A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

looking back

2021: A year in review

In the past when I did my year in review post(s), they tended to come out in late December or earlier in January. 

But that’s OK – I haven’t done them in a few years, so this turned into a much longer post.

I have a feeling many of us would say 2021 was a year of craziness. Between Covid and all of the other things happening around the world, it was going to be nuts right off the bat. 

But, when you get into personal worlds, things can be different. Depending where one lives, you may have been able to do things differently or were able to kind of have a “life” of sorts. 

Living in a small area has allowed me to live life a little more loosely, all while making sure I follow the guidelines set in place. So let’s take a peek back at 2021. 

1. Harper

To say my life changed on July 2 would be an understatement. That’s when this little furball of a puppy came into my life. We had picked out Harper from a breeder about 1.5 hours away and got her at nine weeks. I had done so much research on dogs and golden retrievers over the past year or two, so I thought I was ready for this. 

To a point, I was. But in a lot of ways, I wasn’t even close. 

Puppies are a lot of work. 

I took two weeks off from work when she came home and I was naive to believe that’s all I would need to get her into being the perfect dog. 

Harper on the day she came home!

Ha!

I can’t even say how wrong I was. 

Let me say this … if I didn’t have the emotional attachment I have to Harper, and I could go back in time knowing everything I know now, I wouldn’t do it. I would likely still be dogless, or would have tried to find a rescue I could bond with. But, I can’t go back in time and with Harper being more than eight months old now, it’s amazing to see how far she has come. 

That doesn’t take away how hard it was for a few months, physically and emotionally. I also think it’s quite safe to say I will never go through having a puppy again. One time is enough for me. I was at the end of my rope many times. I questioned if I should keep her or talk to the breeder about returning or maybe rehoming. 

Then she’d look at me with that golden look. And she’d sit at my feet. 

Like I could get rid of her?

I also was fortunate in finding a great doggy daycare/boarding place. The owner owns goldens, so that was great. And Harper loves going there. 

But…

The biggest thing that happened was finding the right trainer. I had one session with a trainer and I just didn’t agree with the style, so I contacted another who was highly recommended. 

Harper in December

Life. Saver. 

I truly believe it’s safe to say that if I hadn’t found her, I’m not sure where I’d be. She doesn’t just train the dog, she trains you. She’s always there to help and work with you. She’s also into dog sports and we’ve worked to make sure Harper is, too. While she enjoys everything so far (toss and fetch was the first), it seems her love is dock diving. I want to also try some agility, eventually, with her, but I love dock diving and that’s what I want to focus on. It’s so much fun and Harper showed great strides in the fall. I can’t wait until spring to see where she can go with this!

One thing I’ve learned, however, is this is going to be constant. She will continue to learn and grow. And it’s a constant growing experience for me. We are still working on some things – such as her wanting to jump up on people or trying to get stuff on counters. But that will come in time. 

Over the six months she’s been with us, what have we learned? A lot. She’s grown into a great dog. She’s one who will cuddle and snuggle. She loves to play fetch, more with tennis balls. And she will go for a long time if I let her. She’s curious. She’s stubborn. She loves to walk, but she needs a job so she is usually carrying a stick or a stuffed animal. 

I’ve been told I seem to smile more and laugh more. I hope that’s true. She’s brought a lot of enjoyment (and frustration at times) into my life, but I’m really starting to have a crazy good bond with her, and I’m trying to plan more places I can go with her. I also love when I come in from work and she comes running to see me. 

Where from here?

Well, I want to work on her with photography more. She tends to shy away from “posed” photos, but I can get plenty of sleeping and action photos. The jumping needs to be worked on as well. Finally, the other big thing is working on her in cars more. She gets motion sickness at times and will throw up. I have a lot of places I want to take her, so this is something I need to keep working on. With my 50th coming up in a couple of years, I’m already planning an epic road trip and I want her with me, of course. 

I post plenty of things about Harper on my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hoohaa29/), and I’m sure there will be posts on here. But, Harper also has her own Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/harper_dublin/) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HarperTheGolden), but I need to do a lot more work on that one.

There is no doubt that Harper is my No. 1 item for 2021. I look forward to watching her grow and develop and continue to be part of my world. 

2. My health/personal life

I was doing so good.

For the first part of 2021, my A1C continued to go down. It was awesome. And the last 3-4 months of the year changed that. High stress – from work and Harper and the holidays and everything else, I just wasn’t good. I was still working on Harper and walking, so I wasn’t moving as much as I should have been. And I also ate more crap and my portion control went out the window. Thankfully, I haven’t put on a ton of weight, but at the same time my A1C took a jump up (got my results a few days ago). 

It’s not an excuse, but I know what happened. And I know the reason. So it’s time to dial it back and get myself on the right path again. I have done it before and know I can do it again. 

