A few days ago, I returned home from an emergency trip to Nashville to see my best friend of 31 years in the hospital and to be with his wife, mom, and extended family. I had written him a good-bye letter the Monday prior and asked his wife to read it to him, but ultimately decided to buy a same-day first class ticket from IAD to BNA for travel on Tuesday, Christmas Eve. By the time I got to the hospital, he was unconscious and had already been sleeping the entire day since the night before. Peter passed away, at the young age of 36, Christmas morning, 12/25/2024 at 05:20 am, due to complications from cancer (a 0.001% kind of sarcoma cancer; a cruel and nefarious kind). After years of remission, and as the cancer returned and slowly took away his mobility, autonomy, and freedom, he became increasingly irritated and depressed. May he be at peace now. I don’t know if I am prepared to fully process and write about the experience of losing such a beloved friend, whom I’ve known for my entire childhood and adult life. But this one hurt. And continues to hurt. A lot. The funeral is scheduled for 01/05/2025 in Flushing, NY.
Earlier this month, I received news that another teammate/co-worker of mine is leaving the company. This is the third teammate departure this year, and the first one of legitimate frustration and grievance. One had left the DMV area and moved back to California to be with family. The other was a retirement. I will be saddened by this loss. The workload has been intolerable as compared to a typical Q4. The work stress and anxiety levels has been intense in the latter half of 2024 for the entire team, not just for myself.
And prior to that, the highly anticipated US election happened on 11/04/2024, resulting in the gut-wrenching reelection of the Very Stable Genius. Oh, what could have been! #harriswalz2024
Without a doubt, 2024 has been the absolute worst end to a year in recent memory.
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In January, I returned to Chicago for the AHR Expo for a few days (a work-related trip, sponsored by a sales vendor).
In March, I visited Lee down near Patuxent River and visited Solomons Island.
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| Solomons Island |
On March 26, 2024, my last remaining grandparent passed away in Taiwan, at 99 years old, due to old age and late stage Alzheimer's disease.
In April, Kelsey and I traveled—separately—to Buffalo, our chosen spot for the total solar eclipse on 04/08/2024. I drove from Silver Spring to Buffalo, stopping at Kinzua Bridge State Park in North Central Pennsylvania. After meeting up in Buffalo, we proceeded to Niagara Falls. This was my second time at Niagara Falls, but my first time on the US side. On the day of the eclipse, cloud cover was high and the weather risked the view. That morning, we made a late decision to drive as far southwest along I-90 as practical. We drove through Erie, PA, ending up just outside Cleveland, to Mentour, OH. We decided on Headlands Beach State Park for the eclipse. Parking was easy. The crowds were manageable. The sky was perfect. Unfortunately, we did not bring our luggage with us and had to return to Buffalo that same day. Somehow, we didn’t see any highway traffic in either direction. We ended the trip with a short stay in Ithaca to visit Cornell.
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| Solar Eclipse 2024 |
In September, I did a week-long solo road trip, starting from St. Louis and ending in Chattanooga. It was my first time in MO (not counting airports). I had been meaning to see St. Louis and Gateway Arch for some time and finally made it happen. The drive from St. Louis ended with a short one-night stay at Louisville, KY, followed by a continued drive to spend two days at Mammoth Cave National Park and a one-night stay in Bowling Green, KY. Afterward, I stopped in Nashville for a few days to see Peter and Christine (with a day trip to Huntsville to see some old rockets), and then a short stop over to Chattanooga to see David and Holly. As far as random vacation itineraries go, this one was pretty good: I checked another state off my list; I saw the Gateway Arch; I visited a new National Park; I visited friends. I’m particularly grateful to have seen Peter again; good foresight on my part, I suppose.
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| Photo taken from Big Four Bridge, Louisville, KY |
In late October, I had a short work trip to Albuquerque for work. When the opportunity came up, I volunteered myself, if only to check off NM from my list of yet unvisited states. I stayed the weekend and visited the Nuclear Science Museum, Sandia Crest, Los Alamos, Bandelier National Monument, and Petroglyphs National Monument. Many epic sunsets; not enough stars.
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| Bandelier National Monument |
So, in November, I spent my birthday weekend in Ocean City and Assateague Island National Seashore, to see the stars, and more sunsets, and wild horses. The trip inspired me to get into car camping for 2025. Nothing like the slowness of empty off-season resort towns to clear the mind. I FaceTimed with Peter to show him the beach and ocean.
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| Assateague Island |
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| Assateague Island |
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| Marsh Trail, Assateague Island |
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| Marsh Trail, Assateague Island |
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On the house front, the deck lights and power have been installed but the deck remains incomplete, still requiring some trim and fascia board finishing. It’s too cold to work in the winter, and too hot to work in the summer. Outdoor construction is the worst.
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| July Sunset on the Deck |
But in February (during “indoor projects" season), I installed a hot water circulation system for the house, significantly reducing hot water delivery time from over 90 seconds to under 6 seconds at my master bathroom sink faucet! No more waiting for hot water at the showers either!
And as of 06/20/2024, Northwood House finally has air conditioning again, after I had disconnected the original condensing unit for the deck build on 07/06/2022 (nearly two years prior)! I successfully I paid off my 0% APR HVAC loan 6 months early just a few weeks ago in December.
Also in 2024, the living room is finally fitted with furniture, and the house with wall art.
In 2025, I plan to replace the water heater with a heat pump water heater, and the gas dryer with a temporary electric dryer. I currently spend $5 in gas consumption, but $20 in gas utility taxes and fees. I’m looking forward to fulfilling the decarbonization of Northwood House.
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In 2024, I added MO and NM to my list of states visited. Now, only ten remain (eight, if you count airport layovers as visits). The SPC3SHP accrued 15,372 miles, ended the year at 175,972 miles. The CRGOSHP accrued 4,000 miles, ended the year at 179,000 miles.
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2024 was a generally awful year, sprinkled with slivers of excitement and joy. Work related anxiety and stress were at an all time high, as were sickness and sadness. For the first time, "Average" fell below 50%.
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| 2024 Year in Pixels |
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When your late best friend's mom calls you overweight and tells you to be more mindful of your health, you listen. 2025 will be a focus year for health, moderation, and mindfulness. And to repeat a theme from 2021, a keyword for 2025 will be "unsubscribe."