2021 In Review
7am Sunday Morning, Kerry James Marshall 2003
Intro
2021 was a year of ups. I saw my friends again, met some of my co-workers for the first time, had a great year career-wise, and made incredible strides in my physical fitness. When I read through my journal in preparation to write this post, it was overwhelmingly positive. The one low undeniable low was in August when my mother passed away. This review follows my journal closely, I have a lot of positives to share, but I'm still working through what it means not to have a parent.
Personal
Jazz Piano
This year I decided to get back into piano. I found a piano instructor and have been learning Jazz piano throughout the year. I love Jazz, and I feel like I needed to dedicate time to learning how to play Jazz piano correctly. I originally learned classical piano as a teenager. I got into piano late, but my piano teacher was surprised by how quickly I picked it up. Throughout college, I stopped playing, prioritizing studying instead of playing. We have a beautiful piano in my office, and I decided to tune it and get back into it. I spent much of the year getting back into good habits with playing the piano and learning two jazz standards, Night Lights by Gerry Mulligan and Waltz for Debby by Bill Evans. It's given me a new appreciation for Jazz and a venue to express my creativity through improvisation.
I Wrote A Book
I published a book with O'Reilly this year. I'll reserve any book-related advertising for other venues; all I'll say is writing a technical book is exquisitely complex. I worked tirelessly on the book and sacrificed many nights of sleep. The experience reinforced the value of good writing and how a deep understanding of a subject, metaphor, and creativity lead to excellent outcomes.
Mom
My mom passed away in August of this year. She had been sick for almost two years, but her death still felt sudden. My mom was my only parent, and not having a parent is a strange place that I haven't learned how to navigate yet. Over the last several months, I've had moments where I took a video of my kids and started sending a text with the video to my mom and realized that she wasn't around when penning it. So much of who I am was tied to making my mom proud. I've had to adjust without her here, and I'm still adjusting.
Family
Raising two kids is complicated enough on its own, but with all of the uncertainty added by the pandemic and demands at work, it's considerably more demanding. Bethany and I have had to make many adjustments and figure out what our children need and what we need. I feel like we've hit our stride over the year. We found traditions that work for us; we're able to address challenging topics with our five-year-old when she asks about them, we're trying new things, and it's been amazing. There are plenty of challenging things, but the good outweighs the bad.
Favorite Things
Music
For My Friends by Jacob Banks is my favorite album of 2021. Of all the albums I listened to, it's the album that has the most depth and the most to say. The music is genre-bending and full of depth. I don't think it's the most approachable, but it will give you a lot to think about, and you'll rewind it at least once.
Book
The bulk of my reading in 2021 was history. There is nothing I enjoy more than a deep historical drive on a specific even or historical era. My favorite book in 2021 was Tulsa, 1921: Reporting a Massacre by Randy Krehbiel. It does everything a good history book does well, and I give it my strongest recommendation.
Television
I watched less television than usual in 2021. Less television meant I didn't get into the high-brow dramas I usually watch and opted for a little lighthearted and fun television. With all that in mind, Lupin was my favorite show of 2021. I don't think Lupin is mindbending or complex, it's simply fun, and that was good enough for my recommendation for 2021.
AirPods Max
AirPods Max are aesthetically pleasing, sound great, and work incredibly well within the Apple ecosystem. Significantly, the Airpod Max doesn't suffer from the same problem as my AirPods Pro. I use them every day for 6-9 hours on phone calls and don't experience any fatigue. I also own some of the leading competitors to these headphones, and while they are pretty close, they aren't quite as good.
WNBA
I decided to get a WNBA league pass subscription for 2021. I'm still shocked that it was around $16 for the entire year compared to around $250 for an NBA league pass subscription. The WNBA exceeded my expectations. I love the playmaking and schematics in the WNBA; it's a unique product compared to NBA or men's college basketball. I'm a fan and plan to go to a Las Vegas Aces game this upcoming season.
Modern Apizza
We made two trips to Connecticut in 2021 and got pizza from Modern Apizza both times. I'm not sure how much I gained from eating pizza there, but a conservative estimate is 5 pounds. It's happiness in a circle-like shape.
2022 Goals
Rides
My goal for 2022 is to ride an event each month of the season. I am listing all of the events here to report back next year.
Writing
The only substantive writing I did in 2021 was my book. I have to fix that in 2022. I want to write about technical topics and personal topics. My goal is one post per month.
Piano Performance
Deadlines and pressure bring out the best in me, so I'll also set a goal for one piano performance in 2022. I have opportunities to play through community concerts, churches, and even a live stream if needed. I'm putting this into the world.