Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022

Hello Friends and Family,

Alas, 2021 is coming to an end and a new year is upon us. What is the best way for me to summarize 2021? It sort of reminded me a baby having a surprise blowout on the changing room table and leaving a “fecal Jackson Poll o ck” on the wall. You look at it and can’t help but share a smile because well, there is shit all over the wall. Will the wall be the same again? Do I need to paint over it? 2021 was full of surprises. Ridiculous moments. WTF moments. All you could say is “wow, that is a lot of shit on the wall.”

Let’s take a moment to reflect back on some of these ridiculous events from from 2021 —

Global Pandemic Year #2 [Timeline] — at least we stopped washing our Wheat Thin boxes
Capitol Riots — sure, let’s throw a party at Capitol and everyone is invited! Except the people working there.

Withdrawal from Afghanistan — my assumption is that they grabbed the wrong plan on the way out the door, the plan marked “Don’t do this plan”.
Betty White’s passing — A true comedic gem. My favorite Dusty Muffin.

Wow. Pass the toilet paper.

Well, there were other things as well. The technology behind the mRNA vaccines is absolutely amazing. Our advancement in space travel and space exploration is pressing in high gear. Despite the pandemic, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo carried on even though I can honestly say I can’t remember many moments from the games. Facebook changed their name to distract us from their own blowout moment. Tesla sold 936,172 cars last year which feels like a lot of electric cars. More 5G rolled out and it felt exactly like what we had before. Unless you were in finance, you got more acquainted with the spot in your home where you work. You likely bought a plant for your desk.

Whew.

For the Mascardo family, we had a really good year all things considered. It wasn’t without its up and downs but I tend to look at things as a glass is half full. You have to these days. We got to experience our first complete year in Park City, Utah and it was amazing. Our new friends are amazing and I would say we have strengthened our friendships with the folks we cared the most about everywhere else. The outdoors and the seasons are just amazing. I’ve developed a new found appreciation for the serenity of the outdoors. Here are some of my blog posts on this topic —

There is Life Outside of the Bay Area (Part #1) –> Why did we decide to leave?
There is Life Outside of the Bay Area (Part #2) –> Why did we pick Park City, Utah?
There is Life Outside of the Bay Area (Part #3) –> 6-month check-in.
There is Life Outside the Bay Area (Part #4) –> 15-month check-in.

The girls had spectacular school and sports years. Sarah and I had great experiences with our jobs. And, we’ve been pecking away at our home renovation projects all year long.

Oh yeah, I had a stroke.

So, what do I think 2022 will bring us?

COVID mutation rinse and repeat
Inflation is here to stay for goods and labor.
Working remote is here to stay for at least another year. Time to buy another plant.
Electric Vehicles continue to take hold with companies not Tesla gaining adoption
Further early adoption of augmented reality and virtual reality products with Apple releasing their offering in the space.
Further early adoption/disruption with DeFi / DAO / crypto / NFT
More cyber security shenanigans
Unfortunately, the Yankees won’t win the World Series (again)

All things considered, nothing to complain about and many more things to be grateful for. So many things. I’m hopeful for a very positive 2022. But, if its another “blowout” year like 2021, I’ll still find the things to be grateful for.

Enjoy some photos below from the past year.

Happy New Year to you and your family! Thank you for reading! Like or comment below!