52 Things I enjoyed about 2021

In attempt to find joy in the objectively bad year of 2020, I came up with a list of 52 Things I enjoyed about the year. I felt like was a worthwhile exercise and something I wanted to do again this year. Similar to last year I have different sections. This list is in no particular order. 

Trips

1) Gatlinburg - it's hard to plan trips during the pre-vaccine time period of Covid. The big things we wanted were 1) no flights 2) outdoor activities 3) plenty to do at the place we stayed. Gatlinburg ended up being perfect because we got a place that was specifically built for Airbnb customers...a place with a hot tub, indoor swimming pool, game room, movie room, etc. The kids loved the pool and we could spend most of our time at the place with our close friends. 

2) Goatcoasters - our favorite part of the Gatlinburg trip was easily the Goatcoasters that were close to our house. I didn't know how L & J would do with something like this considering up till that point they seemed scared of any type of rollercoaster. (Example: L couldn't stand the rollercoaster at Disney World a few years ago.) Anyway, both kids absolutely loved it and we ended up riding it a few times over. 

3) Florida trip - we went down to 30A for a big family trip and again centered the trip around 1) a nice place 2) pool. It's good that we did because the beach was less than ideal due to crowds and this new restriction where beach front areas are now treated as private beaches. We had a small (maybe 20 yards wide) area where we could set up at the beach, which made it even better that the house / pool were outstanding. One of my favorites from this trip was going out a nice outdoor meal at a place that was so good we ended up going twice. Also, I really enjoyed playing baseball with L and my nephews during the sunset time period.

4) Bucks in 6 - this could be in the sports section, but one of the best things about the trip was being able to watch games 5 & 6 of the NBA Finals with my nephews. Game 5 had the amazing steal and the alley-app dunk from Holiday to Giannis that literally ended with one of my nephews on the floor from celebrating too much. Game 6 was an all time NBA performance as Giannis had 50 points. Watching those games and that Finals in general was an unexpected joy.

5) Miami trip - I've been a Dolphins fan since I was a child rooting on Dan Marino, but for some reason had never actually seen a Dolphins home game. I made a plan with one of my closest friends (who also happens randomly to be a Dolphins fan) to remedy that situation this year. We planned a trip in December to see Dolphins / Giants. I invited a few friends and we cobbled together a guys' trip. The Dolphins won, the trip was well planned and we had a great time.

6) Back to flying in general - From January 2020 to September 2021 I didn't go on a single flight....since then I've been on a flight every month after. As a common theme throughout this post it was nice to get back to normal.

Family

7) Meeting baby Otis - It's hard to know the exact last time you ever do something, but for baby Otis there is likely a 99% chance this is the last family baby for both my wife's family or my family. It is wonderful having a new baby in the family and I look forward to seeing him grow up. 

8) Meeting baby June - one of my closest friends from high school had her first baby this year and it was wonderful being able to meet baby June. I know it's a cliche, but you forget how small and cute babies are until you hold a new one.

9) J going to school - with our youngest child now in the public school just one block away from our house, we are officially finished with daycare. The benefits of this include the fact that daycare is expensive and it was slightly challenging managing two different schedules since daycare / school had different spring breaks and certain holidays. Also, J was given the kindergarten teacher that L had and one we really liked. This seems to be a great move and one that J has adjusted to very well.

10) Baseball with L - one somewhat random thing that we picked up this year was L really enjoying hitting plastic baseballs with a plastic bat. She is small for her age, but has a really impressive (in my completely biased opinion) swing.

11) Creeking with the girls - we tried to do more outdoor activities this year and one of those was going to explore the various Metro Parks around Columbus. The kids absolutely loved going into the creek and looking for crawfish. Most of the time we did this on our own and would spend hours hiking, getting muddy, making up games, etc. 

12) J's personality - last year I wrote about how one of things I loved about the year was the age 4....well the good news is that the age of 5 is pretty amazing as well. For those of you with toddlers just stay the course (not that you have a choice) and get to the other side because 4 & 5 are just amazing ages. I'm finally at the point with my kids that I would be fine with them staying this age forever. 

13) Sledding in February - one random winter day with a ton of snow we took the kids (and their cousins) sledding near the Franklin Park Conservatory and just had a blast! 

14) Team Melon - I signed up to be a coach on J's soccer team and ended up getting placed as head coach. This was a surprise, but a very good one as I got to lead a team of U6 soccer players to a very successful year. We had a really great group of kids and it was fun seeing them improve at soccer throughout the year. I think we all had fun....and not just doing our team cheer.

15) Hearing my kids are kind in school - during our talks with L & J's teachers they both commented on how L & J are kind kids. That is awesome to hear and something that I hope is part of their permanent personality.

16) Picking up the kids at school at 4pm almost every day - my work schedule combined with both of them going to the same school and the proximity of the school to our home (1 block) means the default pickup time is 4pm. This is great in that it gives the kids about an hour of aftercare (which they seem to enjoy playing with their friends on the playground) plus some down time at home before dinner. 

17) Zoo day with J - on a random day in May when M & L had another activity I took J to the Columbus Zoo. We spent about 7 hours just enjoying the animals, playgrounds, train rides, etc. With no other activities going on that day we could just linger on whatever thing we found interesting. It was such a joy to just have a relaxing day with my youngest. 

18) No one in the family got COVID - this should go without writing, but the fact that nobody in our family got COVID is somewhat of a miracle.

Food

19) Coffee - it's such a joy coming down from getting ready and see a pot of coffee ready. It helps me mentally get ready for the day.

20) New smoker - for my birthday this year I got a new Pit Barrel Cooker and I've now smoked ribs, brisket and a pork shoulder. I would highly recommend this if someone enjoys even the idea of smoking meat. 

21) Cookies from Carter's - this year I interviewed for a new role at Carter's and during the interview process I got something completely unexpected (see below). I thought that was such a nice touch and while I was already certain I was going to accept the job (if offered) this really helped make me feel comfortable with the decision.

