triswebDec 31, 2024

My #2024 recap thread. This was a weird year for me, it felt like maybe the first "post-pandemic" year—even though as we well know, COVID never went away. It still feels like this funny take in a very real way: https://mastodon.ie/@devxvda/111545931966255844

Luckily/intentionally I also never had COVID this year! So that's a win. Masks on planes & trains is a smart method, I think.

Memorable moments to follow...

#2024Recap #2024Memories #Memories

Dr.Nick (@[email protected])

We are almost there folks hang in there 2020 ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░ 629%

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Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024

Memorable moment number 1: I was healthy and not in the hospital all year! contrast to one year ago, I spent 5 days in the hospital for a cryptic case of hyponatremia (low sodium) most likely due to an SSRI.

So another memorable thing was having my first full year in a while without the help of antidepressants. It was more difficult in many ways (yes, they're powerful drugs, but also helpful and I really needed them at the time I started them) but also more real and more aware and more growth and self-awareness than in a long time.

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Memorable moment number 2: I got my general class #AmateurRadio license!

KC1ULJ transmitting from my attic luggage room with a Xiegu G90, and I've made at least 257 contacts this year with 71 countries (mostly digital modes of course, but at least a dozen on phone!) the furthest of which was... 10,792km in Angola.

This has been a fun hobby and exploration for me, really combining many of the things I find interesting. And it's useful too. Here's a snap of my messy shack:

Dec 31, 2024 at 4:38pmWeb
Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024

Memorable moment number 3: SO MANY CELESTIAL EVENTS! It began with the #Eclipse in April, where I traveled to Vermont to my parents' house, which was right in the path of totality, as was able to watch with my whole fam. It was truly awe inspiring and I still look back on it and smile.

#TotalSolarEclipse #Eclipse2024

Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024
(Follow up timelapse video for moment number 3, this is approximately how it felt to watch from the scene, and also about how fast it felt)
Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024

BUT there were EVEN MORE celestial events. I can't emphasize just how awesome 2024 was for the sky and the heavens.

Just a short time after the eclipse, in May, we got a once in a hundred year solar storm and #aurora across the world, and I was lucky enough to walk the dogs and notice quickly!

I never thought I'd get to see the aurora with my own eyes without traveling somewhere, and yet, there it was, just outside.

#Aurora #AuroraBorealis #2024Recap

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Memorable Moment 3 continued: and finally we were greeted with a comet, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, pretty easily visible just after sunset.

#Comet #TsuchinshanATLAS #2024Recap

Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024

OH SNAP MORE AURORA whaaaaat

We got another show in October, frankly even brighter than the first. But more short lived. So cool.

#2024Recap

Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024
Moving on to Memorable Moment Number 4: my first real garden. I’ve had pots over the years but never real garden beds, but my dad and brother were kind enough to hook me up and build me real raised beds. Five of them! The tomatoes and everything else went wild.
Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024
Memorable moment no 5: lots of travel. I went to Ireland 3 times (for work), Spain, California, the Carolinas, and the Bahamas (right after the eclipse). Lots of great sights seen and people met and family time.
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Memorable Moment no 6: puppies. These two have made life pretty great. Don’t know what we’d do without them.
Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024
Memorable moment no 7: lots of great bands I’ve seen. I made a promise after missing some once in a lifetime shows in 2021 that I would never again sit out a show that I would regret not going to, and I held myself to it. Lots of emo I’m too old for but it was a blast.
Show threadtriswebDec 31, 2024
[Taking a short pause for some errands, but moral of the story overall: a lot more happened this year than I remember off hand, but it's fun to look through the photos as proof. It's a good reminder that I need to be thankful for the life I have, and the people I have, and that I am extremely, extremely lucky]