Reflecting on 2020

Random Observation/Comment #691: Black Mirror really did a scarily good job with this new immersive season.

In 2020, we lived through the calm before the storm – a war fought in sweatpants.

  • Traveled to: San Francisco (in Jan), Massapequa Park (in March), and Colorado (in July). And then literally nowhere else.
  • Triumphantly: moved to Denver during a pandemic, did a 150-day cooking challenge (#cookingathome #quarantinecooking), did a 30 day origami challenge, presented at 6 conferences, was interviewed on a podcast, made a 40th birthday video for Vinessa, completed a Coronavirus vs EU Hackathon, completed 6 jigsaw puzzles, did an instax project that turned out to be a view into the before-times of parties, celebrated a 5 year anniversary, wrote 50-ish lists of 30 blogposts, posted 100s of photos on Instagram, did a 30 day sober challenge for dry January, started a podcast (Life in Lists of 30)!
  • Read / Listened to: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Disappearing Earth by Julia Philips, Masters of Doom by David Kushner, The Faceless Old Woman who lives under your bed by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor, The Bell Jar by Silvia Plath, World War Z by Max Brooks, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Loved this one and listened to it again), The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling, Cosmos by Carl Sagan, How to be an AntiRacist by Ibram X Kendi, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman, Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
  • Experienced: Dr Gameshow Live, Wicked, Hamilton (in Feb), Gary and Diana got married, Spin members Superbowl party, Tim’s going-away party, Elias’ birthday party, Backyard BBQ with Sara/Frank in June, BBQ with Jake & Family in June, July 4th fireworks, Hikes in Colorado (Roxoborough, Castle Pin, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Redrocks, Keystone, … a hike every other weekend)
  • Daily podcasts (whittled from a very long list): The Topical, Make My Day, Consider This, Life Kit, Short Wave, The Indicator, No Stupid Questions, Planet Money, The Prof G Show, Pandemic Economics, Pivot, Science Rules, Hello from the Magic Tavern, Welcome to Nightvale, Science VS, Radiolab, Every Little Thing, Go Fact Yourself, Hey Riddle Riddle, The Sporkful, Ask me Another, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, The Adventure Zone — This totals to around 6 hours of new content per week.
  • Completed podcasts, but decided to cut: This Sounds Serious, Capital Isn’t, Rabbit Hole, The Memory Palace, Teacher’s Lounge, Modern Love, Invisibilia, Factually, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, Dr. Gameshow, Story Break, Voyage to the Stars, Threedom, Dreamboy, In the Dark, Ear Hustle, Masters of Scale, How I Built this, Beef and Dairy Network podcast, Shmanners
  • Presentations: What is Enterprise Ethereum?, Breaking Down Blockchain Tech Stack, Business Process Automation Webinar, AWS/ConsenSys Webinar, EEA Blockchain for Business with uArk, Blockchain and Mining Webinar, Persona Mapping for Cultivators

It all just seems so surreal. This pandemic (and whatever you want to call this new time period) has led to a new normal. I feel grateful and guilty. Closer and alone. Productive and useless. (plus 27 more). The bubble of my world looks okay by proximity, but humanity suffers. I don’t think anyone is going to be prepared for the devastation of 2021 that will have impacts in years and decades, an not months.

In 2021, I’m predicting:

  • Market correction that makes the dot com bubble look like a joke – I’m hoping crypto is a safe haven because it’s relatively disconnected from the financial markets, but I have no idea with regulations .
  • New administration making politics boring again. Noise from Trump will likely fade. Expecting a lot of lawsuits and arrests.
  • Springtime Vaccine Distribution – Distributions will be difficult, but Amazon and pharmacy partnerships will be huge supply chain providers. I think the JNJ vaccine with single doses will likely be more effective and land more commercial deals.
  • Settling into Denver – I’m looking forward to exploring more of Denver and getting to know our neighborhood and neighbors much better.
  • Visiting Friends – I have space for friends to come visit! I’m looking forward to sharing this space with my NY friends and hosting.

(Previous Years’ Reflections: https://seelemons.com/just-life/reflecting-on/ )

~See Lemons Prepare for 2021