It's a Best-Of-2020 Countdown Blog! What Were The Best Parts of The Year?

THREE days until 2021, TWO blogs left for 2020, means ONE good reason to write a countdown blog!

Everyone loves a good countdown, right? See how I did.. the thing.. up there... 3,2,1? OK, moving along.

Instead of trying to do a specific category like music or TV shows - let's be real I watched enough TV in 2020 to last me a while - I'm going to do a countdown of the best parts of an awful, terrible, unholy, lonely year.

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The best parts of 2020

#13: Toilet paper delivery - The start of the pandemic brought us the great toilet paper shortage. Which was ridiculous. Seriously, seeing people hawking toilet paper started to make me lose faith in humanity. But once we got past that, toilet paper delivery companies started to emerge! Using less plastic, more recycled or bamboo options, and creative marketing, companies are filling a void - why were we forced to buy tp in such small quantities and with so much useless plastic?? We just got our delivery of whogivesacrap.com toilet paper and I've never been so excited to wipe my own ass. (A bidet might be coming but we want a warm water one and currently our sink is too far away)

#12: Being introduced to RAO's pasta and sauces - Along with the toilet paper shortage there was a shortage of just about everything at the supermarket - including in the pasta aisle. The first time we went to the grocery store there was literally no pasta left except for this brand: RAO's, and it was 2 or 3 times more expensive than regular pasta. But then we ate it and OMG. It is a million percent worth the extra cost. It turns out RAO's is a restaurant that started in 1896 in New York and remains one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in the country (it also may or may not be a front for the mob... eh, fuhgettaboutit). The restaurant is so exclusive that you can only get in if you have "table rights" or are lucky enough to be invited by someone who does. How crazy is that!? Well, you can have a taste of the experience at your local Safeway via their sauces and pastas - seriously, try some - they might just bring a little joy into your life.

#11: Attained Platinum Status at Total Wine - OK, slightly facetious but obviously we had to pair our fancy pasta with some delicious wine and 2020 was the year for wine. I tried more types of wine this year than I knew existed - there's apparently more than just red & white! Nero d'avola, chianti, amarone, valpolicella, montepulciano, and so many more. Our general rule is an average price of $10 per bottle, though we did splurge for an expensive but delicious Valpolicella di Ripasso on a mini-vacation we took. I'm not sure which type brought the most joy this year, but a few that stand out for me are the Zaccagnini Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, The Gentleman's Collection Cabernet Sauvignon, and Trader Joe's Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Copy & paste into Google, lazy bum, I'm not adding a link for you.

#10: Our garden - We had a real garden! We grew a MASSIVE patch of BEEFSTEAK tomatoes! Our neighbors were very surprised - somehow it got enough sun to start producing and though the last batch never got quite ripe enough we got a few big juicy ones, lots of Roma's, a bunch of jalapenos and green peppers, and a ton of oregano, basil, green onion, rosemary, and cilantro. At the end of the season I took all of the green tomatoes and a few jalapenos with some lime and basil and turned them into green Bloody Mary's. We even had two cauliflowers come in! Though way too early and they turned purple.

#9: Finally watched the entire Harry Potter series - This one was more of something to check off my list, but honestly, it was a good series and I now understand all of the jokes! There's even video evidence of me getting REALLY into it, which is a thing I tend to do with movies. Anyway, I'll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I'm not there.

#8: The match.com commercial with the devil and 2020 - This is super random but the person who created this commercial deserves to have 2021 off. It's here if you haven't seen it and it just is a brilliantly funny way to look at two-zero-two-zero, aka 2020. I'm glad Satan found his match, but, OK, bye y'all.

#7: Starting a blog and getting all introspective - It has been simultaneously easier and much harder than I expected. It was easier to get it started and once I get going on something I'm pretty good at being able to weave something together. But organizing it on a blank screen and having it make sense is incredibly difficult. Much respect to those who do this for a living! It feels like I have had a lot of things rattling around for many years and I'm just now putting it all down - it's certainly cathartic and really nice to see some of the organic growth as well as support from friends and family!

#6: Getting people up to speed on videoconferencing - Honestly, it's not that hard and I'm glad that people are having to do this. It has the potential to just bring the world closer together, reduce pointless travel, and give people the ability to work from home and be with their families, which, let's be honest, is so necessary. Families have been pulled apart for years by the requirement to be at work 40 hours a week or more. By the way, check out Jitsi Meet if you haven't yet - it is so much easier to use than other platforms and it's open source and fo' free!

#5: I haven't gained that much weight! - Being one of those people whose weight seems to fluctuate every time I blow my nose, I am very surprised by this given how much time I've spent on the couch, not in the gym, not refereeing, not doing anything. If you read my earlier blog about eating ramen every day, you'll know that I typically only have 2 meals a day which I'm pretty sure is the sole reason I've gained 3 pounds instead of 20. Seriously, this is a huge win for me and I'm pretty sure I've earned a huge plate of nachos - oh, I just ate those...

#4: Not having to buy a new wardrobe for next year - Surprisingly, this is not related to the previous statement about my weight! This is actually more related to the fact that I never had to wear any nice clothes in 2020 so all of my stuff is still in great condition! I'm also learning about how often to wash things - apparently denim (real denim) can go like 20 washes because it doesn't hold onto bacteria! Thanks 2020 for saving me some dough.

#3: T-Swizzle's "evermore" album, Kid Cudi's "Man on the Moon III" album, Korn's "The Nothing" album - I know what you're thinking and you're right, these are AMAZING albums. I rediscovered Korn, yep that Korn from 1998, and I'm actually listening to it right now! It's great for jamming through shit - like a blog - or in preparation to something. Some of the songs are sad but they really capture the essence of "this hurts but I'll get through it." Kid Cudi's MOTMIII is so melodic and is reminiscent of the original Cudder, not the experimental trips he took after his initial success and I LOVE IT. To round out this odd trio, Taylor Swift joined forces with The National to make just a really good album. I even watched the Long Pond Sessions, diving deep into what made some of the songs, which just makes them that much better. Seriously, these 3 albums were pretty much daily plays for me and I highly recommend all of them.

#2: The NBA bubble and having 0 positive cases AND supporting their causes - I decided to put this at number 2 for several reasons. Mainly, it was so awesome to see one major sport take the pandemic seriously and the NBA executed their plan to perfection. 0 cases in 3 months. If only we'd all taken it as seriously... Additionally, the NBA allowed players to support their causes. Black Lives Matter, I Can't Breathe, Say Her Name, whatever it was - they let the players have a voice and it was great for the league. Last, it was an interesting chance to get to know a lot of the players on a more personal level because they were pretty much forced to form bonds they wouldn't normally. Jimmy Butler is my new favorite player in the NBA - check out this article about his budding coffee business.

#1: My partner's new knees & our engagement - Let's bring it home! My partner has been through some shit and in the past two years underwent THREE major surgeries - two of which were bone transplants. Literally taking large pieces of bone from someone else, meaning a gracious donor is longer with us, drilling a hole into her knee bone and putting in the new bone. It was some of the most intense times I've ever been through and I'm so glad I could be there for her. It brought us so close together and I finally decided to make it a fish-all! (Official) Can't round it out without a good pun! The best part of 2020 was definitely getting engaged to my best friend and it's the main reason I'm looking forward to next year - and many, many more.

Tell me about your favorite parts of 2020 and come back tomorrow for a look forward into 2021!