The Advantage, The Ascent of 2022
I forgot to mention yesterday how Kerri already has been paying dividends in what will be a massive home clean up process. She is a minimalist in a lot of ways, something I definitely am not. Being this way she loves to sort, throw out and organize, a skill set that will prove to be very valuable over the upcoming weeks. She has already used that talent to clean up my pantry, bar area and guest bedroom. Much like my wardrobe, I have given her the green light to suggest improvements throughout the house. Of course I will always want to have my stuff, the goal is to keep stuff that you actually use regularly while being able to let go of things that no longer serve any viable purpose.
Along those lines I have been looking with dread at my hobby room which is stuffed with 3D printers and PEVs, among other things. As you will see in my year end recap below below, my 3D store sales have dried up to minimal amounts this past year, so much so that I am considering shutting down the online store entirely. I could probably sell 3/4 of the printers I currently have without issue at this point. It will be just one of a multitude of changes coming.
Ok so let’s see if I can get the year in review knocked out. If you look at the 2021 recap, it’s pretty damn depressing. The cliff notes version is 2022 is much better.
As always let’s review last years goals.
On the home improvement front I finally bit the bullet and spent major dollars on getting the windows replaced with impact level hardware. I had talked about doing this for 5 years or more. That was the only big improvement, which is ok because of the cost. I mentioned the goal of paying down debt which I continued to do although as always I could have done more. With the potential for my housing situation to be changing which will be discussed further, I’m not sure how much focus I will be putting on home related debt until things are settled.
On the health and fitness front 2022 has been challenging. I had three more skin cancer surgeries, occurring over the span of one week. I had a “borderline” EKG at my yearly physical that sent me into a series of tests with a cardiologist that revealed nothing. I developed a small hernia that I was going to get fixed but canceled because of developing covid several days before the scheduled surgery. I had more testing done including a chest/abdomen CT to rule out significant illness as a cause for my 2022 weight loss and I continued to deal with knee/back pain issues. I went to a chiropractor for the first time to help with the back pain which thankfully has lessened since. So yea, I was kind of a mess. Throughout it all I have continued my fitness regimen which continues to be one of my stable footholds. Overall my fitness level is holding steady which is a win at 55 years old.
I mentioned traveling more in 2022, boy did I, specifically the idea of traveling to California which I actually just did. I had wanted to get out there for years. In addition I had the road trip to PA for Thanksgiving which I enjoyed as well. In July I went to upstate NY with my family and then visited Gladys in Roatan a couple weeks later. It was the most I have traveled in YEARS.
I also talked about the upcoming change of my job duties as my buddy retired in February which elevated me to the director of our department. The shift has morphed my responsibilities somewhat but the adjustment has not been too difficult. One of the first things I did was hire a woman for our team and she has been fantastic.
My final point was in regards to my thought about the possibility of future relationships. Last year at this time I was very hesitant to talk/think about future relationships because of the shrapnel associated with my last one. For a good portion of the year I kept my focus inward, working on being ok with the idea of being single, something foreign to me for most of my life. The last two months I have found myself in a relationship with Kerri that was unexpected but has been wonderful so far. I am grateful.
Ok let’s get on to the general recap, in no specific order.
This time last year I had four hens remaining. All four of them died this year of seemingly similar internal issues likely connected to parasites of some type, despite my efforts. Kathy was the last hen to die several months ago, whom roamed the chicken yard solo for months prior. I felt bad enough for her that I bought a fake chicken I named Helen which I moved around the coop area to try to keep Kathy company. The passing of each bird was a very sad moment for me as they have always been pets, not barnyard animals. I had absolute zero desire to rebuild a flock however. If you would have told me how chicken ownership was going to go 8 years ago I never would have entertained the idea. It was emotionally, financially, and logistically expensive with the side effect of making me hesitant to do anything that required being away from home for prolonged periods of time.
