2024
Holy shit - I haven’t really written anything on here since August - whoops!
Well in the spirit of new beginnings and personal reflection, I’d figure I’d do a year end check-in.
2024 was a very productive year for me both personally and professionally. I traveled quite a bit within the US - visiting new places in Colorado, California, and West Virginia. Went to Dallas, Texas (really just the airport hotel) for a work engagement. I kicked my job’s ass which felt good even if the company as a whole is sort of going through it right now. (See: I like my manager, I like my job overall, I don’t want to enter the job market this year/next year.)
I had a small list of things I wanted to do this year - and I think I checked off most of them. West Virginia was on my list - after revisiting the Part’s Unknown, West Virginia episode in 2023, I knew I needed to plan a trip to the state. Dolly Sods Wilderness was a location that was also on my list due to its unique ecosystem and beauty. We stayed over the 4th of July weekend and explored the very small towns of Davis and Thomas. Caught a show at the infamous Purple Fiddle, two beers in watching the sun set through a crab apple tree while the the band played: a true moment of joy.
I continued to run and joined a run group for beginners which I think I’ve written about here before but nonetheless was a big step for me since I am badatrunning™. The group helped me break through a pace plateau and definitely helped my confidence. I think I’ll rejoin in March - the winter is just not my time of year and while I’m committed to stay off the treadmill as much as possible - I can’t bring myself to get up early to run with people especially if its below 30 degrees. No one is paying me so I’ll opt for some comfort and wait two months for the 30/40s degree temperatures to return.
I stopped going to therapy - it has felt good to not have that anxiety around what I am going to talk to my therapist about. Mostly because a lot of the issues were things I couldn’t change or didn’t feel ready to change. I feel pretty confident I’ll go back to therapy this year but with a new therapist. I think maybe at the end of the day she wasn’t a great match for me but it is in classic fashion it took me too long to say so.
One of the brightest spots this year was spending time with my nephews - I was able to spend part of a week with Ephraim who is 8 years old now. I drove him around and watched TV with him and listened to him talk about animals and Marvel movie characters. In many ways, he is a normal kid but I see a lot of myself in him. He noticed when we left my mother’s church (yes, she still preaches every Sunday while in her mid 70s) that everyone at church knew his name but he didn’t know them. And I felt exactly what he felt in the moment. He knows a lot of facts and likes to share them in a way that seems like a know-it-all and that is some Bateson genes shit right there. He said mint chocolate relaxed him and that he just loves boars. We saw a bear run across the road. He drew little creature on a drawing pad app on my phone and when I had to leave - I could’’t stop looking at them and tearing up.
I wish my nephews or someone of the like had appeared in my life earlier because I may have had different or stronger feelings about having children if that was the case.
I have things on my list for 2025 - keep running of course, get back into lifting more (more time or heavier), travel out of the country, and take a class. Financially, I am doing okay but I know with the administration coming in my student loans will be coming back online so alters a lot of my budget. I am pretty sure Austin and I will move again although I tell him we should just stay in our current spot and save up to move out West like we always talk about when we travel there. I think we’re going to Utah in the spring, and someplace tropical for Thanksgiving. I’ll make the rounds to Florida and hopefully Pittsburgh next year too.
Hope your 2024 was productive, I hope time was kind, I hope you have optimism for 2025. Cheers!!
