It’s that time of year again, the time when I have a look back and reflect on another year which has come to an end. It’s always difficult for me to pick just five things and yet I also struggle with feeling like I can’t come up with enough. Hopefully what follows is a good representation of the end of this decade.
1. Travel – I may have logged more miles this year than I have in any previous. I don’t know if the distance I traveled was greater, but I certainly went on more individual trips.
Switzerland – I started the year by coming in real hot and taking a trip I’ve wanted to do my entire snowboarding career; ride the Swiss Alps. While in Switzerland, I got to visit St. Moritz and Zürich as well, two places I may have never otherwise visited.
Canada – More specifically Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Despite the fact that the impetus for going (ie. going with a group of my friends) didn’t work out, I still had a pretty good time.
Washington DC – This spur of the moment, less than 24 hour long micro-vacation was a fun little adventure for 50th anniversary of the Moon landing and reminded me that I can still be spontaneous. To top it off, I spent some time visiting the Smithsonian Museums and a couple of monuments which I hadn’t really gotten a chance to visit since I was a kid.
I also drove a Model 3 from Brooklyn to Tennessee, however, that was for work so it’s not like it counts in terms of vacation.
2. Crushed Summer – In keeping with the theme of “doing things” I did not let the warm weather go to waste and kept busy almost every weekend. My summer activities included concerts (Anjemile, Cher, Smoking Popes, PUP and Vampire Weekend), visited the Vessel, visited the TWA Hotel, jazz clubs, Time Out Market, free outdoor movie screenings (Top Gun, Apollo 11 (documentary), Moonstruck), rooftop parties, museums (Guggenheim, Museum of Moving Image, The Met, Poster House) / galleries / art exhibits (SuperReal), Bike Expo, dates, theme parks (La Ronde and Ferrari World), attended my friend/former co-worker/former roommate’s wedding, fifth of July/Coney Island, and New York Comic Con and much more.
Note: some things mentioned didn’t take place over the summer.
3. Dates – Though I still haven’t accomplished the goal I set for myself at the end of last year, to get a girlfriend by the end of this year, I did much better than any previous years by going on several dates with several different women. Most were mediocre at best and the one I thought might have worked sadly did not. However, I’m proud of myself for putting myself out there and I’ll just need to double my efforts in 2020.
4. UAE trip – In terms of big vacations, there have always been three locations that have been on my “to do” list. Australia, which I went to in 2016, Japan, which I visited in 2017 and Dubai which I finally got to this year.
I’ve found that in order to get something done, you can’t wait for anyone else, you just have to be a little selfish and do it yourself. Though Japan was an exception, I knew there was a built in audience. I always thought, even before I really started following Formula 1 as closely as I am now, that if I ever went to Dubai, I’d also have to go to Abu Dhabi to attend the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
So, rather than continue to talk about it, I spent a year planning and finally, this past November, took a trip to the UAE. It ranks as possibly my best solo vacation but is still second to Japan, which is still the best vacation I’ve ever been on. That said, this trip was rad and I’m glad I did it.
5. NY BY BIKE – Ever since moving to NY and I think even before that, I’ve had an idea for a show where I take people on a tour of the city by bike. I knew that the only real way to do that would be to finally throw down and buy a GoPro. So in March, that’s what I did and I finally started filming and editing a few videos.
Though, to be honest, I haven’t been as productive as I’d have hoped, I did at least shoot some footage, posted a few videos and look forward to working on more this upcoming spring and summer.
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Resolutions:
1. Give Fewer Fucks – I’m going to do my best to give less of a shit about what people think of me. By this I mean that I want to stop being afraid to have an actual opinion about something. Stop being neutral to appease everyone and just say what you feel. So many other people do it and they still have friends. Plus, I want to be better at “owning” what I like. It’s not high school anymore, don’t be embarrassed to say you like a certain band, own it.
2. “Like” Instagram Posts – I have been reluctant to “like” Instagram posts as I just don’t enjoy the effort involved and it takes away any “aloofness” I might still be holding onto. The same goes for watching people’s Instagram Stories. However, I know that I appreciate when other watch my stories and “like” my posts so this year I think I’ll start to share the love.
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I feel as though, despite the fact that 2019 had a rough start -getting let go from Tesla within the first 20 days of the year, a company I loved working for- I’d say I more than made up for it with everything that I accomplished. It’s crazy to me that we’ve come to the end of another decade.
I can’t even start to think back at all that has happened since 2009 (or I guess 2010… I’m not sure where you’re supposed to begin/end). Hard to imagine all that I didn’t know would take place and has take place for better and for worse in my life. However, it is because of all of those experiences that I’m exactly where I am today. And so I guess it’s time to look forward to the next ten years. See you when I’m 40… 😳.
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