Harper walking more will help. 

I’m also trying to utilize my normal planner into a life journal. The weekly look at things has more on it than just the normal stuff. If all goes well, that will give me some accountability. It won’t happen overnight as I don’t have a ton of self-control at times, but it will happen. 

All of my other blood test results looked fine. My blood pressure and such was fine. 

In regard to other things, I’m pretty content in life. I was able to travel a little and get out and see things. More on that below. 

Being able to get away some, like this short trip to the Jersey Shore, has helped my mental and physical well being.

I think the reality of our current world situation – not just the pandemic, but everything political and all, has made me realize that I need to find the more fun things in life. I have to find the simple pleasures. 

Part of that, of course, is trying to find things to ground myself and enjoy the steps in life. That, in turn, should help with my health. 

See, I’ve always been a bit high strung when it comes to stressful things. Over the past few years, I’ve worked on that to try and dial it back. Part of my issue is work. I tend not to say no, or take on way too many things. When I was at the newspaper, I rarely turned something down or made a case why I shouldn’t do it. I just did it. I’d have vacation days at the end of the year that I needed to take or lose them because throughout the year, I’d not take them. 

In the end, I was laid off due to cuts. The newspaper didn’t show me any loyalty when all was said and done, so what did I get in the end? Notta. 

Therefore, as I moved forward, I knew I had to watch for myself. Everybody is replaceable. At my current job. I still push myself probably too far. But I don’t sacrifice “me” time. I take vacations. I take care of myself. And, for the most part, those above me encourage and support employees to take care of themselves. Mental health issues are real and I’m lucky that my employer(s) take things seriously and don’t want to see people have issues. 

That means I take vacations and unplug. I try to get outside and explore. I look to see new things and experience different parts of life. With Harper, I like to go and see different things. 

And a lot of times, when I do this, I don’t look at my email etc. 

Exploring the world around me has been beneficial healthwise. I tend to smile a bit more when I get outside and I’m seeing different things now. Everything is new to Harper, so it’s enjoyable to explore with her and see what she finds interesting. 

My health – both physical and mental – are doing much better since the start of 2021. Though I took some steps backward with my diabetes control, everything else seems to be doing better. It’s a long road and I will keep working on it. 

3. COVID

What a world in which we live. 

COVID has taken over everything. And no matter what side of the fence you are on when it comes to the severity of it, masks, or vaccinations, the reality is we are still deep into it. 

And we’re also at a breaking point. 

The reality is, the majority of people who are going to get vaccinated have already done so. Those who are against it are likely not going to change their mind. And masks? Those who will wear them do so. Those who won’t, don’t. 

We’re two years into this. Almost 5.75 million people around the world have died from the disease, including more than 900,000 in the United States. 

People are going to be set in their ways and beliefs. Sure, you’ll get some who might change their minds some. But the reality is, most are staying along the path. At some point, though, you have to wonder when we start coming out of this. Is there herd immunity? Is there something with the variants getting weaker as they come out? Will it become a yearly “flu” shot? 

I’m vaccinated. I have a booster. And I wear a mask. I’ve been exposed a couple of times and am thankful I didn’t show any symptoms. I haven’t had to be quarantined because I am vaccinated. But at the same time, it still wears on me. I try to do what I can to stay safe and healthy. And I hope others, even if they are against the vaccine and masks, will take others into consideration when making decisions. The sooner we can all get closer to being on the same page, the sooner we can hopefully move away from this and get back to some sort of normal. 

4. Baseball! 

One thing felt a bit normal in 2021 – being able to go to baseball games. 

It started in April when we went to a Phillies game. At that point, there were limited seats. Only like 10,000 people were in the stadium, and masks were to be worn. 

As the season continued – at the minor and major league levels, more people were allowed in, of course based on where you were. Mask mandates were lifted or softened. By the end of the year, it truly felt like baseball again. 

I didn’t make a lot of baseball trips this year. In fact, I only hit four stadiums – Syracuse, Binghamton, Philadelphia, and Aberdeen. The last one was on a late-summer trip to the Baltimore area for geocaching. 

It was nice to be able to hit a few baseball games this year, even if the majority of them were closer and quick trips

It was nice to be back in a stadium for games. I likely would have been to more games, but with getting Harper, it was harder. We did take her to one “Bark in the Park” in Binghamton and will do so again this upcoming season. 

The little things truly do help you cope with the bigger picture. Even just a fireworks night at a baseball game can help make you smile a bit.

It’s funny, though. A few summers ago, I was pushing 75 games. At the end of the summer, I was thinking how crazy it was. Fun? Yes. But still crazy. And it wore me out. Then the first summer of covid, where all minor league games were canceled and no fans for MLB came and went. And, shockingly, I didn’t miss being in the stands as much as I thought I would. 