Elsa has been doing well although her last vet visit revealed she has gained a significant amount of weight over the last year. This is an unfortunate side effect of my new living situation. For all of her life she had someone home most days to keep her moving and active. Now I believe she sleeps all day when I am not home. I have been trying to get her out on more defined walks as well as cutting back on her food intake to get some lbs off.
Sadie has had a number of health challenges this year including continued difficulty with her joints as well as eye surgery which has left her with very limited vision. She recently had a series of seizures that made Ali and I think the end could be near but she seems to have stabilized recently. It’s sad for me to see her so limited at this stage of her life.
2022 has been the year where I picked up a new sport, pickleball. It started with my employee/buddy Rich and I playing and quickly escalated. Rich has dove in deeply to the sport playing much more than I have, resulting in a vast improvement in his game. I have improved as well for sure but I’m not investing the time/practice to become really good because it isn’t a priority for me. Kerri and I basically built our friendship around our lunchtime pickleball matches which is another huge bonus. She loves to play as well. I now own three high end paddles as well as other associated pickleball gear. It’s ironic as I once thought this sport was something exclusively for old people and sort of silly. I now am a certified pickleballer.
My PEV collection had some changes this past year. I sold my Sherman, Z10 and V11 in addition to giving my One Wheel XR to my brother-in-law. (he also bought the V11) I picked up the Kingsong S22, Begode T4, and EX20S. Those three purchases happened in a pretty narrow time frame and were mostly impulse driven and expensive buys. The reality is I just have not had the time to ride as I would like although if Kerri learns to ride it could be a fun addition to our list of things that could be done together.
I produced a LOT of YouTube content in 2022. My channel now has 1800+ and counting videos on it, a staggering amount. In addition I did significantly more live streaming this past year, mostly because I was single and had the time to do so. My channel has now crossed 13k subscribers which is inline with the slow and steady growth of the past couple years. Sure it would be nice to grow faster but I’m fine with it.
As part of my embracing single life I started going to bars/restaurants by myself this past year, something I never did before in my life. I found it actually sort of fun in a way. Sometimes I would find myself in random interactions with strangers, other times I may have only been talking to the bartender. I went to several movies myself as well. In addition I became closer with Gladys’s family this past year. Her oldest sister Monique and I hung out a number of times as friends. I also got Margaret’s adorable daughter, Leilani to finally trust me. Her cuteness level is off the charts.
As I mentioned earlier, my 3D store sales have continued their downward trend that started last year. It’s the end result of a lot of competition in the space now and my lack of motivation to do much about it. Unfortunately I now have a print farm that is mostly unused which will be one of things I will be addressing pretty soon. At it’s height the store generated more than 15K in a year. The extra money was nice at the time. Luckily I have been able to backfill the store loss of revenue with other income streams.
I mentioned the travel I did this year which was extensive compared to years prior. My first trip was to the Adirondacks in NY with my family. Spending that time in a very isolated, beautiful and peaceful environment was good for me. I absolutely adored getting to spend time with my nieces Cadence and Kennedy. The time I had to recharge and reflect by the lake was good for me.
The trip to Roatan to visit Gladys was memorable as well. The beauty of the tropical island was amazing. Gladys was a great host, showing me so many things and letting me experience what it is like to live there. The worst part of the adventure was arriving back in Florida with covid which kicked my ass hard for 3-4 days.
The Thanksgiving road trip was fun as well as I reconnected with a number of friends I had not had a chance to see in a long time. I was able to allocate more time on this trip than years past, allowing me to have these interactions with people that mean a lot to me. It felt great to be able to do so. The Thanksgiving dinner at my dad and step mom’s place was a lot of fun as well where I got to see Patrick along with Cadence and Kennedy again. The driving up and back was less fun. Since I no longer get free supercharging on my Tesla I’m not quite sure how apt I will be to drive instead of fly in the future.
