2024: A Year In Review
Another year has come and gone, and it is time for me to take stock. Here are some of the positive things that happened to me this year:
I became a US citizen and voted for the first time in this country. Now this is not strictly a good thing- I very much dislike this country at the moment, especially since my vote was in vain and the worst possible thing has happened. But after 12 years of immigration struggle, becoming a citizen of the wealthiest empire in the history of the world does make my life easier. That is until such time, probably in the near future, that the empire collapses- and who knows, takes all of capitalist society down with it.
I achieved some professional success- not too much, but something. In numbers, this includes three new funded projects, growing my research group to nearly 10 students, winning a couple of awards, publishing a total of 12 papers, delivering 6 conference and seminar talks, reviewing a total of 48 manuscripts (that is a crazy amount of unpaid labor, btw), and in some ways, inching closer to the next big milestone.
There were some really memorable trips and vacations that I enjoyed this year- Saguaro National Park (Tucson) in April, New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia) in May, Shenandoah National Park (Virginia) in June, Washington DC and Western Massachusetts in August, and Puerto Rico in December. As I write this, I wish I was still on island time, feasting on piononos and drinking a Medalla light.
My dog Nebula reached the ripe old age of 6. And I turned 35. Yes, believe it or not- I had a birthday this year.
I enjoyed some movies and TV shows that came out (or came back) this year: Trap, Fall Guy, Monkey Man, Slow Horses, Bad Monkey, Sugar, The Gentlemen, Fallout, Abbott Elementary, What We Do In The Shadows.
My wife’s birthday party (June 24) and our Halloween party (Nov 2) both kicked ass. Good times.
I continued my running form from 2023 and took it to another level- I finished five different 5K races this year, taking between 28 and 32 minutes for each. This has to be my favorite achievement of the year. I ran in the heat, in the bitter cold, in the rain, and made many running friends along the way. Long may it continue.
Our friends Nick and Claire got married, and it was a lovely wedding indeed in Chicago. One of the highlights of the year.
The total solar eclipse which, to our great fortune, passed through Indianapolis- and provided me with one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. I will never forget it. The pictures will never do justice- you just had to be there! When it got progressively dark, then completely dark, then bright again- my word, it was something.
My beloved Manchester United won the FA Cup final in the most glorious fashion- against all odds. I did not see it coming at all, and the fact that two of our most promising youngsters scored the two goals, and that we somehow managed to control the game against the then best team in Europe- it made all the other United-related misery from this year almost worth it.
I participated in dozens of pub trivia nights through the year, establishing a new weekly routine with my friends. We won some, and mostly lost, but had a lot of fun. This is something I hope remains a part of my life for years to come.
And here are a few not very good things from this year:
The election result. Things are so, so, so bad. I am nearly out of any hope or optimism for the future. White supremacy is the order of the day. The worst person in the world is going to become president again. The mind boggles. Many people have been exposed as absolutely terrible human beings. The richest man in the world- who I have long believed to also be the biggest dipshit in the world- now runs everything. This shit sucks so bad.
I really hate how commonplace AI art and writing has become. This is an awful development. Not only are the graphics or videos people create using AI utterly soulless and aggressively unfunny, they are also cooking our already dying world with how much energy they use. Any time I see anything written by AI- I can tell how vapid and devoid of meaning it is. I wish we could just go back.
Professional failure- of course, I faced far more failure than success. Dozens of proposals and applications I wrote were in vain. Papers got rejected. Some collaborators and students were left dissatisfied. The next big breakthrough did not happen.
I let the misery and hopelessness of the world around me get to me more than I should. This resulted in more impoliteness and dourness from me than my friends and family deserve. Tuning out the terrible stuff… easier said than done, but it is necessary.
Manchester United. Things have never been this bad. Sigh. Our lowest league finish in premier league history in 23/24, and unbelievably, in a relegation battle this season. An absolute cartoon villain of a man is now the club’s part-owner and busy enforcing ridiculous cost cuts across the board, including completely ignoring the women’s team. When will things get better? No time in the near future, from the looks of it. Give me strength.
What do I hope for in 2025? I don’t know. Just survive, I guess. Learn to appreciate the good things more and not get bogged down by the not-so-good things anymore. Here is to next year.