22) Lemon drink from M - occasionally for cocktail hour M will make me this lemon cocktail that is wonderful and a nice change of pace from the normal whiskey and coke or wine. 

23) The steak at Forno - maybe the best one meal in Columbus is a steak at this Short North restaurant that isn't even known for steaks. It is a "petit filet in a gruyere mornay sauce" and it's the type of meal that I continue to look back fondly on. 

24) Skyline - my kids absolutely love Skyline on roadtrips (strange food choice, but they love the pasta with cheese) and I absolutely love Skyline pretty much anytime. The only real issue is trying to decide between 3 or 4 cheese coneys. 

25) Takeout from Del Mar - my favorite newish restaurant in Columbus was a Cameron Mitchell seafood place in the Short North named Del Mar. It felt different and I would recommend ordering the fish sandwich or the crispy skate.

26) Baking with the kids - L & J really took a liking to cooking this year with a special interest in baking. They will make their own cakes without a recipe and the result is a slightly sweet / dense cake that they love. 

Misc

27) New job! I wrote about this in July, but I am very happy to be at Carter's working as the Senior Manager of Testing there. I truly love Testing and am happy with the culture at Carter's. 

28) Vaccines- in March of this year I got a text from a friend saying there were vaccines available 2 hours south of Columbus in Pike County, Ohio. I reached out to the health services in Pike County and was able to get an appointment on a Friday for M and I. This was such a welcome development, and I was impressed with how easy it was. To recap it was 1) free 2) took a total of about 20 minutes (including the 15 minutes waiting in the car after) 3) helped me feel significantly more comfortable getting back to a "normal" life. This list isn't in order of importance, but if it was this might be number one.

29) Vaccines for the kids - the only difference from the above point is that we didn't have to drive to Pike County, and we had to promise ice cream after the shot. 

30) New job - starting at a new company can be challenging, but so far I really enjoy the people and the culture at Carter's.

31) Strong retail sales - this has been a great year to be in retail with sales far exceeding plans for many companies. This has led to nice bonuses and additional job opportunities (like the one above). After a truly dreadful 2020 with stores closed, I appreciate swimming with rather than against the tide.

32) Working remotely - There are pros and cons to working remotely, but my opinion is that at this time of my life the pros vastly outweigh the cons. I am fortunate that I found a company that allows me to work remotely permanently.

33) Chickens - I speculated in last year's post that we would get more animals and our big acquisition this year were 5 chickens from L's 2nd grade class. We couldn't keep roosters, so we were left with three hens. Every morning we let them out and every night we make sure they are safe. In between we fill their water, throw them scratch and generally just enjoy being a chicken family. Very random, but it has worked for our family. 

34) Jackson fixed the potholes - During my trips to Mississippi I enjoy walking in the neighborhood near my parents house. When I visited over the summer the walks always took me past epic potholes that you might expect to see in some dystopian novel about a failed city. However, when I came back in October the potholes were fixed! My Jackson friends assure me that doesn't mean all Jackson potholes have been fixed, but still I take this as a small sign of progress.

Entertainment 

35) Reading Craig Calcaterra - every morning I get the "cup of coffee" thoughts from Ohio resident & baseball fan Craig Calcaterra. I appreciate his recaps on baseball, thoughts on local politics and general writing style.

36) Joe Posnanski Browns Diary - this is a repeat from last year, but this year's Browns diary has been especially amazing considering how up and down this year has been. It's become a Monday tradition to read about how the Browns should give the ball more to Nick Chubb, which might not sound exciting to others but I find to be interesting.

37) Kacey Musgraves - my daughters (especially my oldest) LOVE Kacey Musgraves and it is fun putting on her music. My favorite songs are Space Cowboy, Biscuits and Butterflies. 

38) Cruel Summer (TV show) - my favorite show of the year was probably Hulu's intense teenage drama Cruel Summer. It was set over 3 years where the storyline progressed concurrently - meaning that each episode would should progression in the three years (1993, 1994 and 1995) it was set. Anyway, it was extremely entertaining and I felt like it did a perfect job of being intense without being too campy. 

39) Introducing my nephew to Oscar to Risk - Risk was one of my absolute favorite games as a kid and it was fun playing it with my nephew. I am hoping we can have some long (and with Risk it will be long) games in the future.

40) No Filter (book) - my favorite book of the year was easily No Filter by Sarah Frier. The book takes you inside the rise of Instagram and while the subject matter is different it reminded of reading Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. It was interesting to see how Instagram was created, the origin of the filters and how the company introduced ads after being acquired by Facebook. I highly recommend this book. 

41) The moral clarity of reading Adam Serwer - his articles in the Atlantic about the Supreme Court, Robert E Lee and American democracy are concise, thoughtful and clear. Serwer tackles a subject head on and doesn't seem to get distracted by irrelevant details or distractions. If I could have every politician read one writer it would be Adam Serwer. 

42) Imposters (Tv show) - I found the acting, plot line, etc from this show on Netflix to be riveting. My advice would be to try the first episode and if you don't like it then don't waste your time with any more episodes. I thought it started off strong and maintained it all the way through 2 enjoyable seasons. 

Sports

43) The return of crowds at sporting events. There will be more to come in terms of individual games I went, but just in general the return of crowds has been a huge improvement in 2021. I am sure eventually I will get used to it, but the contrast with 2020 made this year so much better. Places like Cameron Indoor Stadium just aren't the same without the fans. I felt like college basketball, college football and the NBA suffered the most without fans, but really everything seems better with people in the stands.

44) Crossing two new stadiums off the list - as you can guess from the blog title, one big thing is to go to a game at every major league stadium. This year I was lucky enough to go see Braves and Phillies home games. In a sign of my age, I've now been to 3 stadiums (Fulton-County Stadium, Turner Field and Truist Park) in Atlanta. As it currently stands, I've been to 25 of the 30 stadiums and only am missing games at Tampa, Boston, Oakland, Arizona and Texas. (I've been to a game at Arlington Stadium, but completely missed the 25 years the Rangers played at the Ballpark in Arlington)

45) Cooper Kupp - I've always loved watching Kupp play and tried to get him in fantasy with often mixed results. I'm glad I kept the faith and drafted him in both leagues. He has obliterated his competition and is easily the fantasy football MVP. He led me two 1st place regular season finishes and many moments of joy through the season

46) Great baseball players - I saw the top two National League players (Bryce Harper and Juan Sota) and the top three American League players (Shohei Ohtani, Vlad Guerrero Jr and Marcus Semien) plus other great players like Jose Ramirez, Freedie Freeman and Joey Votto. 