It was great to get back to it this summer, though. I’ve realized that if I stay in the 25-40 game range most summers, I’ll be quite content and not feel burnt out from going to games. 

It’s only January, but baseball will be back soon enough. Well, hopefully. They still need to figure out the CBA. 

5. Travel 

Travel returned this year to many people. With the loosening of requirements, people got out and visited friends and family. Went to new places. And tourism started to come back into the world. 

I can’t say I went a lot of places, but I got out a little bit, even if just for a few small trips. I had the chance to go see some baseball games this past summer and I also hit up the shore twice, so that was nice. 

I didn’t travel as much as I might have liked this year, but one thing is for sure — I’ve realized you can travel closer to home and still find fun things to do!

I will admit that I’m still a little skeptical about flying. I realize it’s probably overall safe, but I’m not sure how I feel about being masked up for a several-hour flight. And remember, I’m pro-mask for myself in most situations – and being in a tube above the world for a few hours would be a place where I’d wear it. 

But, as things seemingly start to slowly once again improve (I hope), maybe things will get better. 

One other thing to consider moving forward, though, is Harper. I plan to hopefully take her on many trips, which will scratch flying. I am not one to want to put her through that experience if not necessary. 

I’ve also realized over the past year, there’s a lot of things within driving range I’d like to see. New York State has a ton of amazing parks to explore. There are different places throughout the Northeast I’d love to see. And heck, there’s much more in the United States and Canada I’d like to see – and it can all pretty much be done via car, which also means being able to bring Harper with me. 

Look around your own backyard and parks and such near you – sometimes traveling doesn’t have to be far to find some fun things to do. 

6. Geocaching/getting outside

Getting outside was a must in the past two years.

And though I haven’t geocached as much as I once did, it was nice to get out there and do it again. There’s plenty of them to find around me, so it has been good when I’ve needed to do something. I’ve done a few geocaching trips as well, which has allowed me to see some new areas and parks. 

I’ve tried to be out more and to also get back into geocaching a bit. It’s been fun and it’s also nice to find some creative hides.

In 2021, I found a total of 231 geocaches, which isn’t my best year by far, but also isn’t my worst. The good part of it is that it was toward the end of the year that the numbers started coming around. I did 23 days worth of geocaching, averaging 10 per day. 

The good part is many of those caching days were toward the end of 2021, which means I started getting into it again. As 2022 has started, I’ve already started getting some days in, which is great. And I’ve been bringing Harper along, which is even better. 

Obviously, Harper won’t be logging in her finds and such, but she seems to enjoy wandering around and exploring as we’re out on the trails caching. It’s just been really nice to get out and find some caches as well as place a few. 

7. Financial 

I’m in a better place at the end of 2021 than in the beginning, that’s for sure, I’m still not where I probably should be overall, but it takes time. 

If you think back to when I came out of college, I went to work for a daily newspaper. Needless to say, I wasn’t getting rich there. Looking back, I have to wonder how some people survived (or still do) working for newspapers. It’s definitely not a way to get rich. Hell, in many cases, it’s not a way to even be middle class. And while I’m currently not on track to be rich, I’m comfortable. And even better? I’m saving for retirement, and doing so rather aggressively. 

A few years ago, I opened a new credit card and transferred all balances because it gave me interest free on the balance for like 21 months. I paid that off last January, which was outstanding. That meant I was out of credit card debt. 

Now, I use my credit cards sporadically for purchases and then work to pay them off as fast as I can. It was nice because I had a Lowe’s card that I put the fence for Harper on. That will take some time to pay off as it was an investment, but I felt a lot more comfortable doing it with having a clear balance. 

I also am adding more to my retirement accounts as I know it’s something I have to keep building. When I started this current job, I had zero savings for retirement. And what little amount I did have, I had to use when I was unemployed. 

With working for the state, I have a pension now, which is nice. I also have two retirement accounts I’m building. Who knows where this world will be when I finally can retire, but I want to be as ready for it as possible. I wish I had worked for the state a lot sooner in life, but there’s not much I can do about it now. The end result is I will just have to work until at least 65, if not a bit beyond that, to maximize certain things. I’m OK with that. It’s just nice to know things are building toward that age. 

Finances are tricky and always a work in progress. I’m definitely better now than I was 10 years ago, if not just the understanding part of things. 

8. Looking back

I know many people will look at 2021 and yell about how bad the year was. With Covid still running rampant, and everything else in my country and the world as a whole, the year was tough for a lot of people. 

The one thing with the pandemic is I’ve tried to find the silver linings. I do think when this is all done and past us (and I do believe it will at some point) we will find some positives. I can think of a few. It’s just a shame we’ve had to go through a lot of negativity and a prolonged pandemic to find any of the good things. 

