[indieFan]

I would like to apologize to and thank everyone at the 2011 Los Angeles Regional. For the first time in 11 seasons, I have been ill-prepared to do the task I was responsible for. In this case: Lead Robot Inspector.

I offer this not as an excuse, but rather an explanation for what transpired at the regional. I have suffered from major depression and anxiety most of my life. I have no shame in this, nor telling people, as I view it like a diabetic does their illness. The symptoms can be mitigated, but do not go away and can strike at any time. I have been receiving treatment for the last 4 years, and thought I was doing well. Unfortunately, significant outside factors had been slowly building up for several months, and caused me to implode the morning of Set-Up.

I am extremely lucky to have a dedicated group of people that run the LA Regional, and one of them called in some of the most experienced people to help out with inspections Thursday morning. All of the people that were on the inspection team picked up the slack created by me, and I'm grateful to them for that.

To my inspectors: A huge thank you for making sure everyone got through inspections to be able to play, both qualifying and elimination matches.

To the teams: A huge thank you for having the patience required to deal with any issues brought up by the inspections.

To the Regional Committee and Staff: A huge thank you for understanding that I was not in a good place and giving me counsel, as needed.

At this time, I am very unsure if this will be my last season doing anything with the program. I hope that it isn't, but I am slowly learning that I must do what is best for myself. In case it is, THANK YOU, for everything that you've all taught me over the years.

Sincerely,
Marni Hager