47) Steph Curry - I've only seen Curry play once before and that was in between his breakout performance at my sister's school (Davidson) and his many MVP years in the NBA. Considering he is playing at an MVP performance this year I made sure to mark on my calendar when he was playing in Cleveland. I got a decent seat (1st row in the upper level) and saw Curry go for 40 points and the Warriors outscored the Cavs 36-8 in the 4th quarter for a comeback win. 

48) First Ole Miss Game - I've written about this in detail, so if you want to check it out feel free.

49) Baseball Hall of Fame - my sister's family planned a summer roadtrip that had them going through Cooperstown. I was lucky enough to get the time off and visit the Baseball HOF with them. This had been something on my 40 before 40 list and it absolutely lives up to my expectation. 

50) Jevon Holland - the Miami Dolphins 2020 draft had many misses, but the 2021 draft has looked to be very good and the main reason for this might be the 2nd round pick Jevon Holland. I hadn't heard about him before the draft and really wanted them to get a running back, but after watching Holland play, I can see why they made this move. Holland is officially on "jersey watch" as someone who could lead the Dolphins defense for the next 5 years. 

51) The general competence of the Utah Jazz - while this year produced two of the most painful losses in my sports history (Games 5 & 6 against the Clippers), it is still awesome to watch a team that is very good. Besides some mistakes (passing on Bane) they generally do the correct thing. Draft players like Gobert / Mitchell, signing Bojan and picking up players like O'Neale have led to a team that was amazing last year and good again this year. I love seeing a team that is run well with likable players. They seem like they are in control both on the court and with their off court decisions. In contrast to the dysfunction of other teams it is just a nice change of pace.

52) The Waddle Waddle - the Dolphins have completely turned around their season and one reason why has been the great play for Jaylen Waddle. One fun thing is that after he scores a touchdown he does a penguin waddle. You can see it here or even buy a t-shirt of the Waddle Waddle.

How I got my Grove back

Individual decisions or moments can all make sense on a one-off basis, but somehow when you look at them in total they defy belief. For example in any given year the odds of the Dolphins winning a playoff game should be less than 50%...but how does that add up to 21 consecutive years of the Dolphins not winning a playoff game. (Unfortunately the same example applies to one of my other favorite teams as the Minnesota Twins have lost 18 straight playoff games. Losing one playoff game makes sense, but 18 in a row is impossible.) 

As a sports obsessed native Mississippian it is hard to believe that up until Saturday I had never been to an Ole Miss football game. Just like the above it makes sense that any given year I would have been busy or it wouldn't have made sense to travel from Minnesota / Ohio to northern Mississippi, but over the course of 38 years it just doesn't make sense.  A few years ago I decided to add “go to an Ole Miss game” on my 40 before 40 list, but really it took COVID (and the great pause with sports) to give me the proper motivation to actually do something about it. And if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it right and not just try to check a box. Doing it right in this case meant reaching out to one of my closest friends and enlisting her and her wonderful husband’s help in planning the trip. They were uniquely qualified for a few reasons:

1. They both went to Ole Miss
2. They had a spot / tent in the Grove to tailgate
3. Matt happens to be a bigger Ole Miss fan than anyone is a fan of anything

The next step was picking the game. I didn’t want to come see Ole Miss cross some directional school (and as a graduate from a MAC school this is no disrespect to small or mid-sized schools) or lose by 40 to Alabama. It was hard to know how good Ole Miss would be coming into the season, but I thought picking a mid-level SEC opponent would make the most sense. And the mid-level SEC opponent just happened to be a school (Arkansas) that has produced some of the strangest games in college football history.  So I had the right people, the right game and all things lined up for a great experience. 

So how was it?

Absolutely.

Amazing.

First off the game was exactly what you would expect from an Arkansas / Ole Miss game. The teams combined for 1287 yards and 103 points. It isn’t fair to say it came down to the last second because the game actually came down to one untimed play that determined which team won. Here are some notes:

• There were two players currently projected to be 1^st round picks in the 2022 NFL draft: Ole Miss’s QB Matt Corral and Arkansas’s receiver Treylon Burks. Both players looked unstoppable 
• 6 (!!!) players rushed for over 80 yards. It didn’t seem to matter who was running the ball because they could get 5-10 yards every single time
• Arkansas’s QB played a great game with both his passes and his runs. I looked him up and he was born May 20^th, 2001…..which is right around the same time I was graduating high school. 
• Some of the long throws from Matt Corral were majestic and it was easy to see why he is going to be a 1^st round pick
• There is special amount of pressure when its an 11am game and the tailigating is going to happen after the game. It was hard not to think about how salty people would be if Ole Miss lost. 
• The play came down to a 2 point conversion attempt by Arkansas after they scored a TD with no time on the clock. It was absolutely the right call because neither team’s defense looked great, but for some reason Arkansas tried a rollout pass. There didn’t seem to be a great play design and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground. 
• The level of joy / relief in seeing that ball and the overall quality of play made this one of the best games I’ve ever attended. It’s not up to the 2015 National Title or Game 163, but wow that was such a great game. If you want to see a picture of pure joy check out my seatmate / host for the weekend:

After the game we all went to the Grove. The Grove is consistently rated as one of the top tailgating experiences in college football and it lived up to the hype. Again I felt lucky to be with people who actually knew what they were doing, which meant organizing the food, drinks and having a tent. It was awesome to walk around enjoying a libation while talking to people I used to know (a few from high school) and strangers I just met. Below is a picture of the crew I was Groving (not one person ever said that, but I am going to assume that it will take off after this post) with. 