To me, 2021 will always be the year of Harper. It’s hard for me to think of it as a bad year when she came out of it. The key is for all of us to keep pushing forward and try to make this world a positive and better place for all!

And, at the same time, will anything positive from this ever outweigh all the bad that happened? Will we ever have a normal again? 

For me, I look at 2021 in a few ways.

I feel I became more in touch with different things and I really think I appreciate things a bit more. The little things, anyway. We’re only here for a short bit of time, so we need to start realizing what is important. 

In 2021, I got Harper. For that alone, it’s a pretty good year. Though it’s been hard and frustrating at times, she’s become such a big part of my life. I’ve learned a lot from having her and I know the future with her will be a fun journey. 

And 2021 ended with hope. Will we get out of all of this in 2022? Will things start to return to somewhat normal? Time will only tell but we can continue to hope. 

Until then, try and be good to one another and yourself. Here’s hoping 2022 is a good year for all of you and that we have a lot to be thankful for when we flip the calendar.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Walking with a purpose: Looking back at 2019

As I continue to try and get my health on track, one thing I have done way more of is walking. This is something most medical people stress people should do as it’s one of the easiest forms of exercise. 

And I’ve been doing it more for a while. 

Of course, just because you walk isn’t a foolproof way to get your health back on track. You still have to eat better and watch all other aspects in your life. But walking, by and large, is something we can all do more of. 

Me included. 

This feature, which I mentioned doing a few months ago, will be a monthly log about walking in life. I plan to do this monthly, and it will cover a lot of different things – be it just about walking or about other aspects (apps, technology, shoes, random observations/stories etc.), but more or less a way to talk about walking and how beneficial it has been for me. 

For this first one, however, I’d like to cover 2019. This was the year where I really started to push more at walking. And even though I didn’t do as much as I hoped (there were a few drop off times), I think I stayed pretty focused, especially toward the end of the year. 

It was also the year where I started tracking things when it came to walking, such as a Google spreadsheet to keep track of my miles and different walks. 

Also, as part of my Day Zero Project, I wanted to get 10 million steps over those 1,001 days. I tend to track a bunch of other things as well, though they don’t always work out in a way that makes sense. 

Midway through 2019, I also swapped out my Fitbit for an Apple Watch. I’m glad I made this switch and I will eventually have a post about this and the reasons I switched and stuck it out. 

Anyway … 

In 2019, I logged 1,808.93 miles. Now, take into account, this is everyday life. So this is any dedicated walks, work, travel – any time I am walking. That came down to 4,028,006 steps. That’s a pretty good start to my 10 million goal, I’d say. 

That being said, the year was up and down. My best months were March (171.37 miles) and April  (380,000 steps) in regard to steps and mileage. From there, it started to go down a bit. The lowest point came in October (298,795 steps), though September had been my fourth-best month of the year in regard to steps. The mileage, overall, took a dip when I switched from the Fitbit to the Apple Watch, which I am not sure if it’s because I never got it calibrated right, or if it was because of how I was using it. I think I finally have it set right, and this is a topic I’ll cover down the road. 

All of this is in correlation with my diabetes battle and watching my numbers go all over the place. Up and up, before I finally started paying attention to get them to come down. October wasn’t a good month and I knew it – so November and December were vastly improved when it came to steps. 

I also kept track of my actual walks. These are the ones where I go out with the specific reason to walk or do something in an exercise vantage point – ie hiking, or even shoveling snow. Though a side note, I figured a better way to track exercise such as shoveling snow, so in late 2019 and 2020 so far, they are not registered as walks anymore. 

All in all, I logged 414 walks in 2019, which came out to 824.81 miles. My best month for walks came in January (44) and November (41), which the top mileage coming in September (79.67), March (76.63), and April (76.16). 

So far, in 2020, I’m really pushing myself and am averaging easily two walks per day as I am doing my best to get in a walk in the morning and at night. Those morning ones can be pretty tough at times!

That all in mind, I’ve pushed. And it’s not even February 20th yet, and I’ve already logged nearly 35 walks for the month. If I don’t falter, this month will easily be my best since I started tracking what I am doing with myself. 

I can dig that. 

And when I tackle the Apple Watch in the future, I’ll get way more in-depth about closing the rings and earning badges, but I’d be lying if I said that hasn’t helped me. They are small things, but they motivate. And any type of motivation is good if it gets you out walking and such. There are a few apps, too, that I’ve been using that help me along the way. One of them (Relive), I need to use more, especially in conjunction with some blog posts. 

