2019 Reflection and a Happy New Year!
New Year’s Eve 2019 was much like all of 2019, fucking awesome. To celebrate the closing of 2019, I grilled some steaks, had two drinks (vodka, club soda, and lime), and went to bed at 8 PM. In other words, a damn near perfect night.
A few days ago, Cali and I were reflecting on 2019, and we both decided that it was a really great year in many different ways. Some of my 2019 highlights are listed below, in no particular order.
In November of 2018, pretty much on a total whim, Cali and I took Phil Scarito’s one-day kettlebell course at his gym in King of Prussia, PA. During this course, Phil mentioned that there was a StrongFirst Level 1 (SFG 1) certification happening locally in June of 2019, but Cali and I doubted we could both gain the strength and skills needed to pass that cert. After some debate and gut-checking each other, we took the leap and signed up for the certification. We committed to training with Phil once per month leading up to the cert, and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. Cali and I were both very focused on the certification, and we learned how fun, challenging, and humbling kettlebells can be when applied correctly. When I started kettlebell training, I was determined to keep my barbell training at the center of my fitness, but after a few weeks of completely burying myself trying to do it all, I pretty much dropped all barbell training in 2019 as my attention and energy went into learning new kettlebell skills. This was a scary leap for me since I am a firm believer that the barbell is king, but the results were phenomenal. Cali and I both passed the cert, got stronger and leaner, and met some incredible people and friends. We have gotten to know Phil and his wonderful wife, Pam, over the last few months, and I met a friend named Bill who lives in my town and comes over to train a few times a week.
Cali, Phil, and me after the SFG I weekend.
At work, I got a temporary promotion during the first quarter of 2019, and then I moved into a new position in April. I really enjoy what I’m doing now and my new work group is great. It’s been a nice change of pace from what I had been doing for a few years. I also got to travel a bit for work, help out where I could, and get two weeks of training in beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Hiking at Cloudland Canyon State Park, just down the road from Chattanooga.
Cali and I both got to travel this year to see family, and making this effort has felt more important as the years have gone on. I went back to Michigan in March for my grandmother’s 95th birthday party, and I got to see some extended family that I hadn’t seen in five years or so. Cali and I both went to Ann Arbor in May to see her brother Broc and his now-fiancee, Lauren, and to see Cali’s parents and other brother, Nash, and his family in Arkansas in September. Cali also spent a week at her grandparents’ house in Arizona in mid-November, and my parents came out to visit us in PA just before Thanksgiving. Finally, Broc and Lauren came for Thanksgiving again this year. I’m grateful for all of the family time and for those who were willing to travel to make it happen.
All the grandkids with my Grandma Lenore, the sweetest woman ever.
I finished a masters degree in cybersecurity at Penn State. This was the culmination of three years of consistent work, and I’m proud of the fact I stuck with it and got it done. I didn’t walk at graduation, but the veteran student office unexpectedly sent me these cool red, white, and blue, graduation cords.
Thanks to the discovery of mace training, my jacked up shoulder is much improved. I fell on my shoulder in June 2018, and it felt like crap for a long time. Desperate for anything that might help, I bought a ShouldeRok from Kabuki Strength and took a mace workshop in Patterson, New Jersey, taught by Kelly Manzone. This was a total game-changer for me. My shoulder mobility has drastically improved, and I plan on playing with maces for the rest of my life. When I first bought the ShouldeRok, I had no idea how to use it and was trying to convince myself that I hadn’t just wasted $200+. After this four-hour workshop, my technique and perspective with maces had completely changed and things will never be the same.
One of the great lessons I learned in 2019 was that paying for quality coaching can make a huge difference and be well worth the expense. This was proven time and again as I trained kettlebells with Phil, learned a ton at my mace workshop, and attended a one-day squat and deadlift clinic taught by strength legends Marty Gallagher, Kirk Karwoski, and Jim Steel. I am already signed up for a Starting Strength seminar in March of 2020, and I could not be more excited.
I finished 37 books in 2019, including fiction, non-fiction, history, politics, biographies, training, horror, and comedy. Reading adds so much to my life, and I cannot wait to see what kind of books will capture my attention in 2020.
I walked countless miles with my black lab, Zeus. Unfortunately, Zeus’s hips have been bothering him lately and he hasn’t been able to go on walks for the last few weeks. He’s eight years old now, and it breaks my heart to see him slowing down. Zeus is still the sweetest pup I’ve ever encountered, and I will do whatever I can for him in 2020.
Zeus living his best life.
In my opinion, New Year’s resolutions are kind of cookie cutter, but there definitely is something about the start of a new year that can help re-focus some things that I’ve been meaning to work on for a while. I have three things I want to do in 2020:
Drink a little less. Not that I have a huge drinking problem or anything, but in 2019, I definitely got in the habit of easily justifying when I should drink alcohol for no real good reason. Oh, it’s Thursday and we’re having Mexican food? Sure I’ll drink some tequila. Just little stuff like that crept in throughout the summer months. I finally locked it up and did Sober October and it really reset my taste and apparent need for alcohol. In 2020, I want to limit myself to four drinks per week or less. I’m also going to take a month off two separate times throughout the year. I haven’t decided exactly when, but I’ll make it happen.
Pick up some trash. I walk around my neighborhood a lot with my black lab, Zeus. In 2020, I’m going to make it a habit to pick up a piece of trash every time I go out. In the past, I’ve picked up trash when out walking, but definitely not as much as I should. This is a great neighborhood and I want to be a positive factor in helping it stay great.
Post 30 blogs. I have a goal of posting at least 30 blogs in 2020. This comes out to a little better than one every two weeks, which I believe is a very manageable goal that will keep me disciplined and on track. So far, I’ve been having more fun doing these blogs than I originally thought I would, and I have many more ideas for future posts. I don’t know if anyone gives a crap, but it’s fun for me.
It’s very possible that 2020 could be an exciting year with some big changes. Cali and I are hoping that this will be our last winter in Pennsylvania. I have a few job prospects out in the southwest so we’ll see how things go on that front. PA has been good to us, but we don’t have any family out here and we’re not crazy about the Philly area in general. It’s just a different pace of life than we’re looking for at this point. I’d love to live out under the sunny and wide open desert sky. The long-term goal in life is to have enough land that I can shoot guns, have bonfires, and pee in my backyard without anyone being able to complain.
Edit: Change that. It looks like Cali and I will be staying in PA for a while. We just need to remember that life is good.
Cali training and looking sexy in Arkansas.