipulation of social media. We all escaped BECAUSE of Situation Normal. Not all heroes wear capes, Michael!
Thank you! FWIW, I think there’s something to developing Bigfoot Landlord more. It’s very high concept and odd, but also relatable. It has legs--hairy legs as big as redwood trees.
Still gotta go with my Moleman Father, it paralleled so closely my relationship with my own father: he too lives in a hole in the ground (yet judges me for my life decisions).
As for my achievement, as much as I wish there was more Misadventure Adventure produced I’m really proud of what we’ve done with our tiny human in the house and both working jobs all the time. Also I’ve pretty much finished a film to send to festivals next year. I feel pretty accomplished looking back on it all.
You should be immensely proud of what you’ve done too, using my psychic powers at Applebee’s was such a hoot!
Glad you connected so deeply with that one! We are the generation whose fathers were molemen.
Wow, so you ran Misadventure Adventure, finished a feature film, AND have a kid? Do you have more hours in the day than the rest of us? Congratulations! That’s a lot of accomplishments for 2022. Looking forward to voting on more Misadventures next year.
Thank you for playing! I think there’s a bit of fun Psychic Applebee’s news still to come soon. 🤞
Great post! will remember the satisfaction of watching our subscriber list grow and the pride we felt in the success of Songletter. Will recall the feeling of accomplishment when looking back at how far we have come since we started in late 2022.
This year was the year I joined Substack, so that's been a memorable accomplishment. Not sure what my favorite adventure this year was. I guess the psychic at applebees one, liked the replay value it had.
Starting and running a newsletter is a big deal! Congrats, William!
So glad you enjoyed Psychic Applebees. The re-playability was a focus of the design, and you weren't alone – a lot of folks replayed the game several times.
It’s difficult to select a favorite adventure because they are all a blast! Two memorable ones for me were Monster Mash and having Bigfoot as my landlord. 😄
From a writing standpoint, I’ll remember 2022 because it’s the first year I challenged myself by committing to my newsletter and writing on a consistent basis. I forced myself to show up sometimes, but I’m so happy I did. Substack is a wonderful place to read and write fiction.
Ha! Not particularly. I remember those pieces because I busted up laughing throughout. Although...I do sometimes wonder if he (he?) is a distant relative. 🤣
Thanks so much! I appreciate the kind words and the encouragement! 🙏
Favorite game this year?
I think my favorite quest this year was Bigfoot Landlord. That one was hilarious and it brought me back to a really crappy apartment I used to rent. Bravo!
Real life accomplishment I'm proud of?
Does inspiring this question count? Just kidding, but it's always an honor to be mentioned in these hallowed gaming halls. The real life accomplishment I'm most proud of is increasing my daily step count from 8,500 to around 9,500. I was aiming for 10k, but I'm not mad that I came up a little short. In fact, just the opposite. I'm thrilled because I set a goal and I worked at it a little bit every day. Well, OK, not every day. But most days. Point is, I feel accomplished for showing up on the regular for that goal. That's the main thing.
How will I remember 2022 in the years to come?
That's a great question. Sometimes I picture myself as an old man. A really old man. Not Yoda old, but old enough where my age is kind of newsworthy. So anyway, I picture old Michael and he's being interviewed for a documentary about the 20s... the 2020s! Since I'll be one of the few people alive at that point who actually lived through the 20s (walking will keep me in great shape) it'll be me against the historical record. The interviewer will ask me about social media and all the mindless distractions we purposely engaged in, and there will be this implication in their questions that we could've dumped all that bullshit and made the world a better place, which is to say, we could've made the future a better future. Of course, the people of the future will be rightly pissed about the way things turned out, which is why some of them will produce this documentary in the first place. Anyway, their questions will catalogue the ephemera of social media in 2022, and I'll be there for every shallow meme, bullshit trend, and all the shit-posting. It'll be nostalgic. I won't be able to defend any of it. I won't even try. But after bathing in the filthy stew of 2022 social media, I'll point a boney finger back at the documentarian and tell them that all of their bullshit distractions are getting in the way of making the world better for the generations to come. That won't go over well, because nobody likes being lectured. So they'll push back on just how dumb social media really was, and that's when I'll tell them what I remember about 2022. The memes, the trends, the shit posts didn't really stick, I'll say, but somewhere around 2022, many of us (most of us?) came to see that the promise of social media was really an empty promise made by tech titans, and that their walled gardens were actually mental prisons modeled after the minotaur's labyrinth. This won't go over well with the documentarian either, especially the minotaur reference because they stopped teaching classics in 2033, BUT then I'll look straight into the camera and say, "Don't you get it? We began to escape this bullshit in 2022, and OK, we didn't fully escape until 2035, which was too late to save classics from an overwhelming amount of cyber-fascist shit-posting, BUT we did make it out before it was too late. That's what I remember about 2022. You're welcome, kid!"