In 2019, I also took part in my first real 5K. Though I walked it (which, I found out, a lot of people do), I was pretty stoked with myself in doing that. My goal is by the end of 2020 to actually run a 5K, if I can get my feet feeling better (more on that in the future, too) and get myself into the kind of shape where I can at least jog a 5K in the 40 minute range, On a good pace, I can do a 5K in about 50-52 minutes when walking. There’s no reason to think I can’t shave 10-12 minutes or more off that if I’m actually jogging/running. I am actually signed up for two 5Ks in Philadelphia – the Phillies one in March (which I did last year and walkers were aplenty), and the Rocky Run in November (which I will need to run as they have certain time criteria). 

Goal set and I am focused. 

When all came to an end in 2019, I learned a lot. Mainly, I learned about myself and what I was trying to do. Reality is, I haven’t always been the most healthy. Hell, I’m still not. But I’m doing everything I can to move more and to become a better me. I’m trying to do more things that get me moving. This year, my hope is to ride my bike more and get out and kayak. 

Hopefully by the time I do a post like this next year, I’ll have even better results and different aspects to cover. 

How about any of you reading? Are you big walkers? Something more? Or what kinds of things do you do for exercise? I’m always looking to expand!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

2016 in review: Blogging

What a year it was for blogging. One thing is for sure — I learned a lot.

Such as posting every day doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have more views.

But I’ll get to all of that in a moment.

First, Jetpack/Wordpress, which usually sends out a yearly report with fun facts and such, decided not to do it this year. That’s quite disappointing as it’s always fun to see some of the things they show. Alas, they didn’t. So I am doing my best to do it by hand this year, finding those stats and all. Not everything will be covered, but I will do my best.

Blogging in 2016 has been interesting. I posted something each and every day, often coming close to missing. The plan was just to publish as often as possible, and that morphed into something much bigger. Once July and August came, there was no turning back.

So every day in 2016 had a blog post.

The last time I didn’t have a post was December 30, 2015, so I am a bit beyond a year as I haven’t missed yet this month, thanks in part to the 20 Days of Chill.

I am not sure how much longer it will last, but I’m going to try and not push or force things this year. It’s not worth it.

When you have a personal blog with a variety of topics, posting every day is hard. Some things aren’t good or just fill space. You also don’t end up having as much time as you once did to do other blogging things — such as visit and comment elsewhere.

My statistics showed the pain, too. Here’s my totals for 2016:

  • Posts: 366
  • Views: 23,915

In 2015, I had the highest amount of views ever on my blog at 30,026. I had a drop of more than 6,000 views and I’m going to bet some of that is the lack of interaction with other blogs. Unless you are some big-time blogger, you aren’t going to have a ton of visitors if you don’t go visit other blogs. That’s just reality.

This year, in fact, is the second-lowest amount of views I’ve had since having statistics in 2011 (my lowest year — and I started in March that year, I believe…).

I can’t hamper on things like this, though. Live and learn.

I have averaged, before this year, about 230-250 posts per year and I think that’s a good number. It gives people the chance to breathe. That’s probably what I will aim for in 2017.

Here’s my totals over the years:

  • 2016: 23,915
  • 2015: 30,026
  • 2014: 25,539
  • 2013: 26,017
  • 2012: 23,925
  • 2011: 20,669

Growth within a blog is good, but sometimes you need to take a step back to see what worked and what doesn’t. I have a few ideas for this year and I look forward to seeing if I can implement them. The real world takes precedence and sometimes I just don’t feel like working on in-depth things.

The other big news this year was my fight with my former webhost. My site was down often and I finally had to leave that host and move elsewhere. The move has been spectacular for me as down time has been virtually nothing, which is what you always hope for. I’m not sure what that other host has done to improve, but after 12 years I felt it was time for me to step away and get a fresh start and it’s worked out well for me.

Disappointing with no report

One thing I loved about the annual reports was all the little statistics one could get from it. They were just tidbits and such to make things fun to look at — such as where people visited from, who were the top commenters, and things like that. I messed around with the statistics I can access, and I don’t see the ability of doing that.

I’m not sure who commented the most on my blog, which is where I usually give my shoutouts. There’s a few other things the report used to give that made it a lot of fun.

Jetpack allowed the chance for people to give their opinion on this and I let them know it was highly disappointing they decided not to do it this year.

Stats I do have…

Peeking around the stats page via WordPress, some things are there.

Such as in 2016, my blog was visited by people from 77 countries (down from 122 in 2015). The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada remained the top visiting countries.

Seems some of my older posts are also still popular within searches.

Through 2016, I have a total of 2,348 posts on my blog over 11 years. Not too bad. It’ll take me a few more years, but I plan on reaching 3,000 and more!

My current streak is a long one … as of this writing, I’m at about 375 days (give or take) straight with a blog post. Who knows when it will end, but if I don’t feel it … the streak will be done!

Finally, I’d like to share some of my favorite posts from 2016. These aren’t in any particular order, besides by month.

