Da-na-na-naaaa. Da-na-na-na-naaa. It's the final countdown. Well, yesterday I did a countdown blog. And nearly doubled my highest total views yet! Thanks for the support, y'all!
So where does that leave us? How about a "here's what to look forward to in 2021" blog.
I'm gonna try not to get my hopes up too much - because, well, we see what happened this past year. But, as Andy Dufresne once said,
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
So let's either get busy livin' or get busy dyin'. Damn right.
Here's what I'm looking forward to the most in 2021
#13 - Getting DJT the F OUT - This could easily be number one, but I'm putting more personal things ahead of this. My blog ain't about politics, but if you didn't know where I stand already, now you do. I will be so happy when he flees to Daddy Putin in Mother Russia like a lil' bitch. Or when someone puts him in cuffs as soon as his "powers" end. Or when someone hits him in the face with a shovel. Whatever, as long as he's out, 2021 will automatically be that much better.
#12 - Recognizing and avoiding burnout - And the award for the most overused phrase of 2020 goes to.... "burnt out". I heard this on a daily basis from coworkers, colleagues, and my own lips. It was often the same thing from people: that because there was no delineation between work and personal life they found themselves actually overworking. Which sounds crazy, but it's totally legit and I found myself blurring the line. So for 2021 I will draw a fine line between work and personal life and ensure that if I start to see myself blurring that line or saying things like, "Oh, I'll do it at 8pm tonight," then I need to make a readjustment!
#11 - Discovering new things - We found 88.5 WXPN, aka NPR Music, on Apple Music earlier this year and we discovered that it is a gold mine! We found tons of new music, listened to things we'd never heard before, and found a legitimately great station that plays a variety of music. Yesterday evening they had a segment with Killer Mike and it seems like every weekend morning is a smooth mixture of jazzy wake-up jams. So for 2021 my goal is to find some more cool things I don't know I like. Like a new community to be a part of, a new series of books that isn't Jack Reacher, or a new hobby - like coaching.
#10 - Coaching - Speaking of new hobbies, in the back of my mind I've always felt that I will be a good - or maybe great - coach. I believe in the value of teamwork and I know that sports has a lot to do with that, as well as the ability to teach a lot of valuable life lessons (as you've maybe seen from my other writings). I'm a certified basketball and softball official and I'm very interested to see how that might help me as a coach. I can definitely see my team leading the league in charges taken!
#9 - Officiating - I can't wait to get back to officiating. As much as the travel sucks, and dealing with the associations is a bunch of lame politics, I really enjoy it. Interacting with players, coaches, and other officials is a lot of fun and has been a great way for me to become familiar with my home here in Northern Virginia. It challenges me in a way I've never been challenged and puts me in a position where I have to be in shape, calm, collected, and consistent. Let's go organized sports in 2021!
#8 - Sweet deals on 2020 cars and future tech - Gotta insert a seemingly random item here, but if you know me then you know I love cars. My dad was a mechanic so I grew up around cars and I love learning about the latest and greatest forms of aluminum and steel that move us about the country. If you're in the market now, I'm high on the Kia Soul and pretty much any Hyundai - South Korea is killing it in the car game. I'm also looking forward to the VW Electric Microbus - I may try to put some money down on one of those, the new Nissan Z "dance partner", and to what hybrids or electrics Volvo will be putting out. If Volvo puts out a hybrid or electric wagon I'm 100% in. I guess all those years riding around in mom's conversion van and dad's Camaro and other sports cars has me wanting the best of both worlds.
#7 - Appreciating time spent having a cup of coffee or a cold beer - My partner shared a meme or tweet where someone remarked that after this year we'll never look at having a coffee with a friend the same way again. I hope that's true. I really do. I want to treat every social interaction as if it might not happen again for years - because it might not. So in 2021, having a cup o' joe at St. Elmo's or a beer and a game of shuffleboard at #9 Lounge will be treated with the utmost care and respect.
#6 - Having friends over to play Settlers of Catan and Pandemic - Holy irony, Batman! I gave my partner the game Pandemic last year for Christmas, insert crying laughing emoji. How could I have known?! We played it twice before the ACTUAL pandemic hit, and now she won't play it with me because it's "too real." I said I think we need to play it and beat it - like how you have to play Jumanji in order to beat it, but noooooo. Anyway, I'm so looking forward to having friends over to play board games! We also got the 5-6 player expansion pack last year and never got to play! Counting on you, 2021, to let us beat this Pandemic in more ways than one!
#5 - Hybrid work - Sliding in at numero cinco is that I am looking forward to hybrid work! That means being able to work more from home, in my slippers and robe, and not having to pay $250 per month for parking, plus sit in traffic for an hour or more every day! And not just me - I hope everybody can negotiate that at their work. If you can work from home a day or two a week, or more, you absolutely should. Less gas, less parking, less commute, more sleep, more chill, more happiness!
#4 - Seeing masks covering noses - Let me clarify: I'm not hopeful that people will magically start doing this. I'm hopeful that those who don't will have the vaccine so they don't have to wear one anymore. There are 3 types of people - anti-maskers (idiots), half-maskers (lazy bastards), and everyone else. The anti-maskers probably won't get the vaccine so I'll just avoid the idiots altogether, the half-maskers will likely get the vaccine because they're tired of wearing masks, and everyone else will hopefully be able to get the vaccine and either not wear a mask or continue wearing one out of fear of the idiots. So people will either be wearing a mask properly or not - no in-betweeners!
#3 - Seeing my parents and family - I have not been able to visit my parents since before the pandemic, and it was a while before that! Definitely looking forward to giving them a hug! Yes, mom, we'll go camping soon.
#2 - Filling in my map - Down to the nitty-gritty. The end of this year was an interesting one. In 2021 I am looking forward to finding out where the roads on my incomplete map lead to. If you just clicked straight to this blog from somewhere else, check out the home page of this site, where I talk about being "off the map". This year will be one of self-exploration, digging deep to get to where I really want to, and putting my time, energy, and attention into the things that matter. My friend Javan used to talk about time, energy, and attention (I actually had him in my phone for a while as Javan TEA because I didn't know his last name - but now I do) and I've thought about that a lot over the years, and if 2020 gave us the ability to find out some things about ourselves, then 2021 is the year to dedicate ourselves to those things.
#1 - Getting hitched! - Of course I have to end on this one! The best part of 2020 was getting engaged, so the best part of this 2021 will be sealing the deal! One of the people I looked up to the most when I was young was my Uncle Bill - he was a bachelor and a pilot and I was like, I'm gonna be like him and never get married and just be awesome. But I quickly realized that was not meant for me. I yearned for a partner for the better part of my 20's but I wanted to be sure I found "the one". Find her I did and the number one thing I'm looking forward to is saying I do!
There's a lot to look forward to next year. The "new normal," new leadership, new friendships, and new beginnings. But mainly, shaking the shit that we stepped into around March 16 off our feet, scooping it into a brown paper bag, putting it on 2020's porch, lighting the bag on fire, then knock and run while you scream "2021 FOREVER!"
What are you looking forward to?
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