A few noteworthy experiences from after the game. The Grove is huge party with many social interactions. 

• There is a rhythm to interacting in Mississippi and I tried my best to remember the appropriate cadence of my home state.
• I can talk football with anyone, but I had to remember I was squarely in SEC country. At one point I tried to explain the MAC to a friend and not only was it not successful it led to a question about if Ohio State was in the MAC.
• The food was great - both at the Grove and all weekend. It started on Friday was an absolutely amazing fried chicken burrito with yellow rice and queso. That was so good that if I went back to the same place I would make the same order. It ended on Saturday night  with excellent 1am chicken on a stick from a very busy gas station. In between there were many chick-fil-a chicken nuggets, brownies, sandwiches, etc. I was well-fed and Oxford as a food city lived up to its reputation. 
• You want an example of free market capitalism at it's finest....it's one bar's cover being $40 and that easily being the most reasonable option. If it's Saturday night after a big game then you might as well price your cover at a high market rate. (There were enough people inside which more than justifies the pricing decision.)
• I stayed at a friend's condo that was within walking distance of the stadium, Grove and Square. Mississippi is not normally filled with walkable communities, but that thankfully wasn't the case in Oxford. Part of me wonders if some Mississippians have such an affinity towards Ole Miss because it's the rare place where you don't need a car.

Anyway, it's been over a week and I am thrilled I got to go to Ole Miss for a game. It truly is a remarkable sports cultural experience. I'm lucky to have friends that were able to give me this opportunity. 

 

 

The Lexus and the Pothole

I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. My parents still live there. Recently I actually was interviewed for an article in Mississippi Today about why millennials leave Mississippi. Mississippi is my home and it is where I am writing this blog post. As I think about Mississippi I think about the contradictions that have always existed, but even seem more pronounced now. Mississippi has the nicest people in the world, but also people that continue to elect politicians like James Eastland, Tate Reeves and Cindy Hyde-Smith. 

One contradiction that I keep going over is the Lexus and the pothole. I have zero data to back this up, but the Jackson area seems to have an absurd amount of luxury cars and potholes. People correctly assume Mississippi is a poor state, but it is a poor state with a ton of rich people. There seems to be extreme income inequality that produces a few logical outcomes:

-Jackson public schools have a terrible local reputation. But there are 3 good private schools in the Jackson area. (I went to one of these 3 schools)

-Jackson roads are truly awful with potholes the size of a large dog. But there are plenty of rich Mississipians avoiding their potholes in their luxury cars

-Jackson has wonderful homes, but homes that are surrounded by large gates and I assume elaborate security systems.

-Jackson has a nice Apple store - guarded by police officer with a very visible gun (so not a mall cop by any stretch).

-Mississippians are kind / wonderful people who will welcome you in a way I haven't seen living in Ohio / Minnesota. Mississippians (relative to the rest of the country) also won't get vaccinated. In the past 24 hours I've learned one friend of a friend testing positive for COVID after she refused to get vaccinated. I've learned of two incidents at work where people have come into the office unvaccinated and unmasked and later tested positive for COVID. One of those people was not vaccinated, felt sick and still came into work and eventually passed along to Cover to her coworker. 

It is hard to get over the contradictions. It is hard to reconcile in my mind how much I love Mississippi but can not stand what Mississippians do. At my low moments I shake my fist at the sky and curse the individualist culture here that shows up in their votes, concerns and actions. I don't really know what else to write or if this makes much sense. It is all just so frustrating. 

New Job

One year ago I was working from home for a retailer (Victoria's Secret) in the Finance department. I loved the job, my team, the work and everything besides the drama that is partly COVID and partly pre-COVID related but ultimately means possible layoffs. It likely would have been smart to look for a new job instead of waiting things out, but I didn't want to proactively leave when I thoroughly enjoyed the company and trusted my leaders. 

One year ago I was preparing for a family vacation to the Florida panhandle with my family. We had canceled the first trip due to COVID and only felt comfortable taking this trip due to certain precautions (we all quarantined before the trip). It wasn't the normal place we vacation, but still it was likely going to be a fun trip. 

This year I am also preparing for a family vacation to the Florida panhandle with my family. COVID has thankfully calmed down considerably from last year (even though there are still people who won't get a vaccine which very much confuses me). It is the normal place we vacation and I am sure it will be a great trip.

The big difference is that I am no longer working from home. If you had given me a brief snapshot I would have thought it was because I was let go from Victoria's Secret and then didn't find a job for a year. The first part is true (I was let go), but thankfully it didn't take too long before I found a similar role at DSW. The reason I am no longer working from home is that I quit my job at DSW. I am grateful for the opportunity they gave me and all that I learned, but the reason I could quit was I found a better job leading Testing at Carter's. 

It has been a very strange journey with Carter's. Originally the role needed to be based in Atlanta and I thought it would be my last conversation with them when I said that I needed to be located in Columbus. That changed and now I am going to be fully remote (with trips to Atlanta 6 times a year). I set up a desk / office space yesterday (I've been working from a cardboard table for 1.5 years) and now I am ready to go. The people at Carter's seem like exact kind of coworkers I loved at Victoria's Secret / Honeywell - they are smart, personable, funny and they ask challenging questions without coming across negatively. 

The State of the Utah Jazz

I've been a Utah Jazz fan for a long time. I can't remember the exact date, but somewhere in the early to mid 1990s I decided that yep out of all of the NBA teams this was going to be my favorite. Now this was a strange choice considering the Jazz weren't the best team in the NBA and I lived in Jackson, Mississippi. I really liked John Stockton (thanks basketball cards) and there was an appeal in picking a very good team, but not the best test. And for the first years of my fandom things worked out very well. The Jazz went from good to really good (1997 when they lost in the NBA Finals) to really, really good (1998 when they should have won the title had they not called Eisley's shot off, made the right call on the Harper shot or called the push-off on MJ). But they didn't win the title and eventually time caught up on Stockton / Malone.

