See also: Legal weed, Casa Bonita and other drops in the 2014 bucket list
Put a dent in my pop culture backlog Ever since my daughter was born, almost twenty months ago, I've been falling further and further behind in, well, almost everything. I have four unfinished books sitting around the house, and a dozen more waiting to be started. My DVR backlog is out of frigging control -- I'm only halfway through the last season of Game of Thrones, I still have a few episodes of Alphas to catch up on, I barely made a dent in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'm even behind on my favorite new show, Almost Human. Then there are a half dozen newish movies I still haven't seen, and at least two unfinished games in progress (plus maybe a few more still in cellophane...). It's getting out of hand. Some of it will have to go, I'm afraid, but one way or another, I'm going to clear some of this stuff out, even if it means no more comfort-viewing of my favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes.
Embrace a new-to-me geek franchise The world of geek is big. Huge. No, bigger than that. No one can watch/read/play it all, but sometimes it's fun to try, even if it leads to huge backlogs (ahem). I'm well-versed in Star Wars, Star Trek, Buffy, Supernatural, The X-Files and most of the other big (and plenty of smaller) geek touchstones, but there's so damn much out there of which I know nothing. So in 2014, I'm going to dive in and embrace ... something. Dr. Who? Never seen a single episode. Babylon 5? Heard good things, but about all I know is Bruce Boxleitner is in it. Battlestar Galactica? Couldn't get past episode six of season one last time I tried, but enough people have told me it's great that I'm willing to give it another shot. Or maybe it will be something else. I haven't decided yet, so I'm more than open to suggestions, commentariat.
Learn about some new areas of geekdom In a similar vein to that last resolution, I'm looking to delve into some new areas of geekdom. I know a little about a lot of different areas of the wide world of geek, but there are a handful that are largely a mystery to me, and a lot more that I am at best a dabbler in. Since Westword has given me this wonderful opportunity to write about geek life, I feel like it's high time I broaden my knowledge base a bit. I want to interview some bronies, maybe join a LARPing session, or even finally sit down and figure out what the hell the deal is with those wargamers that take up so goddamn much table space down at my local gaming store. I don't know what they will be, but I'm going to set a goal to learn about three new areas of geekology in 2014. If you want to be my guide to your own personal favorite flavor of geek, by all means reach out to me.
Get out of the damn house more The housebound, antisocial geek is something of a cliche, and over the past 24 months, I've become that cliche. Sure, an awful lot of geek stuff is doable from home, and god knows I never have trouble keeping busy with my geeky pursuits, but it wouldn't kill me to get out of the house a little more often, maybe even try a few new things while I'm out in the world. Whether it's getting out to Friday Night Magic or drinking beer and trying for some high scores at the 1up, I'm going to do my damnedest to get out and do some out-of-the-house geektivity at least once a week in 2014. Denver is full of fun, geeky shit to do, and I need to start doing a lot more of it. Maybe I'll see you there!
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