If you haven’t read these and have the time, I hope you’ll take a peek at some of these posts. I had 366 posts this year, and these are the ones that stuck out to me.

Overall, it’s been a pretty good year for blogging and I can’t really complain. Here’s looking forward to another great year in 2017!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

2016 in Review: Looking back (Part 2)

In just a few days, we’ll flip the calendar and say goodbye to 2016.

Overall, it hasn’t been a bad year. As you saw from yesterday’s post, I didn’t accomplish every goal possible, but I did pretty well. Though I’m sure there were a few negative this year — there always is — I don’t really remember much. I have a few things in mind, but they seem petty in the overall scheme.

That is a sign of a decent year, I think.

While it hasn’t been perfect, I can look back on 2016 with a smile and know that it was pretty successful. There are always things to improve on for the upcoming year (time to lose weight in all honesty, get other health things under control, continue to get in better financial shape etc.), but when looking back I know the majority of things were positive.

I feel challenged professionally, which is always good. Personally, I feel in a good place. As I’ve noted in previous posts, I feel as though I’ve tilted toward being a little more introverted, but at the same time, that has helped me kind of get my footing and understand certain aspects of life.

Let’s take a closer look at the year that has passed by.

Summer of Baseball

2016 marked the third straight year of the Summer of Baseball, where I set out to watch many baseball games.

And there was definitely baseball.

The Summer of Baseball took me from one coast to another!

In total, I watched 75 games this year, spread all over the country. I watched all over New York, went down south as far as North Carolina, hit the Midwest with places such as Cincinnati and Louisville, and even put in a late-season trip to California to see three games.

The breakdown was as follows: 58 minor league games, 11 MLB games, 4 independent league games, 1 exhibition, and 1 college summer league game. Of those 75 games, 30 came at stadiums I have never visited before.

I also conquered several pre-season goals, such as hitting 1-3 new MLB stadiums, at least 5 new MiLB stadiums, and attend at least 25 MiLB games.

Though I didn’t get to all of my pre-season wishlist stadiums, I crossed several off the list, which is always cool. The one I didn’t get to on my MLB wishlist was Turner Field, and I’ll not have that chance again as the Braves are no longer playing there.

During all of these trips, I met a bunch of people, had cool talks with those who work at parks, ate a lot of terrific food, and had the chance to see baseball at all levels. I made trips solo and with friends/family, giving a different perspective all along the way. I kept book at just about every game (save for the college league game) and filled up my Baseball Passports with many stamps.

In the end, I do think 75 may have been a few too many games. I was always on the run and my weekends were pretty much baseball from top to bottom. I will continue my Summer of Baseball trips, but I believe my perfect number (until I retire or win the lottery, anyway) is probably around 50. If I was in an area where a professional team was 20 minutes away or so, I think I’d have season tickets and it would be easier. But with the travel and things like that, doing about 50 — including one big trip during the summer — is probably the best.

Geocaching

This hobby took a backseat, for sure. And the funny part is, with all the traveling for baseball, you’d think I’d add a bunch more.

The funny part of it all is that didn’t happen.

When I was on the baseball trips, I might sometimes find one or two, but for the most part, it was baseball. I always made sure to get at least one or two when in a new state (North Carolina, Kentucky, California), but outside of that, it’s taken a pause.

I continued to enjoy going to and hosting events, but for the most part, finding caches hasn’t been as fun. There’s not as many people to go with around here and, to be honest, finding too many unimaginative hides for the sake of finding things, just isn’t as fun.

I do still enjoy the hobby, but it’s not the same as when I started. I stopped listening to the podcasts I used to listen to as well as I just didn’t get into it. Maybe in the upcoming year things will change and I can get back into it a little more. But with how the game is growing and the wide range of people playing, it’s just not as fun as it used to be. I think I’ll always geocache in one shape or form, but it’s definitely secondary now.

Family

The one thing about getting older is a closer relationship and attraction to family. When I was younger and working in newspapers, I missed so many family things. And I did it without regret because I thought I had to do it.

Not any more.

It was great to see Nicole be part of a national championship team.

“Real life” as I like to refer to my world outside of the professional world, has to take a front seat to everything. Now don’t get me wrong — it’s not like I can up and walk away from work or something for certain things. But when there are important family things, I realize taking vacation or personal time isn’t a bad thing.

This year, I had the chance to obviously watch my nephew Cameron grow and I’ve seen him quite a bit, which has been wonderful. I also had the ability to watch many of my niece’s college soccer games, including her postseason run that ended in a national championship.

Social media has made being able to connect with family so much easier now, too.

There are things I truly cherish with family things and it’s nice to be able to connect on all aspects. I love seeing accomplishments across the board, but it’s even better to be there and experience it (such as with Nicole’s national championship).

A note to anybody else reading — make family a priority in life.