Then a strange thing happened - without Stockton / Malone the Jazz still played well. They rebuilt relatively quickly and soon they had Deron Williams, Kirilenko, Boozer and Okur. They made the Western Conference Finals in 2007 and had a few other semifinals loses. (In the same ways that the Minnesota Twins always seemed to lose to the Yankees, the Jazz always seemed to lose to the Lakers). They never won the title, but they were good and enjoyable to watch and there is value in that.

And then they had to go another rebuild - this one seemed longer than the first one, but when it was over the Jazz had two All-Star caliber players with Rudy Gobert and Gordan Hayward. They won a great playoff series against a more high-profile team (the LA Clippers) before losing in the semifinals (like the Williams / Boozer / Okur Jazz teams). Then Jazz fans suffered an amazing whiplash of Hayward leaving (and ruining the 4th of July) followed by the Jazz drafting one of the best players in franchise history - Donovan Mitchell. It seemed like the fates aligned to replace Hayward with Mitchell and everything went as scheduled. That schedule has led to always making the playoffs, but essentially knowing that the best possible scenario is winning 1-2 games in the Western Conference semifinals. 

The Utah Jazz are currently up 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinals. This would have been their ceiling over the past two decades, but things are different now. The Jazz finished the year with the best record in the NBA and truly have a great team. They also have gained fans with Vegas oddsmakers and analytics websites like 538. They are are the Western Conference favorite. It is the first time since 1998 that a title is a legit possibility with this team. And it is making both extremely happy and incredibly nervous. 

At this very moment I am just hoping that both Mike Conley and Donavan Mitchell are healthy for Game 4 and that the Jazz can steal a win in LA. I am trying to be too upset that the Jazz have played their last three games without Mike Conley (their 3rd best player) and that Mitchell looked hurt at the end of Game 3. The Clippers are one of those "super teams" that brought together Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to win a title, so it feels like the mostly homegrown Jazz will need every single good player to play at their best to win. They seem relatively lucky to be up 2-1 despite being shorthanded. 

It's dumb to get too far ahead of the series, but if the Jazz win they are very, very likely to play the Phoenix Suns. That would be an incredibly difficult series, but also one that they could win. And then they would likely play the New Jersey Nets - another incredibly difficult series, but also one that they could win. Essentially they have 3 rounds of tough games, but also games that the Jazz can win. It is the perfect combination of the Jazz being incredibly good and this year's NBA being way more open than normal. 

Anyway, the Jazz could win it all and I am really hoping that I can post on this blog in the future about the NBA Finals coming to you live from Salt Lake City.

2021 Miami Dolphins Draft

Today is draft day for the NFL and specifically for my favorite team the Miami Dolphins. I wanted to get some thoughts down, so that later on I could look back to see if the Dolphins would have been better off with me as the GM. 

As I write this now the Dolphins have the 6th and 18th pick. Here are my preferences in order:

1) Draft Ja'Marr Chase. It is hard not to see Chase being a bust considering how amazing he was at LSU and how his fellow receiver (Justin Jefferson) did extremely well as a rookie last year. The Dolphins have had success drafting LSU receivers (Jarvis Landry) and this is clearly the best case scenario. Unfortunately it is somewhat unlikely in that he available for the Dolphins because he is likely to go to Cincy.

2) Trade down. If they can get a decent offer I love the idea of trading down and getting more picks. I was a big fan of the original trade with the Eagles where they got two 1st round picks to move down from 3 to 12. I  wasn't as big of a fan going from 12 up to 6. 

3) Draft Penei Sewell. I'm not sure how to measure offensive lineman, but he is supposed to be very good and I like the idea of protecting Tua. It seems preferable to draft the top offensive lineman as opposed to a receiver that you might not love.

4) Draft DeVonta Smith. It has seemed like destiny for the Dolphins to draft Smith all year. They need a receiver and all year Smith was the best receiver. The fact that his last game was in the title game in Miami and it happened to be his best game just makes it seem like a perfect fit. Yes he is small, which is why I would prefer options 1-3, but I would still be happy to see him as a Dolphin

5) Draft Jaylen Waddle. I am not sure why this pick worries me so much....it seems like the most likely outcome, but I am just not sure about Waddle. I still think he could help out, which is why it is still a top 5 option, but I still have my doubts.

With the 18th pick it is harder to pick who will be available or not. Will someone like Smith or Parsons fall? I will try to revise the projection based on who is available, but right now I would go:

1) Hope someone like Smith / Waddle / Parsons drops to the Dolphins. Draft them.

2) Draft Najee Harris. The Dolphins need a dominating running back and while taking a running back in the 1st round is no longer a popular thing, I think Harris will be worth it.

3) Draft the best defensive player who can rush the passer. Maybe Paye or Phillips. 

Updated with thoughts from one of my closest friends / a fellow Dolphins fan:

Also, we disagree quite a bit.  My list without a full explanation is officially:

1. Pitts
2. Chase
3. Trade Down
4. Waddle
5. Sewell
6. Smith

At 18, I really want Jaelan Phillips although it looks like he will likely be gone by then.  I would also like Parsons if he were to fall to that point.  Or OT if they don’t get Sewell.

1. Phillips
2. Parsons
3. Trade Down
4. OT
5. Etienne

52 Things I Enjoyed About 2020

2020 was a tough year. We were more fortunate than others considering as of now we and our extended family have maintained our health. Still, I lost my job, the kids lost time with their friends, we lost our big trip to visit our friend Megan in Switzerland, both kids lost time at school and we lost a sense of community that we love in Bexley. But there were positives. Below is a list of of 52 positives from the year. This isn't a full ranking and I certainly wouldn't try to order it, so instead I grouped it into categories. For those of you who don't care about my random sports teams, feel free to skip that section

The Election

The results of the 2020 election

• What needed to happen, happened. I went into this a lot more in my last post, so I don't need to get into all the reasons why I wanted Joe Biden to win. This could easily turn negative and I have debated writing down my thoughts on how 74,111,419 voted for Trump or the impacts of disinformation or the basic unfairness of the electoral college or how Republicans have acted during all of the baseless election claims from Trump or a myriad of issues we have in our country. All of that is true. All of that makes talking politics with even friends I agree with to not be enjoyable. Still on a gloriously warm Saturday I got a text with the results (a text from a close friend who was up until this election very apolitical) and I almost dropped to my knees. I don't want to be overly dramatic and little about that day changes my overall thoughts on democracy in this country, but still the text, buying Johnnie Walker Blue and then popping champagne with my close friends was amazing and for that one day all was well. 

