Goodbye 2022

Hey 2022

It wasn't fun. The pandemic is still here, it is gearing up to be worse, and still I got through you.

Lowlights

1. I got COVID in April. I was vaxxed 3 times, but the three days that it hit me hard were the worst out of the two weeks I felt like garbage.
2. I went to a fiasco in London that almost resulted in me talking to a room full of no one but myself.
3. People died from COVID. It still is something I find horribly wrong with this world that we could have prevented this or it could have been a lot less than it was, but we had a shit President who did nothing.
4. The pandemic still is a thing. I know a lot of people that got sick, know people who passed away.

Highlights

1. I spoke at eight conferences (it felt like more), attended Smashing Conference in San Francisco and some virtuals.
2. I did not get COVID again.
3. I met a ton of great people at conferences. Too many to mention but they know who they are.
4. I went to London for the first time in over thirty years.
5. I bought a house
6. We got a cat.
7. I spent another year sober.
8. I had an amazing support system when I'm on the road that I am grateful to have.
9. I will continue to wear a mask not only to prevent me from getting sick, but to ensure I don't get anyone sick if I happen to be sick.
10. I got a great co-host for the podcast.
11. I ended season two of the podcast and we're heading into season three.
12. I spent time in six states, two continents and two countries during my travel in which I got to see a lot, eat great food, and spend time with phenomenal friends.

Looking Ahead

I don't like to look too far ahead but the one thing I do look forward to is this:

Speaking at conferences, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old friends. Moving out of accessibility by the end of the year and transitioning into a DevRel role somewhere. Traveling to more places and being sober so that I can enjoy it.

I hope everyone stays safe and you have a better 2023. Hope that things keep moving forward instead of backwards, that we can progress and not regress. Hope that my friends and the people I have met over the course of the time I have been in tech can enjoy some peace and some well-being during these times. Hope that humans can wake up and realize what we're doing isn't working, that maybe we need to change drastically before there is no Earth left.

See you in 2023.