Marking time
My birthday celebration plans center around reading on the back porch with my spouse as soon as she returns from Maine, so I am a little bit annoyed to be writing a second post today about turning 33 . But I did want to mark a few things for my future self, and as this is essentially my personal blog, well, let’s get it over with.
Chatting with Jacquelyn today — TechCrunch+’s senior crypto reporter, and someone I respect greatly — she reminded me that I had managed more than just not dying for another year. Grudgingly, she’s correct.
Future Alex, here’s a few things that you managed in the last year in case you get sad and need a pick-you-up:
Reached your 6th sobriety date, putting one more alcohol-free year under your belt
Survived early infertility issues and a host of IUI cycles
Supported spouse through two IVF cycles, and after a half-billion more appointments; are now expecting Ada’s birth in December
Got back into fitness to a degree that is acceptable, if yet insufficient compared to goals
Read a pile of books across formats and genres
Celebrated spouse finishing her five-year medical residency, a milestone for the ages (and got to be her sounding board during job hunting)
Swapped jobs at TechCrunch, mostly hanging up my IC spurs and taking on more management tasks
Did not go insane during that transition, even if it was hard as heck
Took first real work trip of the pandemic, brought partner, got to invest in her favorite activities/locations
Did a medium job at staying in touch with family, and a medium- job at the same with friends
Made some new friends
Raised Maggie from her early puppyhood into an adult dog that we flat-out adore
Saw Lorna Shore perform
A host of house-related projects, making our domicile basically my favorite place in the world
Fell in love with an ocean of new music
I am certainly missing some stuff, but it turns out the last twelve months were a huge fucking year of my life, at least in milestone terms.
I mostly stay at home — woo, COVID-19 protocols for IVF, and now pregnancy — so time feels a bit blended. But it is good to remind ourselves of how we spend our precious hours. The above sits alright with me, even if I could have read more (and played fewer hours of Crusader Kings 3, Civ 6, and Anno 1800) and written more extensively for myself. I need to get back to painting as well.
Ok, onto being 33. Hugs, and I love you all.