When I wrote last year's wrap up of what a garbage year that was, little did I know I'd be sitting down a year later to say that 2021 was a dumpster fire too. I guess the attempted coup right in the beginning should have tipped us all off, though.
Anyway. The truth is, I have to once again say with deep gratitude that it wasn't all bad for me and my immediate family. Everyone's safe and healthy and has gainful employment, and I hope that continues into 2022.
side hustle
My photography side hustle definitely picked up - I got paid more in 2021 from my photography than in any previous year. Not only did I get more gigs, I branched out and did a little videography - handheld and aerial! - which was one of my goals. And I did one of the most elaborate studio shoots I've ever done for my friend Damaris, aka Summer Baby's upcoming single, and I'm so proud of the resulting images. I also shot the album art for my niece Gigi's first single as well, so music-related photography seems to be a growing trend for me.
I also started contributing more images to Adobe Stock, in an effort to start making some passive income. I only made a few sales this year, but the meager couple of bucks was still more than those images would have made just from sitting on my hard drive, collecting digital dust. The plan is to ramp that up this year as well.
A new car!
2021 Honda Insight, in Lunar Silver!
One other significant life change this year was that at the ripe old age of 47, my wife and I bought a car for the very first time in either of our lives. After many stressful hours spent researching, and one attempt to take a test drive at the ridiculous Plaza Auto Mall in Brooklyn, we ended up with a brand new 2021 Honda Insight, and we love it.
Unfortunately, almost exactly six months later, that jerk Ida pulled through and devastated the Northeast, leaving us with a flooded parking garage. Womp-womp. So much for that new car smell. At least there are no electrical problems… yet.
2021 Honda Insight, in dirty hurricane water
Travel
We actually got to travel a little this year. Having the car allowed for a couple of quick trips to see family in Virginia and New Hampshire; as well as a couple of little jaunts to the Catskills and Greenport, Long Island.
Santa Rosa Island
The one major trip I took was out California to go backpacking on Santa Rosa Island, in Channel Islands National Park. It was an epic adventure with my childhood friend Matt, and some of his good friends. It was my first time backpacking - like, proper backpacking: carrying forty-plus pounds of gear and food; paying close attention to the weather and potable water sources; having absolutely zero cell service - that kind of backpacking.
We did about 10 miles of hiking each day for three days, and it was fun, but it was also really hard. I learned something about myself, though: that I was capable of doing this hard thing, and of having fun along the way. Also, Matt and his friends are more on the conservative side of the political spectrum, and spending time in close quarters with them for several days reinforced something I've always believed, which is that despite what Twitter says, it's possible to have ideological differences with people and still enjoy their company, and to learn from them.
random
Of course, I also roamed around NYC on my bike a bit; spent time in Prospect Park, and during that sliver of time when it seemed like we had Covid beat, I hung out with friends and family and did all those types of things that we hadn't been able do at the height of the pandemic. I also shot a bunch of random cool pictures for various reasons, or for no real reason at all.
Conclusion
So, that’s about it. 2021 is a wrap; 2022 is brand new and full of promise…here’s hoping I’m not back here in a year complaining about 2020: The Sequel.