Edit: 2024-01-05

Added images to supplement the post 📷

2023 was one for the books. It’s crazy to think so much happened in what feels like such a short amount of time. Let’s see if I can organize it chronologically.

January

Caught a last minute flight to Denver and celebrated my grandma’s 86th birthday.
My team was recognized in a press release for the development of an AI tax tool.
Contributed code to scikit-learn
Missed my sister Alexa’s wedding.

February
Flew my mom to Kansas City and took her to see Bruce Springsteen at the T-Mobile center with my best friend Alex.
Got bit by my oldest cat, Willie, when I tried to be nice to a “homeless” cat (who I named Homer) and went to Urgent Care with an infected hand.

March

Alex won tickets to St. Louis City SC’s first home game in their inaugural season and invited me to be his plus one.

April

Flew my girlfriend, Lanie, to San Antonio for Easter and introduced her to my sisters and their significant others.
Flew to Hawaii with two of my sisters, my dad, and my mom to celebrate my Mom’s 60th birthday.
Attended the NFL draft in Kansas City with Alex

May

Had an offer accepted on a new house.
Cheered on my sister Abbie at the CrossFit Semifinals and watched her qualify for the CrossFit Games in Madison, WI.
Surprised myself with a 32.5” vertical jump and won a massage gun.
Visited Las Vegas for the first time and stayed at the NOBU hotel in Caesar’s Palace… and was upgraded to the penthouse!

June

Sat front and center for Evil Dead The Musical and got covered in fake blood.
Closed on my new house and helped my girlfriend move in with me.
Emptied my old house and had it professionally cleaned.
Took my girlfriend to London for her first trip out of the country and caught up with Alex for a Cardinals game in the Olympic Stadium.
Nearly had a panic-attack when our return flight from London was canceled the morning of, but found a new love for Virgin Atlantic.

July

Hired a property manager and listed my old house for rent… a rental contract was signed within 6 days of being on the market.

August

Took a trip to Madison, WI to watch Abbie compete for the first time at the CrossFit Games.
Had my first ice bath.

September

Won suite tickets to the Kansas City Sporting vs St. Louis City SC game in Kansas City and brought Alex.
Happened upon a Steve Aoki concert with my girlfriend and got front-row spots.

October

Attended the Rocky Horror Show for the third year in a row (a Kansas City tradition) and brought my mom and friend Miles.
Climbed my first V6 bouldering route in nearly a year and a half.

November

Celebrated my 31st birthday with Lanie.
Climbed my first V7 bouldering route!
Got into a head-on collision right after I picked up Alex from the train station for Thanksgiving, spending 3 nights in the hospital with a fractured left ulna and a collapsed left lung.
Had my first surgery to repair my fractured arm.

December

Built out my home office while on short-term disability.
Learned how to make a pour over.
Joined Lanie’s gym and started reading while riding a stationary bike.
Got my staples out and started learning how to use my left hand again.
Celebrated Christmas with Lanie and our cats at my family’s house in San Antonio.

I’m sure I missed a few things along the way—had to use my photo album to remind me of things that happened.

A couple honorable mentions:

I read 17 books (goal was 16) – nearly half were in the time between my accident (November 20) and New Year’s Eve (December 31).
Invited to join a generative AI R&D team at work.
Finalizing details for a patent I submitted in August of 2022.

As I start the new year, I plan to continue publishing to my blog with stories, projects, thoughts, and the occasional tangent. I hope to improve my writing, and use the blog as a public record to keep me disciplined in pursuing my goals.