Volunteering to be a Poll Worker

• I'm mostly a "political hobbyist" meaning I read a lot of news and opinion articles and can speak intelligently on most subjects....but I don't actually engage in politics. The one exception this year was signing up to work the polls on election day. I had a few online trainings, an in person training, setting up for the election and then working a 15 hour day (starting at 5:30am) for the election. It was a little concerning doing this during COVID, but still it felt good to do my civic duty. (Also, seeing the pride people take in voting makes me even more outraged over undemocratic actions like gerrymandering.) I'm not sure if I will do it again (I think I will) or how else I can get involved, but I was happy to do a small part in this election.  

Finances

Getting 97% of our money back for the Europe trip

• We were booked to fly to Europe over Spring Break - this included booking hotels, an Airbnb and train tickets. Some of those were non-refundable. Then when COVID started going bad we made the decision to cancel our trip. In order of ease of getting money back to not easy it went hotels (a simple click of the button on Expedia), Airbnb (a very easy to understand policy when I called and then a click of the button), Rail Europe (they made me take pictures of the tickets and mail it to them before giving us our money back) and then Delta (first they gave me vouchers and then after multiple calls and many hours on hold they finally gave us our money back). Anyway, we lost out on some transaction fees, but still I took it as quite the accomplishment to get 97% of our money back. 

Saving Money

• It turns out that when there isn't much to do and you can't travel it is very easy to save money. On our budget Travel was down 93%, Dining out was down 53% and entertainment was down 27%. We spent more money on our home, but still from a budget perspective we have never saved as much as we did in 2020.

Food

New recipes: Chicken Fried Rice and Beer Battered Shrimp

• Being stuck at home meant we tried out a few more recipes than normal. One of my favorites was a simple chicken fried rice...and mixing it with yum yum sauce. I found out that it only worked when you had all the ingredients (sounds obvious) and included the egg, carrots, peas, chicken and rice. Also, at the start of the pandemic I bought one of those big rice packages and found out that as long as you have time (and working from home meant we had time) it is much better to make the long cooking (20-25 minutes) rice. Another favorite was the McCormick Beer Batter Seafood mix on shrimp. Somewhat randomly our youngest child really likes this and overall it is a great option for cocktail hour. 

Box Wine

• Am I proud of this one? No. But the quarantine plus being stuck at home meant a semi-regular switch from bottles of wine to box wine. The quality isn't bad and I don't feel as embarrassed when I take out the recycling now. 

Takeout

• Takeout in terms of quality and operations has improved so much. Maybe it has always been that way, but really we have gotten much better about ordering online and having a nice professionally cooked meal in the comforts of our own home. 

Picnics

• At a garage sale a few years ago I picked up a picnic basket and somewhat surprisingly we use relatively frequently even before COVID. During COVID though this because an especially great purchase because picnics were the perfect COVID activity.

Home

Painting the basement Green Apple

• Before COVID started we planned on working on our basement with a new couch and by painting it. We picked a light green color (Green Apple) and instead of hiring a painter did it ourselves. This turned our remarkably well and the light green color in the basement makes me happy during family movie time. 

Home improvement projects

• We got a new fence, new computer and a basketball goal for the garage. That combined with the revamped basement (we added on some furniture, changed whats hanging on the walls and got a new TV) made for an improved home. 

Kids

Animals

• This year was likely the start of our live with animals. As I write this I can look over at our fishes and snail....and I can see into the future and see so many more animals. We might have briefly adopted a turtle, bunny and worm, but soon I know we won't be able to say no to the dog question anymore. (We aren't saying no because we don't like dogs, but because our youngest has been afraid of dogs and we are waiting until that is over.)

Cooking with the kids

• The kids (unless they are in one of their moods) really enjoy helping us cook and I feel like that is both a useful life skill as well as helping them try new foods. 

The age 4

• Each age has its own pros and cons, but for my money there might not be a better age out there than the age of 4. Up until 4 there are naps, diapers (or potty training) and meltdowns. Up until 4 it is very hard to have a rational conversation with a child. But then slowly things change and before you know it you are having somewhat normal conversations with your child instead of just waiting for the inevitable meltdown. That happens around the age of 4. Also, one nice thing about the age of 4 is that you can have these normal conversations, but 4 year olds still have the confidence to go to Target wearing a princess costume.  

L and our neighbor (Heidi) walking Heidi's dog

• Our across the street neighbor has a dog that L absolutely LOVES to be around in any capacity. It is cute to see and also a reminder of how great our neighborhood is. 

The kids playing together

• Both M and I grew up with siblings and always knew we wanted to have more than 1 kid. One big reason is that we wanted each of them to have someone to play with. This takes awhile to happen, but it really has blossomed this year and what a perfect year for that to happen. They really enjoying playing whatever games exist in their head and it gives M and I a little bit of a break that isn't TV related. 

Movie marathons with the kids 

• We have watched all 4 Shreks, the first two Home Alones and the first two Beethovens. It's nice having the new basement and that the kids are old enough that we don't have to watch Daniel Tiger. (Not that Daniel Tiger was bad.)

Picking up J at 3:30pm

• Without a commute or having to be in the office at certain times we have changed J's school pickup to 3:30pm. This has given our family a nice routine where we can pick her up and she can play with L and watch a tv show before getting ready for dinner. I've very much enjoyed this routine.

L running a 5k

• One of the more amazing athletic accomplishments of the year was watching my oldest child run a 5k with M. Just writing that sentence seems crazy to me, but J and I followed them along the entire run and I saw it myself. L has really modeled her behavior after M (who really likes running) and I was impressed she could do that.