Finally we just had the trip to California which had the last minute addition of Kerri to it. Having her out there with me made the trip take on an additional dimension and a good one at that. I finally got to meet my buddies Larry and Marty whom I have known online for many years. In addition I rode with a ton of great people who were ok with waiting for me as I struggled to keep up during some of the ride circuits. The holiday party Larry hosted was a warm and funny experience that both Kerri and I enjoyed. When I wasn’t riding Kerri and I had our own unique set of adventures that I feel helped deepen the bond between us.
I had the annoying reemergence of my nightmare Yellowstone drone experience from 2015 when I received a letter from the Wyoming attorney office that they showed the fine that I paid, wasn’t. Rectifying this took repeated effort and dealing with a woman with an overtly awful attitude that was unwilling to listen to any explanation from me. I was finally able to obtain bank records that affirmed what I told them, the fine was paid in full. I hope to never hear from them again.
Hurricane Ian had a massive and devastating impact on our area. The coastal areas of Collier saw massive storm surge when the forecast track changed dramatically within the final 24 hours. The Lee county coast was nearly obliterated from the surge. I was fortunate to escape any significant impact other than some landscape damage. I did not even lose power during the storm which is a miracle. The sad reality was so many others had their lives turned upside down when the clouds cleared. Most will still be dealing with the consequences of Ian for a long time to come.
On the automotive front there has not been much to report. My Model Y continues to hum along just fine. The only things I have needed to do to it during the past year was rotate the tires and add washer fluid. I finally slapped some new tires on the Tacoma which were overdue. I am happy with the RWL tires with more aggressive tread, so much so that I wish I made the change a couple years ago. I still have a deposit on a Cybertruck that is over two years old, who knows if it will ever pan out.
I know in years past I would dig deeper into the previous year entries but hell, if you are reading this there is a good chance you have a read a lot of those entries yourself already so I won’t bore you to death with regurgitating more of it. Let’s talk about this upcoming year.
I would certainly look towards having a year with less medical health issues/scares than 2022 contained. I already know I have another skin cancer spot behind my right ear that is going to have to be cut out. I also need to put a consistent effort into eating more and hydrating better. My body weight has sunk down to as low as it was when I was doing hard core calisthenics and running when I was single in 2012. In addition to clothing refresh and clutter reduction service Kerri has pledged to help me work on eating more, which I will do. I expect pickleball to be a growing part of my activities with gym and cycling contributing as well. If I can get my body to hold up I would love to try to play more volleyball with Kerri, the other sport she is passionate about, which I used to be.
Talking about future home improvements doesn’t make much sense as there is a strong possibility that during 2023 I may no longer be living in the place I have called home for almost the entire 21st century. That idea brings about a large mix of feelings in me but my main focus is how changing my living situation could have a substantial overall positive impact on my quality of life. At this stage of the game, that is what really matters, to me at least. This particular journey is sure to have a multitude of challenges along the way.
I hope to include travel as a more routine part of my existence. Kerri and I have talked about a number of possibilities that sound exciting and fun to me. Getting to see my family during the year is something I need to try to keep as a focus point as well. A lot of the tethers I felt in the past restricted me from traveling are no longer present with even more hopefully disintegrating as 2023 progresses.
My finances are going to see some realignment as well. I did a lot of impulse buying in 2022, especially with EUCs. That behavior needs to be better self regulated. I am blessed to be in a stable place financially but need to think about best use of my discretionary income. Of course I love new toys but when you have more toys than you have time to play with, what’s the point?
The last thing I always talk about are my personal relationship goals for the upcoming year. Last year this section was as dark and dreary as you can imagine based on what was going down. This year that attitude has been flipped on it’s head thanks to my relationship with Kerri. She is a beautiful person that I would love to continue building a bright future with. I think my nearly year and a half of struggle and self reflection/improvement has helped me become a more flexible, understanding and compassionate human being. It has been a good feeling looking forward instead of backward.
If you made it through this verbose year in review, thank you. I’ll never quite know why some people carve out small segments of their day to read the random thoughts that float around my head but I do appreciate each and every one of you. I hope 2023 holds opportunity, warmth and excitement for all.