What's Been Going On
I've slacked in writing blogs so here is my attempt to summarize my life over the past ~3 months
So here we are. More than three months since my last post and I really don’t know what to say. I could use the classic excuses of work, family, the economy, winter weather, or the Winnipeg Jets’ recent dip in form; but the truth of the matter is, I just have not typed a blog in a while and that’s on me.
Rather than pick sections of the past quarter to describe in detail, I’ll try and summarize some of the places I’ve been, things I’ve experienced, and thoughts I’m having.
Places I’ve been
Work travel has been fairly steady (which I like), and since November I traveled to:
Miami - team offsite meetings
Dallas - sponsoring a partner’s team meeting
Boston - lunch with a partner
New Orleans - our all-company offsite which was incredible as always. This even included our own parade through the French Quarter and I spoke on stage in front of our whole team!
Orlando - partner sales conference
Chicago - our company was hosting an event
Dallas - partner sales conference and dinner with partners
Our own, coordinated parade through the French Quarter in New Orleans!
Personal travel was just as exciting as I was able to catch up with friends and family and spend time with Lynn. Since November I went to:
Toronto - over US Thanksgiving we got to hang with Finn and the family, catch up with friends during some great hangs at Dan and Steve’s, check out a fantastic plant-forward restaurant, and take Finn to a 4-year-old birthday party!
Connecticut - surprised my buddy Dom for his birthday party which was so much fun, then stayed over at their place and enjoyed catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in years!
Jamaica! Lynn and I escaped the cold for a few days over Christmas to an all-inclusive in Negril, Jamaica. The food and drink were excellent and I was completely shut-off from work for 4 nights which was much needed. We worked out every day, met some cool people, traveled to local bars, went waterskiing and experienced a catamaran cruise. Overall an amazing vacation.
Boston - we took the train to stay with friends in January and had a fantastic weekend in their Cambridge townhome. We explored downtown Boston on foot, walked through MIT in Cambridge, went to a couple great restaurants, did a blind wine tasting, and shared a million laughs.
Maryland - I took the train for a weekend to hang with work colleagues in preparation for an upcoming race (more to come).
Jamaica with Lynn and Toronto with Finn!
Things I’ve experienced
The New York City Marathon - this was one of my major highlights from 2023. I completed the marathon alongside 51,000 other runners, through all five boroughs of NYC, in 3:21. I had high hopes going into the race, but those expectations were far exceeded on the day. Nothing can prepare you for 26 miles of crowds that are 2-3 people deep and everyone is cheering and in good spirits. It really said something about this city and made me love it even more. I was able to see several different friends along the route which made it even more special, and capped it off with beers near the finish line in my neighbourhood of the UWS! I can’t wait to run this thing again.
One of the best days I’ve experienced in five years in New York! New York at Christmas - some locals find this time of year annoying because there are so many tourists, but if you don’t take a moment to appreciate living in a place that so many people want to experience, I think you’re missing the point. Lynn and I did a good job of making a “Christmas NYC checklist” that included Pete’s Tavern, Fifth Avenue, Charity Walk (handing our $$ in our neighbourhood), 30 Rock Christmas Tree, and more. This made the season that much more special and when you lean into the festivities, you don’t care about the little annoyances.
Pete’s Tavern: the longest continuously-operating pub in New York City really outdoes itself during the holidays New Years Eve in NYC: hung out at our friends’ beautiful apartment in Brooklyn and enjoyed homemade, five-star dining and wine pairings that still amaze me two months later. Their 50th floor views also allow for a nearly 360 degree view of NYC which provided a vantage point for several fireworks shows at midnight.
My birthday with family - Dan, Steve, and Finn all visited the first weekend in January which not only gave us something to look forward to after coming home from Jamaica, but definitely filled my heart as they took me for dinner on my birthday to a delicious plant-based Korean restaurant. Finn was his usual NYC-trooper self throughout the visit. We hit a Paw Patrol exhibit, trekked to Brooklyn for brunch, played lots of cards (I may or may not have taught the 6-year-old blackjack), crushed the playground in Central Park, and ate at excellent restaurants. Dan, Steve, and me went on our traditional monsoon-affected pub crawl through the Upper West and laughed the entire time.
The squad was in town for my birthday weekend!
Thoughts I’m having
Running 50km - I’m signed up for my first “ultramarathon” on March 23rd in Maryland. It will be running 50km (~31 miles) through trails in the Susquehanna State Park. I’m thinking about this a lot because my training has been a bit lacking since the NYC marathon. I had one great weekend exploring those trails in Maryland, but the longest we did was 14 miles, so there’s a LOT more to go on race day. I’m going to train hard over the next six weeks and just try to enjoy the race day weekend with work friends. To give you a sense of how different trail running is than marathon road-running, check out this video:
Health is everything - I’ve been sick the past few days, and although I’m rarely sick, every time it happens I’m reminded that without your health, nothing else matters and everything is a struggle. It’s good for perspective and will help me appreciate making healthy choices in the future as I’ll remember just how frustrating this is.
Friendship is key - I continue to be the most energized when I’ve been social with different groups of friends. Whether it’s catching up with work colleagues, or walking the city with friends and Lynn; that fills my cup and I’ll aim for even more of that throughout 2024.
Palm Desert - I’m going to visit my parents for a MONTH this winter. Obviously I’m so lucky to be able to do this, and it’s going to be a nice combination of seeing family, friends, working remotely, running, and golfing. Part of that month will be a one-week off-the-grid vacation with 7 buddies from Winnipeg for our bi-annual golf trip. We’ve finalized the schedule and details and we’re all super excited. With a week to go until I leave, seeing my parents, experiencing the sunshine, and hanging with Finn by the pool are rightfully taking up a lot of mindshare.
Thanks for reading,
Mike