Misc

Walks / Fitbit

• One of the best things I've ever bought in my life has been a Fitbit. It helps motivate me to get outside more and my daily walks helps me catch up on podcasts (Ezra Klein, fantasy football, Colin Cowherd) or books (see at the end of this post). At one point I walked 10,000 steps every single day for 109 straight days (4/11 to 7/28). I've since had a few days under 10,000, but still I am doing pretty well overall and currently have walked 57 more miles than I did last year (and I felt like last year was a pretty good year)

Drawing logos

• For the Super Bowl every year we create a big Super Bowl poster and hand draw the logos of each team. I won't pretend that I am very good drawer, but I have enjoyed that in the past. This year I've expanded it by periodically turning on music and working on a random logo while L & J draw next to me.

Exploring the city parks of Columbus

• The city parks of Columbus are well-run, pretty and provide a perfect COVID activity in that it's outside and socially distant. That was a common activity this year and one that I would like to continue even when COVID is gone. 

My blue Kevin Garnett retro jersey

• I saw this was on sale the other day and pounced at the opportunity to buy what has to be one of the prettiest jerseys ever. 

Sports

Obi Toppin & the Pine Club

• One of my last "normal" nights before Covid shut things down was a February 28th Dayton basketball game where I went with one of my close friends to see Obi Toppin. Wow. Toppin was dominating and at one point he dunked it on 3 consecutive possessions and each one being better than the one before. Dayton is a truly great place to watch a basketball game....and afterwards getting a steak at the cash only Pine Club is well worth it. I ended up buying an Homage Pine Club shirt as a way of remembering life before COVID. 

Duke at Unc

• Much like Buddy the Elf it was hard not to excitedly say "I know him" when Wendall Moore hit the game winning shot against UNC. The entire comeback and Tre Jones missed free throw turned into tying jumper sequence as spectacular, but seeing Moore (who I met at K Academy and seemed incredibly friendly) hit the shot at the end of the game was special. 

The Dolphins drafting Tua

• There have been two perfect draft matches for the professional teams in my life. Deron Williams to the Jazz in 2005 and Tua to the Dolphins in 2020. The Dolphins started a complete rebuild last year and "Tank for Tua" became a thing. The plan was to lose every game, get the 1st pick and draft the best QB prospect since maybe Andrew Luck. Well it didn't really work out that way as the Dolphins actually started winning games, but then Tua injured his hip and Joe Burrow had maybe the greatest college year ever for a QB....and long story short the Dolphins drafted Tua but in the 5th spot in the draft. That was the most exciting Dolphins draft pick since I became a fan. 

Believing in Brian Flores

• It is nice going into a game and feeling like you have the better coach. It is also nice feeling like the long-term direction of the team is in good hands. As a Dolphins fan I feel absolutely thrilled to have Brian Flores as the coach

Donovan Mitchell in the playoffs

• The NBA moved to a bubble for the playoffs, which overall I think was a net negative. I missed the fans and I missed the hype before a big Jazz home playoff game. However, there was one huge positive that I might be discounting too much and that is the quality of basketball seemed to be significantly higher in the bubble than in previous years. That resulted in one of my all-time favorite basketball series between the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz. The matchup was absolutely perfect (the complete opposite of the Rockets / Jazz from years past) and it didn't get much better than seeing Donovan Mitchell compete against Jamaal Murray. Mitchell averaged 36 points per game on better than 50% shooting and was truly a joy to watch. As I watching Mitchell dominate I kept thinking about how he was eventually going to have a statue outside whatever they call Vivint Arena

Donovan Mitchell & Rudy Gobert signing long term deals with the Jazz

• Mitchell and Gobert are the modern day Stockton / Malone and with so many star players jumping around (I'm looking at you Lebron, Durant, Kawhi) it is nice to have the same players to root for every single year. I look forward to seeing both players continue to grow and for the Jazz to hopefully take the next step

Derrick Favors resigning with the Jazz

• I'm not sure if the Jazz or really any of my favorite professional teams will ever win the title and I am not sure if a move like resigning Derrick Favors helps that. However, sometimes it is just nice to root for players you like and Favors is a true professional and a very good player. He played for the Jazz for 9 years, left for New Orleans and now is back for this 10th year. 

The Dolphins defense - led by Xavien Howard

• Last year the Dolphins started the year off by giving up 59 points. This year they are the best defense in the league in terms of points against (18.8 per game). I can't believe the turnaround. It's been an entire team effort, but I have to point out how amazing Xavien Howard has been at cornerback. He has 9 interceptions and could win defensive player of the year. 

Watching the Houston Texans lose

• Maybe my most controversial sports opinions is that no team should own their own draft pick. It isn't natural to hope for your team to lose, but sometimes the incentives work that you root for the tank. That happened last year as the Dolphins tried to tank for Tua. This year has been so much better because I could root for the Dolphins to win AND also hope for a top draft pick. Before the 2019 season the Dolphins trade Laremy Tunsil to the Texans for a lot of draft picks...including the 1st and 2nd round picks in this draft. All of that meant Dolphins fans would be rooting against the Texans in every game this year in hopes of getting better draft picks. And the Texans lost, and lost and kept losing. As I write this they are 4-11 and the Dolphins would get the 3rd pick in the 1st round and 2nd round. Every week I text my fellow Dolphins fan about who the Texans are playing and we try to figure out how that team can win. It's fun having two games and two teams teams (the Dolphins and whoever is playing the Texans) to root for each week.

Alvin Kamara and my fantasy team

• Alvin Kamara was the best running back in the league all year and led my fantasy team to top points and a 3rd place playoff finish.

The Ryan Fitzpatrick no-look pass

• Just when the Dolphins season looked to be over Ryan Fitzpatrick completed the most ridiculous pass I have ever seen. I don't know how anyone can throw the ball so far and so accurately while having their helmet ripped to the side by a 300lb lineman. That pass saved the season and provided the kind of joy that makes you just randomly laugh and text friends pure joyful gibberish. 