Softball

I was ready to stop playing softball after last summer.

We had won the league championship for the second straight year and it ended on a great note as we were actually the “underdogs.”

The league we played in took a little step backward and several of our players had other things on their plates, so we decided we’d take the next step — the over 35 league. This league was set for the older folks (ie: no bunting or stealing etc.) and we took a team over with several new people.

Champions once again! New league and still champs!

It seemed a lot was stacked against us this year. We were the new kids on the block and all. The rules weren’t written, so sometimes it seemed odd..

But I digress.

At the end of the season (which included canceling the last week of the regular year), there was a four-way tie for first. Somehow, we were the three seed. No worries. This is where we turned it up. We scored 70 runs over three games (including erasing a 15-1 deficit in the second game) to win the league championship. It was a nice way to end the summer. As we always say, winning doesn’t suck!

Each year I always wonder if it’s my last. We’ll see what the winter and early spring brings to see if I’ll be back doing it again.

Photography

This year, for the first time, I took my main camera to baseball games with me. It was nice to be able to do so and take images of the Summer of Baseball. There were a few games where I didn’t, but for the most part — I did. It was nice.

I also dived into doing different things, which is good.

The monthly Photo Blogging Challenge has been pretty good for me, too, as it’s usually forced me to think outside the box at times.

I enjoyed getting back out with the camera and hopefully in 2017, I push it even more. I want to do different things with the camera and get different photos. I have some ideas and maybe I can follow through. I do think I need a new tripod, though, and maybe that will help me with things.

This past year, though, was good because I had the chance to snap away at a lot of things, and I’ve found it’s still relaxing and enjoyable to get out and take photos — it just stinks sometimes after to process!

Health

Not everything is perfect. I haven’t done as well with my weight and diabetes. Though not full-blown out of control, the numbers and such aren’t where they should be. I let things get a little crazy and I need to make sure that changes.

This is a lifelong battle, for sure. So it’s something I have to get back under control. I had been doing really well and then got lazy with things — so it will be fixed again.

Pro wrestling

I had to throw this in here because I have the past year or two. The one local company we followed, 2CW closed, at the end of 2015. In the early part of this year, I attended several independent shows, but it just wasn’t the same.

Part was because of seeing so much unnecessary drama. Other parts were because things weren’t as good in many ways. It just … got old. So I went on a boycott. I did see a show the other night, mainly to see a couple of matches and just to get out again. I went in without my camera this time, got a general admission ticket (we usually sit front) and just watched.

I’m sure I might his a card or two in 2017, but I’m definitely going to be selective as I’ve been. It’s not uber expensive and cheap entertainment, but it’s still time and such. I am glad to see people I know who are successful in this crazy world. It’s not easy being a professional wrestler, so it’s nice to see them doing well.

Final thoughts

As I’ve noted, 2016 wasn’t bad. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad. The year went a little faster, it seems, but I think that is part of getting older.

I learned a lot during this year, I think. One thing is to stop and smell the roses a bit. I’ve eaten some amazing food. I’ve seen some incredible sights. I’ve had the chance to make connections new and old. I’ve discovered more about myself.

I think whenever you can move forward some in life, you’ve done well. This year was a tough year for some, be it personal, professional, or too much dealing with politics. But when you get to your personal world, sometimes you can take that deep breath and know life could always be worse.

Here’s to the end of 2016 and looking forward to 2017.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

2016 in Review: Looking back (Part 1)

And like a flash, 2016 will soon be in the books.

It’s been a strange year, it seems. I can’t complain personally as, for the most part, it was pretty good. I had the opportunity to do a lot of different things, which is always nice. I saw many different things, and traveled a bit. I took photos and met people.

I’m breaking up the posts a little differently this year as I haven’t received the blogging report from Jetpack yet. Hopefully that isn’t discontinued as I always like that. So today will be the first part of looking back at 2016.

There was a lot of baseball and travel in 2016, that’s for sure!

Just like it’s been in recent years, though, the year seemed to fly by. I can almost remember the calendar turning to 2016, and here we are knocking on the door of 2017. I try more than ever to not wish for things to come faster as it’s nice to see things come slower and build up. If you wish too hard for things to come fast, then they do and everything passes you by.

Personally, it was a pretty good year. I find myself in better financial shape than I was at the beginning and I’ve paid off a few smaller credit cards and bills. I had the ability to travel some and got to visit places I’ve never been. I traded in my car for a new one and it’s been nice to have switched to automatic. I haven’t been sick (knock on wood) for a prolonged period and, for the most part, I feel fulfilled professionally.

There was, of course, baseball and a lot of it. I tried to maintain other hobbies as well, though some took a backseat to others. I’ve seen Cameron as much as I can, and family remains near and dear to me. Hopefully we can all get closer and closer.

