a mixed bag as any year might be, but overall very positive and eventful. my wife's grandmother, who she was very close with, passed away at the beginning of the year (around her birthday no less) and that was a hard moment in time. though many positive events throughout the year made it a very memorable one (including finally getting to celebrate our wedding day and take a real honeymoon which we've been waiting 2.5 years to do). got a new, better job as well after a lot of stress and uncertainty.

my dad is also still with us despite a lot of medical setbacks this year so feeling grateful for that. still though, something pervasively gloomy is hanging over 2022. it's likely most to do with the economy and the weight of inflation. maybe something also to do with the run up to the midterm elections, though good mostly prevailed in the face of evil. we should be thankful for that.

in april i casually signed up for strava since a buddy of mine mentioned they were getting into cycling and tracked their rides that way. i didn't think much of it at the time, but have to say that randomly checking the site today and seeing that i biked over 700mi in 8 months brought on a big sense of accomplishment this morning. as someone who always wanted to be in the habit of exercising but would fall off for months at a time, the combined number of activities and hours spent cycling, even if inconsistent at times, felt good to see. looking forward to exceeding those numbers in the coming year.