TV

Mrs. America

• Mrs. America was a 9 part mini-series on Hulu that mostly tracked the life of Phyllis Schlafly as well as other political figures during the fight to pass the ERA. It was incredibly well-acted and covered a time period (the 1970s) that I don't feel like I learned as much about in school. 

Emily in Paris

• If Mrs. America was both fun and educational, then Emily in Paris was just fun. I don't care how unrealistic it was or any of the other criticisms this was the perfect show for COVID.

The Great

• In a show that had absolutely nothing to do with our current (and soon to be former) President, the Great reminded me so much of him. Peter is selfish, cruel and demands 100% loyalty from his subjects. Seeing Peter interact with Catherine was probably the best possible two person interaction I saw all year on TV. 

Trips

New Orleans

• I can't always predict what trips are going to be ok and what trips are going to be great. New Orleans seemed like one of those trips that might be less than ideal because what people normally like about New Orleans (great food and drinking on Bourbon Street) doesn't really fit in the family friendly category. However, it easily was one of our best trips. We got a nice hotel that was close to the French Quarter and had a pool. The kids loved the pool and the various forms of transportation we took including J's first taxi ride, various pedicabs around the city and then finally a train ride from New Orleans to Jackson. M and I both really loved the nice meals around the city including going back to this place (Deanie's) we went to (and really enjoyed) a decade ago. And my favorite was the Pelicans / Jazz game where Brandon Ingram scored 49 points and Donovan Mitchell scored 46 points. It was a dramatic, well-played game that we watched from the 10th row. Anyway, the trip had something for everyone and is something I would definitely enjoy doing again with the family.

Bloomington, Indiana

• During the summer we took the proper precautions (quarantining before) and decided to meet up with two close college friends of mine in Bloomington, Indiana. Why Bloomington? My friends found a place with an indoor pool and I will now say that when you have small kids an indoor pool increases your happiness by at least 73%. Anyway, I remember thinking after the trip about how it was good for our souls and even know I don't think that was hyperbole

Pensacola Beach

• We debated and debated and debated going on this trip, but after much discussion we decided to quarantine before meeting up as a family down in Pensacola Beach. This wasn't our normal location, which was fine since it wasn't a normal year. (We had a normal trip planned but that was canceled during the first peak of COVID). Anyway, despite the very strange middle part, I really loved hanging out with my family and going to the beach. One positive about most things being closed is that the trip was actually a lot more relaxing because there was no "fear of missing out." Sometimes M and I can go to a place and try to check off as many main attractions as possible, but with this trip it was just the pool, beach, cocktail hour and family time.

Lakeside

• The kids love to go to Lakeside for the golf cart rides, donuts and being able to hang out as a family. In a year with most things being canceled it was nice to have a normal trip.

Work

Finding a new job

• Retail is a tough industry to be in right now and trying to find a job remotely is another hurdle. I feel fortunate to find another comparable job as what I had before at another large (but not as large) retailer her in Columbus. 

Getting paid for your vacation days

• I don't recommend getting let go and I also don't recommend not using your vacation days....but....if that does happen it is really nice getting an extra large paycheck paying out the vacation days you rightly accrued. And as I told HR on the day I got let go, that day itself was supposed to be a vacation day but I wasn't going to count it since I called into the two appropriate meetings. 

Meeting new coworkers (virtually)

• I have two new coworkers in general that I really like and feel like I can trust with various observations / complaints. It's a testament to the power of technology (Teams calls, emails and texts) that I can already feel a strong bond with two people I have never met before. 

Writing 

Anything by Wright Thompson

• Wright Thompson is so good....his book of sports, his article on Archie Manning are great and I am going to guess that his new book on bourbon will also be very good. 

Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein

• I love listening to and reading Ezra Klein and his book this year did not disappoint. It really helped me better understand where we were as a country.

The Victory Machine by Ethan Sherwood Strauss

• I love pretty much anything Ethan Strauss writes, but really his ESPN articles chronicling the rise of the Golden State Warriors were must reads. This book is more of the same about the Warriors and while it is somewhat short is is very compact and extremely fun to read (or in my case listen to). 

The Wax Pack by Brad Balukjian

• I love 1) random concepts 2) sports 3) baseball cards 4) road trips so yeah this book was perfect for me. Brad Balukjian searched out the players from a single pack of baseball cards to see what happened with their life. He made me care about players I never heard of (the pack was from a time before I followed baseball), but really I just appreciated his commitment to such a crazy and unique idea.

It Was All A Lie by Stuart Stevens

• Stuart Stevens is a fellow Mississippian and he writes with clarity of someone who has been in politics a long time and can see the issues we are having with the Republican Party. I remember reading his book about going to every Ole Miss football game with his Dad and loving his writing style....and while this book isn't nearly as fun it is probably even more necessary

Three Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman

• I never have liked the Lakers - as a Jazz fan that is somewhat to be expected because the Lakers often beat the Jazz in the playoffs, but I really enjoyed this book about the Shaq / Kobe Lakers. I could even get over the fact that the person reading the book absolutely butchered the names of multiple NBA players. 

Joe Posnanski's Browns Diary

• I lived with 3 Browns fans in college and it was enough after that not to be a Browns fan. That being said one of my favorite things to read is Joe Posnanski's weekly diary on the Browns. He is a very logical sports fan and provides a great perspective.

Glass House by Brian Alexander

• This was a recommendation from a writer I like as a great way of understanding the collapse of the American Dream as told through the small town of Lancaster, Ohio. I loved pretty much everything about this depressing American story. It turns out private equity and the "greed is good" culture helped destroy a company (Anchor Hocking) and a city (Lancaster, Ohio) that is just 30 minutes southeast of where I write this. 

Can't Even by Anne Helen Peterson

• Continuing the theme of a Glass House, this is a good summary of what ills the "millennial" generation. I really enjoyed her perspective on technology and work. 

Anyway, I doubt that anyone made it this far in the blog, but if they did congrats on making through a blog that was almost as long as 2020. I am glad to turn the page on this year, but I am also glad that if we had to have a forever quarantine it was with M, L and J.