My 2016 wasn’t bad. And in this post and the next one, I will talk about the different parts of it. First, though, it’s time to look back at the goals I set and see how I did. The goals were from a post (https://hoohaa.com/?p=9869) from January 2016.

Let’s see how I did. Were there successes? Failures? A push? Let’s take a look.

Geocaching (pretty much a push)

Remember, when I say fail — it’s not necessarily a fail, rather I didn’t reach the level I was aiming for. I think as long as you do something toward a goal, it’s a work in progress. My goals, too, are pretty open-ended, so it allows me some wiggle room.

I have not had many caching adventures this year.

Such as with geocaching.

This goal had several tiers, so let’s see if I got to any of the levels. Part of this was an epic fail, but there were good things, too.

  • Average a cache per day — Not even close. I’ve found 138 caches this year, which is by far the fewest in a year since I started in 2008.
  • Add another state (or more) to my list — I added North Carolina, Kentucky, and California to my totals.
  • Place 10 new caches (not including events) — Close. I have six caches in my name, and I placed three others for a geocaching challenge. So I’ll count that as nine. I definitely would like to place more and I think once the spring comes, I’ll work on fixing some of my current ones and placing a few new ones.
  • Host at least 5 events — Though I had plans of doing one each month in my head, that didn’t happen. Still, I hosted eight events, including a CITO event. It was an overall good year for events!

In the end, it means I should find more caches. But I am not a fan of caching solo as it takes away some of the social aspect. So we’ll see how 2016 goes.

Home brewing (fail)

It seems each year this is a goal and each year, it’s a fail.

I just don’t dedicate enough time to this hobby and I really do have fun with it.

My goal was at least three beers. I didn’t get there. I need to sit down and do a few smaller batches, test, and see what happens.

I still have several ideas — I just need to follow through on them.

Blogging (success)

This has to be a success. There’s no way around it, even if it was a struggle at times.

Like geocaching, this was a tiered goal. Let’s take a look.

  • Write a new “about” page — I tweaked it a little, but didn’t write or design a new one.
  • Post at least 250 times — I’ll have done every day by the end of the year, so yes.
  • Have a minimum of 12 posts every month — Done.
  • Take part in a few other challenges, to keep things fresh: I might have, but honestly… I don’t recall. I know there were some I was looking to take part in.

Blogging is a lot of fun and I’ll dial it back a bit in 2017 as the everyday aspect was tough, but I will continue blogging and enjoy it. It’s been a part of my life for a long time and I don’t see any reason to stop!

Board games (fail)

This is a hobby I’ve done for a few years and I will be setting goals with it again for 2017, but this year was a little up and down. I didn’t go to my regular game group as much (baseball played a major part in this) and didn’t go to the local game store as much

I haven’t played as many games as I’d like, so hopefully that will change in 2017!

Hopefully, that can change in 2017.

The board game hobby, especially the more “Euro” or strategy style games are booming. My personal collection is quite large and there’s a lot there I need to and want to play. Again, this was a tiered goal, so let’s look:

  • Play 225 times — I was at about 120 this year, so not so much the goal.
  • Play 100 different games — I played a lot of different games, but not near the 100.
  • Go to a game convention — I went to ConnCon in March.

I will continue to play games and I have a lot of games that have a solo variant. That’s a hint of how the goal for 2017 will be somewhat shaped. I will go to at least ConnCon again this year and I have my eye on maybe another convention to add to it in the summer. Games really are a lot of fun — especially when you get away from the mass produced ones like Monopoly.

We’ll see how the goals for next year go, but this one I would call a fail for 2016.

Day Zero Project (fail)

This is a fail as I know I didn’t cross off 25 other things this year, even though it should have been easy to do so.

I have a ton of the options that are blog-based that I could have posted this year, but I just never sat down to do it. It’s a shame, too, as it likely would have made the blog post a day thing a lot easier.

This version of my Day Zero ends in 2017, so it will soon enough be a thing of the past.

Travel (success)

This is definitely a success. I had the chance to see many places. Mainly this was during baseball trips, but there were a lot of side things. I visited ballparks and places I’ve never been. I traveled solo and with friends. I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time

That being said, I didn’t get to the minimum of five New York State parks, I didn’t get to Montreal this year, but I’m looking at it in 2017. I think the travel parts of my year went very well and something I am grateful to have been able to do.

Overall

I guess with my goals, I did some and didn’t get to others. The beauty of goals like this are ones I set for myself with the idea of knowing I’d probably do parts and maybe not others. I like to do a lot of things, that’s for sure, and a lot of times I will be in a situation where I don’t remember full goals — just some.

Part 2 of my looking back post will follow and I’ll go a little more in-depth with the year.

How did your goals/resolutions for 2016 go?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!