Thanks for playing Bigfoot Landlord! I like the ones that players relate to, despite the weirdness of Bigfoot carrying on an affair with your neighbor.
Congratulations on all the stepping in 2022! In an era where we spend 95% of our waking hours three inches away from a screen, exercise of any kind is a win in my book.
You paint a vivid picture of what to expect in our not-so-distant and also bad future. I like that you won't attempt to defend 2022. You shouldn't have to! Situation Normal is part of the renegade counter culture fighting the cruel, fascistic emotional manipulation of social media. We all escaped BECAUSE of Situation Normal. Not all heroes wear capes, Michael!
Thank you! FWIW, I think there’s something to developing Bigfoot Landlord more. It’s very high concept and odd, but also relatable. It has legs--hairy legs as big as redwood trees.
🌲 🦵 🌲 🤔 🌲 🦵 🌲
Still gotta go with my Moleman Father, it paralleled so closely my relationship with my own father: he too lives in a hole in the ground (yet judges me for my life decisions).
As for my achievement, as much as I wish there was more Misadventure Adventure produced I’m really proud of what we’ve done with our tiny human in the house and both working jobs all the time. Also I’ve pretty much finished a film to send to festivals next year. I feel pretty accomplished looking back on it all.
You should be immensely proud of what you’ve done too, using my psychic powers at Applebee’s was such a hoot!
Glad you connected so deeply with that one! We are the generation whose fathers were molemen.
Wow, so you ran Misadventure Adventure, finished a feature film, AND have a kid? Do you have more hours in the day than the rest of us? Congratulations! That’s a lot of accomplishments for 2022. Looking forward to voting on more Misadventures next year.
Thank you for playing! I think there’s a bit of fun Psychic Applebee’s news still to come soon. 🤞
To be clear, it isn’t a feature film... now i wonder if I could have achieved more. Geez, what a failure I am.
No, no! You’re great! Completing any type of film is a small miracle.
Also I’m hanging out for this Applebees news
To be even more clear, I know. I’m insanely happy with it.
Great post! will remember the satisfaction of watching our subscriber list grow and the pride we felt in the success of Songletter. Will recall the feeling of accomplishment when looking back at how far we have come since we started in late 2022.
Congrats on all your success in 2022! I hope next year’s even bigger.
This year was the year I joined Substack, so that's been a memorable accomplishment. Not sure what my favorite adventure this year was. I guess the psychic at applebees one, liked the replay value it had.
Starting and running a newsletter is a big deal! Congrats, William!
So glad you enjoyed Psychic Applebees. The re-playability was a focus of the design, and you weren't alone – a lot of folks replayed the game several times.
It’s difficult to select a favorite adventure because they are all a blast! Two memorable ones for me were Monster Mash and having Bigfoot as my landlord. 😄
From a writing standpoint, I’ll remember 2022 because it’s the first year I challenged myself by committing to my newsletter and writing on a consistent basis. I forced myself to show up sometimes, but I’m so happy I did. Substack is a wonderful place to read and write fiction.
Thanks for a fun year of adventures, Geoffrey!
Thank you for playing, Justin! Funny that both of those quests feature Bigfoot. Are you a Sasquatch fan?
Your newsletter gets better with every story. It's been a pleasure watching you grow as a writer all year. Congratulations on keeping up with it!
Ha! Not particularly. I remember those pieces because I busted up laughing throughout. Although...I do sometimes wonder if he (he?) is a distant relative. 🤣
Thanks so much! I appreciate the kind words and the encouragement! 🙏