What I'm Up To - Vol. 54
Here’s what I’ve bee up to since Vol. 53, including my first ever "best of" lists...
1. Out with the Old!
Happy New Year to you all! Our trainer asked me for one word to describe my 2021. I chose “rollercoaster.” I’m not sure I’ve experienced so many intense highs and scary lows in one 12-month period. Time to get off this ride!
Personally, I expect 2022 will be much better. We will all get our fair share of challenges, but we have a playbook for just about anything now. We will chase our goals and have a Plan B (and probably a Plan Z) ready for whatever comes.
2. Katie & Thompson’s 2nd Wedding
In 2020, done with postponements, my niece eloped to Vegas to get married in the Little Elvis Chapel. In December, we got to join them for a second act at Graceland in Memphis.
The wedding was small, colorful, and blissfully short. Mia did her best to upstage the bride - running AWOL with the flower basket. My dad was able to attend. And we even scored our first family photos in quite a while.
After the nuptials, the wedding party and close family made a pitstop at Hernando’s Hideaway – a delightful dive bar owned by Dale Watson – for beers and hot wings. I just love that Katie was bound and determined to nosh on Buffalo wings in her wedding dress! Then on to the reception for cake and dancing. Congrats, Katie and Thompson, on a most memorable wedding!
3. Grandpa Milt and Christmas Karma
As has become tradition, Wendy fetched Granda Milt from Fargo for an extended holiday visit. He is a delight to have around (which is nothing I would have ever expected to write about having an in-law in my home for 6 weeks a year.) We had originally planned to fly to Angel Fire for skiing and host our Memphis family this holiday; but between Omicron and poor snowfall, we canceled our ski trip. And then my father fell ill and my family canceled their trip. Thankfully, we have Wendy. She planned a series of Austin expeditions – from an escape room to a sushi adventure – and saved the holidays. Our normal tree trimming rituals were also disrupted so we pivoted to The Great Outdoors nursery and landed a beautiful tree, dubbed “Karma.”
The end result was two relatively quiet and stress-free weeks with family. For this, we are thankful!
4. My Favorites from 2021
I went back and reread all my newsletters from the year. I actually read 48 books in 2021, my best effort since 2013. Still haven’t cracked 50 but I’ll keep trying!
Below are my highlights from reading and watching:
Best Non-Fiction Reads for 2021 – This was really hard, but these four were in a class to themselves.
1. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
2. Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
3. Think Again by Adam Grant
4. Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
Best Fiction Reads for 2021 – Weir’s book was an easy choice for #1. Sanderson makes the list as the best fantasy I’ve read in many, many years.
1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
2. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
3. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
4. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Best Shows of 2021 – Comedy, suspense, and great writing sum this list up. Chernobyl is the obvious outlier. Foundation narrowly missed the list.
1. Killing Eve (Hulu)
2. Chernobyl (HBO)
3. Mare of Easttown (HBO)
4. Hacks (HBO)
5. The Great (Hulu)
6. Ted Lasso (Apple+)
7. Squid Game (Netflix)
Best Movies of 2021 – Maybe I just didn’t watch many movies in 2021? Dune almost made my shortlist but I need to see the sequel.
1. Nobody
Best Documentaries of 2021 – The first is must-watch TV!
3. 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible
5. Reading and Watching for December
With two weeks off for the first time in ages, I covered a lot of ground.
My friend, Cory Older, recommended Chop Wood, Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf. It’s a self-published business fable about a boy training to become a samurai archer. The best part about business fables is the interactions with the “wise one” character and the ahas you get. Medcalf designed it so that virtually every chapter had some nugget of wisdom. The worst part about business fables is the writing itself. This book was no exception. My colleague, April, suggested The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. It’s a fantastic psychological thriller about a genetic scientist who discovers….well, I won’t spoil it. I also finished Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. It’s the 3rd volume in the wonderful fantasy series Gus gifted me for Christmas last year. Clocking in at 1,248 pages, the tome forced me to slow down and spend several afternoons lounging on the couch with Taco by my side.
I’ll also share two notable web articles. First, Charlie Munger updated his treatise on The Psychology of Human Misjudgement. I read his original over a decade ago and it made an immense impact on my personal growth. I really started paying attention and recording my own mental models as a result. Be warned, the article is over 24,000 words. I read it in one 2-hour sitting, but I’m a huge nerd. The second article is The Untold Story of Sushi in America from the NY Times. It’s a fascinating illustrated account of how sushi was popularized by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his followers.
For watching, Wendy, Gus, and I finished the first season of AppleTV+’s Foundation. The show is epic in scale and dazzling on the screen. The story builds and gets better as you understand the characters. Invasion, also on AppleTv+, was a show I watched on my own. The pacing was quite slow as the show was much more focused on characters than the actual aliens. I ended up enjoying it despite having the wrong expectations going in.
For humor, we watched the first two seasons of The Great on Hulu. It’s a sometimes serious, often funny, and frequently bawdy look at the life of Catherine the Great. Huzzah, for great writing! It’s a winner.
Finally, we loved Will Smith’s inspirational King Richard. It will certainly get a few Oscar nods. I also caught the documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. It’s the take of a Nepalese climber who sets out to climb all 14 8,000+ meter mountains in just seven months. Mind-blowing, beautiful, and inspirational, as well.
That’s it for this month! Happy New Year! Please reply back and let me know what you’re up to!
In the meantime, be well, do good deeds, and eat tacos
Jay