But I Was Going Into Tosche Station to Pick Up Some Power Converters!

2016 and environs.  Wow.

To start off, I like the whole "Dewey Defeats Trump" thing.  I really do.  But other than that...

Very end of 2015: Joe the Cat goes under the plunger.

Winter 2016: Friend's marriage dies.  Very sad.  Helped him move.  Bought a bag of army men for his little boy to play with when he visits.  Very sad.

Winter 2016: Friend's teenage child commits suicide.

Winter 2016: Colleague at work diagnosed with terminal brain tumor.  We're not close, but he shines like a beacon of "not done yet, mofos" just a few feet away.

Spring 2016: Soap opera-y trials and tribulations At Work.  Gawd, by now, even I find them boring.  But there they were.

Summer 2016: Sam the Dog needs me one last time.

Summer 2016: Another friend's marriage ends.  This one stings a bit more for him.  Or maybe just more deeply.

Fall 2016: "This thing" on another direct colleague's neck at work is diagnosed as cancerous.  Let the radiation and chemo begin.

Winter 2016: Close friend goes to Urgent Care then ER after a couple of weeks of suspected cold-> flu -> maybe pneumonia/bronchitis.  They immediately check him into hospital ICU for AML (Leukemia).  "One of the most aggressive and virulent" cases they've ever seen.  Goes in on December 22nd, is sedated and on a respirator by Xmas day, kidney dialysis on the 28th, and after family arrives in-state and gets the full story of how badly he's deteriorated, he passes quietly on January 5th, an hour after everything's switched off.  Spent January with another friend cleaning out the apartment.

So, that was my personal 2016.

As far as I can tell, the only good thing that happened was that I was introduced to this:

When I watch it I can't help but think of "Oh Kungas, we're going to have so much fun!"